Chapter 195 - 194: Cecilia Caldwell Was Indeed Imprisoned by Asher

Chapter 195: Chapter 194: Cecilia Caldwell Was Indeed Imprisoned by Asher

Month X, Day X, Year XX:

Cece threw up again today. The medicine Victor Quinn gave her seems to be very strong. The child is having adverse reactions and has become listless.

Month XX, Day XX, Year XX:

Today, Caldwell took Cece to the orphanage. When Cece came back, her clothes were torn. I was worried she’d gotten into a fight with the other kids, so I asked Caldwell. He said Cece was very well-behaved today. She didn’t fight or get physical with anyone. And she even cried!

Reading between the lines, I could tell my mom was thrilled that I could cry.

I tried to recall those hazy, indistinct memories.

Before I met Asher, it seemed I really couldn’t cry. I didn’t cry when I was born, and the doctors thought I was mute. At least I started talking earlier than other kids my age.

Later, they deliberately provoked and hit me, but I never cried.

According to the journal, the day I cried for the first time at the orphanage, I was wearing a red dress.

That must have been when those people at the orphanage led the others in trying to rip my dress off.

I looked through the journal carefully and found that my mom’s records of me were very detailed, with entries nearly every day. But the period when I was sent to the mental hospital was blank. There were no entries.

This meant they didn’t know about Victor Quinn’s treatment of me, either.

Month X, Day XX, Year XX:

Cece got angry at the neighbors today because they complained about us having a large dog and wanted to get rid of Shaun.

...

My mom’s diary only recorded my daily life at home. What I found strange was that she never mentioned Asher or Charlie, not even once. It seemed intentional...

There’s no way she and Dad didn’t know I was good friends with Asher and Charlie, or that I was dating Asher. So why wasn’t there a single word about it in the diary?

There was just one line: "Cece made friends at the orphanage. They trust her a lot and seem to like her very much."

And another line from Month X, Day XX: "Cece seems to have a natural ability to attract children with congenital personality defects. They trust her immensely, and they’re able to play together."

I meticulously went through the journal entries one by one. Most of them were just boring daily routines, but those two sentences made my scalp tingle.

Combined with what Zeke Shaw and Lucas Grant had said, this felt less like a journal and more like a lab report...

Taking a deep breath, I kept scrolling.

’Why did Julian Fletcher say I intentionally forgot Asher?’

’And that Asher had hurt me.’

Sure enough, on a day early in the year I turned eighteen, my mom’s journal read: "Cece said that now that she’s an adult, she wants to have her own independent life. She’s starting to rebel."

And also: "Adolescence. A time of raging hormones, indeed. Cece is just like a normal person, perhaps even more intense."

The next entry: "Took Cece for a blood test today. Her hormone levels have changed, but her constitution and genes still make it impossible for her to bear a genetically healthy child."

March 27th of that year: "Cece has disappeared. Today is the second day she’s been missing."

March 28th: "Still no leads on Cece today. That person is very clever. He’s hidden her."

March 29th: "No leads today either. But Subject 0 has also disappeared. I suspect he’s the one who took Cece."

I furrowed my brow, my scrolling finger freezing as I stared at the screen.

’Subject 0? A codename for the person who took me? Who took me?’

April 8th: "Finally, we found Cece. She was locked in a cellar by Subject 0. Her hands were bound by iron chains, and she was covered in wounds, barely breathing."

My mom took a picture of me tied up in the cellar. My body was indeed covered in injuries, I was on the brink of death, my hands were wrapped in iron chains. It was a horrifying sight.

A sense of horror washed over me. I disappeared on March 26th and wasn’t found until April 8th. During that whole time, my parents never called the police?

And from the photo, it was clear that her first reaction upon seeing me wasn’t to save me, but to take a picture.

What was even stranger was that the mother who was so loving in my memories... wrote in her journal with no emotion at all during the days I was missing.

I couldn’t sense any worry or anxiety from her. It was more like she was making formulaic records each day.

My fingers trembled as I slowly scrolled down the phone screen.

’Subject 0... who is Subject 0?’

April 9th: "Subject 0 was also found. Marcus Lancaster took him home. He promised he would discipline his son and not let him bother Cece again."

My eyes widened in shock as I stared at the screen. The photo from the 9th, taken by my mom, was a picture of Asher.

