Chapter 217
Belinda had just finished helping Jada wash her face when she caught sight of Leanne. and immediately looked embarrassed.
“Jada told me you brought her cakes last night? Dr. Castillo, you shouldn’t have gone through the trouble.”
“It was no trouble,” Leanne said. “A friend got me a birthday cake, and we couldn’t finish it, so I thought I’d share.”
“Your birthday?” Upon hearing this, Belinda began rummaging through her belongings, eager to find something to give her.
Leanne tried to stop her, “Really, you don’t have to.”
“But I want to,” insisted Belinda. “Birthdays only come once a year, you know.”
Lately, a few relatives and friends had brought her things, but those were just some fruits, nothing special. She felt they weren’t good enough to give.
Finally, she presented a mini drawstring bag she had made herself.
“This is something I made to sell, and it’s the last one I have. It’s not worth much, but I hope you won’t mind.”
The bag was indeed tiny, smaller than a palm, with a cat embroidered on the front.
It might not have been worth much, but its charm and cuteness won Leanne over so adorable. And I love cats.”
Seeing Leanne genuinely happy, Belinda smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”
Jada pulled out a similar small bag from beneath her pillow to show Leanne. “I hav too. Mine’s got a puppy on it.”
When Leanne left, Belinda walked her out. Once they were outside the hospital room, Leanne stopped, “Belinda, can we talk for a moment?”
Belinda, being particularly sensitive about the subject of corneal donations, guessed where the conversation was heading and immediately showed resistance.
“Dr. Castillo, are you here to convince me to sign on the papers too?”
Leanne led her to sit on a bench in the hallway, took a moment to organize her thoughts, and began, “My parents died when I was six. We were kidnapped, locked in an abandoned factory storage room. It was dark, dirty, and at night, you could hear the rats scurrying around. One even crawled on me once. We were there for many days, waiting for someone to rescue us, but no one came.”
Belinda had only seen kidnappings in TV shows and was shocked. “Who would do that?
Chapter 217
Did they want money?”
Leanne shook her head. “I don’t know who it was. They didn’t want money; they wanted my dad to do something for them, but he refused.”
She was too young to understand, but it had something to do with her dad’s job at VectorVista Bank.
“The last day, my dad seemed to sense something was going to happen and told me many things. When the kidnappers came in, he and my mom attacked them. They were tied up, couldn’t fight properly, so my dad used his head to ram into one of them.
My mom used to be a college professor, beautiful and graceful. My dad said it was love at first sight for him, and it took a long time to win her over. She was slim, never fought
anyone,
rone, and was easily caught. The man grabbed her hair, hitting her, but she bit his hand. hard, dragging him to give me a chance to run away.”
Leanne’s fingers curled into a fist, suppressing the choke in her voice, and she continued, “My dad told me to run east, towards the rising sun. He said not to trust anyone I met on the way and to find a crowded place before seeking the police.
I was scared. I wanted to go back for them, but they told me not to look back. I didn’t dare to look back; I just ran as fast as I could.”
Leanne didn’t know how they managed to hold the kidnappers off. She just kept running, with only the wind and her heavy breathing for company.
But the factory was too large, and the sun seemed too far away, as if she could nev
escape.
Hearing someone chasing her, she hid in a sewage outlet, crawling into a narrow pip only a child could fit through..
The abandoned equipment had been shut down for a long time, leaving a stench of dr sludge.
She hid there for what felt like forever, hearing footsteps pass by now and then, until it was completely dark and silent.
When she finally crawled out, the dark factory was like a maze. She was alone, scared, and missing her parents
With only her limited memory to guide her, she found her way back to the storage room.
The kidnappers were gone. Her parents lay there, lifeless, under the pale and weak moonlight, their faces battered and bloodied.
08:20
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