The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 776 Have A Face-To-Face Talk

Leila narrowed her eyes as she glanced at Charlie. After all he was brought up by her. So she was still soft towards him. She paused for a second and said, "Charlie, as long as you still take me as your mother and promise that you'll take my side, I'll let you go. We will stay together like before. What do you think of it?"

Hearing her offer, Shirley held Charlie's hand tightly out of fear. Being a sensitive child, she could sense the danger looming over her head. She was afraid that she would be left alone.

Charlie held Shirley's hand and patted on the back of her hand to make her feel comfortable.

Leila saw Charlie's reactions and understood his choice. So she got slightly annoyed and said impatiently, "Have you decided it? I tell you, you have just one chance. If you choose the wrong side, you'll lose it all."

"Stop daydreaming," Charlie said with a sarcastic smile on his face. He added, "I'll never take your side. I'll be here with Shirley."

"You..." Leila sneered at him as she got enraged by his attitude. Charlie had always been defiant towards her. Then she looked into his eyes and the anger on her face broke into a wicked smile. "Fine. Just remember what you said. I hope you will never get remorseful for today's choice," she spoke to warn him.

She then took a very close look at Shirley. Although she was just a kid at the moment, it couldn't be denied that she already had an attractive face and a striking similarity with Sheryl. Indisputably, she was Sheryl' own daughter. That was to say Sheryl was pregnant with twins three years ago. Hence after Leila took away the son from her, she must have delivered this girl.

The more Leila thought about all this, she grew more and more envious of Sheryl. Why had she not killed Sheryl three years ago?

As she glanced at both the kids, her heart was getting filled with hatred for Sheryl. Both these kids reminded her of the strong bond between Charles and Sheryl that could not be shaken. "Stop looking at me like that," Leila said as she put on a sarcastic smile on her face. She looked at Shirley in a vicious manner and said, "You should blame your mom for all this. You know what your mom is..."

"Enough!" Charlie cut her in impatiently and stepped forward in front of Shirley. Shirley had started shivering out of fear. The recently developed autism symptom, plus being detained here, had nearly scared Shirley out of her wits. If Leila continued to threaten her, Shirley was at a risk of being stimulated, leading her psychological conditions to be triggered all over again.

Charlie covered Shirley to avoid her from being exposed to Leila's atrocities. He then gave a stern and indifferent look at her and said in a cold voice, "If you have finished speaking what you wanted to say, just get out."

There was something about Charlie's attitude that was intimidating for Leila. She didn't know why, but she always had a tinge of fear toward Charlie. Maybe this boy got the sternness from his father.

So she just put down the meals and said ruthlessly, "Just eat your food now. I don't want you to starve to death over here."

Then she just turned around and slammed the door before she left. Charlie lifted the bowl and fed Shirley clumsily before he began to eat.

Shirley felt assured to have Charlie by her side. But she became restless and nervous. She held Charlie's hand with her trembling hands and asked in tearful voice, "Charlie, when could we leave from here? I... I miss my mom and Uncle Charles."

"Soon," Charlie replied briefly with a stiff frown set on his face. In the beginning, Leila had just kidnapped Shirley. But she had been spotted by Charlie. He had stopped her without hesitation. Hence she had had no choice but to take Charlie away as well. Now he was glad that he had been kidnapped as well. Otherwise, Shirley would face the terrible situation all by herself.

He tried to ease Shirley's fear and said softly, "We'll get out here soon, trust me."

He believed Charles would be able to find them out very soon. But he couldn't just sit there and wait. He had to do something, so that they could leave the place as quickly as possible.

As Leila walked out of the room, her heart was filled with remorse and anger. Charlie's indifference towards her made her feel bitter and angry every time she thought about it. She couldn't understand why Charlie had never been kind to her.

She really treated Charlie like her own son all the time. But unfortunately Charlie had always been hostile towards her.

She sat on the sofa and kept thinking why on earth she had kidnapped Shirley. Was it merely because she disliked Sheryl?

But if so, why didn't she turn happy at all when she heard that Sheryl was in the hospital?

Or maybe she just wanted to threaten Charles in this way. After all she could not even forgive Charles for not reciprocating her love.

However, heart of heart, she knew better than anyone else that she would not be able to harass Charles in any way. The more she thought, the more remorseful she became. Suddenly as the thought of Charles, a fear gripped her mind.

All of a sudden, she became worried about whether she would be able to come out of the situation peacefully. She knew that Charles would not spare her life this time.

She grew more and more restless and started shaking her legs out of nervousness. At this point of time, she realized the preciousness of being alive.

After a long moment of pause, Leila composed herself. She took a few deep breathes and called Charles up. Although it was late night, Charles answered the phone promptly and yelled over the phone, "What do you really want?"

Charles' storming voice came as a thunder strike on Leila. However, she somehow managed to hide the anxiety in her voice from Charles. "It's easy. I just want money," Leila replied in a very calm and composed voice. She was regretting her decision to have refused the compensation Charles offered to her earlier. If she had accepted that money, she wouldn't have been trapped in such a terrible situation now. She did not want to repeat the same mistake all over again.

"No problem. Tell me how much you want?" Charles gasped as he inquired over the phone. Then he took a few deep breathes to calm himself down. This was a bargain he could handle. He added in a calm voice, "As long as the two kids are safe and sound, I will pay whatever you ask for."

"50 million," Leila blurted even without thinking. After saying that she smiled as she thought of the exorbitant price she asked for. But then she paused for a while and added, "And apart from this, you must prepare two tickets for me. I'll take Charlie abroad and start my life with him afresh."

She let out a sarcastically laugh and said, "I care a damn about you, Sheryl or Shirley. But Charlie is my son. I will take him with me."

"Stop daydreaming, Leila," Charles replied with an ironic smile. "Both Charlie and Shirley are all my kids. No one can take them away from me. I am ready to give the money you have demanded but you have to return both the kids safely." Charles refused her second requirement right away.

"It seems that we can't make a deal," Leila replied. "Fine, take your time. Let me know when you have truly considered it clearly. We will have a talk about it again at that time," Leila smiled ironically as she spoke. Then she was about to hang up.

As Charles felt that she was ending the conversation, his eyes fell on the call tracers who clearly showed that they didn't catch her position yet. The call tracers signalled him to prolong their conversation. So Charles hastily called out to Leila, "Hold on. Just give me a moment."

"So, are you changing your mind now?" Leila continued in the same sarcastic tone. She felt a little confident when she heard Charles' voice tremble as he spoke. She felt that he could give in to her demands. "Charles, you already have Sheryl and Shirley with you. You shouldn't be too greedy. You can't have it all. You better behave like a grown up. Sooner you can make up your mind, the quicker you can see your kid," Leila added.

"Leila, I want to have a face-to-face talk with you," Charles spoke in a faint voice. The mellowed voice of Charles made Leila more confident. She gave a winning smile as she took the phone from one side to another. "It's not a piece of cake we are talking about. We'd better meet each other and talk about it," Charles added as he tried his best to lure her out of her hole where she was hiding.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" she spoke with a sarcastic smile. "If I agree to see you, I won't get anything and will also face the risk of getting caught."

Charles furrowed his brows and said, "I promise, I'll come alone. You have two kids with you. You have nothing to worry about. You'll be safe."

Hearing what Charles said, Leila hesitated for a second before she replied, "You give me a few minutes for considering it."

Then she hung up. Charles hurriedly went over to the call tracers and asked, "Did you spot her location?"