Chapter 20: New Identity

Charles soon found out that Catseye's Mission failed. He investigated further when Elle didn't return that day.

He visited the location where the assassination was supposed to happen. Proof that the encounter happened was evident in the place.

He started to worry. He did not know yet the whereabouts of Elle. He also went to one of the skull gang territories with his full disguise.

He became more uneasy when he found out that James Arison was very well and alive.

"Could Elle really be dead? It is impossible! I can't believe this. It can't be true!", he said to himself. "Argh...I am getting a headache! It is very unusual for Elle to fail her mission. It was definitely a trap." He talked to himself as he massaged his temple.

No wonder their client never contacted him again. It seemed like the transaction never happened.

He balled his fist from anger. They were too careless.

"They fooled us. I blame her for being too arrogant and overconfident! Haist... how can I explain this to Master Phantom? I need to find her no matter what." He was now worried sick.

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Meanwhile, in the Hospital, the source of Charles's headache was currently having her meal while watching TV.

Her private room had a TV screen for patient's entertainment. Elle's color returned to normal. She was not pale anymore. She was recovering well.

She was bored and wanted to leave but she couldn't because of her situation right now.

She must not act recklessly especially now that police and other law enforcement authorities were involved.

If she disappeared right now, she would really look suspicious. Based on her assumption, the detective who found her would never stay put and he will do anything to investigate and dig deeper for the truth.

One mistake and he could see through her lies since he looked so intelligent and smart.

"I should focus on recovering right now. Until then, Skull Gang and Black Shadow will have the taste of my wrath. They should be ready for the Devil's return. I will make sure to make them pay for this ten times." she said as a bone-chilling smile appeared on her face.

She was busy plotting in her mind a lot of ways to make Skull Gang and Black Shadow suffer when three persons entered her room, one was the detective who saved her, the other was wearing a doctor's uniform and one was wearing the same uniform with Erick.

She guessed they were colleagues and almost of the same age.

The three men's physical appearances were all pleasant in the eyes however there was one who really stood out, it was Erick.

The three of them smiled upon seeing her. Her sharp gaze welcomed them.

Bryan stopped in his track unconsciously when he noticed her cold gaze, he could feel a chilly aura emanating from her.

His smile became awkward. Erick was used to her cold treatment before so he didn't mind it at all. Dr. Gomez was the one who spoke first.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"I'm good." she simply replied.

"I heard from Erick that you can't remember anything. Don't worry! The result of your CT scan is normal and it seems like your head was not hurt during the incident."

"Your memory loss might be temporary which was caused by your traumatic experience. It is some sort of your defense mechanism to forget those unwanted and unpleasant memories."

"You will recover your memory, so focus on your recovery first." Dr. Gomez explained to her spontaneously.

"I understand doc. Thank you". she said while trying her best to smile.

"Ok, if you need something and you feel uncomfortable our nurses here are always on standby and ready to assist you. Just push that intercom beside you which is connected to the nurse station and just tell them what you need. I have to leave first." Elle just nodded and Dr. Gomez bade them his farewell before he left.

After a while, Erick broke the silence as he felt the awkward atmosphere when Dr. Gomez left. The natural talker Bryan was standing on his side very silently and well behaved.

"This is my colleague Bryan" Erick introduced Bryan to Elle.

Bryan didn't know why he felt intimidated by the woman in front of him. "Hello! Nice meeting you."

Bryan tried his best to sound normal despite the uneasiness he felt around her.

She just nodded and smiled which served as her reply. Bryan felt relieved seeing her smile.

'It is just my imagination. She looks friendly. I was nervous for nothing.' he thought to himself.

"Sorry to disturb your rest but can you give us some time? We have something to discuss with you." Erick politely asked her.

"It's okay. Go ahead, tell me." Elle said in response.

"I found you bleeding in the middle of the highway going to city Z. Based on your wound someone stabbed you and shot you in the shoulder. Someone wanted you dead. Since you can't remember anything, for now, we didn't know the reason and their motives."

Erick stated as he stared at her intently observing her reaction. He was concerned that she might not want to talk about it.

She seemed interested to hear everything so he continued.

"A day after your operation, two men were looking for you at the hospital. They disguised as hospital staff and they knocked down the two police officers that I requested to guard you. I heard that their boss ordered them to get you and bring you with them.

"If our Chief didn't arrive on time, they would have successfully abducted you from the hospital. You were still unconscious at that time. They fought back, that's why they were killed. We found out that those men were members of an organization called "Skull Gang." Bryan joined in the conversation.

Elle was startled for a moment and frowned. Skull Gang was able to track her location in a short period. They were indeed capable.

She realized she was saved again by this detective. If not for him, maybe she was now being tortured by James Arison's men or Black Shadow to make her talk about the mastermind in Jorge Arison's assassination.

"Your life is in danger. They will not stop until they get what they want from you. That is why we are here to talk to you about your situation."

"We would like to ask for your cooperation. This is for your own sake, for your safety and protection. Can you trust us?" Erick asked her with a concerned look in his eyes.

Elle had no choice but to say yes. She must act accordingly so she nodded in agreement.

"What are you going to do? What are your plans?" she asked them.

"For the time being, I will serve as your guardian. I want you to stay with me for a while until your memory returns and we make sure that Skull Gang will not threaten your life again." Erick said to her.

"We need to hide you, you need to assume another identity, and what happened to you last night should remain secret and confidential from others so that they can't track you easily. Since you can't remember your name we should give you one. What if we call you Ericka". Bryan suggested.

Erick glared at him and shook his head.

'Can't he come up with a nice name? Why did he have to name her with a girl version of his name Erick? Tsk Tsk.'

Upon noticing Erick's glare, Bryan smiled at him sheepishly. Erick gave him a warning look then he focused his attention back on Elle.

A name... she thought for a while and came up with one name in mind.

"Jasmine," she said.

Upon hearing it, both men smiled at her in agreement. "It's a nice name. I think it suits you well... Jasmine." Erick looked at her with gentleness.

Elle was stunned in a moment as she heard him call her 'Jasmine'. It sounded good and pleasant.

She suddenly felt something deep in her heart....' Longing'.

She didn't know why but at that moment she suddenly blurted out unconsciously her mother's name 'Jasmine'.