The Substitute Bride

Charles was shocked. All his hopes were quashed, and he felt empty. He couldn't help but worry again.

''Has the kidnapper killed Shirley? Or he has moved her to another place?'

Charles' mind was in a state of chaos. His face became ashen, and his hands trembled. The life seemed to have drained from him, and he nearly collapsed in a heap.

He couldn't accept that his daughter was killed. 'Where are you, Shirley?' he thought in desperation while looking up at the ceiling of the room.

'When I catch her damn kidnapper, I'll cut him into pieces!' If the kidnapper dared to lay so much as a finger on Shirley, Charles would get back at him in the most brutal possible way. Charles' eyes turned red at the thought of what he was going to do to the kidnapper.

He clenched his fists, and the veins on the back of his hand popped out. Then suddenly out of anger and frustration, he punched the wall with his fist. The blood oozed out through his fingers, but he didn't seem to care about his injury. He was numb to the pain.

Charles cared about nothing except for Shirley's safety.

"You don't have to come. Shirley isn't here. The kidnapper took her away before I got here," Charles told David in a hoarse voice. Then he hung up.

Charles walked around the cabin and looked for any clues along the way, but failed to find any. It seemed that the kidnapper was very thorough and had left no trace.

Finally, he went to the wooden stake. Bending down before it, he examined the broken ropes on the floor and felt heartbroken at the thought of Shirley being tied up by them.

Shirley's skin was tender, and the coarse rope would surely leave black and blue marks. 'Did Shirley get injured being tied with these ropes?' His chest tightened at the thought of how she must be suffering. Charles wished more than anything that he could tear the kidnapper apart with his bare hands and hold his beloved daughter in his arms again.

Aunt Melissa, please give me a moment. I'll go upstairs to freshen up. Then we can set off." Since Melissa insisted on Leila going with her, Leila had to agree.

Once she was back at her room, Leila carefully applied her makeup so that it was flawless. Since she would meet Sheryl, she must show her perfection before that woman. Sheryl had been sick for a long time, so Leila was sure that Sheryl wasn't as beautiful as she was.

Before leaving, she pressed her lips together to make the lipstick smudge and give a more natural appearance. She looked in the mirror and smiled with satisfaction.

"Aunt Melissa, let's go!" Leila naturally took Melissa by the arm and then they walked out of the Dream Garden.

In the taxi

"Leila, tell me the truth. Do you still want to remove Sheryl from the picture and become my daughter-in-law?" Melissa looked at her and asked.

Leila's heart thumped faster, and she was a little panicked. She wondered why Melissa asked her such a question. She thought she had disguised herself well in front of Melissa, and Leila was sure that she didn't do anything that would have made Melissa suspect anything. So until now, Melissa still thought that she was innocent.

In saying that, then Melissa wasn't flying a kite by asking her such a question.