“What? Leo stole the money?” Jessica abruptly halted her crying, got up from the floor, and charged towards Leo, pointing her finger at him, cursing loudly, “You damn worthless scumbag! What sins did I commit in my past life to have you marry into our family!”
Bruno, who had been gasping for breath under Leo’s foot, saw an opportunity with Jessica’s arrival and shouted, “Leo, get your damn foot off me!”
“Leo, release Bruno right now!” Fanny chimed in, her voice stern.
Bob, who had been silent all along, gave a cold smile and said, “Quite the Henley family, no wonder you’re insignificant in Langstel, just a bunch of trash.”
Teresa had always despised the phrase “insignificant in Langstel.” She turned to Bob, her face growing cold, and asked, “Who are you? What right do you have to meddle in the affairs of our family?”
Bob responded icily, “Old hag, listen up. My name is Bob Abe. I don’t care about your family’s mess, but Leo is my bro, and now his wife has been kidnapped, by none other than your beloved grandson. Do I have the right to intervene?”
The name Bob sent a shock through Teresa, and it left the Henley family members astonished.
Hadn’t Bob Abe, the big shot from Langstel’s gray area, disappeared suddenly four years ago? How had he reappeared so unexpectedly, and why was he calling Leo his bro?
It seemed unbelievable!
There were two possible explanations for this situation: Either this Bob wasn’t the same big-shot Bob, and Leo had brought someone in to impersonate him, or Leo had spent a significant amount of money to bring the resurfaced Bob here to support him.
Considering what happened today, the Henley family members quickly arrived at a conclusion: Leo’s theft of the money had been exposed, and in order to avoid punishment from the family, he had paid Bob to come and support him. Additionally, he had staged Sophia’s kidnapping to divert everyone’s attention.
Those in the Henley family with power, while not particularly adept at making money, had a knack for making even the most unreasonable situations seem plausible.
A Henley family relative, representing the others, presented this forcibly rationalized explanation to the old Mrs. Henley.
Bruno and Fanny were thrilled by this turn of events. When it really mattered, the Henley family’s relatives were dependable.
Bruno used his hands to support Leo’s right foot, allowing him to breathe a bit more easily. He raised his head and said to Teresa, “Grandma, I understand why Sophia was kidnapped. It must be because of a dispute between Leo and Sophia over the stolen money. Leo wanted to keep the money for himself, so he harmed Sophia.”
Bruno had his own imaginative spin on things. As long as it damaged Leo’s reputation, he didn’t mind making things up.
“Grandma, Bruno is right. It must be like this. Leo has been a problem ever since he married into the Henley family four years ago. Only he could do something like this.”
“What a despicable man! He even laid his hands on his own wife. What else is he not capable of doing? Mom, you mustn’t go easy on him this time. He must face the consequences he deserves.”
“We brought this waste into the Henley family, and it’s a real misfortune.”
For a moment, Leo was bombarded with attacks and curses from everyone.
Seeing the expressions on the Henley family members’ faces, Bob felt disgusted and wanted to vomit. His phone in his pocket began to ring.
Taking out his phone and answering the call, Bob stepped outside the room. Soon, he returned and approached Leo, whispering something in his ear.
A hint of joy appeared on Leo’s face, and he released his foot from Bruno’s chest.
Seeing Leo and Bob about to leave, Jessica hastily blocked their path and cried out, “Leo, did you harm Sophia? What have you done to her? Give me back my daughter!”
“Get out of my way!” Leo was truly annoyed by Jessica’s constant crying, so he pushed her aside.
Bruno quickly got up from the floor and yelled, “You scumbag! Do you think you can just come and go as you please here? You stole the dowry. Today, you won’t leave without an explanation!”
“Bruno is right; this scumbag not only stole the money but also disrupted our meeting. We can’t let him go!”
“Let’s call the police and have him arrested!”
“Leo, I have video evidence of your theft. If you dare to leave today, you’ll regret it!”
Leo turned slowly, his powerful killing intent erupting, and a sinister smile appeared on his face. “I’ve never stolen any money. Whoever tries to stop me, I won’t mind sending them to hell!”
Complete silence!
Everyone was silenced by the overwhelming killing intent Leo exuded, and they remained frozen until Leo and Bob disappeared through the meeting room’s doors.
“Too audacious! He just left like that, even though that’s two million dollars!”
“Could we just let him go like this? He’s gone too far.”
“Grandma, we absolutely cannot let Leo off the hook. Otherwise, he’ll ruin our family. As soon as you give the order, I’ll call the police and have that scumbag Leo arrested!”
The old Mrs. Henley left the meeting room with a grim expression, not uttering a word. She didn’t even spare a glance at the other Henley family members.
In silence, she stood there for a minute before finally hunching over, leaning on her cane, and leaving the room.
The Henley family members exchanged bewildered glances, not understanding why the old Mrs. Henley had acted this way today.
With the key person gone, the meeting couldn’t continue. After a round of condemnation and accusations directed at Leo, the matter of the stolen money was left unresolved.
Leo drove back to Langstel at breakneck speed with Bob. Bob had received news that his subordinates had located Sophia.
In the northern district of the city, within a dilapidated urban village awaiting demolition, in a three-story abandoned building, on the second floor.
In a filthy, disordered room, Sophia was bound to a chair, her eyes blindfolded with a black cloth, and her mouth taped shut.
Outside the room, two thugs leaned against a broken window, smoking and occasionally leering at Sophia, their eyes filled with lustful intent.
There was no helping it; Sophia was too beautiful. In the eyes of these two thugs, she was like a celestial being.
If it weren’t for their boss’s orders, they would have already pressed upon Sophia.
Sophia struggled in the chair for a while but eventually stopped wasting her energy. She didn’t understand why these guys had kidnapped her, and she wanted to shout, but all that came out was a muffled “mmph.”