Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
Landon frowned at the sight of them.
‘Were you listening to my conversation?’ he asked, his voice laden with suspicion.
Jeanette shook her head vigorously.
‘No, we just got here,’ she replied.
Relieved by her response, Landon dropped the subject.
He stared at her, an idea crossing his mind.
He bent down so he could look into her eyes.
‘I thought you were at the party with your sister,’ he said.
‘Why didn’t I see you?’
Landon was simply curious, but his question filled the sisters with dread.
Before Lacey could answer, Jeanette began to tremble.
‘I didn’t go anywhere,’ she stammered.
Jeanette was so worried about getting in trouble that she felt tears building up in her eyes.
Landon was surprised.
He wasn’t sure what to think and felt a spark of suspicion.
Jeanette’s reaction was a clear indication of her guilt.
‘Jeanette,’ Lacey called quickly, placing Jeanette behind her back protectively.
‘If you’re feeling a little under the weather, just go get some rest.’
After Jeanette left, Lacey turned around, noticing the suspicious look in Landon’s eyes.
Clearing her throat, Lacey spoke, her voice tinged with discomfort.
‘It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you.
Jeanette’s at that stage where she wants to prove herself.
Some kids picked on her at the party.
I only found out after the party was over.’ He paused, hesitating.
‘She doesn’t want to talk about it, and you should understand that. She’s always been sensible, even when she was a child.’
‘She was harassed?’ Landon’s suspicion quickly turned to concern, his voice strained.
‘By who?’ he asked, annoyed.
Lacey smiled bitterly.
‘I don’t know exactly.
It was probably a group of rich, powerful kids.
There’s nothing we can do about it.
Jeanette and I just got here, and we’re still trying to settle in.
Besides, your identity is special too, so we might as well leave it at that.’
Regret washed over Landon as he thought about how he’d doubted Jeanette and Lacey earlier.
‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered.
Lacey shook her head softly.
‘It’s okay. It’s no big deal.’
With that, Lacey turned and headed back to her room, ready to rest.
But just as she was about to leave, something came to her mind.
She paused, looked back at Landon with a peculiar expression.
‘Are you leaving soon? I mean, are you going overseas?’
Landon shook his head, his gaze steady.
‘I have other plans. I’m not leaving, at least not for now.’
Lacey nodded, but as she turned around, her expression turned strange.
When Leila returned home, the events of that day weighed on her mind.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt like something didn’t add up.
She couldn’t even understand how she had been drugged.
Leila remembered drinking Jeanette’s glass of milk just before she passed out.
But Jeanette was just a child.
How could Jeanette know about something like that? Even if, by some chance, Jeanette did know about it, what reason would she have to drug her? It seemed impossible that such a little girl could understand something like that, especially since there were no hard feelings between them.
Before leaving with Clayton, Leila asked him if he had noticed anyone suspicious around her when he found her.
Clayton said that when he discovered her, Jeanette was the only one there.
Jeanette had been anxious about Leila’s fainting spell, not knowing what to do.
Jeanette kept asking her for help.
Leila thought Jeanette probably didn’t know what was going on.
That glass of milk must have been drugged long before, and no matter what room Jeanette was in, she still would have been affected.
Besides, Clayton mentioned that the person who led him there was a waiter at the party.
Leila wondered if Freya was behind all this.
Even if Freya had the motive, something didn’t add up.
After all, Freya liked Clayton.
Even if Freya had wanted to drug Leila, why would she lead Clayton there?
After going over everything again, Leila could only come up with one possible explanation.
The people behind this incident could be the same group that had tried to kill her before.