Chapter 45
Melissa gripped the knife tightly, refusing to back down even an inch, locking herself in a standoff with Amelia. Amelia, of course, wasn’t about to seriously hurt herself—she just wanted to create a superficial injury to add weight to the kidnappers’ charges.
Amelia let out a sharp cry. “Ow…”
“Scared now, huh? Hurry up and send a message to the company. Tell them to cancel the debt immediately,” Melissa growled with a vicious glare.
Walter, who had been putting on an act just moments ago, finally revealed his true colors. “Amy, we’re father and daughter—don’t push me.”
“Dad, please don’t kill me. I’ll do whatever you say…” Amelia trembled as she pulled out her phone. “I–I’ll call them now.”
Walter had a sudden realization and cut her off. “No calls. Just send a text.”
That was exactly what Amelia had hoped for. She obediently started typing, her hands shaking so much that after several minutes, only a few characters appeared on the screen.
Irritated, Walter snatched the phone from her and typed the message himself. She silently watched, not resisting. Once the message was sent, there was nothing left to do but wait.
Walter and Melissa grew increasingly anxious, repeatedly pestering Amelia. “Why haven’t we heard back yet?”
“I don’t know either. I’m just a puppet in the Kingsley family, with no real power… Honestly, I don’t think they even care about whether I live or die…” Amelia’s voice grew more and more aggrieved as tears began to fall.
Walter and Melissa exchanged a glance and decided to pull out their ultimate trump card. One way or another, the debt had to be cleared today.
Just then, Zachary burst into the room. His face was filled with concern as he took in the scene. “Amy,” he exclaimed.
“Mr. Edwards, what is the meaning of this?” he asked, sounding both shocked and outraged.
Melissa sneered, “If Kingsley Group doesn’t clear our debt today, I’ll kill her.”
“No, don’t,” Zachary quickly interjected. “Amy is the heiress of the Edwards family—whatever you do, don’t hurt her.”
“Zachary, are you insane? Why are you speaking up for her?” Walter asked, glaring at him suspiciously.
Zachary hesitated for a moment, looking at the two elders, before finally saying, “Amy is my fiancée, after all.”
Amelia nearly gagged on the spot, thinking to herself, ‘Your acting is terrible. Ugh. Gross.’
“Amy, come with me,” Zachary said, gazing at her affectionately.
For a moment, Amelia froze, and she reflected, ‘In my past life, I fell for this over and over again—his fake tenderness, his hollow promises. In the end, it cost me my life.
‘And now, he’s still trying to deceive me? First orchestrating my kidnapping, and when that failed, swooping in with this ridiculous hero act? Hah, I may have been a hopeless romantic, but I’m not an idiot!
Seeing Amelia in a daze, Zachary thought she was wavering, so he pressed on and reached out to pull her in. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t touch me,” Amelia snapped, slapping his hand away with force.
Zachary froze, stunned. “Amy?”
“You’re not here to save me,” Amelia said coldly. “You’re all in on this. It’s all an act.” Her blunt words hit hard, and the expressions on the three people around her darkened instantly.
They all thought, ‘Kingsley Group should’ve received the message by now, but there’s been no reply. It looks like Amelia really doesn’t have any influence there. What now?’
“Zachary, how could you do this to Sandra?” Melissa shouted, her voice sharp with accusation.
“I’m sorry. But Amy is the one I truly love,” Zachary replied earnestly. “Sandra and I… It was a mistake.”
Melissa glared at him. “But Sandra’s pregnant with your child…”
“We’ll compensate her,” Zachary said, his tone firm.
Melissa sneered, “Oh really? And how exactly do you plan to ‘compensate’ her?”
Zachary turned to look at Amelia, who sat there, her face expressionless and tense. His confidence wavered as he tried to gauge her reaction. Finally, he ventured cautiously, “Amy, how about this? You help clear their debt, and we’ll run away together.”
“That’s impossible,” she sneered. “Even if I die here today, I don’t have the authority to make decisions on behalf of Kingsley Group.”
