Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
“Alright, speak up. If you’re honest, I might just let you walk away,” Linsey replied, ready to agree if it meant tarnishing Sarah’s reputation in Landon’s eyes. After all, involving the police wasn’t necessary if she could leverage the Brooks family’s clout to handle the man quietly later.
Tears streamed down the man’s face as he spoke. “I feared Leila would reveal the truth, so I attempted to kill her. She was constantly demanding money, and I simply couldn’t afford it…”
Linsey’s face stiffened with shock. “What did you just say? Repeat that. If you’re not willing to speak the truth now, would you rather confess at the police station?”
“I am speaking the truth! I even recorded our last phone conversation. Listen to it yourself!” the man exclaimed, raising his voice.
Linsey quickly sifted through his phone, locating the most recent call recording. The timestamp confirmed it was the call from Sarah.
“Calm down. I’ll secure another fifty thousand for you to hand over to Leila. Just don’t do anything rash, okay?” Sarah’s voice quivered with urgency through the recording.
“If I hand over five hundred thousand this time, that woman will only come back for more! How am I supposed to keep up?” the man replied, his voice laden with despair.
“But she’s Landon’s wife! We’re talking about life and death here! You can’t treat this lightly,” Sarah implored.
“So what? I’m at my wit’s end! The confidential information she provided fetched only two hundred thousand, but she’s blackmailed me for a million! She’s threatening to tell Landon and have him take my life!” The man’s voice resonated with despair in the audio recording.
“If it’s between being killed by Landon or driven to death by her, I’d rather not go down alone. Don’t worry about me! Go on, tell Landon if you must. See if he spares me!” With those final words, the man ended the call, and the recording stopped.
“I have more evidence!” the man on the floor shouted again. “Leila’s texts are all on my phone. I’ve kept every single one!”
“That’s a lie! How could Leila be blackmailing you? She would never do such a thing!” Linsey was in disbelief, yet Landon swiftly approached and took the phone from her grasp. He quickly located Leila’s number.
“Five hundred thousand. Tonight is the final deadline. Bring it to the fifteenth floor of Grace Hospital. I’ve sent Linsey away already.”
“You have another week to come up with five hundred thousand, or I’ll tell Landon about the documents you stole. I’m his wife. He wouldn’t dare touch me, but he’ll surely deal with you!”
“The last five hundred thousand you paid isn’t enough. Hand over another five hundred thousand.”
Landon scrolled through the menacing messages rapidly. At the top, a photo caught his eye. He clicked on it. It was his project proposal from a month earlier.
The photo displayed the printed document, and in the top left corner, the edge of a gold pen peeked out. He owned only one gold pen, using it exclusively in his home study and never taking it elsewhere. Leila was the only person with access to his study.
Landon radiated a stormy aura as he approached Leila and handed her the phone, saying, “See for yourself.”
Grasping the phone with her only functioning left hand, Leila’s eyes widened as she read the message. By the time she finished, she was so shaken that she nearly toppled from the hospital bed, only to be steadied by Linsey.
“This is defamation! Leila would never do so!” Linsey exclaimed in disbelief.
“Linsey, could it be that you’ve never truly known your friend?” Sarah interjected, her voice gentle yet piercing.
“Impossible! This is defamation!” Linsey’s voice broke with fury.
The next moment, Sarah grabbed the phone and hit the call button. Instantly, Leila’s phone began to ring.
Sarah stated icily, “Just as you claimed, the evidence is undeniable.”
“If that’s the case, why did you help cover it up? Why not expose Leila right away? This is all a setup!” Linsey bellowed.
“Shut up!” Landon snapped, his voice thick with restrained anger, cutting off Linsey.
Landon ignored everyone else, his gaze fixed solely on Leila.
“Did you do this?”
Tears cascaded down Leila’s cheeks. She ached to defend herself, yet all she could muster were muffled, panicked noises.
Leila’s hands shook as she grabbed her phone to type a message. “Would you believe me if I told you it wasn’t true?”
Landon’s gaze bore into Leila, his eyes a turbulent sea of emotions. “Do you realize how much effort I put into that project? All those nights without sleep? We lost the bid, and the company’s down nearly a hundred million. And for what? You traded the confidential files for a mere million?”
