Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
‘Mr. Morgan, Miss Nixon may not love you, but she always considered you a friend! Your actions betray her trust! If she ever finds out about this, she will never forgive you!’ Clayton looked down at Brysen from above with a chilling smile.
‘Then we’ll make sure she never finds out, won’t we? Some secrets are best kept buried forever.’ Brysen shivered, his eyes wide with terror, but he held his head erect, refusing to plead. What good would pleading do?
Just then, Neal appeared.
‘Mr. Morgan, why don’t we settle this quickly? Throw her over the cliff with the others.’
A wave of revulsion swept over Brysen. More than revulsion, he felt a deep sadness and disappointment. Tears streamed down his face as he stared at Neal in disbelief.
‘All this time…you were just using me? You pretended to like me and tell me you loved me just because I work for Miss Nixon as her assistant? You just wanted to spy on her through me?’
Neal rolled his eyes at Brysen’s outburst.
‘What else, did you really think I was interested in you? You’re a fool in love, and all you think about is romance.’
Brysen still couldn’t believe it.
‘Neal, please, just tell me the truth. Did you ever… Did you ever have feelings for me?’
Neal burst out laughing.
‘God, you’re so naive! I can’t believe Leila actually hired you as her assistant. You’re so pathetic,’ he said with disdain.
Brysen’s heart broke and a wave of despair swept over her. Suddenly, Leila’s advice echoed in her mind. Leila had warned her about men like Neal and told her not to be blinded by love, that she should put her own interests first. Yet Brysen had scoffed, assuming that Leila had forgotten what it was really like to be in love after so long single. Now, the irony was so thick it almost choked her.
Brysen lowered her head, blaming herself for the whole situation. She had unwittingly put Landon in this situation and betrayed Leila’s trust, all in the name of her na?ve conception of love.
Brysen’s struggle faded, leaving her an empty shell. Tears streamed down her face as Clayton’s men pinned her down. Desperation had consumed her.
‘This girl is one of Leila’s top assistants,’ Clayton commented, his patience clearly wearing thin. ‘Don’t kill her, but make sure she can’t talk. I don’t give a fuck how you do it, but if one word of this gets out, you’re all dead.’
With that chilling threat hovering in the air, Clayton and his henchmen quickly departed.
Meanwhile, by the end of the live broadcast, Leila had raised a hundred thousand dollars. She didn’t hesitate for a moment. Right there in front of the camera, she transferred every penny to the school and the county mayor. People noticed that Leila wasn’t selling any product lines on the sly. Whether she was a saint or just acting, that money would make a real difference in these children’s lives. After all, actions speak louder than words.
Gradually, public opinion began to shift in Leila’s favour. She was a whirlwind of activity, handling a million things at once, and somehow, she made it look easy. But beneath the surface, a knot of dread tightened in her stomach. It was a gnawing feeling, a constant whisper of worry that she couldn’t get out of her head.
Finally, Leila found a small corner away from the noise and bustle of the event. She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Brysen’s number. Strangely, the call connected, but Brysen didn’t answer. A knot of unease tightened in Leila’s stomach. She tried calling several more times, but it always went to voicemail. She was beginning to regret sending Brysen to investigate. Brysen was alone, what if something bad had happened? What if she was in trouble? It hadn’t even been 24 hours since he’d last seen her. The police wouldn’t even accept a missing person’s report yet.
Just as Leila was about to try calling again, her phone vibrated. She looked at the screen and froze. It was Clayton.
‘Leila, are you okay?’ Clayton’s voice was laden with concern.
Leila felt completely bewildered. ‘How did you know something wasn’t right?’
Clayton was silent for a moment before letting out a bitter laugh. ‘It’s a long story. Look, I’m in the underground parking garage across the street. Come over here, and I’ll explain everything.’
Leila’s eyebrows rose. What was Clayton doing here? He’d told her he was busy with something else. And she’d avoided telling him where she’d be today. How the hell did he know where to find her?
A horrible thought crossed her mind. Was he following her? Was someone spying on her? A shiver ran down his spine.
She paused, hesitating about what to do. But curiosity and a little fear got the better of her. She decided to go see what Clayton was talking about.
Leila crossed the street and found the garage. The place was full of people. Clayton was in the middle of it all, surrounded by a small army of bodyguards. One man was kneeling on the ground, his face hidden by a mask.
Leila’s blood ran cold. She immediately recognised the man as the Landon lookalike she had seen earlier. The man had the same build and the same way of moving. It was unsettling.
Leila felt uneasy as she watched the scene before her. Although, at first, she had recognised the man as Landon at a glance, despite his mask and cleaner’s uniform, now something didn’t add up. As she looked at the man kneeling in front of her, that certainty vanished.