“Amy, you can do it,” Zachary urged, his voice filled with desperate affection. “Just try, and we can finally be free.”
Amelia suddenly shoved Melissa aside and stood up. Caught off guard, Melissa stumbled and fell heavily onto the floor, the knife she was holding clattering out of her grip.
Without hesitation, Amelia bolted. “Zachary, I don’t want anything to do with you,” she shouted as she ran.
Zachary’s face darkened, his patience finally snapping. ‘If persuasion doesn’t work, then I’ll just force her,’ he thought grimly.
He lunged forward, grabbing Amelia and pulling her roughly into his arms. Before she could struggle, he pressed his lips to hers forcefully. “Let’s see if Kingsley Group still cares about their image after this.”
Melissa, holding up her phone, shouted excitedly, “Strip her clothes off.” Her expression twisted with malice. She wanted to destroy Amelia completely—not just to settle the debt but to ensure she’d never rise again.
Zachary had already harbored the desire to take Amelia by force the day before, and his desire had only grown stronger. He threw her onto the sofa, tearing off his jacket as he advanced toward her.
“Don’t move.” Amelia suddenly produced a knife from who-knows-where, pressing it against his abdomen.
Zachary’s face paled in shock. “You…”
“Be careful now,” she said with a cold smirk, rapping her knuckles against the small table beside the sofa—Thud. Thud. Thud.
The door to the ward burst open, and Aaron stormed in with a group of police officers. “Nobody move,” he barked. The color instantly drained from the faces of Zachary, Walter, and Melissa at the sight.
The leading officer asked politely, “Mrs. Kingsley, were you the one who called the police?”
Amelia smoothed her clothes and stood up gracefully, “Yes, it was me.”
Walter shouted in disbelief, “This is a family gathering. Why would you call the cops?”
The officer replied, “Mr. Edwards, Mrs. Kingsley reported that someone kidnapped her.”
Walter was utterly stunned. Amelia hadn’t touched her phone at all since entering the hospital room, and the only text that had been sent was the one he had sent. He couldn’t understand when she might have contacted the police.
“Take them all away, and I need an injury assessment,” Amelia said, revealing the wound on her waist. The injury had long since healed, leaving only a dried bloodstain.
Aaron’s eyes widened in shock, and he thought anxiously, ‘Oh no, I’m doomed, Mr. Kingsley is going to kill me for this.
“Officer, it’s not what it looks like…” Walter and Melissa tried to explain, but no one paid them any attention.
Zachary turned back and gave Amelia a deep, sinister look, asking, “You planned this from the start, didn’t you?” She responded with nothing but a faint smile.
Soon after, all three were taken away. Aaron walked up with a bitter expression. “Mrs. Kingsley, why didn’t you wait for me?”
“Landon sent you?” Amelia smiled radiantly.
Aaron nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then thank him for me.” A trace of warmth rose in Amelia’s heart. Even though it was just icing on the cake, it still made her happy.
Aaron hesitated. “But you’re hurt…”
“I did it on purpose. It’s just a minor injury, no big deal.” Amelia grabbed her purse and handed him the recording device inside. “This has all the evidence of their crimes. Could you take it to the police station for me?”
“You planned this in advance?” Aaron was stunned.
“Of course. I’m not as naive as you guys think,” Amelia said as she showed him her bag, which contained a recording device, a small knife and pepper spray.
Before coming, she had already anticipated the worst—kidnapping, assault. To prevent a repeat of what happened to Elizabeth, she’d even brought Wesley along, ready to give her an antidote at any moment if necessary.
Amelia gracefully walked over to the room’s only male nurse and said, “Dr. Harrington, thank you for your help today.”
“You’ve got both great wisdom and courage,” Wesley said, pulling off his mask. For the first time, he praised her willingly.
Amelia smiled as she went to get her injuries examined, thinking, ‘I finally took care of the scumbag dad, evil stepmother, and that trashy guy. Ah. This feels great.’