"Sia, are you guarding against me?"
Enzo stood up, leaning on the nearby chair. He seemed genuinely sincere, as if having difficulty standing due to having drunk too much. "You see, I even set the password lock on the room to your birthday number. How could I possibly harm you?"
"Then what about the emails on the computer just now?" Alessia asked.
She wouldn't blindly believe Enzo's words, only trust her own judgment.
Enzo didn't answer at her question. Instead, he picked up the cigarette box from the cabinet, took out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth.
Just as he was about to light it, he suddenly remembered something. He looked up at Alessia, who was staring at him, and took the cigarette out of his mouth, sniffing it under his nose.
After doing all this, Enzo seemed to calm down a bit. He took a few steps forward, coming to stand in front of Alessia.
Like a child admitting a mistake, he said sincerely, "Sia, I admit, initially when I led you back to the country, I had ulterior motives. But later, after confirming some things at the bar, the fishing village, and the welfare home, I changed my mind. But believe me, from start to finish, I never intended to harm you!"
Alessia paused, seizing the key point, and asked first, "What things did you confirm?"
Enzo suddenly smiled, a smile tinged with nostalgia.
"Sia, you're so sharp. Of course, I confirmed whether you had truly forgotten about me. But after I confirmed that you only had amnesia and didn't deliberately forget me, I was happy for a long time, Sia..."
As Enzo spoke, he seemed to recall something, but then hesitated and stopped, saying, "Sorry, Sia, I can't tell you the rest."
"If you say you won't harm me, why can't you tell me?" Alessia pressed, wanting to hear the whole story.
Her intuition told her that this was the closest she had been to the truth of why she had lost her memory all these years.
"Because only this way, you'll be safe," Enzo said earnestly, not seeming to be lying.
But the more he said this, the more agitated Alessia became.
Because when she left the Carter family back then, those who chased her were trying to harm her.
Alessia said seriously, "Enzo, thank you for your concern. But living without knowing anything, I'd rather die clearly. So tell me, what do those who want to harm me really want, what did they originally want from me? And my grandfather, where is he? You should know, right?"
"Yes." Enzo didn't deny it. "I know everything you're asking, but I still can't tell you."
Enzo reached out to pat Alessia's head, his eyes seemingly filled with surging emotions, desires that he wanted to express but dared not.
Alessia watched Enzo's actions, tilting her head to avoid his touch, and then pushed him away forcefully.
Enzo had been drinking, and coupled with Alessia's lack of suspicion, he fell easily onto the carpet with just a push.
Looking down at him with a dangerous look in her eyes, Alessia's tone turned icy, "Enzo, since I already knew you from before, you should know my capabilities. Now that it's just you and me here, if you won't tell me, aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
With that, she actually reached out and grabbed Enzo's neck.
Alessia's movements were quick. Though Enzo might not be able to avoid them even if he tried, he showed no sign of resistance. With eyes slightly blurred by alcohol, he didn't seem afraid, calmly gazing at Alessia.
"Sia, when you decide to do it, remember to twist to the left when you choke. It will reduce the pain by twenty percent."
After saying this, Enzo closed his eyes, waiting.
Alessia suddenly felt as if someone had grabbed her neck.
If Enzo had resisted or fought back, she might have actually gone through with it, just to scare him.
But Enzo seemed to be showing an attitude of letting her decide. She really couldn't bring herself to do it anymore.
Thinking about it seriously, apart from sending her a few emails in the name of Z, Enzo had never actually harmed her.
If it weren't for those initial emails, she wouldn't have returned to the country so soon, nor would she have found Christopher.
Enzo waited with his eyes closed for a long time, but Alessia's actions didn't come. He seemed to have known the result long ago, and smiled as he opened his eyes.
He said confidently, "Sia, I knew you wouldn't do it. You may seem cold on the outside, but inside, you're kinder than anyone. Like Hannah, when her company was about to collapse, you injected funds into her company; Dylan, when he was struggling in the mud, you helped him become a gold medal singer."
One by one, Enzo recounted the things Alessia had done.
These words sounded like praise, but Alessia felt uncomfortable, because every sentence proved that Enzo had been monitoring her all along.
