Chapter 613: Should Call You Mom
"Layla, where you at? Where's Nora? Where you hidin' her?"
"Nora still kickin'?"
"What'd you do to her?"
"Please, let her go. It's all on me. Come after me, just let Nora go, please..."
Hearing Brenda's cries, Layla felt a cocktail of emotions, with a splash of irony.
Brenda's really freakin' out over Nora.
Well, duh, Nora's her kid, her only kid. What mom wouldn't be worried sick about her own flesh and blood?
And Layla? She was just a piece of meat Brenda dropped nineteen years ago, no longer her problem.
Layla gripped the bedsheet tight. Was this jealousy? They weren't even mother and daughter, yet she was jealous of Brenda's love for Nora. How messed up is that?
"Layla, say something... How's Nora?"
"I dunno how she is," Layla said, ice-cold.
"Didn't you guys take her? How could you not know?"
"It wasn't me, it was Samuel. I got no clue where he's got her."
"Then ask him, tell him to let her go. If you beg him, he'll listen."
Layla's heart turned to ice, her smile more bitter, "Nora almost killed me. Why should I? Maybe I even hope she's dead."
"You... you can't be that heartless..."
"Heartless? When Nora locked me up for three days, no sleep, wasn't that heartless? She was trying to kill me! And you knew it all, but you let it slide. And it was you, Brenda, who sued me back then!"
The more Layla talked, the more her heart shattered. Her own mom treated her like this. Brenda carried her for ten months, right? How could she be so cold? Did she mean nothing to her, not even as much as a stranger?
People got feelings. Being treated like this by her own mom, Layla felt the pain and sorrow too.
But she had to suck it up, had to act like she didn't care.
"This is on me. I'm sorry. Take me instead. I'll take her place. Just let Nora go. I'll do anything you want, please, Layla..."
"Are you really that worried about her?" Layla sneered.
"She's my daughter!" Brenda shouted.
"Then what am I?" Layla finally snapped, yelling into the phone.
"You... what do you mean?" Brenda's voice sounded shaky.
"Should I call you Mrs. Eilish, or should I call you... Mom?" Layla hadn't said that word in forever, so long she forgot what it felt like to call someone Mom. She never thought the first time she'd say "Mom" again would be so damn ironic.
"You... what are you talking about? I don't get it."
"Haha... You don't get it, or you don't wanna admit it? Or you can't admit it? Am I that much of a disgrace to you? But don't worry, I don't plan on acknowledging you either, 'cause you ain't worth it. From the moment you ditched me nineteen years ago, I considered myself motherless."
Layla seemed to be brainwashing herself, telling herself not to care, but the truth was her heart was being twisted in pain, so much she could barely breathe.
"All these years, I've been wondering, what kind of heartless woman would dump her own kid, leaving her to rot in hell?" Layla added.
"Layla..."
"Brenda, have you ever felt a pang of guilt all these years?"
Brenda started bawling on the phone, "Yes, yes, I've always thought about you, but I didn't dare to find you. I didn't have the right."
"No, it's not that you didn't have the right. You were scared I'd mess up your perfect life as Mrs. Eilish. You got it all—rich wife status, luxury, two great kids, a loving hubby. And me? I'm just the extra baggage. To you, I'm a disgrace, a ticking time bomb ready to blow up your life. That's why you ditched me back then, right?"
Brenda sobbed uncontrollably, "I'm sorry..."
Even though Layla had always suspected it, hearing Brenda admit it still stung. How could someone be so selfish?
Her face turned pale without her realizing it, her smile bitter, "Brenda, you got a heart of stone."
"It's my fault, Layla. If you want revenge, come at me. I deserve it. Just let Nora go, please?"
"You think I'm out for revenge on her? Is it all my fault?" Brenda was so biased, Layla couldn't help but roar, "Nora hurt me first, it's not my fault!"
"I know she was wrong. It's my fault for not raising her right, for letting her do those things. It's all on me. Blame me, let me take her punishment, please?"
At this point, she only cared about Nora, not even a word of concern for Layla.
Layla felt a deep chill in her heart. She closed her eyes, her face losing its sorrow and becoming completely indifferent, "Her life or death has nothing to do with me. I won't plead for her."
"But you know Samuel's methods. If you don't help her, she'll die."
"Then let her die. What does it have to do with me? I still hate her. That's it."
"Don't hang up, don't hang up! Layla, hate me, kill me, just let Nora go, please?"
Layla hung up the phone directly.
She tasted the salty bitterness in her mouth; she was crying.
The Holland Group.
Samuel had just gotten out of the car.
"Samuel—" Anthony rushed over, but was stopped by bodyguards, "Where's Nora?"
"She's dead," Samuel said coldly.
Anthony clenched his fists, "If anything happens to Nora, I won't let you off."
Anthony's eyes were filled with rage, a departure from his usual mildness.
Samuel laughed lowly with full of disdain, like a dangerous lion, "You won't let me off? How do you plan to do that? Do you think the Eilish family can take me on?"
"The Eilish family is the second largest family. If we really go against you, even if the Eilish family is destroyed, the Holland family will be severely weakened, and other conglomerates will take advantage of the situation."
"Even so, I won't let her go. I already gave her a chance, but she didn't appreciate it and hurt Layla. She is the woman I love."
"Nora was wrong. Let her go, and I'll make her apologize."
"Apologize?" Samuel laughed as if he had heard the most ridiculous words, "The woman and child I love almost died at Nora's hands. Do you think an apology is enough? I want her to be cut into pieces, to pay with blood."
Anthony felt a twinge of fear, "You don't have to be so ruthless. Let her go, and I'll send her abroad, never to return."
"If it were before, she might have had that chance. But she didn't cherish it, so now she can't leave so easily," Samuel squinted, his eyes cold.
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