He didn’t give her the same feeling, despite his uniform and similar build to Landon.
Leila tried to quell the excitement and confusion that was swirling in her mind. She frowned slightly and asked, ‘What’s going on?’
Clayton raised his hand and someone approached, removing the man’s mask.
Although the man looked somewhat like Landon, it wasn’t him.
The man’s height and build were similar to Landon’s, to the point of fooling anyone who saw him with the mask on.
The man’s eyes widened in fear. As soon as he was unmasked, he immediately began pleading with Leila.
‘Miss Nixon, someone paid me to impersonate Mr. Kensington to lure you in.’
Even the man’s voice was eerily similar to Landon’s.
Leila didn’t bristle, but a shiver ran down her spine.
It had all been a plot.
Clayton cleared his throat and explained, ‘Leila, you may be upset with me about this, but I didn’t want to keep it from you anymore. I followed you here because I was worried. When this guy showed up, I felt something wasn’t right. He was skulking around, trying to get close to you, and the moment he saw my team, he ran away. That’s when I knew my suspicions were correct.’
Leila clenched her hands, feeling the rage begin to take over her body. Her voice turned cold as she said, ‘So, you admit you had someone spying on me and following me, right?’
Clayton’s face tightened with anxiety. ‘No. I didn’t do that. I knew you’d be mad.’
Leila pursed her lips, clearly wary of his words. It was then that Neal stepped forward.
‘Brysen told me on purpose.’
Leila looked at Neal, realizing he looked somewhat familiar. Neal introduced himself.
‘Miss Nixon, I’m new to the Public Relations Department. I used to work at the Morgan Group. To be honest, I’m dating Brysen. We’ve been together for several months now. When you talked to her about your travel plans that day, I was there too. She told me because she didn’t want you to travel alone and thought it would be good for you to spend time with Mr Morgan. At that time, I believed the rumours that you and Mr. Morgan were together, and because Brysen mentioned it, I went along with her idea. I came here with Mr. Morgan to make sure you didn’t misunderstand his intentions.’
But please don’t blame Brysen. She really cares about you.’
Leila’s expression cooled even more. ‘So you’re Brysen’s boyfriend.’
Neal maintained a polite attitude, but Leila couldn’t trust him, for reasons she couldn’t explain clearly. Neal faked a coy smile and nodded.
Since it had been a misunderstanding, Leila decided not to probe further. She looked down at the man still sobbing on the floor, a look of disdain crossing her face. ‘This is not the man I saw a moment ago. I’m sure I saw Landon back then. My instincts don’t lie.’
Her tone became more resolute. ‘Landon and I have been together for years. We have a connection. I’d know him at a glance. This guy may look like him, but he’s not Landon.’
Leila’s words echoed in Clayton’s ears. He struggled to keep his emotions in check, feeling almost overwhelmed. Forcing a smile, he asked, ‘Leila, aren’t you curious who this guy really is? The assassination attempt, the poisoning and now this incident? They were all orchestrated by the same person. I’ve discovered the truth.’
Leila looked at Clayton’s intense expression, a feeling of dread growing in her chest. ‘Who’s behind all this?’ Clayton leaned closer, whispering in her ear, ‘The Perry family.’
Leila’s face paled instantly. Memories of her time on that island surfaced, each one more terrifying than the last. She was lucky to have escaped with her life. Yet the mention of the Perry family still filled her with an instinctive fear. Leila remembered vividly how the happy life she shared with Landon had been shattered at the hands of these people. She could no longer suppress her anger.
‘So, it really was the Perry family,’ she said, her voice thick with fury. ‘I haven’t gotten revenge in all these years, but they keep pushing me. If that’s the case, I won’t hold back.’
Clayton watched Leila’s furious expression, a shadow crossed his eyes. He continued, ‘I wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn that the Perry family is behind all this. Now that we know it was their doing, we must fight back.’
Leila began to believe him a little more as he spoke. After all, Ernesto and Griffin were cunning and meticulous. Back then, they had orchestrated everything to trap her, all because of the children she carried in her womb, making her unaware that she was falling into a carefully laid trap. How terrifying it had all been!
But then a new thought struck Leila. Suddenly, she grabbed Clayton’s wrist nervously. ‘Did Brysen come with you? Did you see her?’
‘Brysen?’ Clayton feigned confusion. ‘Did she come with us? I didn’t see her.’
‘Oh no,’ Leila shivered and nearly lost her balance. Neal’s reaction was even more intense. ‘What does that mean, Miss Nixon, is Brysen in danger?’
A wave of anxiety swept over Leila, every beat of her heart resonating with her fear.
Anything could have happened to Brysen.