Landon seized Leila’s chin, forcing her gaze to meet his, his grip so tight that Leila found it hard to breathe. “Haven’t I given you enough? Enough money for your needs and enough freedom? When did you decide to divorce me? Is this your revenge?”
Frantically, Leila shook her head, her eyes wide with fear. She loved Landon so much. The thought of betraying him was unbearable. She hadn’t touched the money he provided. How could she possibly sell his documents just for personal gain? Yet, she had indeed walked into his study, never disturbing anything, but now she was unable to prove her innocence.
“She didn’t do it! Why won’t you believe her? She can’t breathe! Let her go!” Linsey struggled to pull Landon away, but he remained immovable.
Only when Leila’s complexion shifted to an alarming shade of red did Landon let go.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps resonated from the doorway. “Who called the cops?”
It was Linsey who had dialed 911 to have the man lying on the ground arrested. She hadn’t anticipated the situation spiraling like this.
“There’s been a misunderstanding…” As Linsey began her explanation, the man on the floor interrupted loudly, “Leila! Leila has been blackmailing me! She left me no choice!”
“And who is Leila? What did she allegedly blackmail you for?” A police officer entered, his penetrating stare settling on Leila.
Seeing Landon, however, the officer didn’t act immediately.
“Mr. Kensington, please understand! Leila has adored you since childhood and looked up to you. Even after she became your wife, she bore so much silently…” Linsey’s voice cracked under the strain.
All eyes shifted to Landon, whose expression darkened with fury as he stepped closer to Leila, towering over her. “Is there anything else you want to add?”
Leila brushed away her tears and grabbed her phone to type a message again. “Does it even matter what I say if you won’t believe me?”
“Fine,” Landon muttered, his voice laced with sarcasm.
Landon faced the police with a cold sneer. “She’s the one who stole my documents, costing my company nearly a hundred million. Arrest her for further questioning.”
“Landon, no!” Linsey’s scream pierced the air as she lunged forward, only to be restrained.
“It was me! I admit it! I did everything! Take me instead! Leila’s just injured and malnourished. She’s in no state to be interrogated!” Frantically, Linsey tried to reach Leila but was blocked by the officers.
Chaos erupted in the room as the police moved to remove Leila from her bed.
As she was hauled away, Leila caught Sarah’s smug look.
Leila’s eyes met Sarah’s briefly, understanding dawning on her, before shifting to Landon. She tried to speak and garner Landon’s attention, her voice quivering as she uttered the only word she could articulate after her vocal cords were damaged, “Landon…”
Landon spun around to face Leila, his eyes meeting her weakened form in the hospital gown.
The next second, Leila collapsed, her body failing her as she fell to the floor.
“Release her now!” Landon’s shout echoed as Leila crumpled to the floor.
Landon hurried over, catching Leila before she hit the ground and cradling her in his arms.
“Save her!” Landon barked at Steven.
Without hesitation, Steven wheeled a stretcher over, carefully lifting Leila onto it. “Her pulse and breathing are rapid. She’s just passed out from stress, nothing life-threatening,” he announced after the assessment.
The surrounding crowd seemed to freeze, no one stepping forward to intervene, not even the police who had been detaining Leila moments before. All eyes were fixed on Leila.
On the edge of the crowd, Sarah watched, her jaw clenched, as Landon unexpectedly swept Leila into his arms, thwarting Leila’s imminent arrest. Anger sparked in her eyes. She muttered under her breath, “This bitch is quite the actress! What timing to faint, and now she dodges the police station.”
Sarah’s voice, though soft, carried to the nearby onlookers. Linsey, already seething, lost her temper and struck Sarah across the cheek. “What did you just say? Say that again, I dare you!”
“You… You hit me!” Sarah exclaimed.
Despite being bullied, Sarah had never retaliated in front of Landon. She covered her face, stepping back in shock, tears welling in her eyes.
Landon, however, was entirely focused on Leila, oblivious to the altercation.
“And why shouldn’t I hit you?” Linsey retorted fiercely. “Considering what you’ve done to Leila, a hundred slaps wouldn’t suffice!”