Chapter 19

"I'll go!"

It seemed to have taken every bit of Elara's strength to get those words out. She felt weak and wobbly on her feet, as if she could fall at any minute.

"How wise of you, Ms. Seymour," Shawn remarked with a grin. "Excellent. Come with me, please."

"Ella!"

Arnold and Marion were extremely agitated. They wanted to rush up to Elara and pull her back, but the men stopped them. All they could do was watch as Elara got into the car.

Overwhelmed by his anger and sorrow, Arnold spat out the blood and fainted.

Marion was so terrified that she didn't know what to do. Too beside herself to even call 911, she simply clutched Arnold and sobbed.

"Dad! Mom!"

At some point, Gideon came back and was shocked by this sight. He quickly checked on Arnold and used some medical techniques to stabilize his condition.

Slowly, Arnold regained consciousness, coughing as he did.

"Arnie!" Marion was overjoyed. "You're finally awake. You scared me half to death!"

"Ella…"

Arnold had a dead loo