Chapter 3 Severing Ties

"Mercy?"

Eileen let out a quiet laugh, but there was not a trace of humor in her eyes. "Jason, the day you sent me to prison with your own hands, you already showed me no mercy. Whatever sibling bond we had was gone. Starting today, I have nothing to do with the Hewitt family."

Her words brought the whole room to silence. Even Natalie lifted her head in shock, and a flicker of unease crossed her eyes.

"What are you saying? You think you can just walk away from this family? Are you really willing to do that?" Landen did not believe a word of it. His voice was full of mockery. "I don't trust it, unless you-"

"Unless I give up everything from the Hewitt family?" Eileen finished the sentence for him, determination glinting in her eyes. "Fine. From this moment forward, I sever every tie with the Hewitt family. There is nothing left between us."

"Good. Very good." Jason gave a cold, mocking laugh, and his anger only grew stronger. "Since that is what you want, then I have fulfilled my duty as your brother. The Hewitt family owes you nothing now. You may leave."

Eileen did not waste a single word on him. She turned around and walked straight for the door without the slightest pause.

Halfway out, she suddenly thought of something. She had nearly no money. She did not even have enough to pay for a ride.

"Wait." Eileen came to a stop and turned back to look at Jason. "I do not have any money. Can you lend me a hundred dollars? I will pay you back in the future."

The request clearly caught Jason off guard. "You do not even have a hundred dollars?"

"No, I don't," Eileen replied evenly. "For the past four years, you have not given me a single cent."

Her words pierced straight through whatever composure Jason had left.

He said nothing for a moment, then took a bill from his wallet and held it out to her. "Take it. And do not come back here again."

Eileen took the money without thanking him and turned away once more.

Outside the house, the sunlight was still harsh and bright. A faint redness had crept into her eyes.

Today was her twenty-second birthday. It should have been a day to celebrate, yet it had become the day she cut herself off from everything in her past.

Eileen drew in a slow breath, trying to steady the storm inside her.

She swore that, one day, she would take back everything that had been owed to her over the last four years, and she would do it on her own terms.

With the hundred-dollar bill in her hand, her first thought was to book a ride, but she stopped herself.

She had nowhere to go.

After thinking for a while, she slipped a hand into the worn pocket of her clothes and pulled out an old scrap of paper.

A phone number was written on it.

Patricia Flynn, an elderly woman she had met in prison, had given it to her before she died. She had said it belonged to someone Eileen could rely on after her release.

Eileen walked over to the roadside and borrowed a phone from a passerby.

The call was answered almost at once. A calm male voice came from the other end of the line. "Hello, who is this?"

"Hello. I am a friend of Patricia Flynn," Eileen said in an even tone. "She gave me this number before she died."

There was a brief silence on the other end. Then, the man's voice grew serious.

"Please wait a moment." After a short verification, the voice returned to normal. "Patricia did leave instructions behind. Please tell me where you are. I will send a car to pick you up."

Ten minutes later, a black high-end car pulled up in front of Eileen.

A middle-aged man in a crisp suit got out and gave her a careful once-over. "Are you Patricia Flynn's friend?"

Eileen gave a small nod. "Yes."

The man dipped his head. "Please, get in. My boss is waiting for you."

The car soon rolled off at an unhurried pace. A short distance away, someone had seen the entire scene.

Marc Stewart, Jason's driver, had been smoking near the entrance when the scene caught his eye.

"Was that Eileen? She just got into a limited-edition Rolls-Royce?"

He gaped in shock, yanked out his phone to take a photo, and called Jason at once.

Inside the house, the birthday celebration had resumed, but the mood had clearly cooled down a bit.

Jason's phone began to ring. When he saw Marc's name, he knitted his brows and stepped away to pick up the call.

"What is it?"

"Mr. Hewitt, I just saw Eileen get into a Rolls-Royce. It's one of those limited models. There are only 100 in the world." Marc spoke in an urgent voice.

"A Rolls-Royce?" Jason did not buy it. "You've got to be wrong. How could someone with no money at all have such a car picking her up?"

"It's real. I took a picture. I'll send it to you right now."

Not long after, Jason received the photo.

In it, Eileen stood beside the car while a suited man held the door open for her with clear respect.

Jason's face shifted at once.

Meanwhile, the car made its way down the city's main road. Eileen sat by the window, watching the view slide past.

Four years had gone by. The city had changed greatly, yet some things stayed exactly as they had been.

Silence filled the car. The driver glanced at Eileen now and then through the rearview mirror but did not speak.

Eileen stayed quiet, too, wondering about Patricia's real identity.

During those four years in prison, the old woman had never spoken of her past. She turned every visitor away, yet she taught Eileen countless things no ordinary person would ever know.

"May I ask how long you've known Patricia?" The driver was the one who finally broke the silence.

Eileen kept her eyes on the scenery rushing by. "Four years."

"Where did you meet?"

"In prison," Eileen answered briefly and did not say anything beyond that.

At last, the car came to a stop in front of a towering office building. The driver stepped out and opened the door for Eileen. "Please follow me."

Eileen went with him into the elevator. They then headed straight for the top floor.

When the elevator doors slid open, a spacious office came into view.

A middle-aged man in a dark suit stood before the floor-to-ceiling window with his back to them.

"Mr. Gilbert, Patricia's friend is here," the driver said softly.