Robert jumps with surprise and drops the phone onto the plush, scarlet carpet. He’s shocked to see the notification alerting him that Leilani’s phone is in use. He grabs the phone and flies down the stairs to Waylen’s study. Waylen is still sitting in the dark, listening to the recording.
“Mr. Bamford,” Robert shouts, waving the phone like a victory flag, “Mr. Bamford, Leilani’s phone is transmitting a signal again!”
Waylen immediately sits up. Robert hurriedly passes the phone to Waylen, and Waylen immediately punches the special shortcut to call Leilani’s phone. He raises the phone to his ear. The phone rings twice and then connects.
“Where the hell are you?” Waylen demands.
Leilani’s voice sounds muffled and cold, “Excuse me, who is this?”
“Infernal woman, don’t pretend that you don’t know me,” Waylen says. “Tell me where you are.” He gnashed his teeth and balls his hands into fists. He knows that Leilani is mad at him for abandoning her, but now isn’t the time for her anger. He needs her to tell him her location as quickly as possible. His men have been combing the forest for days, but they’ve been unable to find anything.
“I have nothing to pretend,” Leilani says. “According to you, we’re strangers to each other now.”
Waylen squeezes the phone so forcefully; he worries he’ll break it. He whispers gently, “Leilani, you know what, I miss you so much.”
“You dialed the wrong number,” she says.
“Stop that now,” Waylen commands. “This isn’t the time to be angry. Tell me where you are, and I’ll pick you up at once. Then you can be angry with me for as long as you like.”
“No, I gave you a chance to save me,” Leilani says. “I don’t need you now.”
Waylen loves her pride, but he can’t believe she’s refusing his help. She’s so damned foolish, he thinks. First, she begged me to help her, and when I finally do, she flat out refuses me. He thinks about her arrogant expression, the way her eyes flash and her mouth turns down at the corner, and his heart thuds in his chest.
“Leilani! Shit! You stubborn woman!” Waylen lowers his voice, “I know that you love me.”
“When did I say that?” Leilani asks.
“Just now,” Waylen says, referring to the recording he’s been listening to.
“Are you deranged?”Leilani asks. “If that’s all you have to say to me, I’m going to hang up now.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Waylen says. He has been staring at his phone day and night, hoping that Leilani’s phone would finally transmit a signal. Now, he’s actually got her on the phone, but she wants to hang upon him.
“You know I dare,” she says.
“But you said in the recording that you wanted me to find you,” Waylen insists.
“Well, I regret that,” Leilani snaps, “I’m having a great time here. Andrew is very nice to me. You don’t have to come to get me.”
“I know you’re mad at me, but try to be reasonable,” Waylen begged. “Think of our child in your stomach.”
“Oh, so now you believe that the child is yours?” Leilani asks.
“I’m sorry, I lost my mind with jealousy before,” Waylen whispers.
“Well, that’s a nice apology, but some things can’t be forgiven,” she says.
“What do you want me to do?” Waylen asks.
Leilani doesn’t respond—she’s already hung up the phone. A robotic female voice informs him that his call has been disconnected.
“Leilani!?” Waylen screams. “Shit!” Waylen tensely rises from the sofa and begins to pace the room. He wants to throw the phone through the window. Suddenly, an electronic jingle begins to play. He looks down at the phone in his hands, but the screen is still dark.
He glares at Robert, and Robert looks confusedly for the source of the sound. Robert hurriedly pulls a phone call from his vest pocket. Waylen vaguely recognizes it as Gabrielle’s. Robert taps and answer and puts the phone on speaker mode.
“Sister?” asks a young female voice.
“Who are you?” Robert asks.
“Robert, is that you? It’s me, Gabrielle. Is my sister there?” her voice sounds feeble. “I haven’t been able to get through to my sister’s phone, and then I remembered that she still had mine.”
Robert and Waylen’s exchange confused glances. Waylen crosses the room and grabs the phone from Robert. “Andrew, let you out?” Waylen asks incredulously.
“Mr. Bamford is that you?” Gabrielle’s voice asks. “But no, I ran away. I stole Andrew’s map and snuck out of the house and past his guards. Is my sister there? Could you ask her to pick me up? I borrowed a phone from someone, and it’s inconvenient to speak for too long. I can explain everything later.”
An hour later, Waylen’s bodyguards bring Gabrielle into the house. She’s covered in scratches, and her clothes are torn and ragged. Her face is streaked with mud. “Where’s Leilani?” she demands, “What happened to her?”
“The map?” Waylen asks.
Gabrielle pulls a wrinkled and yellowed map from the back pocket of her jeans and passes it to Waylen. Waylen examines the map—it looks like a tangle of lines. “Which route leads to Andrew’s house?” he asks.
“Follow the thick red line,” Gabrielle says. “As far as I can tell, that’s the only road that leads to the mansion.”
Waylen shoves the map into his pocket and runs out of the room without explanation. Robert nods curtly at Gabrielle and chases after his boss. Gabrielle stares after them, wondering what happened. Though she’s exhausted, she runs after Robert.
“Robert, wait, where’s my sister?” Gabrielle shouts.
Robert doesn’t slow, but he yelled over his shoulder, “Mrs. Bamford is at Mr. Clifford’s mansion.”
“Why is my sister there?” Gabrielle asks with panic. “Did that bastard take her hostage too? I have to get her away from him!”
“Miss Gabrielle, you’d better stay here and rest,” Robert says. “Mr. Bamford and I will certainly rescue Mrs. Bamford.”
Gabrielle passes Robert, practically sprinting down the hallway. Robert is still recovering from his gunshot wound, so he’s slower than normal. A wave of adrenaline rushes through her, and she runs even faster. Still, she can’t catch Waylen.
“Robert, can you take me with you, please?” Gabrielle pleads.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.