The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1540 I'm Sincere

Bang!

Charles turned around upon hearing the loud noise, and found Leila kneeling on the floor. Any passersby could see her since the door to his office was open. His secretary stood aghast, not knowing what to do.

"What are you doing? Get up now!" Charles shouted at her. He was pretty angry that Leila dared to push him, but it would be too awkward if he would help her up.

Sobbing, Leila stared at Charles with teary eyes and said, "Mr. Lu, I know you don't like me. But Aunt Melissa is like my own mother. I'm sincere! Had I not known her, I couldn't have survived my time in jail. She has been so kind to me so I have regarded her as family. If you don't know, I lost my mom when I was very young, so I've never felt a mother's love. Aunt Melissa has changed my whole life. She saved me..."

Truth be told, Charles was moved by her confession. Even though Leila wasn't a good person, she might have really cared about Melissa.

Noticing the hesitation in Charles eyes, Leila knew that she could still change his mind. So she immediately added, "Mr. Lu, I am not asking for your permission. I would still follow you even if you won't allow me. You can't stop me!"

It was the critical moment now. She and Melissa had gone so far. If she didn't follow Charles to show him her sincerity, their efforts would all be in vain.

Charles raised his left arm to check out the time. It was getting close to their agreed time. And here he was caught up in this discussion. Time was ticking really fast, and he couldn't afford such delays. Glancing at Leila, who was still down on her knees, he took things into consideration. She seemed to care nothing about her own dignity, ignoring all the curious and contemptuous gaze she was now getting from other people.

Considering the fact that she had been imprisoned before, Charles expected her to care more about self-respect. But in order to help Charles in saving Melissa, she could cast away her self-esteem. Charles knew that he shouldn't ignore her anymore.

After thinking it through, he decided to accept Leila's offer.

"Fine. You can go with me. But you have to listen to me all the time. If you dare to get in my way, I promise I won't spare you!" Charles snapped. Truth be told, Charles didn't fully trust her. He couldn't forget the malicious things that she had done to his family. He was afraid that her presence would make further trouble.

"Mr. Lu, rest assured that I won't do anything foolish. Aunt Melissa has been kidnapped. I'll try my best to help out. I'm willing to risk my life just to save her!" she promised. Charles didn't respond. He just turned around and took his leave.

Seeing that, Leila struggled to get up. However, maybe because she had been kneeling down for too long and her feet became numb, she was unable to find her footing initially and fell down to the floor again. Hearing the sudden thud, Charles couldn't help but turn around to see what happened.

"I'm fine. I can get up," Leila said immediately. She then tried her best to stand up and staggered out behind Charles.

Charles remained silent as he strode out of the Shining Company.

He drove to meet the kidnappers, with no intentions to call the police. He thought it would be better if only a few people knew about the incident. Checking out the location that the kidnappers provided him earlier, Charles sped along until he arrived at a deserted wilderness.

Having lived in this city for so long, Charles had never been to this place until now. An unfinished building stood alone in the middle of nowhere. It was broken and dilapidated. 'Who owns this property?' Charles couldn't help wondering. Shaking his head out of all other thoughts, he tried to focus on his mission. His priority now was to save Melissa.

Getting out of the car, they walked around the area to find the kidnappers. However, there was no one onsite. The kidnappers had used burner phone to call him, so he couldn't call them back. He was left with no choice but to wait for them to contact him.

"Mr. Lu, are you sure this is the place?" Leila asked carefully.

She was well aware that the location was right, but she pretended that she was clueless about it, as she and Melissa had planned.

"Why do you think we are here?" Charles replied impatiently, casting a sharp look at Leila.

She shut up immediately and remained silent.

After a while, they went back to the car to wait for the call.

Time passed by, but no one showed up in the area.

Feeling a little impatient, Leila looked at her watch and found that they had already been waiting half an hour after the agreed time. She peeked at Charles, who was also fretful, and asked, "Do you think the kidnappers may have changed their mind?"

"You should ask them!" Charles spat. Charles was so worried about Melissa, and Leila's stupid question made him even more annoyed.

"What should we do now?" Leila murmured. She could feel that Charles was in a bad mood now, and her question had aggravated it.

In fact, Charles also didn't know what he should do now. He was deeply concerned about Melissa's well-being. He wondered what could have happened to her. Was she safe? Ignoring Leila's question, he stared at his cell phone sullenly.

The only thing he could do now was to wait. He hoped that the kidnappers could call him as soon as possible.

It was deadly silent in the car, and Leila didn't even dare to move.

All of a sudden, they were startled when Charles' cell phone buzzed.

Without hesitation, Charles picked up immediately.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Lu, can you see the wooden stake by the side of the building? Put your money there and then leave this place!" the kidnapper ordered with obvious complacency.

Leila stared at Charles, noticing how his eyebrows knitted tightly and his lips pressed into a line. He was obviously furious. Leila thought that if the kidnappers were in front of Charles, he might possibly give them a good beat.

"I have to see her before I give you the money. Otherwise, don't even dream of getting the money!" Charles wasn't stupid. He had to make sure that his mother was alive.

There was silence at the other end of the line. They might be discussing his demand.

After a while, someone answered, "All right!"

Then the call got cut off. Charles and Leila took the money and walked out of the car. They walked around the building, and soon saw the kidnappers walking out from the back. Charles found it weird since they checked it out earlier and there wasn't anyone onsite moments ago.

The kidnappers pulled Melissa as they approached Charles.

Melissa was in a wretched plight. She was dirty all over, while her face and hair were in a mess. Charles felt so sorry for his mother. When he reached out to pull Melissa back, the kidnappers stopped him. One of the kidnappers grasped Melissa, while the other one pointed a gun at Charles' head.

They were all masked, so Charles couldn't see their faces.

"Take it slowly, Mr. Lu. Give me your money first!"

Charles didn't say anything as he handed him the money.

However, after the kidnappers got the money, they didn't set Melissa free. Instead, they forced her to retreat back slowly, still pointing the gun at Charles.

"What are you doing? You already got the money. Why don't you set her free now?" Charles asked urgently.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lu. Once we are sure that we're safe, we'll let her go," one of them answered. The kidnappers acted pretty cautious. They knew that Charles was a big boss in the commercial world, so they were afraid that he got backup.

Hearing that, Charles clenched his fists in fury. But he didn't dare to act irresponsibly.