0005 A Filial Daughter

As if on cue, blood trickled from her head injury to her face, and a shriek sounded from the side as Evely’s stepmother could not contain herself and ran towards the father and daughter with panic on her face.

“Francis! Evely is bleeding! Quick! Let’s bring her to the hospital!”

Her loud cry snapped Francis out of his trance and quickly carried Evie in his arms.

“Grab my keys!” he ordered his wife, before running towards the garage where there were few metal carriages parked. But Evie had no time to appreciate them.  

Evie wanted to protest, saying that she’s okay but the couple seemed to be in so much panic that they did not listen to her.

Soon, her stepmother who was still in her pajamas ran towards them with the keys and Francis put Evie in the backseat where her stepmother also got in. She had a piece of cloth in her hand and used it to press on Evie’s head as her father started the carriage.

“I’m really fine. If you have any healing potion, the injury will be gone in an instant. I don’t need to go to the infirmary,” Evie told her stepmother, Liz Hunt.

“Francis, Evely damaged her head,” Liz announced as she looked at Evie worriedly.

“What?”

“She’s looking for a healing potion— I think she’s hallucinating,” Liz commented, and they felt the carriage move faster.

Evie was confused. Why did Liz think she was hallucinating? But then she remembered that the kidnappers drugged the milk tea Evely had. Evie had no medical knowledge. But maybe, there’s a sign that she had been drugged, and so her stepmother thought she’s hallucinating.

Evie was sure that her body was fine, though— and Evely never got any medical treatment for her injuries before but she did not die. But then again, she was a soul who just transferred to a new body and had not completely merged with it yet. Evely was a mortal despite being unusually strong. She had been injured and drugged, and yes, Evely did suffer repercussions from this event. She always had headaches. With this thought, Evie stopped protesting and let the couple bring her to the place they called hospital.

As soon as they arrived, Evie was welcomed by waves of people she heard were called nurses and doctors. At the doctor’s instruction, Evie found herself being wheeled into a huge tube where strange noises sounded as the doctor and nurses watched from outside.

Evie found it strange that even if everything looked modern in this world, the mortal healers seemed not all that skilled. They took her to do a scan— whatever that was. Someone took photos of her injuries before they cleaned her  and changed her into a hospital gown. But her head injury was still there. If they were in her world, her body would have been back to normal in no time after downing a minor healing potion.

But she had no choice but to bear with this mediocre treatment since this was not her world. Besides, since her divine inheritance had been depleted, her recovery time had also been compromised. She thought that the injury on her head had at least healed by half. But with the throbbing of her head that she was beginning to feel, it seemed not.

In a few minutes, Evie was taken to a very pristine room where the very fatigued looking Francis and Liz waited. Well, Evie started addressing them as her parents in her brain to practice. In this life, Evie who was now Evely would be their filial and loving daughter.

“Doctor, how is she?” Francis asked the white-robed  man who held the photos and scans they took of her.

The doctor signaled for the others to leave the room, and only asked one nurse to stay before answering her father’s questions.

“Mr. Hunt, we checked everything and her injuries are consistent with those from a scuffle,” the doctor started, and he continued to tell the couple about defensive wounds, abrasions, and something about her having a fracture at the back of her skull.

“Her blood shows traces of ketamine as well.”

Francis and Liz both looked horrified but Evie had no idea what that was. It sounded bad based on her parents’ reactions, though.

Francis was about to ask something when there was a knock on the door, and a police man came in. Evie could recognize his uniform since she had seen Evely in police stations several times before from the mirror.

Ah… If the police were involved, Evie reckoned that what happened to her must be terrible in human standards.

Sure enough, the man asked permission from her parents and then started asking her questions. Evie did not want to give them further trouble, and so she answered all the questions the best she could.

“I was having milk tea when I felt dizzy and fell asleep. When I woke up there were men trying to take my clothes off so I fought with them. I’m pretty strong so one of them knocked me out with a shovel— at least I think it’s a shovel.”

Evely should never have had any idea what was used to hit her. But Evie saw that scene clearly and knew what it was.

“And then?” the policeman prompted gently.

“Then I woke up and I was underground. I clawed my way out.”

Of course Evie did not crawl out of the grave, but the original Evely did in the past.

“How about the men?” the policeman asked again, and Evie saw her parents look stricken.

Evie gave them a smile as if telling them that she’s alright.

“While I was crawling out, there was an earthquake and I heard them screaming,” Evie lied. “But they were gone when I came out.”

“Do you remember where the place is?”

Evie thought for a moment, searching for the words to use.

“It’s a place a bit far from the road. It has a lot of unfinished buildings and houses,” she answered.

“It must be a construction site,” Francis said, and the policeman nodded.

“Evely, this is my last question. How did you return home?”

“I walked from the place I was buried to the road, and then the neighbor brother saw me and took me home in his metal carriage.”

“What metal carriage?”

Evie frowned. Why were they asking the obvious? “The one that needs keys and moves without a horse. We came here riding in one.”

“Ah… a car.” 

The policeman exchanged looks with her parents before they turned to the doctor who cleared his throat.

“It must be the side effects of the drug. Ketamine can cause amnesia and confusion.”

Hearing this, the others nodded as they turned their attention back to Evie.

“Evely, which neighbor brother were you talking about?” Francis asked.

“Brother Cedric.”

“Cedric?” Francis looked confused as if he did not know anyone by that name.

Evie nodded. “Brother Cedric— the colorful brother with blond hair and green eyes.”

When the others still looked confused, Evie hurriedly added. “Oh and he has an assistant named Ralph Hall.”

Upon mentioning the assistant’s name, everybody froze, and Evie wondered why.

“Ralph Hall? His assistant’s name is Ralph Hall?” the doctor asked, a little bit excitedly.

“She must be talking about Cedric de la Roche. But how could that be?” the police wondered out loud. “Does he live in Hampton Hills as well?”

“I’m not sure,” Francis answered.

Evie did not know Cedric’s last name but she remembered the cards he gave her.

“Where are my things? There’s a gold and a black card in my pocket that Brother Cedric gave me.”

Liz quickly bent towards the bag that had Evely’s clothes. The doctor told them to keep it for investigation, if ever, and so, she placed them in the bag. She rummaged through it, and sure enough, the cards were in it and she handed them to Francis.

Cedric de la Roche, the gold one read, followed by a string of numbers. On the black one, Ralph Hall’s name was indicated with his phone number as well. At the back of the cards was a logo of a very famous company.

“What's wrong?” Evie asked when she noticed that they were in a trance as they looked at the cards.

The police took out a cellphone, and Evie’s eyes glittered as she watched him use it. She knew that gadget. She had seen Evely use it and had wanted to have one.

Soon, the police handed her his phone. In it was a photo, and Evie was surprised.

“Yes, this is Brother Cedric,” she said and was confused when everyone looked amazed.

“What’s wrong? Is Brother Cedric bad?” she asked, suddenly curious.

The doctor chuckled. “A bad wolf, yes.”

Francis cleared his throat before answering. “Evely, that’s Cedric de la Roche, the Demon Prince of Rockefeller Group.”