NovelOnlineStaring at the people in front of her, Lisa widened her eyes in shock. "What are you all doing here? Didn't you go to the fireworks show? Why am | all tied up? What happened?" "Lisa, don't you remember anything?" Aurelia asked, concern lacing her voice.
Lisa shook her head, her blond locks swaying. "I just remember taking a walk, then feeling incredibly tired. My head was so heavy...
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt| just hit the sack as soon as | got back to my room." Aurelia nodded at her bodyguard, who promptly loosened the ropes binding Lisa.
To prevent any rash actions, Leopold instinctively shielded Aurelia behind his back.
Beverley chimed in, "Lisa, someone hypnotized you to whack your Aurelia." "What?" Lisa jumped up from her chair, racing her heart. That explained the ropes.
She couldn't even squash a bug without wincing. How could she harm anyone, let alone Aurelia? She turned as pale as a ghost.
Shaking her head vigorously, Lisa trembled with fright. "It's impossible. How could | hurt Aurelia? Why can't | remember anything? | was just sleeping!" There was nothing more terrifying in the world than committing a heinous act and having no recollection of it.
"You were hypnotized, of course you wouldn't know," Skyler interjected. "Under hypnosis, you're like a puppet on strings, acting solely on the hypnotist's commands." Beverley raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's hypnosis and not, like, possession?" Skyler spread his hands. "Whether ghosts are real remains a mystery, but hypnosis? That's legit." Scratching her head, Beverley pondered, "Who would hypnotize Lisa and send her after Aurelia?" A cold glint flashed in Aurelia's eyes. Someone was going to great lengths to take her out.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmLeopold had the bodyguard take the milkshake for analysis.
To their horror, it was laced with cyanide, a sip of which would have been lethal.
Arnold urged Lisa to recall her encounters throughout the day.
Lisa thought it over and replied, "lI was mostly with you guys. Just at dusk, | went for a stroll alone. | bumped into Skyler by the garden downstairs. We chatted, and then | cback up. | didn't meet any strangers." Skyler's heart skipped a beat. "You met me? How? I've been in my room since coming back from Fairytale Park, playing games with everyone. | haven't stepped out." Beverley nodded, "Skyler has been with us all evening and telling ghost stories. He didn't leave." Aurelia and Leopold exchanged a glance. "What did this Skyler say to you?" Lisa massaged her throbbing temples. "I can't remember much, just that he handeda candy cane. But it was definitely Skyler.
Why else would he greet me?" Skyler slapped his forehead. "It's Geoffrey. It has to be. He followed us here and impersonated me." Aurelia jolted her heart. Wasn't Geoffrey supposed to have disguised himself as Raines? Had they been wrong all along and the fake Raines wasn't Geoffrey? Skyler continued, "Geoffrey's hypnosis skills are top-notch. He can put you under without you even noticing, turning you into his puppet to carry out his premeditated plans." A realization dawned on Aurelia and she gasped, "Nova didn't see a ghost. It was Geoffrey. She saw someone who looked exactly like Skyler, which shocked her. She wanted to tell Skyler, that's why she was pulling him aside to talk." Suddenly, Nova's bizarre behavior made sense.
Beverley bobbed his head vigorously, "Right! Nova didn't see a ghost but saw someone who's a dead ringer for Skyler."
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