Subject 0... was Asher.

’The codename they gave Asher? Why?’

In the photo, Asher seemed to be struggling desperately, but he was being pinned to the ground by the Lancaster family’s bodyguards. Marcus Lancaster was in the picture too.

I looked at the man in the photo, said to be Asher’s biological father, and frowned slightly.

The way he looked at Asher wasn’t how one would look at their own son.

It was more like he was looking at a madman, a monster.

But at the same time, there was a trace of pity...

It was as if Marcus Lancaster was pitying Asher.

But it definitely wasn’t simple paternal love. It seemed to be mixed with very complex emotions.

And below the photo, my mother had recorded (like a side note): "Subject 0’s emotional conflicts seem more intense than Cece’s. Appears to have violent and abusive tendencies, but this cannot be fully confirmed yet. Further observation is required."

My head suddenly started to throb, and a voice surfaced in my mind.

"Cece, you two can’t have children of your own."

"Cece... Mommy’s so sorry. Your and Asher’s genes..."

"Shirley, what are you telling the child!"

In my mind, I heard my mom’s guilty voice, my dad’s sharp rebuke, and the sound of packing. "Don’t burden the child with negative emotions. Act normal, don’t show any cracks. I’ll put the things in the car first. After we attend the ceremony at the orphanage today, we’re leaving Meridia."

My mom was sobbing, seemingly hugging me tight. "Cece... Mommy’s so sorry. It’s all Mommy’s fault."

"We’re running out of time. His spies are everywhere. Let’s go," my dad urged.

"Did you give all that data and evidence to the police?" my mom asked, sounding scared.

"It would be too obvious if I went myself. I had Lynch go."

"Lynch? Can he be trusted?" my mom asked, seemingly in doubt.

"We’ve been through life and death together. Besides, his wife couldn’t get pregnant, and weren’t you the one who helped her with IVF? He’s grateful to us."

In my memory, my dad seemed to trust this Lynch a lot.

’Who is Lynch?’

My head aching, I tugged at my hair.

I could vaguely make out this memory. On the day of our car crash, my parents were unusually tense. It seemed they were planning to sneak me away and escape from someone.

And they had given some kind of evidence and data to ’Lynch’ to deliver to the police.

Obviously, judging by what happened, this ’Lynch’ betrayed my father’s trust. Not only did he fail to give the data to the police, but he might have even sold my father out.

That must be why my parents, along with Marcus Lancaster, were in that severe, premeditated car crash on the overpass.

"Wifey..." Asher’s pathetic-sounding voice pulled me back to reality. I instinctively shut off my phone, and when I turned around, he had already wrapped his arms around me.

My breathing hitched.

’Was what Julian Fletcher said true? Did Asher really imprison and abuse me?’

’At least, that’s what it looks like from my mom’s journal.’

’But until my memories return, I can’t just speculate based on the journal entries.’

’Because right now... I don’t trust my parents.’

’Until the truth comes out, I can’t even trust myself.’

"Wifey, I feel so dizzy." Asher hugged me and rolled us under the covers, beginning his peacock display... no, his seductive snake demon routine.

His two long, powerful legs wrapped around me, making it impossible to escape.

"Cece..." He hugged me from behind, slowly tightening his hold.

My ears burned, and something hot pressed against the small of my back. That bastard...

"Cece, I’ll just rub against you a little. I won’t touch you."

"Get lost."

"Cece, I’ll just touch a little, I won’t go inside..."

"..." ’Is it too late to get him neutered?’

Thankfully, he still had some self-control. He knew my body wasn’t up to it right now, so he really did just touch me a little and didn’t take it any further.

But even just "touching a little" was going too far! His hands were touching everywhere!

"Sebastian Lancaster!"

But right at that moment, when Sebastian Lancaster’s breathing was at its hottest, his phone rang.

Sebastian Lancaster’s gaze was cold enough to kill.

I smirked, reveling in his misfortune. "Answer your phone."

He wouldn’t.

I reached for it, but he wouldn’t let me.

"What if it’s something important?"

Sebastian Lancaster gritted his teeth, glanced at the screen, and saw it was Lucas Grant. "He’d better have a good reason."

"Sebastian Lancaster! I found Cecilia Caldwell’s autopsy report from back then, and the genetic test on the embryo in her womb. There’s a problem! Get to the forensics center, now!"