When Richard saw the odd look on her face, he asked, "What's wrong, Miss McKinney?"
Leanna closed her eyes wearily as she shook her head. Then, she bit the tip of her tongue and recovered a shard of her composure and rationale before instructing, "Please go to the Pearson Group in my stead and find out what Aidan is doing. If you see him, inform him that Celia is dead and tell him to come here. If you don't…" she drifted off and took a deep breath before continuing, "If you can't find him, you can go home after that."
Richard nodded. "Got it. I'm going right now.''
After he left, she tried her best to stop herself from trembling as she said to the police officer, "Please take me to see her… Body."
"Come with me."
In the mortuary, the police officer lifted the white linen, revealing the familiar face to Leanna. Her lips trembled as she tried her best to stop herself from crying.
"We're trying to contact her family members," the police said. "Do you know how we can get in touch with them?"
"I have no idea," Leanna croaked.
"Have you met her boyfriend before? What do you think of their relationship? Had they been in an argument before?"
A few seconds passed by silently, and Leanna shook her head in reply. Everything she knew about Celia was only surface information.
No, even that superficial information is not true.
All she knew was the name Celia Green, everything else about her—her stories and family—was a lie they fabricated just to fool her.
Leanna suddenly found this entire farce utterly ridiculous. The last thing she would expect was all her doubts from the past would one day reveal their true self to her in this way.
When she left the mortuary, she felt that the sunlight outside was especially glaring today.
At the same time, Raymond's interrogation had ended. Although he had denied everything the best he could, claiming that he hadn't been able to get in touch with Celia for several days because she was missing, the police had received an anonymous tipoff that the last person Celia met before she went missing was him.
In addition, during the post-mortem, the coroner discovered pieces of human fibers between Celia's teeth, matching the bite marks on Raymond's right arm.
Once the lab test results were out, he would be officially charged with manslaughter.
Leanna sat outside the police station and waited until the sky was dark before she finally received the call from Richard, informing her that Aidan was not at Pearson Group and the staff didn't know where he was, either.
After she hung up, Raymond just happened to be escorted out of the interrogation room, ready to be transferred to the lockup. However, the moment he laid his eyes on her, he suddenly flashed her a twisted smirk. "Hello, Miss McKinney."
Leanna turned to him, expressionless, and he said to the police officer next to him, "I would like to speak to her for a few minutes. Is that okay?"
The police officer looked at him and then at Leanna. The officer only walked to the side, giving them a semblance of privacy when she gave him the green light.
"You know Celia, don't you?" Raymond began. "After all, she's been taking care of your child for so long."
She didn't even flinch as she questioned, "What are you trying to say?"
"Hmph, despite all my meticulous planning, I never imagined that I would end up in this state. But, since they betrayed me after making use of me and framed me on purpose, I'll do a kind deed and tell you this. Miss McKinney, I'm afraid something untoward has befallen your child."
Leanna's hands curled into fists. "What did you do to him??
He chuckled before answering, "You've got it wrong, Miss McKinney. I'm not so powerful that I can do anything to the future heir of the Pearson Family. Only powerful people can do something like that."
Her eyes sharpened into icicles when she heard his comments, and her face turned stone cold.
"You better hurry, Miss McKinney. Otherwise, you may not even have the chance to see him one last time."
Leanna didn't bother thinking twice as she twirled and left in a hurry. As her mind started panicking, she had already slammed her foot roughly on her accelerator all the way to the Pearson Estate.
Every inch of her was trembling, but she wasn't sure if she was shaking due to pure, unadulterated fury or terror.
Sure enough, Aidan had lied to her.
She was wrapped around his little finger like an idiot for such a long time. She even bought into his words and nonsense again and again.
He had assured her countless times that she could place her trust in him, but what happened in the end?
That's right. No wonder he keeps calling me dumb. That's because I am dumb, she thought sardonically.
When she arrived at the Pearson Estate, the front gates were wide open, and there wasn't anyone around, so she drove her car directly to the main house and stopped in front of the doors.
In the living room, Sienna was the only one sitting there with her arms folded across her chest. When she laid her gaze on Leanna, she chuckled and mused, "This is rare. I thought that you'll never set foot into this place in your life ever again."
Leanna ignored her entirely as she went upstairs and searched the rooms one by one.
"Stop looking," Sienna said calmly. "The person you're looking for is not here."
Actually, Leanna had noticed that it was extraordinarily quiet in the house, and besides Sienna, there wasn't even a servant around.
Just when she had turned around and wanted to leave, Sienna blocked her path and stopped her. "Aren't you going to ask what happened here today?"
"Get lost," Leanna growled, glowering at her.
Sienna was startled by her demeanor as her face slowly twisted into a scowl because she wasn't expecting that from her. Alas, Leanna had already strode away from her before she could even react.
"Hang on," she barked. "Is this how you speak to an elder?"
An amused Leanna turned to face her. "In the past, I regarded you as an elder because you're Aidan's mother, but you're not his mother, and you can't even be considered a human based on your actions. So, why should I regard you as an elder?"
"You—"
"You were right. I'm uncouth, and there is no way I could get rid of my peasant ways. Yet, of all times, you decided to provoke me now. You should be glad that I didn't curse your entire family and merely told you to get lost. Also, I may be weak, timid, and afraid of offending the Pearson Family in the past, but if anything happens to my child this time, I'll drag you into the grave with me, even if it costs me my life. As a mother yourself, I'm sure you can understand what I'm going through."
Never before had Sienna heard her speaking in such a strong and aggressive manner, and she was so stunned that she was at a loss for words.
On the other hand, Leanna didn't waste another second on her and left the house. When she was about to climb into her car next to the garden, she heard muffled sounds from afar, and it sounded like quite a commotion.
She soon realized that the sounds were coming from the backyard, a spot she had never been to despite living in the Pearson Estate for some time.
Nevertheless, there seemed to be an intense, unknown force that seemed to pull her in that direction, and her instincts told her that whether it was Aidan or her child, it was very likely both were there.
She didn't even hesitate as she hastened over while the sky suddenly started to drizzle. Summer was fast approaching, but the raindrops that hit her face were bone-chilling cold
She finally got closer to the source of the ruckus after several minutes of sprinting. Then, just as she suspected, Aidan was here, and the one facing him was none other than the furious Gordon.
Both sides had quite a few men with them, and the air around them was thick with hostility as though it would explode at a moment's notice.
Leanna decided not to show herself after sweeping her gaze across the scene. Instead, she found a spot to hide and ensured that her breathing was muffled. She was aware that showing herself now wouldn't benefit her in any way and only make the situation worse. So, she had to observe the situation clearly before acting.
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