274 Chapter 274


    274.Chapter 274


    The air in the attic fell deathly still.


    Dn said nothing more. He simply stared at Eliza in silence, tears slipping soundlessly down the corners of his eyes. Half an hourter, Eliza approached the iron cage with a vial in hand, the antidote nearly finished. Without a word, she uncorked it and sshed the contents directly onto Matthew''s face.


    Moments passed. Then, atst, Matthew slowly stirred awake.


    He thought, ''The ce is still the same. Has father still not found us?''


    He sat up in silence and quickly spotted Dn sitting nkly in the corner of the cage. That, he could''ve brushed off. But what made him do a double take was the faint trail of tears on Dn''s face. Was it a hallucination caused by the drug?


    Rubbing his eyes and blinking hard, Matthew looked again-nope, not a mistake. He frowned in disbelief. "Dn... are you crying?"


    Did Eliza drug him too? Maybe even tortured him after Matthew passed out?


    Just as Matthew turned toward Eliza, ready to explode in anger, Dn seemed to anticipate his thoughts and cut him off coldly. "It wasn''t Serenity. She didn''t do anything to me."


    Somehow, that only made it worse.


    He would''ve rather Eliza hit him, drugged him, poisoned him-anything to get it over with. That kind of retaliation, he could handle. But this silence? This indifference? That stung more than any wound.


    And yet... was that precisely why she did it? Because she knew it would hurt him more?


    Dn cast a hopeful, cautious nce at Eliza, as if searching for a sliver of meaning.


    Matthew noticed and couldn''t help but scowl. "Dn, look at yourself. What the hell you doing? Why are you acting like some scared little puppy? What exactly are you so afraid of?"


    Dn whipped his head around and red at him. "Mind your own damn business."


    Matthew scoffed. "Trust me, I''d love to. But how can I ignore you when you''ve clearly been bullied to tears? What kind of brother would I be if I just sat here and said nothing?"


    Eliza, no longer busy with her concoctions, sat calmly at the edge of the stone tform, watching them both with cool detachment.


    Hearing their bickering, she spoke up, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, he was just so responsible-drugging him, framing him. Real stand-up behavior."


    "You shut your..." Matthew began to retort, but before he could finish the sentence, a sudden spasm wracked his body, and he vomited a mouthful of blood.


    Dn leapt up, panic in his voice. "Matthew?! What''s going on?"


    He looked at Eliza outside the cage. "Serenity, you said the antidote would keep him alive!"


    "It will,” Eliza replied coolly. "That was just a bit of blood. He''s not dying."


    Seeing his reaction, she finally stood and strolled over, leaning in to observe Matthew through the bars. "Actually... not bad. Looks like my little poison brew is working quite nicely."


    "Poison brew?" The two brothers said in unison, stunned.


    They didn''t need to know the details to realize it was nothing good.


    "Eliza, you-what kind of monster are you?!" Matthew spat, only to immediately spit another mouthful of blood.


    With each burst of crimson, his face turned a shade paler. Gritting his teeth, he growled, "What the hell did you do to me?!"


    Eliza''s smile was faint, alm I sweet. "Oh, don''t be so dramatic This little trick is something I whipped up just for you- custom-made, inspired by none other than your filthy mouth. I can''t stand that trash you spew, so I created a poisonced with a special kind of parasite."


    She continued lightly, "Rx. It''s not the kind that takes over your mind-these bugs are dead. It''s more of a... behavior correction tool. If you keep your mouth shut and speak nicely, it''s as harmless as water. But the filthier your words, the stronger the reaction. Want to test it again? Ju


    , I can''t guarantee you''ll survive it."


    trapped, his rage useless.


    Sessfully unlocked!


    Matthew was seething, shaking with fury, but t Dn, still supporting him, sank back into silence.


    So... it wasn''t that Eliza hadn''t sshed the drug on him, Dn realized, but that he hadn''t insulted her, and so he hadn''t fainted.


    274 Chapter 274


    He bit his lip, lowering his head in quiet defeat.


    Matthew, struggling to stay upright, pointed a trembling finger at Eliza. “You-just wait! You''ll regret this!"


    He opened his mouth to curse her out, but the threat of another bloody episode made him mp his jaw shut and swallow the insults whole.


    Eliza just shrugged. "I''ll wait. But


    might want to focus on something a bit more pressing-like how you n to get out


    of here. It''s already been a day. Aren''t you getting hungry?"


    Her smile was cool, eyes locked on him.


    What she said was true-she''d isted the little pocket of spiritual energy within the cage, and now, after a full day without food or sustenance, Matthew''s stomach let out a loud, humiliating growl.


    His face flushed with embarrassment. ncing around, he immediately noticed the half-eaten te of food beside Dn.


    Dn instinctively pulled it back, his hand flying Dn instinctively pulled it back, his hand flying to shield the dish. "I already ate. There''s nothing left for you," he muttered, turning away.


    Somehow, he knew-if he offered food to Matthew now, Eliza would never look his way again.


    Matthew stared in disbelief, then snapped, "It''s just leftovers! And all vegetarians at that! Who the hell wants to eat your scraps anyway?!"


    “Great. Then I''ll just give the te back to Serenity," Dn said, calmly handing it


    over.


    Eliza took it from him without a word, her expression unchanged. As she turned to leave, her parting words drifted back through the cage bars. "Take your time and think it over. To bet... or not to bet?"


    Subscribe


    10 Likes