Chapter 5

Eliza ran out of the building, looking up, she realized that this was the biggest hotel in Boston, The Grand Lexington. She had come down from the seventeenth floor, the most expensive floor in the entire hotel, which cost several thousand per night. Damn it! She resisted the urge to call the police. What could she explain? As long as the other person denies it, in this society, it would just bring shame upon herself and become the topic of gossip for others. She hailed a cab and hurried back to her rented apartment. A small two-bedroom flat, where she shared a room with her best friend, Lila, and her boyfriend Jake was in the other room. What she was most worried about now was how to face Jake? He didn't pick her up yesterday, was he angry? She stood at the door, without the courage to open it. She didn't know whether to keep it from him or to admit it honestly. She had been in a relationship with Jake for over a year; he had once proposed such a request, but she had refused. Now unexpectedly, she was with a stranger... she dared not think any further. Just when she was at a loss, the landlord came out from the opposite side. When he saw her, he said discontentedly, "Eliza, if you're moving out, you should not take my stuff too!" Eliza was taken aback. She could read lips, and the landlord was saying - Moving out! What's going on? She quickly turned around, opened the door, and the room was already extremely messy. The TV and refrigerator were all gone. She rushed into the room, found her belongings scattered on the floor, her backpack was turned upside down, all the items had fallen out. Only a few scattered bills lay pitifully underneath the wallet, and none of her cards were left. Looking around, all of Lila and Jake's belongings had disappeared. "I'm telling you, Eliza, you still haven't paid me two months' rent. I have pity on you as a student coming from other places, so I didn't urge you. But how could you be so heartless? You took all my refrigerator and TV but also didn't spare the mirror in the bathroom?" The landlord was grabbing her arm and complaining, but Eliza's mind was already blank. Yesterday, Lila said she had a show to attend, but it clashed with another high-paying gig. Not going would affect her reputation, so she asked Eliza to substitute for her. Eliza and Lila are of similar height, and she had helped her in several shows before. Hence, without thinking too much, she let Jake take her there. Before leaving, like always, he handed her a bottle of chrysanthemum tea in a drink bottle. Yes, it was that bottle of tea; after drinking it, she gradually got those strange feelings and then the incidents that followed! She's not stupid; she knows she was betrayed! Betrayed by the person she loved the most and her best friend! She weakly lifted her hand, touching her eardrum; when she was six years old, her ear was injured, which resulted in complete loss of hearing in the right ear, and her hearing was limited in the left ear. The doctor diagnosed her as hard of hearing. In a slightly noisy environment, she couldn't hear someone talking clearly. The hearing aid, which she had lost yesterday, was bought after saving some money for a long time. It cost over ten thousand for a piece. All those cards, Jake knew the password. Their money was stored together as they planned to buy a house and get married next year. Where could she now get money to buy another hearing aid, and to pay the rent? Anger began to burn in her heart. She stood up and was about to rush out. She was going to call the police and definitely claim her justice. "Hey, Eliza, don't leave, you have to explain this to me.”