“Mr. Bamford you can’t do this,” Robert shouts. “Have you forgotten your grandfather’s warning? You know what he said about risking your life for Leilani. No one’s life is more important than yours. You’ve already violated his trust twice if there’s a third—”
“Shut up,” Waylen says.
The patient starts to laugh hysterically. The sound is loud in Leilani’s ears, and his body shakes wildly against hers.
“The heir to the Bamford Family? President of The Bamford Group?” the patient says, wheezing with laughter. “That’s a good one. Nice try, but I think I’d rather watch this pretty lady bleed out.”
Leilani feels like her head might explode. Everything is spinning out of control, and nothing makes sense. What is Robert talking about? She thinks. What did Francis Bamford say about Waylen risking his life? Is that why Waylen has suddenly become so cold? I should’ve figured it out earlier. Of course, Francis Bamford wants Waylen to stay away from me; until I give birth to the child, Waylen is the only heir, and danger seems to follow me wherever I go.
“Waylen, please, I’m begging you, stay away,” Leilani says, as a sob rises in her throat.
“Don’t be afraid, Leilani,” Waylen says with surprising softness. “Stand still and close your eyes, and it’ll all be over soon.”
Leilani shakes her head and feels the knife nicked her skin. Warmblood flows, and she freezes. She stares helplessly at Waylen as he slowly crosses the room, holding his hands above his head.
“Don’t listen to him,” Leilani says. “He’s not the president of the Bamford Group. He’s not even a Bamford!”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Waylen says.
Slowly he lowers one hand and reaches into his suit pocket. He removes a black business card and flicks it across the room. It lands at Leilani’s feet, and the gold lettering shines in the sun.
“Pick it up,” the patient says, moving the knife to Leilani’s lower back.
Leilani bends over and fumbles for the paper. She picks it up and passes it to the patient, and he returns the blade to her throat. He seems to study the business card for a moment. Then he crumples the thick paper and throws it to the floor.
“Okay, I believe you are who you say you are,” the patient says. “Come here slowly. But I’m warning you, any tricks, and the lady dies.”
Waylen keeps his hands above his head and slowly walks closer. Leilani wants to scream at him to stop, but her voice won’t work.
Leilani chews her lip and stares at Waylen. Every step he takes makes her heart thud nervously in her chest. Though her vision is blurry with tears, she looks him in the eyes, silently begging him to stop. He shakes his head slightly and continues walking forward.
Suddenly the patient pushes Leilani. She stumbles forward and falls to the floor. She scrambles onto her back and turns around in time to see the man put the knife on Waylen’s neck.
“Mrs. Bamford, are you all right?” Robert asks, helping her to her feet.
She shrugs his hands off her and tries to run to Waylen, but he grabs her by the wrist. She struggles, and a bodyguard wraps his arms around her waist. She kicks and squirms, but he effortlessly lifts her off the ground.
“Please calm down, Mrs. Bamford,” Robert whispers. “You don’t want to upset the patient, do you?”
Leilani goes limp in the bodyguard’s arms. Robert nods, and the bodyguard quickly releases her. She grabs Robert’s iPad and looks at the patient’s information. According to his file, he suffered a psychotic breakdown when his wife stole his money and left him for another man. The file says he’s paranoid, delusional, and violent.
She looks at the patient, trying to make eye contact. “Please don’t hurt him,” she said calmly. “I know your wife betrayed you, but think about the other people in your life: your parents, your family, your friends. They all love you and want to see you happy. Don’t do anything that could hurt them.”
Her right temple throbs and she feels dizzy. A voice seems to echo through the room.
“Olivia, don’t jump,” the voice screams. “Think about Leilani and Gabrielle. They need you. They can’t lose you. You’re the only person they have in this world. What will they do if you die?”
Leilani shakes her head and looks around the room. She sees doctors, nurses, and Waylen’s bodyguards, but none of them have spoken. She closes her eyes and rubbed her temples.
She looks at the patient, forcing herself to hold eye contact. His eyes are small and bloodshot. They flicker back and forth as he looks suspiciously around the room. Finally, they settle on Leilani, and he sneers.
“Please,” Leilani whispers. “Don’t do this. Think about your friends. Think about your family. Think about your parents.”
“My parents?” the patient asks. He laughs a low, humorless laugh. “They died long ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Leilani says. “But think about them. They put all this energy into raising you to be the successful man you are. They cared for you and sacrificed for you. This is no way to pay them back.”
