Lin sat shocked on the sofa

Oliver stared at him from his seat beside Mai. Seeing Lin wouldn't be changing his facial expression for a while, he turned to look at Mai and squeezed her hand.

He held Mai's hand the whole time he told Lin about the possibility of Mai having psychic abilities. Of course he had to run tests first to confirm it, though the mere fact that Norringbent attacked her already made Oliver believe that she had ESP.

He could still recall the information he found about Norringbent's victims. Many of them were potential mediums based on the interviews that he got from the victims' family and friends. Some were paranormally sensitive having experiences with feeling or seeing ghosts.

The fact that most of them had brown hair, and that only the brown-haired victims were raped, was an indication of Norringbent's consciousness being twisted by the demon possessing him.

Norringbent's sister – Oswald's mother – had brown hair.

Oliver sighed as he watched Mai sleep.

He told Lin about the dreams that Mai had according to Florence. He also told him about Mai's encounter with the girl named Lyra in the Norringbent mansion's kitchen.

Of course Lin wasn't that dense. He asked if Oliver knew about Mai's abilities even before that night since he noticed how bothered Oliver was ever since he met her again.

Oliver later ended up telling Lin about how he found Gene.

Lin looked up at Oliver. "You're sure she never met Gene before?" he asked.

Oliver glared at Lin. "Are you telling me I'm stupid?"

"No! No...I..." Lin shook his head. "I just can't believe it."

"Perhaps now you know why I can't confide everything to everyone," Oliver said turning away from Lin to look at Mai once more.

Lin sighed. "The professor might change his mind about her if he knew about this."

Oliver smirked. "Are you sure about that?"

Lin stiffened.

The professor was as stubborn as Oliver. He would most likely find a way to prove that Mai was bad for his son. And if he knew about Gene, he might put Mai under investigation in the police. After all, they haven't found his murderer. Since Mai knew where Gene's body was, the professor might suspect that she was involved in Gene's death.

But if they run tests on Mai and they prove that she was paranormally sensitive, perhaps that might change!

"Why do you think someone like her would help me?" Oliver asked still looking at Mai.

Lin stared confused at Oliver.

"She doesn't know me," he said. "I'm a stranger to her. All she knew was that I came from England. Years after she helped me, I meet her here. I care for her. Why do you think I'm caring for her? I've never cared for anyone other than my family."

Lin looked away.

Oliver was right. Mai would seem like an opportunist and Oliver someone trying to return what he owed her.

"If you explained," Lin said. But he couldn't find the words to make it a complete sentence.

"No," Oliver said. "...If I proved."

Lin looked shocked at Oliver. "What are you planning to do?"

Oliver didn't answer. He just traced small circles around Mai's cheek using the tip of his fingers.

"Can I sleep now?" he asked, glancing at Lin.

Lin sighed and nodded.

He would just have to be more vigilant with Oliver.

Oliver climbed up the bed and took his place beside Mai. He once again wrapped one arm over her sleeping form, and twined his fingers with hers.

After making sure that Oliver was asleep, Lin stood up and lifted the blanket up to cover Oliver's shoulders.


"You are pregnant?" Mai heard Elbert exclaim from behind her.

She turned around and found herself in a meadow.

The brown-haired woman sat down on a blanket with a young boy sleeping deeply on her lap. Elbert was standing a few feet away, glaring at the woman.

"He is stealing your family," Mai heard an eerie high-pitched voice whisper.

Mai cringed. It sounded like the voice she heard in the Norringbent mansion hallway.

...Hallway...

...Mai felt like she had forgotten something very important...

"Elbert, he is my husband," the woman reasoned.

"Did he force you?" Elbert asked. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," the woman said scowling at Elbert. "Elbert I...I love him. I love him and he is my husband."

Elbert shook his head. "He told you it was your responsibility," he muttered.

"NO!" the woman cried out. "Elbert, listen to me, please," she said covering the sleeping boy's ear with her hand. "He did not tell me that. He did not tell me anything. I begged him to do it."

"What?" Elbert exclaimed suddenly standing stiffly. "You...what..?"

"He is a good man," the woman said shyly looking down at the sleeping boy on her lap. "He is a good husband. He is a good father. And I...Elbert I love him."

Elbert shook his head. "No...NO YOU DO NOT LOVE HIM! Our parents forced you into this marriage!"

"Elbert is it not possible for me to fall for my husband of five years?" the woman asked.

Elbert stood shocked at the woman in front of him.

Mai noticed the tears that were sliding down Elbert's cheeks.

The woman sadly looked at Elbert. "Elbert...Brother, please..."

Elbert winced and looked away.

Mai covered her lips from uttering a word and watched the scene sadly.

"Brother..."

Mai watched Elbert walk away from the woman.

"Brother...what..?" Mai heard a man say from behind her.

She turned to look again and found herself in a dark alley. She gasped at the sight of the man – the woman's husband – on the pavement. Blood was streaming down the side of his lips. Elbert stood in front of him, glaring daggers at the man.

"Quit it," Elbert shouted.

"He is stealing your family," Mai heard the eerie high-pitched voice whisper once more.

"You are stealing my family!" Elbert exclaimed.

"What," the man asked. "I do not understand. Bro–"

Mai gasped.

Elbert hit the man with a steel pipe. The man fell on the pavemet crying in pain. Seeing blood stream down the side of his left eye confirmed that the pipe hit his head.

"You touched her!" Elbert yelled.

"I love her," the man shakily said. "I am sorry this pains you...but I love her. You know I always have."

"He is stealing your family," Mai heard the eerie high-pitched voice whisper again.

"NO!" Mai shouted seeing Elbert lift the pipe again.

"Please no!" the man begged. "Oswald–"

"OSWALD IS MY SON," Elbert yelled – his voice sounding more like a low-pitched growl. His eyes were red in fury. "I AM NOT HIS UNCLE! I AM HIS FATHER! AND SHE IS MINE!"

"Kill him," Mai heard the the eerie high-pitched voice whisper.

"NO!" Mai exclaimed seeing the pipe hit the man's head.