Chapter 220
Sheena went upstairs as she spoke, with Sawyer and Owen trailing behind.
Elijah’s room door was ajar, which struck Sheena as odd, but she did not dwell on it. She pushed the door open and, aided by the corridor lights, saw Elijah lying on the bed with his back facing the entrance, seemingly fast asleep.
Was she overthinking things?
Sheena closed the door, and Sawyer and Owen, seeing that Sheena had not noticed anything, breathed a silent sigh of relief. However, as Sheena took a couple of steps away, she abruptly stopped.
When she had opened the door earlier, she seemed to notice the color of Elijah’s shirt collar was a little darker…
Was it wet?
Was he sweating?
Something was off!
Sheena immediately went back, decisively turning on the lights this time. She inspected the man curled up on the bed. Walking to the bedside, she confirmed that the back of his shirt collar was indeed damp, and she smirked.
“Elijah, how did you even manage to work up a sweat while sleeping?”
Elijah kept his eyes tightly shut, refusing to respond.
Sheena grew annoyed. “Quit pretending. I know you weren’t sleeping. What were you up to just now?”
Caught red–handed, Elijah remained silent but suddenly furrowed his brow intensely, muttering, “It hurts…”
“It hurts? You were perfectly fine. What kind of trick are you trying to pull?”
As Sheena spoke, she inadvertently pushed down on his back.
“Argh!” Elijah cried out and broke out in a sudden cold sweat, and his features contorted in pain.
Standing behind Sheena, Sawyer, and Owen exchanged confused glances. They heard Elijah being ruthlessly whipped during the day. However, Elijah had endured it without uttering a sound!
During the day, Elijah seemed quite bold, yet now he was crying out in pain and screaming.
Was he intentionally playing the victim now?
This acting was practically Oscar–worthy! Even the best actors did not have his level of skill.
Was he trying to cause Howard trouble?
Sawyer and Owen were frustrated but could not show any sign of it in front of Sheena.
Chapter 220
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Sheena remained oblivious to their internal turmoil. She thought Elijah’s condition did seem a bit off, less like an act. Then, she unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt and gently pulled it back. What met her eyes were crisscrossing purple welts, hardly a patch of unblemished skin. Several areas bore deep marks, bruises now turned dark purple, and there were even open wounds oozing blood.
Seeing her expression turn colder and expecting her to erupt any second, Sawyer and Owen prepared themselves to kneel on the spot. However, Sheena asked calmly, “Who did this?” Unable to discern whether she was angry or not, the two of them could only answer truthfully. “It was Mr. Lawson.‘
“What did he hit him with?”
“With… a cane. He received ninety lashes.” Sawyer hesitated, then quickly added, “Miss, it’s just that Mr. Lawson couldn’t bear to see you hurt. He was upset and…”
Sheena’s expression remained indifferent. “Understood. Since it was Mr. Lawson who did it, then he deserved it.”
Upon hearing this, Elijah clenched his hands under the blanket.
