Chapter 21
Leglanced down at his fingertips, which still carried the lingering sensation of Victoria’s troch “Have you made up your mind?”
Victoria was a stubborn as ever, and when she didn’t respond, it seemed to him that she had silently agreed.
Leon stood up. His movements were fluid and composed. Despite what had just happened between thein, he carried himself like the gentleman he always was
Pahile fonrider im’s lacking for wealthy people, I guarantee that no one but me would dare lend you the money.” He adjusted the sleeves of his shirt, and his time was cool
“Not even your best friend, Susie.”
Victoria’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you planning to do?” she asked, suddenly on eder.
“I’m not planning to do anything,“Leon replied calmly. He took slow steps toward het. “But if you try borrowing from her, that’s a different matter.”
Victoria clenched her fists at her sides. She had considered borrowing money hom Susie, intending to repay her slowly, but now her thoughts were in turmoil.
“Ale.“Leon dragged the last word out. His tone was teasing
Victoria’s heart lightened.
He continued closing the distance between them. His voice was smooth when he spoke again. “Thope, Ms. Smith, that you’ll be more honest from now on
“Don’t accuse me with your words while your hands betray you. You were grabbing at my shirt uncontrollably. After all, one of your favorite things used to be tugging at my shirt in a frenzy when you were sticted up.”
He purposefully glanced at his wrinkled shirt, and a slight smile tugged at his Eps.
Victoria couldn’t hold back the surge of frustration In a moment of fury, she raised her hand to slap him.
Her hand was caught firmly by Lean She tried to pull away, but his grip was unyielding
“Getting angry out of embarrassment isn’t a good look,” he said. He squeezed her hand for a moment before releasing it.
As he turned to leave, be added, “Think carefully about how to gather the funds for your mother’s surgery”
“I don’t need your help,” Victoria replied, forcing the words out while holding onto her last bit of pride.
Leon buttoned his jacket. His eyes were unreadable as they returned to their usual indifferent state.“I hope that’s the case.”
With measured steps, he walked away, as if the warmth from the earlier interaction had never happened.
As he passed by Leslie’s office, Leslie called out to him, “Mr. Quigley ”
Leon turned his head slightly, acknowledging the voice.
“There’s something I didn’t have a chance to tell you,” Leslie said after some hesitation
“Before Ms. Smith’s mother’s condition worsened, someone entered her hospital room. They didn’t do much. They just stood by the bed for a while, but I thought I should let you know.”
“Do you recognize him?” Leon asked with an unreadable expression
Leslie shook his head. “No, I’ve never seen him before. But based on his artice, he doesn’t seem like an ordinary person.”
Leslie pulled up a video from the hospital surveillance footage on his phone and handed it over.
Leon zoomed in on the footage.
After a few moments, a man appeared in the video. He was probably in his late forties or early fifties. He had a sharp, handsome face and an air of calm sophistication.
He stood by Laura’s bed for more than ten minutes while facing away from the camera, just as Leslie had described.
“Did you tell Victoria about this?” Leon asked after handing Leslie back the phone. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had seen this man before.
“No“Leslie answered.
“Don’t tell her about this for now,” Leon instructed.
“Understood,” Leslie replied.
Leon saved the footage, then quickly opened his WhatsApp
He sent the video to one of his contacts, along with a brief message “Find out who this man is and his connection to Victoria’s mother.”
A reply came back quickly. “Got it.”
Victoria hadde about the man who had visited Lata. After Leon lett, she went
to Laura’s hospital room.
When she saw Lawra lying there, looking so gentle and kind, the weight in Victoria’s chest grew heavier.
She silently swore to herself that she would find a way to gather the money for Laura’s surgery, no matter what it took. She would save her.
On the way back, Victoria kept thinking of ways to come up with the 50 thousand dollars in such a short amount of time
She thought, “Alan?”
But she had no assets to offer as collateral. The few things she had left were already take by Wayne
for jewelry, she hadn’t brought any with her, and even if she did, it wouldn’t be worth enough to sell Just as she was getting frustrated, something came to be–a thing that was her alone, something even Lean would never
ver be able to take back.
