Chapter 207 - 206: The Reason Cecilia Caldwell Stabbed Someone

Chapter 207: Chapter 206: The Reason Cecilia Caldwell Stabbed Someone

When I got home, I scrambled out of the car in a panic and ran toward the basement.

Stella was barking wildly in her iron cage. She could clearly sense my danger and unease.

My heart pounded in my chest. The wound on the sole of my foot burst open again, and I tumbled down the stairs.

Pain swept through my body, and I couldn’t help but cry.

Enduring the pain, I scrambled to my feet and limped toward the basement.

I was terrified.

If the basement had been noisy, with Asher smashing things, I wouldn’t have been scared. It was the silence that terrified me.

Felix Foster had said Asher would hurt himself.

’I don’t know why I’m so worried.’ It was like a voice in my head was screaming, ’Save him. You have to save him.’

I yanked on the doorknob. With trembling fingers, I untwisted the wire holding it shut from the outside, then pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The moment the door opened, the metallic scent of blood washed over me.

Terrified, I froze in the doorway, my eyes fixed on Asher, who was lying on the sofa.

It looked like he’d gone berserk, smashing everything in the room to smithereens. His bloodstains were everywhere.

He lay on the sofa, fingers still dripping blood, apparently exhausted from his rampage.

He was hurting himself.

"Asher..." I whispered his name.

He struggled to open his eyes. The instant he saw me, his gaze shifted, and he yanked me into his embrace. "Cece... I’m sorry."

’He hadn’t done anything wrong, but he was always apologizing to me.’

"You promised me you wouldn’t hurt yourself." My voice was still trembling. I was truly terrified.

"I didn’t hurt myself..." Asher mumbled, his head bowed, his own words ringing hollow.

I reached out and grabbed his wrist. The knuckles on the back of his hand were smashed raw, the wounds still weeping blood.

"Cece..." He looked at me, his expression tense. He pulled off my jacket, tossed it aside, and draped his own over my shoulders.

"Cece... did they hurt you..." Asher’s gaze fell to my ankles. The red, swollen marks were from where Howard Finch’s accomplices had grabbed me.

Fortunately, a policewoman had given me a skirt on the way here.

Asher’s eyes darted over me in a panic, and he spotted the blood pooling at my feet.

He dropped to his knees, his movements gentle, but his eyes turned vicious. "I’m going to kill them..."

"I did it to myself." I grabbed Asher, cupped his face, and forced him to look at me. "Cecilia Caldwell... she was hurt by those people from the orphanage in the past, wasn’t she?"

’In my lost memories.’

Howard Finch said they had drugged Cecilia Caldwell, too. That they tried to...

Asher’s gaze burned into me as he raised a hand, gently touching my swollen cheek.

His eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"Cecilia Caldwell’s body... is resistant to drugs," Asher said softly. "Back then, it was Erin Whittaker who tricked you. You knew she was lying, but you went on purpose."

"Why would I have gone on purpose?" I clenched my fists.

"Because those bastards were using the same method to... assault Peach." Asher looked up at me.

I drew a sharp breath, my fingers tightening on their own.

"Lucas Grant said there was a case years ago. A boy from the orphanage was stabbed multiple times. None of the wounds were deep or fatal. The boy’s life wasn’t in danger, but he was scared insane by the time he woke up..."

"I did that?" ’Why have I forgotten it so completely?’

’Did I do it for Peach? Or for justice? Did I deliberately let Erin Whittaker trick me so I could go and stab someone myself?’

"Yes. The guy’s name was Zane Abbott. He was the leader of the older boys. He saw that Peach was intellectually slow, so he and his group bullied her. It was a secret between them." Asher grabbed a tissue and pressed it to the wound on my foot.

’So, back then, Cecilia Caldwell hadn’t been knocked out by the drugs. Instead, she had stabbed their leader, Zane Abbott.’

’Zane Abbott. The first victim in the serial killer case.’

At some point, Felix Foster had appeared, leaning against the doorframe. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Asher was all right. "A pair of psychos..."

"Call the family doctor," Asher said coldly, his gaze a stark warning to Felix Foster.

His look clearly said this was the first time, and there had better not be a second.

Felix Foster was clearly a little afraid of Asher. He straightened up. "I had it under control... I would never have really let her be..."

Before Felix Foster could finish his sentence, Asher snatched a chair off the floor and hurled it at him.

I flinched, my breath catching in my throat.

Felix Foster managed to dodge just in time, and he stared at Asher, breathing hard with shock.

His expression was complicated, a mix of deep disappointment and hurt. "Sebastian Lancaster! For her, you treat me like shit again and again! I’m telling you, I’ve had enough!"

Asher stood frozen, his fingers trembling slightly.

Deeply disappointed, Felix Foster turned and stormed out.

’I thought they were done for good.’ But a moment later, Felix Foster was back, his head bowed, carrying a medical kit with a doctor in tow.

Felix Foster huffed, standing off to the side in a proud sulk.

Asher gave him the cold shoulder.

He had the doctor examine my injuries.

The doctor examined the sole of my foot, cleaned the wound, and gave me a tetanus shot. "Be careful. Don’t let it get wet for the next few days."

Once the wound was treated, the doctor left. Asher continued to ignore Felix Foster, lifting me into his arms to carry me back to the bedroom.

Felix Foster followed stubbornly behind them. After a few steps, he broke the silence. "I was wrong..."

I was surprised. With his pretense dropped, Felix Foster looked just like a big kid. I couldn’t believe he was actually apologizing to Asher first.

"Don’t ignore me..." Felix Foster muttered. "I don’t want to go back to school."

Asher still ignored him.

This time, Felix Foster had taken matters into his own hands and locked Asher in the basement. He had clearly infuriated him.

"So I was wrong, okay?!" Felix Foster sounded like a petulant teenager. He’d already apologized, but Asher was still ignoring him, and it was driving him crazy.

"I didn’t expect her to have gotten so dumb..." Felix Foster grumbled, not ready to give up. "Back in the day... who would’ve dared to mess with her? Who knew she’d suddenly turn into a total moron."

Felix Foster was still grumbling.

Asher glanced down at me, nestled in his arms and listening intently. He shot a warning look back at Felix Foster. "She’s perfect the way she is now..."

Felix Foster scoffed, then snorted. "Guess you’re just weird. You’ve got a thing for idiots."

Asher didn’t waste any more words on Felix Foster. Back in the room, he kicked the door shut, leaving Felix outside.

Then he carried me into the en-suite bathroom, intending to bathe me.

"Asher..." I said nervously, stopping his hand as he tried to pull off my dress.

’I couldn’t let him. Silvia Lynch’s legs were so pale, and the red handprint from Felix Foster’s grip was still on her thigh... If Asher saw that, he’d probably try to kill Felix.’

"I can wash myself... You should go," I pleaded softly.

Asher lowered his head, his voice full of hurt. "Cece, your foot is injured. It can’t get wet. I’ll help you."

"Your hand is hurt, too..." I insisted.

Asher gently tugged on my fingers. "Cece... my hand doesn’t hurt."

Seeing he had no intention of leaving, I straightened up.

The dress slipped to the floor...

Sure enough, Asher’s gaze landed on the red handprint on my pale inner thigh. His eyes went cold as ice.

"I’m going to kill them," Asher said, his voice dangerously low.

"It was... Felix Foster," I mumbled, like a tattletale.

’Serves Felix Foster right for trying to act so damn cool when he came to "rescue" me.’

Asher’s brow furrowed. He didn’t say a word, but I could already feel the oppressive aura coming from him.

’Looks like Felix Foster is in for a world of hurt today.’