Chapter 44
Zachary got excited and chimed in loudly, “Exactly. Let’s kidnap her and threaten the Kingsley family.” Just imagining Amelia being under his control made his heart race with excitement.
He pondered, ‘I couldn’t get to her yesterday, but today, it’s a fresh start. I have to make her mine and show her my power. If I can’t have her, I’ll destroy her.’
With Zachary’s support, Sandra felt confident that this time they wouldn’t fail. Ecstatic, she threw herself into his arms and continued, “The Kingsley family still wants her to have Landon’s child, don’t they? Whether for their reputation or for Amelia, they’ll drop the lawsuit and wipe out our debts.”
Only Walter seemed uneasy. He furrowed his brow and thought, ‘Every time we’ve tried to mess with Amelia, it’s ended in failure. Will it actually work this time?’
“Dad, you call her and lure her to the hospital,” Sandra said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Walter forced a bitter smile. “I’d love to, but she already blocked my number.”
“Ugh…” Sandra tried calling from her phone, but it didn’t go through.
Melissa and Zachary quickly followed suit, but unsurprisingly, they’d all been blocked too. In the end, Walter had to borrow a phone from a nurse to make the call.
Walter spoke weakly, “Amy, I… I’m not doing well… I know I hurt you, and I’m not asking for your forgiveness. I just want to tell you everything about your mom before I die…”
Meanwhile, with the speakerphone on, Amelia’s lips curled into a disdainful smile as her cold eyes narrowed.
She didn’t believe a single word Walter said and pondered, ‘Villains like him have nerves of steel–this little act won’t break him. He’s definitely up to something bigger.’
Walter continued, acting frail, “Amy, can you come to the hospital? I just want to talk…cough, cough… If you wait any longer, I’m afraid it’ll be too late…”
After playing his part, he finally got the response he wanted when Amelia said, “Okay. I’ll come over.”
“Good. I’ll be waiting…” Walter’s eyes lit up with excitement, but he pinched his thigh hard to suppress his emotions and keep up the act. He said, “Don’t worry, Melissa and the others aren’t here. I sent them all away. It’s just the two of us today. We’ll have a proper talk about your mother…”
“Okay,” Amelia said coldly before hanging up. She then got up, her face expressionless, and began to change her clothes to head out.
Landon had no idea what was going on. Seeing her hang up the phone in silence and start to leave, he lost his temper and demanded in his mind, ‘Amelia.’
Amelia replied calmly, “I’m going to the hospital.” Her expression was cold as she packed her things–voice recorder, alarm device, and other odd items.
Landon couldn’t stop himself from wondering, ‘Where does she even get all this random junk?’ The more he looked, the more something felt off. He rapped his knuckles against the table. ‘Amelia, you’re not going.’
“Don’t worry. I’ve thought it through.” Amelia tried to flash him a reassuring smile, but after a moment, she decided against it and let the smile fade.
She sighed inwardly, ‘He’s good at coming up with plans, sure, but he’s not really worried about me. I’m just here at Kingsley Villa playing the role of Mrs. Kingsley. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.’
So all Landon saw was Amelia’s half-smile–a fleeting, unfinished one that disappeared almost as quickly as it came. That strange, unfinished gesture only made him feel more uneasy. ‘At least tell me what’s going on first,’ he said inwardly.
She replied, “Walter still won’t pay up, and he’s not willing to sell the house or the shops either. Instead, he’s trying to sweet-talk me into going to the hospital.”
Thinking back to what happened with Elizabeth yesterday, Amelia had a pretty good idea of what was coming. She knew this time would be a nastier trap than yesterday. But she wasn’t scared.
Amelia pondered, ‘Edwards Group has been pushed this far. There’s only one option left for them–kidnapping me and using it to force Kingsley Group to drop the debt collection.
‘Kidnapping carries way harsher consequences than Sandra’s empty threats. If I end up with a few bruises or some bloodshed…they’ll be looking at serious prison time.’
