A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 369

When they sat down at the table, Suzanne saw that three or four of the seven dishes were seafood: steamed shrimp, seared scallops, steamed crab, and a seafood chowder. She instantly understood her daughter's intentions.

Elissa, unaware, tried a bit of everything. A flicker of disappointment crossed Suzanne's eyes, but Laurel wasn't finished. Her voice was naturally cool, yet not unfriendly. "Dr. Drummond, do many of your patients have seafood allergies?"

"Quite a few," Elissa answered honestly, not thinking anything of it. "Seafood is one of the most common allergies." She herself had been allergic as a child, until a teacher had prescribed a course of herbal medicine and acupuncture that had cured her. Since then, she could eat anything.

Just as Laurel was about to ask another question, Suzanne cut her off. "That's enough. Let Dr. Drummond eat. She needs to get home and rest."

By the end of the meal, Elissa was pleasantly full. Watching her eat had even improved Suzanne's own appetite, and she finished her entire bowl of medicinal soup.

After Elissa left, Suzanne looked at Laurel. "Have you gone mad like me?" For years, every time she met a young woman around Vera's age, she would interrogate them relentlessly. Laurel had always been the one to tell her to stop. She didn't know what had gotten into her this time.

Laurel was silent for a moment. "Maybe." If she had gone with her parents to Crestwave City all those years ago, if there had been one more person to watch Vera, maybe she wouldn't have been lost.

Suzanne sighed. "Didn't Jesse say you looked into Elissa's background?" Jesse had asked Laurel for help confirming some of Elissa's credentials, and Laurel, being efficient, had run a full background check. The results had forced Suzanne to give up hope.

Laurel nodded. "I did." The girl had had a rough life. Her parents died when she was five, she'd lived in an orphanage, and then she was adopted by the Murphy family. Her background seemed solid, but just like her mother, Laurel had felt an instant connection to Elissa the moment she saw her.

Laurel picked up the family portrait, her finger tracing Vera's face. A sudden, unexpected wave of grief washed over her.

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