In the Henley family estate, a living room.
Jessica and Martin hadn’t returned home. Instead, they were in front of Teresa, pleading desperately.
“Mom, please, you have to find a way to save Sophia. She’s been kidnapped for so long, and the kidnappers haven’t called yet. What if they decide to harm her…”
Jessica couldn’t continue speaking, her voice choked with tears.
Teresa’s face turned grim. She sat silently in her armchair, tightly gripping her cane.
Bruno and Fanny stood nearby, looking coldly at Jessica as she sobbed on the floor. There was no trace of sympathy in their eyes.
Sophia’s kidnapping had been planned and orchestrated by Bruno, with Fanny as an accomplice. Both of them hoped that Leo and Sophia would disappear from the face of the Earth.
However, since they hadn’t received any messages from Ken and Noah in a while, Bruno felt uneasy. Several attempts to deal with Leo and Sophia had ended in failure. From the moment Leo had escaped the meeting room, Bruno knew that Leo must have received a ransom call from Noah to rescue Sophia. Now he could only hope that nothing went wrong on Noah and Ken’s side; otherwise, his one million dollars would be wasted.
Seeing that the old Mrs. Henley remained silent, Bruno took the initiative. “Grandma, this kidnapping is definitely Leo’s doing. We can’t let this slide. Otherwise, Leo, that worthless scum, will eventually lead the Henley family into disaster.”
“Grandma, what Bruno said is true. Leo not only stole the money, but he also harmed Sophia. We can’t rule out the possibility that he might do something even more terrible in the future.”
“Grandma, that money was supposed to be sent by my future in-laws. Leo had no right to touch it. It’s no different from robbery.”
When it came to dealing with Leo and Sophia, Fanny and Bruno had a shameless and effective partnership. They had reached the highest level of deception, where they had even managed to deceive themselves. Fanny discovered her hidden talent for acting as she spoke those words with a straight face.
The old Mrs. Henley raised her eyes and gave Bruno and Fanny a cold, inscrutable look. “Are you absolutely certain that you two have no involvement in Sophia’s kidnapping?”
This question made Bruno and Fanny’s hearts skip a beat. They instinctively exchanged a glance, both wondering if the old Mrs. Henley had noticed something.
Bruno had prepared himself to deny any involvement, saying, “Grandma, we had nothing to do with Sophia’s kidnapping. How could we be connected to it?”
Fanny quickly added, “Grandma, although I don’t particularly like Sophia, she’s still our cousin. We would never harm her.”
After the impromptu family meeting ended in confusion, it was only Jessica and Martin who continued to plead with Teresa to use the family’s resources to find and rescue Sophia. The others remained cautious, and the old Mrs. Henley didn’t express her stance.
This made Bruno uneasy because according to his script, once Grandma learned that Leo had stolen the money, she should have been furious. Could it be that she had realized the truth? Or was it because she was afraid of Bob, who had accompanied Leo to the meeting?
The old Mrs. Henley tapped her cane on the floor and snorted, “It’s best if you have nothing to do with this matter. Otherwise, I won’t show any mercy!”
“Mom, please, find a way to save Sophia. If we continue like this, something terrible might happen to her,” Jessica sobbed.
Martin also knelt before the old Mrs. Henley and pleaded, “Mom, Sophia is your own granddaughter. Please, find a way to rescue her.”
Teresa was growing impatient with Jessica’s tears. “Enough! Crying won’t solve anything. Since it’s a kidnapping, the kidnappers likely want money. As long as they haven’t received the ransom, Sophia should be safe. Now, wait for their call to demand the ransom, and then you can go pay and get her back.”
The old Mrs. Henley’s face remained calm, and her tone was composed.
Bruno glanced at Jessica and sarcastically said, “Grandmother is right. Crying won’t solve the problem. Sophia’s likely been kidnapped by Leo, that good-for-nothing. So, there shouldn’t be any problems with her.”
Fanny quickly chimed in, “That’s right. Who would kidnap Sophia for no reason? Maybe today’s incident was just a staged drama between her and Leo…”
Boom!
The front door was suddenly kicked open, and Leo and Sophia appeared in the doorway.
Leo’s face was filled with a chilling intent, and his eyes emitted a piercing coldness, directed straight at Bruno.
“Dear!” Jessica was momentarily stunned, then she scrambled to her feet and rushed toward Sophia.
Jessica grabbed her daughter’s hand, carefully examining her, and asked with concern, “Dear, are you okay?”
At the sight of Leo and Sophia’s arrival, Bruno and Fanny seemed as though they had seen ghosts. If it weren’t for their strong psychological resilience developed during their long-standing struggle, they might have collapsed to the ground.
Sophia looked at her mother and smiled, shaking her head. “Mom, I’m fine. Don’t worry. Leo saved me.”
“Leo saved you? How is that possible? This useless scum could never have rescued you from kidnappers. Daughter, you don’t have to speak in his favor.” Jessica glanced at Leo with disdain, clearly not believing him.
Ignoring Jessica completely, Leo walked towards Bruno and Fanny.
As Leo’s frosty gaze approached, Bruno and Fanny felt a shiver down their spines and began to step back, retreating until they stood behind the old Mrs. Henley.
With the old Mrs. Henley shielding them, Bruno regained a bit of confidence and called out, “Leo, you’re not just a freeloader, but also a thief who stole the money. What do you intend to do?”
Leo shifted his gaze onto Teresa and sneered, “Grandma, considering the circumstances, you wouldn’t shield him, would you?”
The expression on Leo’s face irritated Teresa. She maintained her calm demeanor and coldly asked, “Leo, what do you mean by that?”
“Grandma, you are the chairwoman of the Henley Group and the head of the Henley family. With your shrewdness, I’m sure you can see that the so-called surveillance video was doctored. Bruno framed me for everything.”
Leo’s icy words sent shivers down Bruno and Fanny’s spines.
“Bruno… and maybe Fanny, these two despicable accomplices, stole the money, hired someone to kidnap Sophia, and then placed all the blame on me. Are you pretending not to see it?”