"Yes, I do. I really do," Toria stammered, feeling the man's icy aura, like a grim reaper emerging from the depths of hell. It was the first time she had felt so close to death.
Driven by a survival instinct, Toria nodded vigorously, "Of course I do. But how can I prove it?"
"Good."
The frost on Leo's cold face melted away, and his lips curved into a barely noticeable smile.
He leaned in close to her ear, his warm breath tickling the hair at the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine.
After a few seconds, she finally heard him say, "I have a permanent solution."
"W-what solution?"
"That is..."
He paused, seemingly toying with her, until he noticed how tense she was. Then he said, "Death!"
"D-death?"
Toria was so terrified that she stumbled back, crashing into the sofa and falling into it, staring blankly at him. "No, no... I don't want that."
She absolutely couldn't agree to that.
"Leo, are you a devil?"
Even the usually strong Toria couldn't help but be scared.
Before this, she didn't know Leo's truth, crashing into the sofa and falling into it, staring blankly at him. "No, no... I don't want that."
She absolutely couldn't agree to that.
"Leo, are you a devil?"
Even the usually strong Toria couldn't help but be scared.
Before this, she didn't know Leo's true identity, but now that she did, she was even more frightened.
Because this man had the power to crush everything in his path. Killing her would be as easy as squashing an ant.
Leo let out a light scoff and dialed a number on his phone. "George , get here immediately..."
"No, no, you can't!"
Before Leo could finish his sentence, Toria sprang up, snatched his phone, and ended the call. She yelled, both angry and aggrieved, "Why? Just because you have money, you think you can do whatever you want?"
It was clear that playing the innocent, pitiful rabbit in front of this man was utterly pointless.
Because this jerk was nothing but a cold-blooded beast.
"Whether I can or not, you'll find out soon enough." Leo took back his phone from her hand and walked past her without a second glance.
"Don't go!"
Toria grabbed Leo's hand and fell to her knees with a thud, tears streaming down her face. "Mr. Carter, you can't do this. I don't even know if I'm pregnant, but if I am, I'll definitely get an abortion."
In a desperate bid to save her life, Toria threw away all her dignity. It meant nothing when her life was on the line.
"Just a moment ago, you were all righteous indignation, and now you're begging on your knees?" The man gripped her chin with his large hand.
"Tell me, which side of you should I believe?"
"Mr. Carter, let's be reasonable. It was your grandmother who drugged me, and you were the one who slept with me. I'm the victim here. Why should I bear the consequences?"
She was furious.
Seeing her pitiful look just moments ago, now kneeling on the ground with an angry expression, her rapidly changing emotions piqued Leo's interest.
"Because money can make anything possible," he echoed Toria's earlier words back at her.
Leo pulled out a tissue to wipe the hand that had touched her chin, as if it were dirty.
After tossing the tissue into the trash, he turned and walked away.
"Mr. Carter?"
"Mr. Carter, we can talk this out."
"Hey, Leo, don't walk away."
"Leo Carter, you're a jerk! A scumbag!"
Watching the man leave the living room without looking back, Toria couldn't help but curse him out.
Then she got up and sat on the sofa, patting her knees as if dusting off invisible dirt, muttering, "Shameless bastard."
Outside, the elevator doors closed, and the man was gone.
Toria sat on the sofa, reaching for her phone to call Mrs. Carter, only to realize that the signal was blocked.
"I can't just sit here and do nothing."
Toria's mind raced as she thought about how to escape from this place.
She got up and surveyed the floor, noting that the only way in was through the elevator and a locked door at the end of the hallway.
Outside the living room door stood two burly bodyguards.
After pacing around inside, Toria headed to the bedroom, found a lighter, and wrapped a roll of toilet paper around a mop. She lit it and aimed it at the ceiling's sprinkler system.
In just a second, the sprinklers activated, spraying water everywhere.
From the bedroom to the guest room, then the kitchen and bathroom, Toria used the fire to trigger the sprinklers, which also set off the smoke alarms.
Hearing the alarms blare, she quickly placed the mop in a corner and dashed out of the bathroom.
"What's going on?"
"Where's the fire?"
The two bodyguards rushed in, looking alarmed.
Toria shook her head, feigning ignorance. "I don't know... it's so scary..."
"You check over there, I'll check here."
"Got it."
The two bodyguards immediately ran further inside to investigate.
Seizing the opportunity, Toria ran out of the living room and pressed the button for the private elevator on the 38th floor.
Once she escaped from Velvet Club , she hailed a taxi and got in.
"Take me to Haven Brook Hospital. Wait, no, go to Long Creek Villa."
She had originally planned to go to Haven Brook Hospital to find her adoptive parents, but now she decided to head to Long Creek Villa to get money from the Turner family.
Then, she would leave New Orleans with her adoptive parents. When she donated bone marrow to the youngest son of the Turner family, her biological father had promised her $50,000 as compensation when she left New Orleans .
Toria despised taking his money, but now she had no choice.
Her salary hadn't been paid, and the only $5000 she had was used to pay for Leo's medical bills.
She needed money to take her adoptive parents back to the countryside. Without money, she couldn't move an inch.
After more than half an hour, she arrived at Long Creek Villa.
Toria got out of the car and walked to the villa's entrance, pressing the doorbell. It wasn't long before the door opened, revealing Grace, who was adorned in jewels. She frowned at Toria and said,
"What are you doing here?"
Grace, nearly fifty years old, wore a royal blue, waist-cinched V-neck blouse paired with high-waist black pants. Thanks to her excellent maintenance, she looked youthful and elegant.
She was Toria's biological mother.
"Where's Harvey Turner? I need to talk to him," Toria said directly.
"How dare you speak his name like that?" Grace looked at Toria with contempt and disdain.
Sometimes Toria just couldn't understand. She and Chloe were clearly born of the same mother, so why did their parents favor Chloe and despise her?
"Why can't I say his name?" Toria let out a sarcastic laugh. "Fine.
Where's your husband? I need to talk to him."
"You...! Hmph. Just as I thought. Fresh from some backwater town, with absolutely no breeding.
" Grace was seething with rage.
"Breeding is something you learn from your real parents.
For someone like me, who had no parents, just surviving is good enough. Who cares about manners?" Toria shot back.
Toria had never imagined that meeting her biological parents again would be like this.