Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
Despite Leila’s attempts to resist, she was overpowered. After that, she lost consciousness and was brought here.
When realization dawned on Leila, she looked at Stan in terror. She didn’t know what his intentions were. Gripped by an unfamiliar dread, her hands instinctively clutched the fabric over her belly.
Stan’s gaze drifted to her stomach, a faint smile playing on his lips. His voice, soft yet unsettling, broke the silence. “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re pregnant. I have no intention of hurting you. Please try to stay calm.”
Leila gritted her teeth, feeling the weakness in her body, but noticed that Stan hadn’t restrained her limbs. Her phone lay within reach.
Stan sat casually, exuding confidence and firmly believing Leila had no chance of escaping.
Leila decided against calling the police or seeking help. Given Stan’s demeanor, she knew any attempt would be futile.
Leila picked up her phone and typed. “What are you planning to do? What do you want from me and my child?”
After reading the message, Stan moved closer and sat beside Leila.
Seeing him so close made Leila tremble with fear.
Stan patted her shoulder and said, “Didn’t I tell you? You are my sister-in-law. We are family. Why would I harm you?”
Feeling frightened and repulsed, Leila pinched the palm of her hand to steady herself. She typed down her question. “What do you want?”
At that moment, Stan reached out and gently touched Leila’s face.
“I have been thinking about how my older and younger brothers live so comfortably, each marrying wonderful women. I have heard your story. Despite being mute, you have your own strengths. We are kindred spirits in that sense. So why not join forces with me? Let’s seek revenge on those who have wronged us.”
Leila felt Stan had lost his mind. Despite her desire to distance herself from the Kensington family, she couldn’t ignore the fact that they had raised her. Even with Roderick gone, she still felt a deep sense of gratitude toward the Kensington family.
Although Shirley and Melinda had crossed the line repeatedly, revenge never crossed Leila’s mind. After all, she believed that everyone has their own path to walk. If they continued to harass her after she left the Kensington family, she would fight back.
Leila shook her head, her face resolute, as she directly refused Stan’s proposal.
Stan’s smile vanished, his face hardening into a mask of anger. He snapped, “After all they have done to you, you still show mercy? No wonder they treat you like a doormat. You are such a coward!”
Leila stood her ground as she typed. “Regardless, these are my choices to make. Since you are not here to harm me, why don’t you just let me go? Using me to threaten Landon won’t work. To him, I’m not the most important person.”
Stan raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting to Leila’s belly. “Maybe so, but don’t forget, the child you are carrying is Landon’s. And since I intend to eliminate him, do you think I’ll spare his child?”
Leila widened her eyes in horror. Overwhelmed with emotion, she began to type furiously, her gestures matching the urgency in her words. “Landon doesn’t care for this child. The child is innocent. Even if you kill both of us, Sarah will have children with Landon in the future. In that case, your focus shouldn’t be on me. If you doubt me, I can leave right now and live abroad with the child for the rest of my life. I will never return.”
Suddenly, the door swung open, and someone entered.
A woman wearing a pristine white coat walked over. She possessed a striking beauty, yet there was an unmistakable malevolence in her eyes. Her gaze, particularly when it landed on Leila, was as icy as if she were staring at a corpse.
Seeing Stan’s proximity to Leila, the woman, known as Courtney Smith, became visibly displeased. “Mr. Kensington, why are you saying so much to her? I have everything prepared. With one injection, even if God were to intervene, her child wouldn’t be saved. Landon must have sensed that something was wrong and is already on his way up here with his team. We need to act fast.”
Stan stared intensely at Leila and ignored Courtney.
Courtney seethed with frustration at Stan’s focus on Leila. Her annoyance intensified at the sight of the frightened expression on Leila’s delicate face.
In a fit of anger, Courtney marched forward and slapped Leila hard. “Bitch! Stop using that pitiful look to fool us!”
Stan’s anger spiked at Courtney’s unexpected action. “What the hell are you doing?”
Courtney pouted at his raised voice and said accusingly, “Why is this woman always giving you those pitying looks? It doesn’t sit right with me. She is probably trying to manipulate your emotions into letting her go. You can’t fall for her schemes, Mr. Kensington.”
Stan scoffed and rose to his feet, snatching the syringe away from Courtney’s hand.
As Stan depressed the plunger, a few drops of brown liquid dribbled from the needle, making Leila tremble.
