The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 777 Let Me Hear Him

"I found it." The policeman had gotten some clue. "The target that we are looking for is located at a small housing settlement built by the government in the south. However, the layout of the place can be complicated to navigate. Then, to make our job a bit more tricky, there are many children and old people living the compound. If we want to force our way in, it may be very difficult."

"Then what do we do now? Do you mean we are just supposed to wait here and do nothing?" said Charles, with a confrontational tone.

"You have to calm down first," the policeman said. "I think your previous idea might work. You can try to lure Leila out first. Then we enter the room to get the kids out. What do you think?"

Though Charles was not fully convinced, his overwhelming concern for all the things that could possibly take place, compelled him to agree.

The second day, Leila brought some food for the kids to have for breakfast, but Charlie still stared at her with caution. Leila sighed, "Stop giving me that look. This is not I want either. Do you think I would have gotten this if I had been given another choice?"

Looking straight into Charlie's eyes, she said, "Charlie, don't worry. You are my son. Are you willing to go with me?"

"No! I will not go with you," Charlie replied firmly. "I will stay here to take care of Shirley. I don't care where you go. I will not follow you anywhere."

Angered by Charlie's words, she stormed at him, "It is not up to you. You really believe that woman is going to be nice to you? I am sure that you will regret that decision one day!"

Charlie quietened down. The day before, he surveyed his surroundings carefully. It was on the ground floor. Because it was a room for rent, there was no anti-theft structures in place. Therefore, the windows did not have bars on them. Once the window was open, he could clearly see the courtyard. However, the window was too high for them to reach and escape.

After what he felt was way too long, Charles still couldn't find them. Hence he stopped merely waiting for help, and decided he had no other choice but to try and find his own way to escape.

After Leila went out of the room, Charlie fed Shirley, as usual, but he was prepared to escape if he saw that there was any chance that he would succeed.

Leila was furious with Charlie. Thinking about the invitation that had been extended by Charles, she called him for the meet-up.

To confirm that the kids were with Leila, Charles requested, "I need to speak to Charlie. Unless I am completely assured that they are safe and unharmed, I will not meet you." "Charles, do you really think I care what you want?" Leila sneered.

Charles softened his tone and replied, "Calm down. I just want to hear his voice. Only after I confirm that the kids are safe and sound, then, and only then... will I give you what you want. Otherwise, you will never get it."

"No problem," Leila agreed as she pushed the door open. Shirley was so scared that she hid behind Charlie. With eyes ablaze with loathing and resentment, Charlie stared at Leila and questioned, "What do you want this time?"

Leila did not answer Charlie, instead she replied into the phone, "Do you hear it now? Safe and sound, strong and energetic, they are perfectly fine."

"Wait just a second," Charles requested again. "I only hear Charlie. What about Shirley?"

Leila frowned and threw the question back, "You know your daughter right? She hasn't spoken a word for a long time. How do you want me to make her speak?"

Hearing that, Charlie being as clever as he was, then discovered that the person on the phone with Leila was Charles, so he calmed down and organized his thoughts. He took a glance at Leila, and then shouted to the phone, "Dad, Shirley is with me! She is fine!"

"You hear that?" scoffed Leila.

Charles then relaxed himself and replied, "Alright. Let's meet. You give me the time and place, and I will be there. It's completely up to you."

"Tonight. Ten o'clock. At the restaurant in the south," Leila said flatly. "I have to warn you. Come alone. Otherwise I promise that you will never want to see what will happen to your cute daughter." Leila hung up the phone and turned to Charlie. "Rest assured. Everything will end tonight. Then..."

She ended her statement abruptly, never actually completing it.

Coming out of the room, she called Holley and gave her a rundown of everything that had happened. Though everything seemed to be fine, Holley still felt somewhat uneasy and unsettled. She sensed that something was not right, though she could not tell exactly why.

Holley didn't dig into every detail, instead she asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Not really," Leila replied as she shook her head. "To be honest, I really don't know what I'm supposed to do now. Maybe I'll just wing it and figure it out as I go."

Holley wanted to try to convince her to give up, but clearly, to do so would be a waste of time. She already knew Leila wouldn't listen to her, so she decided not to speak.

Yet that was not the only reason for her silence. Other than that, she was scared that Leila would notice how nervous she really was if she were to speak one more word.

As Leila was about to end the call, Holley stopped her and gently reminded her, "No matter what happens, please be careful."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Leila replied in her cold voice and then ended the conversation.

Holley sat still on the sofa while George was showering. After his shower, George sat beside Holley and asked with a caring tone, "What happened to you? You don't seem quite like yourself." "I'm fine," Holley replied, trying hard to feign a smile. She suddenly thought of Donna and Sula. She hadn't seen them for a while, so she asked, "George, did Donna and Sula go back home?" "Why do you mention them all of a sudden?" George replied impatiently as he was annoyed by the question.

With a gentle smile, Holley said softly, "Well, she is your mother, after all. Whatever she did to me, she only wanted the best for you. I like to believe that she meant well."

Lying her head on his shoulder, Holley continued, "I know you quarreled with her because of me. If it weren't for me, there wouldn't be such a huge wedge between you two. But I really don't want you and her to continue going on like this."

Staring at George, she continued, "If she chooses to live in Y City, it will be impossible for you to hide from her for the rest of your life."

"Stop it. I know what I'm doing. Just leave it alone!" replied George. The bugging vein in his forehead signaled his aggravation with the whole conversation.

Ignoring his obvious cues for her to leave the subject alone, Holley continued, "Perhaps... I can invite her for lunch and we can settle everything face to face. What do you think?" Then she looked at him with a sly grin that told him she wasn't going to give up on this.

George sneered at her and replied, "Do you really think you can settle everything?"

He paused for a moment before continuing, "You want to be nice to her, but she may not want to be nice to you. I think, it is better for us to stay away from her instead of giving her another chance to attack us.' "But..." Holley wasn't ready to give up just yet. "Then the problem will never get solved? Do you think we can set the problem aside forever? What about us? Don't you want to marry me?"