Chapter 166 Cutting the Tongue
Her stance was downright terrifying, like some twisted, crawling dark creature that had reached Isabella.
Samantha leaned in close, her breath hot on Isabella's face.
Samantha hissed, her expression almost feral. She gripped Isabella's arms tightly, eyes wide. It seemed like she wanted to say something but couldn't.
After a moment of spine-chilling fear, Isabella realized something was wrong.
She reached out and pried open Samantha's mouth.
Isabella's eyes widened as if an electric current had passed through her body. She sat straight, feeling her entire body go numb and unable to move.
Just then, Leo walked in.
Seeing the situation, he was stunned for a moment, then stepped forward to pull Samantha away. He turned back to Isabella and asked, "Are you okay?"
Isabella couldn't answer; she pointed at Samantha and said, "Her tongue!"
"Tongue?" Leo looked at Samantha in confusion.
Samantha's tongue had been cut off!
They asked the staff at the psychiatric hospital; they said Samantha was like that when she was brought in.
Samantha was taken to a ward and given a sedative; she calmed down.
At this moment, even if they wanted to ask her anything, they couldn't.
Isabella stood in the sunlight but felt a chill all over her body.
Leo walked up behind her and said something she didn't catch.
Isabella felt a wave of dizziness and fainted the next second.
When she woke up, she was in a hospital.
The smell of disinfectant in the hospital was something Isabella had always feared.
However, at this moment, it inexplicably made her feel at ease.
"You're awake?" Leo sat by her bed, a hint of worry in his eyes.
Isabella propped herself up on her arms. "How's Samantha..."
"I just called to check. They said she was traumatized and she's still not herself," Leo said, "I've been there twice; each time she just cowered and didn't react at all."
Isabella thought for a moment.
Earlier, when both she and Leo were there, Samantha had also kept her head down and remained silent.
Samantha's emotional outburst happened after Leo left.
Isabella vividly remembered Samantha's expression at that time. She felt that Samantha was clear-headed then and wanted to say something to her.
Unfortunately, she was too scared at the time and missed the opportunity.
Seb said that Samantha was afraid to return to Lakina and insisted that Seb go there before she was willing to say those things to him in person.
After that, Seb brought Samantha back; she even gave a statement at the police station, which meant that Samantha still had her tongue at that time.
She was later diagnosed with a mental disorder and sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.
When Isabella saw Samantha again, Samantha had no tongue.
Who did it? The Landon family? Or Seb?
Several people flashed through Isabella's mind, but she couldn't grasp the key point.
"We still need to ask Samantha to find out." Isabella felt like a heavy weight was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Leo nodded. "I'll ask. You should stay here. You're pregnant; if anything happens, Seb will will never forgive me."
Isabella was fine and stayed in the hospital for a while before Leo took her home.
In the car, Leo told her, "By the way, since what happened with Matthew, Charles has been going after the Landon Group. From what I know, he's already sabotaged several important deals for Seb. This time, Seb had to fly to Maple Valley on short notice because he had no other choice."
He shook his head, saying, "In some ways, Seb and Charles are really quite similar!"
Isabella silently sank into her thoughts.
Leo glanced at her. "You okay?"
Isabella nodded her head.
Leo dropped her off at home but still felt uneasy. "Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine." Isabella smiled and got out of the car.
She had walked a few steps when Leo rolled down the window and said, "If you need anything, just call me."
Isabella waved and went inside.
Leo stayed in the car for a few minutes, looking at the villa with a complex and worried expression.
After a long while, he finally drove away.
In the afternoon, Isabella leaned back in her chair and had a video call with Seb.
"It's already past mealtime. Why are you eating now?" Isabella asked with concern.
Seb fixed the phone to capture his upper body. "I just finished work."
Thinking about what Leo had said about Charles targeting Seb, Isabella felt a bit worried. "No matter how busy you are, you still need to eat on time."
Seb said, "I know."
They chatted for a bit.
Isabella suddenly said, "I went to the psychiatric hospital this morning."
Seb frowned. "Why did you go there?"
"I went to see Samantha," Isabella admitted.
She hadn't planned to hide this from Seb and wanted to see his reaction.
Seb's frown deepened. "Why would you want a lunatic? Don't go back there."
Isabella remained silent and didn't respond.
Seb sensed something was wrong and asked, "What's the matter?"
Isabella suddenly said, "Seb, Samantha's tongue was cut off."
In the video, Seb's hand holding the fork paused for a few seconds.
Then Seb put down the fork, pushed the lunch box aside, and picked up the phone. "Bella, whatever happens to Samantha has nothing to do with you anymore. Be good and don't go see her again!"
Seb's eyes looked at her through the phone.
After a long time, Isabella finally responded, "Okay."
Seb said, "Alright, I have to get back to work. I'll call you later."
"Okay." Isabella leaned back in her chair, lost in thought.
She was really afraid that Seb was involved in this.
Unconsciously, she slowly fell asleep.
The scene changed; she arrived at the Landon family.
It was quiet all around, not a sound to be heard.
She walked into the Landon family and heard noises coming from the kitchen.
When Isabella walked over, she saw a familiar figure. "Seb?"
Seb didn't seem to hear her and continued to focus on what he was doing.
Isabella's gaze shifted to his hands.
Seb was making a cake.
A small birthday cake was already taking shape, and he was decorating it.
Seb's skills were more proficient than Isabella had imagined; the flowers he piped were layered and beautiful.
Just as he finished everything, Seb threw away what he was holding and took out a packet of powder from his pocket.
He mixed the powder with cocoa powder and sprinkled it on the cake.
Isabella suddenly realized what it was. "No!"
She reached out to stop him.
However, the scene suddenly changed.
The cake was placed on the table; Matthew put on a birthday hat while everyone sang "Happy Birthday."
"Let's cut the cake."
Matthew cut the first piece of cake and handed it to Seb. "Thanks for making the cake, Seb. I love it. The first piece is for you."