Leila felt her scalp tingle with nerves. What kind of medicine was that?
As Stan crouched down, Leila fumbled behind her and grabbed a brick from behind her. A cold determination sparked in her eyes. Nevertheless, she was determined to take a risk for the sake of the baby growing inside her.
Unexpectedly, Stan tossed the syringe away. “I had planned to terminate your pregnancy, but I have changed my mind.”
Hearing this, Courtney grew anxious. “Mr. Kensington, you…”
“Shut up!” Stan interrupted sharply.
Courtney fell silent with a sulky look, her reluctance evident in her eyes. Stan had always been gentle to her. This was the first time he had barked at her like this. Why? What prompted this change? It must be because of Leila!
Despite her growing animosity toward Leila, Courtney took a deep breath and managed to cool down, not daring to let her fury show.
Leila gradually composed herself, meeting Stan’s gaze with a nod, silently urging him to continue.
Stan continued with a sly smile, “How about we make a little bet? Send a message to Landon and let him know you are in my hands. If he shows up to rescue you, I will let you go. But if he doesn’t, then you will come with me. Don’t worry. I won’t harm you. I just want a bargaining chip. When Landon inevitably fails, I’ll set you and the child free.”
Leila couldn’t bring herself to trust a single word Stan had said. The potential prospect of calling Landon made her heart sink. Would Landon truly come for her? She recalled that today was the day Landon and Sarah were supposed to attend an award ceremony.
Eventually, Leila wrote a message to Landon. “I have been kidnapped, and I’m currently on a mountaintop. Landon, please come and save me.”
Under Stan’s watchful eye, Leila sent the message to Landon.
Seeing this, Stan grinned with satisfaction and casually took a seat.
Meanwhile, Landon, who was sprinting up the mountain path, stopped when he saw the message.
As Edgar leaned in and saw the message, he was delighted. “Mr. Kensington, now that we have your wife’s location, I’ll send someone up the mountain immediately!”
Landon halted Edgar, his gaze icy. “It’s pointless. Leila was likely forced to send this message or her phone was not in her possession. This might be part of the other party’s plan just to test how much I value Leila.”
Edgar took a breath, acknowledging the truth in Landon’s words. “Mr. Kensington, should I proceed with arranging the team for her rescue?” he asked.
“Of course,” Landon responded, his gaze as frigid as Arctic ice. “I want to see just how capable those causing trouble in my territory really are.”
Elsewhere, Leila stared at her phone, the message she had sent unanswered for over ten minutes. Her fists couldn’t help but clench in frustration.
Stan was taken aback by the turn of events. “I know a bit about your relationship with Landon. You two have shared your lives since childhood. Although Sarah now holds his affection, I can’t help but feel he still harbors feelings for you. His lack of reaction to your predicament really puzzles me.”
Weary, Leila ceased trying to discern whether Stan was merely being sarcastic or testing her.
Leila tapped a response into her phone. “Sarah was Landon’s first and most profound love. Without my stepping into his life, they would have been married ages ago. Sarah confided in me once that Landon had intended to elope with her abroad to avoid marrying me, but Roderick stopped them. Even to this day, Landon still suspects it was I who tipped off the news.”
The memory of Sarah’s face, etched with resentment and dissatisfaction as she recounted the story, remained clear in Leila’s mind. And there was a trace of complacency in Sarah’s tone.
At that time, shortly after their wedding, Leila had been completely unaware of the turmoil brewing beneath the surface or of Landon’s deep-seated resistance to their marriage.
Feeling like an outsider in her own marriage, Leila sought out Landon for a candid conversation.
Unexpectedly, Landon’s response was terse and dismissive. “Why do you bother with these trivialities? They are of no consequence to you.”
Although Landon neither confirmed nor denied the accusation, his tone spoke volumes.
Now, observing Landon’s demeanor around Sarah, Leila couldn’t help but believe in Sarah’s past revelations.
Stan appeared taken aback by this disclosure. A sinister thought flickered in his eyes.
“I never would have guessed that my half-brother is still so infatuated with that woman,” Stan commented.
“But…” Stan flashed Leila a meaningful grin. “I can’t shake a feeling of unease.”
With these words, Stan took Leila’s phone from her hands and coerced her into unlocking it.
Landon’s contact was promptly located in Leila’s phone.