The Substitute Bride

Leila narrowed her eyes as she glanced at Charlie. After all he was brought up by her. So she was still soft towards him. She paused for a second and said, "Charlie, as long as you still take me as your mother and promise that you'll take my side, I'll let you go. We will stay together like before. What do you think of it?"

Hearing her offer, Shirley held Charlie's hand tightly out of fear. Being a sensitive child, she could sense the danger looming over her head. She was afraid that she would be left alone.

Charlie held Shirley's hand and patted on the back of her hand to make her feel comfortable.

Leila saw Charlie's reactions and understood his choice. So she got slightly annoyed and said impatiently, "Have you decided it? I tell you, you have just one chance. If you choose the wrong side, you'll lose it all."

"Stop daydreaming," Charlie said with a sarcastic smile on his face. He added, "I'll never take your side. I'll be here with Shirley."

"You…" Leila sneered at him as she got enraged by his attitude. Charlie had always been defiant towards her. Then she looked into his eyes and the anger on her face broke into a wicked smile. "Fine. Just remember what you said. I hope you will never get remorseful for today's choice," she spoke to warn him.

She then took a very close look at Shirley. Although she was just a kid at the moment, it couldn't be denied that she already had an attractive face and a striking similarity with Sheryl. Indisputably, she was Sheryl' own daughter. That was to say Sheryl was pregnant with twins three years ago. Hence after Leila took away the son from her, she must have delivered this girl.

The more Leila thought about all this, she grew more and more envious of Sheryl. Why had she not killed Sheryl three years ago?

As she glanced at both the kids, her heart was getting filled with hatred for Sheryl. Both these kids reminded her of the strong bond between Charles and Sheryl that could not be shaken. "Stop looking at me like that," Leila said as she put on a sarcastic smile on her face. She looked at Shirley in a vicious manner and said, "You should blame your mom for all this. You know what your mom is..."

"Enough!" Charlie cut her in impatiently and stepped forward in front of Shirley. Shirley had started shivering out of fear. The recently developed autism symptom, plus being detained here, had nearly scared Shirley out of her wits. If Leila continued to threaten her, Shirley was at a risk of being stimulated, leading her psychological conditions to be triggered all over again.

Charlie covered Shirley to avoid her from being exposed to Leila's atrocities. He then gave a stern and indifferent look at her and said in a cold v

have truly considered it clearly. We will have a talk about it again at that time," Leila smiled ironically as she spoke. Then she was about to hang up.

As Charles felt that she was ending the conversation, his eyes fell on the call tracers who clearly showed that they didn't catch her position yet. The call tracers signalled him to prolong their conversation. So Charles hastily called out to Leila, "Hold on. Just give me a moment."

"So, are you changing your mind now?" Leila continued in the same sarcastic tone. She felt a little confident when she heard Charles' voice tremble as he spoke. She felt that he could give in to her demands. "Charles, you already have Sheryl and Shirley with you. You shouldn't be too greedy. You can't have it all. You better behave like a grown up. Sooner you can make up your mind, the quicker you can see your kid," Leila added.

"Leila, I want to have a face-to-face talk with you," Charles spoke in a faint voice. The mellowed voice of Charles made Leila more confident. She gave a winning smile as she took the phone from one side to another. "It's not a piece of cake we are talking about. We'd better meet each other and talk about it," Charles added as he tried his best to lure her out of her hole where she was hiding.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" she spoke with a sarcastic smile. "If I agree to see you, I won't get anything and will also face the risk of getting caught."

Charles furrowed his brows and said, "I promise, I'll come alone. You have two kids with you. You have nothing to worry about. You'll be safe."

Hearing what Charles said, Leila hesitated for a second before she replied, "You give me a few minutes for considering it."

Then she hung up. Charles hurriedly went over to the call tracers and asked, "Did you spot her location?"