Landon’s face darkened, his chest heaving with restrained anger. ‘What did you promise me last night?” he demanded inwardly, the words heavy with frustration. He wondered irritably, ‘Didn’t she swear she wouldn’t take risks? Did one night’s sleep make her forget everything?”
“Relax, Landon. I won’t embarrass the Kingsley family. I can handle them just fine,” Amelia said with a faint smile, her tone calm and confident as she casually grabbed her purse and walked away.
Landon was furious and thought, ‘Am I worried about saving face? No. I’m worried about you getting hurt.’ He quickly called after her in his mind, ‘Amelia… Amelia, wait.’
But as the sound of Amelia’s heels grew fainter, he could only stare in frustration. He sighed, thinking, ‘What a stubborn woman! She’s way too headstrong. How can I just sit back and let her take a risk? I can’t.’
Landon then struggled to pick up his phone and sent a message to Aaron: [She went to the hospital. There’s danger.]
An hour later, Amelia arrived at the hospital. Sure enough, Walter was the only one in the ward. When he saw her, his face lit up with joy. “Amy, you’re finally here…”
“You seem to be in pretty good spirits,” she remarked coolly as she leaned against the doorway, making no move to come in.
Walter quickly coughed a few times and said, “Maybe this is my last burst of energy before the end.”
“Spare me the act. Just tell me–where is my mom’s grave?” Amelia cut straight to the point.
Walter sighed, “Your mom… Your mom was a pitiful woman. When I met her, she was all alone, standing by the river, ready to end it all…
“She looked so miserable that I couldn’t just walk away. I brought her home and talked her out of it.”
He continued, “We grew close, and then we had you. Eventually, we got married. But no matter how much I asked, she never wanted to talk about her past. After a while, I stopped asking. It didn’t matter anyway–what was important was that we had a happy life together as a family.”
Walter went on and on, but he refused to say where Debra was buried. Amelia, growing impatient, asked, “So, where exactly is my mother buried?”
“Amy…cough, cough…” He started coughing violently, his frail hand trembling as he reached toward the bedside table. “Water…water…”
At this point in the act, if Amelia didn’t step in, the whole performance would fall apart. She glanced toward the nurse’s station, where a male nurse wearing a large mask gave her a knowing smile.
Taking a deep breath, she finally walked into Walter’s ward and handed him a glass of water. He looked utterly stunned as if he hadn’t expected her to comply. “Thank you,” he muttered, almost in disbelief.
“Now can we get to the point?” Amelia pressed, her eyes scanning the room. The private VIP ward was quiet–no roommates, no sign of anyone else. She found it odd and wondered, ‘Did Walter really send everyone away? What’s he up to? Is he just trying to butter me up and do nothing in the end? If so, my plan’s going to completely fall apart.’
Just as Amelia’s frustration was setting in, she felt the cold press of a knife against her waist. A voice hissed behind her. “Don’t move. Don’t scream.” It was Melissa.
Amelia felt a twinge of disappointment and pondered, ‘So this whole family is full of “geniuses“, and they send the least capable one to play the kidnapper? Seriously?’
“Tell the Kingsley family to clear our 100–million–dollar debt right now, or you’re not leaving this room alive,” Melissa threatened, her tone dripping with malice. Despite this being her first attempt at kidnapping, she didn’t seem the least bit nervous.
Amelia chuckled, “Yeah, that’s not happening.”
“Oh, really? Then I guess I’ll just have to make you bleed a little.” Melissa’s voice was icy as she pressed the blade harder.
“Go ahead,” Amelia said nonchalantly, leaning into the knife. The blade caught her side, slicing through her clothes, and blood seeped out.
Melissa’s hand started trembling, her anger boiling inside. She grumbled inwardly, ‘This little brat thinks she’s tougher than me? Fine. I’ll show her who’s serious.’