After that meeting, Estelle hadn't seen Soren again.
After all, they had parted on bad terms, and later he intentionally avoided her. Her VIP ward was close to the president's office, and Soren often came for meetings. Estelle would hear people in the corridor greeting him as "General Manager Hoffman," but she only heard him reply with a faint "Mmm." He would walk near her door and then leave.
Estelle stayed in the hospital for almost half a month. She recovered quickly, but her attending physician wouldn't let her leave until she had stayed the required number of days.
Feeling annoyed, she complained that the VIP ward was too expensive and that she couldn't afford it. The doctor laughed and reassured her, "Don't worry. Mr. Hoffman has already paid for your hospital expenses."
Bored, Sera and Calvin visited her several times. Estelle gave Sera her home password, and Sera brought Crescent's two ducks over.
A few days without care, the ducks were almost starved to death. Estelle was at a loss and had to urgently call Oscar. While she was in the hospital, the burden of developing pet ducks had fallen entirely on Oscar. Despite his busy schedule, Oscar came to the hospital to teach her how to care for the ducks. Seeing how inexperienced she was, he shook his head helplessly. "Forget it, you're not suited for this. Just focus on getting better. I'll take the ducks and look after them for you."
Thinking this was a logical solution, Estelle shook her head. "No."
Oscar looked at her. Estelle gazed down at the two ducklings and said softly, "Let me raise them."
After a while, Oscar squatted down next to her. "Are you okay?"
"Not bad," Estelle said. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened. I'm used to it."
In early July, Estelle was discharged from the hospital. After a long time, Soren finally appeared in front of her.
Estelle walked out of the hospital gate with the duck cage. Soren was standing by the car, waiting for her to approach. He helped her open the car door.
"I know you don't want to see me, but Aiden's execution is tomorrow," he said. "Today is the last day for pre-execution visits. If you still want to see him, I can take you there."
Estelle didn't say anything. She bent down and climbed into his car.
Soren's eyebrows twitched. He gripped and then released the car door handle and sat down beside her.
The city was going to experience a huge change. A high-ranking government official had fallen, and Soren took the opportunity to support a new person in power. He transformed himself, seemingly becoming the next Aiden.
Perhaps history repeats itself, and stories are always similar. Soren was silent in the car. After a while, Estelle said, "I stole Stella Technology's secrets, but the police still haven't found me. Is it because there really were no eyewitnesses, or is it because Mr. Hoffman is so powerful?"
Aiden smiled.
"I've said it before. The law in here is under my control for now."
Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something.
Soren took something out of his suit pocket and placed it in Estelle's hand.
"What's this?"
"It's something Crescent wanted me to give you," Soren said. "He said it might be what Gavriel wanted to give you."
It was an extremely thin biometric fingerprint cover. Estelle picked it up and examined it, puzzled. "How did he know?"
Soren shrugged. "How would I know? He didn't say."
Estelle frowned and thought for a moment. Perhaps the only possibility was that when they left Gavriel's room, she remembered Crescent looking down at Gavriel one more time. But it was just a guess. Crescent was dead, and there was no way to verify what had happened.
She nodded helplessly and asked, "Whose fingerprint is this?"
"I had Charlie check it. It's Gavriel's own fingerprint."
Gavriel's own fingerprint?
How strange. Estelle was confused and had no idea what it meant.
She could only put the fingerprint cover away for now. Soon, the car arrived at Orison. Charlie took the duck cage from her. She got out of the car and followed Soren inside.
The Prison was dim and deep, a massive steel cage. Estelle sat in the visiting room, hearing the sound of metal shackles dragging as the steel door opened and Aiden was brought in by the warden.
Seeing her, Aiden paused. Gazing at her for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he gave a low laugh.
"Estelle, you're actually still alive."
