She tried to bury the demon of her past but unfortunately, there were times that it was still haunting her, in a form of nightmare.
'Elle, my daughter, please believe in yourself. Don't let these sc.u.ms destroy you with their lies. Get a grip of yourself.'
Phantom's face was painted with worries and concerns. He was still hugging Elle when he felt that she finally moved. He released her and held her shoulders to look at her.
Elle's expression was back to normal. Her empty eyes a while ago were now filled with life. She was smiling at Phantom with a grateful look coming from her eyes.
Phantom's hug helped Elle to escape from that darkness which was drowning her at that moment. She felt the familiar fatherly love from that embrace. If her father was alive, he would also do that to make her feel better.
"Sorry Master for making you worry. I am okay now. Thank you for comforting me." She said to Phantom as she felt grateful to him.
For the darkest hours and desperate times of her life, Phantom was always there for her. He saved her many times. He took care of her even though they were not blood-related.
"Are you back to your self now?" Phantom asked her, observing her reactions. Elle smiled faintly at him and nodded as her response.
Phantom turned to Charles and urged him to continue interrogating the two men. Charles felt relieved when he saw that Elle was just fine.
Elle's gaze fell to those two blindfolded men tied down on the chairs. There was a hint of hostility and hatred that could be seen in her dark eyes.
"Will you release us now? We already answered your question." Carlo said to Charles impatiently.
"Yes, can you do that? We are telling you the truth. We don't know who is the mastermind behind that attack to Falcon's household. You should ask our leader, Alfonso Ramirez." Diego was desperately washing their hands in front of them, pointing the blame to their former gang leader.
"There were eight of you. I will be collecting your debts one by one, together with the interest. You had lived in luxury for the past few years. This is the time you must suffer and be punished accordingly." Elle spoke up, clenching her fists.
Everyone could feel the frightening aura by just hearing her words. Diego and Carlo were both astonished to hear the woman's voice. They were curious about who is she. Since they were blindfolded their curiosity was heightened.
'Who are these people? What is their relationship with the Falcon family? They knew what happened from the past. What are they planning to do with us?'
These were the thoughts running in their minds right now. They were tongue-tied because of the fear of their lives. These people could do anything they want and even kill them right at this moment.
"Since you can't give us the answer that we want, I think we should not waste any more time here," Elle said nonchalantly that made the two men tremble in fear.
Carlo: "What are you going to do with us? You said you will release us!"
Diego: "You f*cking traitors!"
Carlo and Diego began to struggle from their restraints. Elle gave Charles and Phantom a meaningful glance. Seeing that, they already knew what to do.
"Call our men," Phantom said to Charles. Charles nodded before he left the room. Phantom started to beat Carlo and Diego, venting his anger to them. He threw hard punches to their jaws and strong kicks to their abdomens.
The whimper and groan of the two men and the sound of punches and kicks hitting their bodies could be heard inside the room. Elle was just watching on the sideline. There was a flare of anger in her eyes. She could hear the plea of the two men, asking Phantom to stop beating them. They were both in pain.
'When I pleaded you to stop beating my parents, you never did. I want you to feel the same helplessness that I felt at that time.' Elle thought to herself.
Phantom just stopped beating Diego and Carlo when Charles came back along with the ten men. These men were the henchmen of Phantom. They knew Phantom but Elle's identity as Catseye was hidden from them.
These men were also well-trained. They were organized personally by Phantom. They were working in shadow, doing the task coming from Phantom.
They made a slight bow, greeting Phantom respectfully. He just nodded at them as a response. He turned his gaze to Carlo and Diego who were both panting heavily. They were still writhing in pain.
"Do you still remember the girl whom you s.e.x.u.a.lly assaulted during that attack? Marites, that is her name. Now I want you to feel her pain." Elle said as a sinister smile appeared on her face.
"Boys… you can now take it from here. We will now leave them in your hands. Please enjoy."
After saying that, Elle started to walk away, leaving that room. Charles and Phantom also followed her behind. As they left the room, they still heard the screaming of those two men insides along with the peals of laughter coming from their henchmen.
"No! Don't touch me! Ahhh! "
"Ah! F*ck you. I swear I will kill-- Ahhhh!"
When the three of them reached their car, Elle spoke up again to give them her instruction for their next move.
"Master, after our men are done with their task, hand over those sc.u.ms to the police. Carlo Vello is already wanted so they will catch him right away." Elle was referring to Vello's trafficking and prostitution case.
"As for Diego, we should also reveal his illegal activities. Give the press and the police authorities the proof of the dirty works of his lending company. People should know how Diego is taking advantage of the small businessmen and other individuals, their abusive way, and threats against their clients. By doing this, their victims will also have the courage to sue his company."
"Alright. Just leave everything to me and Charles. You should go home now and rest." Phantom softly said to her.
He was still concerned about Elle. However, he was confident that Erick would be there for her to cheer her up.
Elle turned to Charles "Same arrangement like before. Send a message and money to Marites's family. I also want you to deliver something to his former fiance."
"Aye, Ma'am! Understood." Charles simply said.
"Ahem, can I ask you something, Elle?" Charles added.
Charles was curious to know. He wanted to ask Elle regarding what happened to her past. He did not want to admit, but deep inside he was bothered by the statements given by Diego and Carlo.
He knew Elle won't kill her own father but he wanted to hear it from her that those two were just lying. There was also a possibility that those two just made up that story but Charles still had his doubt.
"What is it?" Elle was waiting for him to speak up.
Charles paused for a moment as he stared at Elle intently. He was a little bit hesitant. Phantom gave Charles a warning look.
"Hehe… I just want to ask how did you able to come today? I thought Erick won't allow you to leave the house?" Charles said shyly as he scratched his nose. In the end, he was not able to bring up his question.
"I just said to him that I will be gone for one hour. I told him it's work-related so he did not ask me further. Since tomorrow both of us will be coming back to work so he also allowed me to leave the house today." Elle explained to him.
"Ah okay."
"So I have to leave now and go home. I promise him that I will be back after an hour. I will leave everything to the both of you. Thanks for your help." Elle bade them goodbye.
"No need to mention it," Charles said softly.
Then after their conversation, Elle left them and went home by herself. On the other hand, Phantom and Charles would do the remaining groundwork.
"Master…" Charles wanted to ask Phantom.
"Don't ask her about her past. It is difficult for her to talk about it. You will just open up her wound. It's a good choice that you didn't mention it a while ago." Phantom said to Charles as he knew what was running to his mind right now.
"Wait for her to open up. She will talk to us once she is ready. But don't ever force her." Phantom warned him.
"I know Master. I am sorry about that." Charles looked down as he was aware of his mistake.
Phantom patted his shoulder.
"Don't be sad. Elle is doing fine. Aside from us, there is someone beside her to whom she can truly express herself, someone she can lean on." Phantom assured Charles.
Charles smiled at him. 'Master Phantom is right. She has Erick now. Elle became happier because of him.'