“You killed Nathaniel, and so much blood was spilled. Even if you cleaned it up, there would still be traces. They just need to run a DNA comparison on the blood, and they'll quickly know it belongs to Nathaniel. They'll also suspect you're the one who grabbed me.” In her mind, Eliza had just run through everything that had likely happened. Matteo had definitely made a move on Nathaniel, and that move couldn't have been bloodless. Nolan and the others would find the place she disappeared just by following the surveillance, which meant they would inevitably discover the bloodstains Nathaniel left behind. Matteo had done so much of Nathaniel's dirty work; he should know how to dispose of a body and destroy evidence. Eliza suddenly looked up. “Unless... you did it on purpose?” Matteo intentionally left the bloodstains for Nolan and the others to see? “How are you so smart? Want to guess what I'm going to do next?” “Who wants to guess what you'll do? I won't let you touch Nolan or the others!” Eliza tried to stand, but the moment she got off the bed, her legs felt weak, and she collapsed to the floor. Matteo picked up the bowl of food. “I told you, you've inhaled a large amount of ether. If you don't eat, your body will only get weaker, faster.” He walked over to her and placed the food in front of her. “Drink this. At least you'll have some strength to think about how to deal with me.” Eliza didn't believe he was being that kind. She had smelled the food earlier. Although she couldn't detect any strange odor, given Matteo's personality, he would never be this lenient with a prisoner. He must have put something in it. But to keep Matteo from noticing, Eliza simply knocked the food out of his hand, spilling it on the floor. “Who wants to drink your stuff? Get out!” Matteo's eyes darkened. He looked at the food spilled all over the floor. “You're not wrong. Because you're the Sue family's daughter, I don't dare to really do anything to you. I won't let you die here. But I also won't let you ruin my plans. Eliza, I've given you time to think. Don't make this harder than it needs to be.” “Aren't you afraid I'll come after you when I get out?” Eliza sneered. “You know that while I have a sense of agreement, I also hold a grudge. I promised to do three things for you, but if you push me too far, I can ignore those promises. Once you let me out, I will definitely have my brother deal with you. The Hartwell family might be big, but it only deals in shady business. No one in this circle respects them, and no one will respect you. When that time comes, with just a flick of his wrist, my brother can destroy everything you've worked so hard for.” “I've considered all of that.” Matteo grabbed her chin. “Actually, I just needed to kill you at the same time I killed Nathaniel. Then no one would be left to oppose me. And I guarantee, Tristan would never be able to trace your murder to me. Do you want to test that theory?” Eliza looked into his eyes and knew he wasn't joking. Matteo had been Nathaniel's cleaner for a long time. He knew exactly how to make a murder look like a suicide, or even how to dispose of a body so completely that the police could find no trace. If Matteo had really wanted her dead, he could have killed her along with Nathaniel. He could have claimed Nathaniel killed her in a panic, and he, Matteo, had simply avenged her by killing Nathaniel. In that scenario, the Sue family and Nolan might even have been grateful to him and helped him deal with the aftermath. That was clearly a better path, but Matteo hadn't taken it. He had left her alive. “Ms. Rivers, I didn't kill you. You should be grateful, not fighting me.” With that, Matteo forced the cup of water to her lips. Eliza had no time to resist, and he poured the entire cup down her throat. After watching her drink it, Matteo began cleaning up the spilled food. “There was no drug in it. You're just too wary of me. I'll give you one more chance. I'll go make a new bowl and bring it over.” After saying this, Matteo turned and left the attic. Eliza was left coughing, her face red. A few moments later, Matteo returned with another bowl of food. Seeing the bowl, Eliza still showed no intention of drinking. Matteo placed the bowl in front of her. “I told you, there's no drug. Do you need me to feed you?”