Alessia's eyes flickered, suddenly realizing something. She withdrew her hand, which was still around Enzo's neck, crossed her arms, and sat on the blanket beside her.
She spoke, "So Enzo, when did I ever help you?"
Alessia's tone was resolute.
The expression on Enzo's face froze, but then he laughed and sat cross-legged on the carpet.
"Sia, are you trying to trick me? Well, I won't say anything anyway," Enzo said, not denying it. His words implied that she had indeed helped him before, but at the same time, he was adamant about not revealing anything.
Enzo moved closer to Alessia and, after yawning, said jokingly, "Sia, are you going to choke me or not? If not, I'm going to bed."
Alessia gave Enzo a cold glare. She didn't want to choke him; she just wanted to drag him out and feed him to the dogs.
"Sia, your gaze isn't scary at all, and I'm not afraid at all. If you're not going to choke me, then I'm going back to sleep," Enzo said, seemingly understanding the meaning behind Alessia's gaze.
Enzo seemed to have interpreted Alessia's expression, as he got up, stretched lazily, and then lay down on the bed.
Less than a minute later, he was snoring.
Alessia took a deep breath, got up, and looked around the room again.
Enzo seemed unreliable on the surface, like a troublemaker, but in reality, he was clever and had everything under control.
He dared to sleep in front of her, which meant there was no value in searching the room further.
Alessia narrowed her eyes, deciding to leave the room first.
She walked to the door, about to close it, when Enzo, lying on the bed, murmured as if in a daze.
"Sia, maintain the status quo and don't do anything. I'll protect you."
Alessia's hand on the doorknob paused for a moment before she decisively closed the door completely.
She wasn't concerned about her own well-being; she was worried about Elle's health.
As long as Elle's prenatal toxin remained unresolved, her worries would never fade.
So she was determined not to listen to Enzo.
Enzo was Z. Although he was unwilling to say anything, he was the breakthrough point.
Alessia went downstairs and stood at the staircase, sending a message to M, who was overseas.
She asked M to dig deeper into Enzo's background and the events surrounding his abduction to see if they could uncover anything else.
Alessia didn't plan to use hacking techniques herself; she wanted M to handle it. Enzo was clearly proficient in hacking if he could anonymously send her so many emails.
Letting M take action was like flushing out the snake.
Since Enzo was still working in the lab, it would be better for her to supervise personally.
After sending the message, Alessia returned to the living room on the ground floor.
The rain outside had stopped, and Riley, who had fallen asleep on the sofa, was now sitting up like a zombie.
Alessia had just come downstairs, and he looked over.
If Alessia hadn't had a strong mental fortitude, she might have been scared into fainting on the spot.
Alessia walked over and sat down next to Riley. "When did you wake up?"
Riley's drunkenness had completely worn off by now. He glanced upstairs and then back at Alessia. "Where did you go just now? And what about Enzo?"
"Enzo got drunk, so I helped him back to his room upstairs to sleep," Alessia replied.
"For so long?" Riley frowned, clearly unhappy.
Alessia suddenly had nothing to say. What did he mean by 'for so long'? Well, she did spend quite a while up there, but nothing had happened between her and Enzo.
Riley's expression made it seem like he had caught them doing something.
But then again, wasn't he the one who wanted to set her up with Enzo? Why was he acting differently now?
Alessia wasn't in the mood to pursue this trivial matter. She asked, "Are you going back? Do you want to leave?"
At Alessia's words, Riley slowly took off his glasses and placed them on the nearby table. He calmly lay back down on the sofa and said, "No, I'll stay. We'll talk about it in the morning."
Alessia couldn't help but roll her eyes.
She could only say that at different times of the day, Riley was like two different people.
Glancing at the time, she saw that it was already three in the morning.
Mrs. Cate had long since retired to her room, so it wasn't convenient to call her now. The children were all at the old house, and there was nothing urgent to go back for.
After thinking for a moment, Alessia decided to find a random guest room to sleep in.
The next morning, after the rain, the weather was unusually cool.
It was only six o'clock, but Dominic was already awake.
He had been in a daze all night, so he was very aware that there had been no cars passing by outside the entire night.
Alessia hadn't come back all night.
This was a serious problem!
***