Chapter 317
Would Elijah and Lucas actually believe a story like that?
Yet, if she didn’t lie, how else was she supposed to explain it?
Before Suzy could even figure out how to frame it to the two men, Leonard stepped forward to defend her.
"Suzy wouldn’t lie. If she says it happened, it’s the truth! She had no grudge against Aaron—she even saved his life. Why on earth would she attack him unprovoked? Aaron must have struck first, and Suzy only defended herself."
Derek quickly chimed in. "Exactly. Suzy had absolutely no reason to go after Aaron."
Though Thomas remained silent, he nodded in firm agreement. They trusted Suzy unconditionally.
However, their defense did nothing to appease Elijah and Lucas. Instead, the two men’s expressions grew increasingly hostile.
"She’s your family, so of course you’re going to take her side."
"We know Aaron too. I’d stake my life on the fact that he isn’t the kind of kid who would turn on his savior. He’s just not capable of it!" Elijah’s voice cracked, choked with emotion.
How could Aaron be that malicious? Suzy had saved his life; he should have been overflowing with gratitude, not stabbing her in the back.
The standoff was something no one had anticipated, and Leonard fell silent at Elijah’s words. Over the past weeks, they had all come to know Aaron, and they knew he wasn’t that kind of person either.
But if that was true, how did they end up here?
The atmosphere ground to a tense, agonizing deadlock.
Right then, the unconscious Noah began to stir.
"Noah, you’re awake!"
Feeling the movement in his arms, Liam was overcome with relief. His exclamation instantly drew everyone’s attention.
The group gathered around them. Seeing the little boy open his eyes helped lift a fraction of the heavy gloom suffocating the air. Aaron’s fate was a tragedy, but that was a separate matter. Noah was still just a child, and no one wanted to see him come to harm.
"Noah, how do you feel?" Liam asked anxiously.
Noah shrank slightly deeper into his brother’s embrace and shook his head. "I’m okay, turned around..." He opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat.
"What is it?" Liam urged gently. "If something’s wrong, you can tell me."
Noah shook his head again, looking torn.
Deciding not to press him, Liam gently pivoted the conversation. "Noah, do you remember what happened right before you blacked out?"
At the mention of it, Noah’s face drained of color. He looked up, his gaze sweeping across the group until it landed on Suzy’s pale face. A flicker of worry flashed in his eyes.
"It was... Aaron who brought me out here."
The boy’s words landed like a bombshell, shattering the quiet courtyard.
Except for Suzy, everyone froze in absolute shock. Suzy already knew the truth—that Aaron had used the boy as bait specifically to lure her out and kill her. But the others had never even considered the possibility. They hadn’t wanted to think the worst of Aaron because they trusted him.
Now, Noah’s words flipped everything on its head.
"What did you say?" Liam asked, his voice laced with disbelief. "Say that again. Who brought you out?"
"Aaron. Aaron brought me out," Noah repeated, his tone entirely serious. "I remember it perfectly. I didn’t want to leave, but he told me to behave. He said something happened to you, and I thought you were really hurt."
"Liam... why would Aaron do that?" Noah’s voice began to crack with tears.
He could never have imagined that Aaron would hurt him. In truth, the moment he was dragged into that abandoned building, he had realized what was happening. He was lucky Suzy had saved him, but the betrayal was still too heavy to bear. Having spent so much time with Aaron, he had trusted him completely. He never expected Aaron to turn on him. The betrayal dealt a severe blow to the young boy’s heart.
Lucas and Elijah were entirely staggered.
"Noah, tell us one more time. Who took you?"
Noah looked straight at them, his expression dead serious. "It was Aaron."
"Are you absolutely sure?"
"I’m sure. It was him."
"How... how could this happen?" Elijah stood rooted to the spot, entirely dazed.
First, Suzy claimed Aaron had tried to murder her. Now, Noah was confirming that Aaron was the one who kidnapped him from the safety of their home. Elijah hadn’t even processed the first blow before the second struck him like a thunderbolt.
Yet, he still couldn’t wrap his head around the why. Why would the Aaron they knew do something like this? He wasn’t that kind of person!
Looking at the two men’s utterly shattered expressions, Suzy hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Is it possible... that the Aaron we saw today wasn’t actually the Aaron we knew?"
Her words instantly drew everyone’s eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" Elijah pressed immediately.
Suzy carefully chose her words. "I could feel it... the Aaron who tried to kill me felt like a completely different person from the one I knew before. Have you ever heard of body possession?"
"Possession? Are you saying Aaron was possessed? How is that even possible?" Lucas found her theory completely absurd. That was the stuff of web novels and movies.
Elijah, however, didn’t dismiss it immediately. Something seemed to click in his mind, and his expression shifted subtly.
By now, the snow was falling heavier, and the sky was darkening rapidly. Ash-gray clouds hung incredibly low, nearly scraping the ground. The temperature plummeted rapidly, a clear sign that the sky was brewing a massive blizzard.
Thomas looked up at the sky, his brow furrowed tight. "We can’t stay out here any longer," he cut in. "Let’s head back inside first. We can figure the rest out later."
Looking at the sky, the group realized the danger of the looming storm. Without a word, they slowly pulled themselves up.
Lucas and Elijah hoisted Aaron’s body. Even if they couldn’t bring him back into the building, they needed to find a proper place to bury him. Recognizing their intentions, Leonard and the others refrained from objecting. The group silently made their way back toward Building 8.
Derek swept Suzy up into his arms. She didn’t protest, resting her head quietly against his chest. Her body was exhausted, and her heart felt heavier than ever.
Killing Aaron brought her no joy. What weighed on her even more was the terrifying realization that they could simply hijack the bodies of the people around her next time, striking a fatal blow when she least expected it.
Damn this universe. Why couldn’t it just let her survive in peace?
Hurrying against the biting wind, the group finally made it back to Building 8.
Bill was already waiting downstairs. Seeing Noah safe in Liam’s arms, a faint smile touched his eyes. Thank goodness he was safe.
But a moment later, his eyes fell upon Aaron’s corpse.