“Shut up,” the patient says, pressing the knife more tightly against Waylen’s neck. “I don’t give a damn about them. If you speak again, I’ll kill him.”
“No, you can’t!” Leilani screams. “I’m pregnant. You can’t hurt the father of my child!”
The patient’s eyes darken, and he laughs again. “The father of your child?” he asks. “Yeah, right. I know your type. I bet you’ve let every single one of his bodyguards f.u.c.k you. Probably some of the servants too—filthy whore.”
“Get her out of here, Robert,” Waylen hisses.
“I won’t go,” she says. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Waylen. I—I can’t lose you.”
Robert reaches for Leilani, but she dodges his grasp. She stumbles forward, clutching her head. The room is unbearably bright, and her eyes hurt. She turns to look at the doctors and nurses, but their faces seem to twist and blur.
“I heard your wife left you,” Leilani says to the patient. “That’s not your fault. You can’t let her ruin your life like this.”
The patient’s handshakes and his jaw are working furiously. The color drains from his face, and his skin looks waxy and pale. Leilani’s head hurts even worse.
Suddenly, she hears the voice again. “It’s not your fault, Olivia,” the voice says. “Don’t punish yourself for other people’s mistakes.” Leilani turns wildly, looking for the speaker.
The doctors and nurses look at her with concern, and a bodyguard takes a step toward her. She digs her nails into her palms, and the pain helps her focus. The room stops spinning, and the patient’s face becomes clearer.
“It’s all your wife’s fault,” Leilani says. “You’re right, she deserves to suffer, but right now you’re only punishing yourself. She’s living the high life right now—enjoying your money and keeping another man, but if you kill someone, she wins. She’ll get to keep all your money, and she’ll laugh at you. You don’t want that, do you?”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up,” the patient screams.
His hands shake violently, and the knife trembles against Waylen’s neck. Leilani watches in horror as it slices through the skin. Dark red blood trickles down Waylen’s neck, staining the starched white collar of his shirt. And then everything seems to move in fast motion.
Leilani blinks, and Waylen has shaken the patient off and punched him in the throat. The man staggers backward, dropping the knife. He bends to get it, and Waylen’s polished shoe hits him square in the chest. The patient crumples, and Waylen throws himself onto his back. He forces the patient to the floor, restrains his hands, and holds him down by pressing his knee into the patient’s back.
“You sneaky bitch!” the man screams. “I knew you were all the same! I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
Police sirens wail in the distance. The doctor runs across the room and injects the patient with a tranquilizer. Slowly his body goes limp, and his tongue lolls out of his mouth. The nervous nurses lift him onto a stretcher and secure his wrists with thick leather straps.
“Mr. Bamford, I’m so sorry about this,” the doctor says. “I’m going to launch a thorough investigation into this incident. You and your wife should have never been put in danger.”
Waylen ignores him, wrapping his arms around Leilani. He takes a silk handkerchief from his pocket and gently dabs the wounds on her neck. She looks down and sees that the fair skin of her chest is covered in a layer of dark, sticky blood. A nurse rushes over and wipes the blood away with gauze and disinfectant.
“Don’t worry, sir, it’s not severe,” the nurse says to Waylen.
She sticks two bandages to Leilani’s chest. She tries to clean Waylen, but he shakes her away, cradling Leilani in his arms.
“What the hell were you thinking, Leilani?” Waylen asks. “Why would you put yourself in danger like that? I asked you to leave for your own good.”
“I couldn’t bear to,” Leilani says. He’s holding her too tightly, and she feels light-headed and suffocated. “Besides, you’re not the only one who can do the saving around here. You know, I can save you too.”
“Don’t ever do this again,” Waylen says fiercely.
Before Leilani can argue, Waylen’s phone begins to ring. He pulls it from his pocket, scans the caller ID and scowls. He looks at Leilani and then rushes to a corner of the room.
Who could it be? Leilani wonders. And why doesn’t he want me to hear the call?
Waylen presses the phone to his ear, prepared to do battle. The adrenaline from the fight with the patient is still pumping through his veins, and he’s ready to confront his grandfather once and for all.
Francis Bamford sounds furious, “You ignored my warning again, boy! Did you think I was making an empty threat? Did you think I wouldn’t find out about your little stunt in the hospital? Never forget that your men are loyal to me.”
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.
Leave a Reply