Chapter 257
"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is currently switched off, please try again later." Alice looked anxiously at her phone. It was the 100th call she had made since Layla disappeared, but every time, she couldn't get through.
She felt increasingly restless.
Susan returned with the documents, got in the car, and noticed Alice's worried expression. She asked, "Is Layla's phone still off?"
"Yes. It's been five days, and I'm really worried. Layla is always reliable and responsible, so she wouldn't just skip work for no reason. Something must have happened to her," Alice said, her hair falling out from worry.
"Have you gone to her house to look for her?"
"I've been going every day, but there's no one at her house. Should I report it to the police? I can't wait any longer," Alice said, feeling helpless.
The news of Samuel getting married must have hit Layla hard. Considering Layla's personality, Alice didn't think she would commit suicide, but who knew? Women can do anything when they're upset.
Susan thought for a moment and nodded. "Alright, let's go to the police station now."
Just as they started the car, Alice's phone screen lit up with an unknown number.
"Layla?" she answered anxiously.
"It's Samuel."
"Mr. Holland?" Alice didn't pay any attention to Susan next to her, she just urgently cried out, "Layla is missing."
"She's at the city hospital now, with me. Where are you? I'll send someone to pick you up."
"No need, I'll come over right away." Alice heard that Layla was at the hospital and became even more anxious. She quickly told Susan that they needed to go to the city hospital.
Susan accelerated and rushed to the hospital. Although she was also worried, there were some things she couldn't interfere with. All she could do was this.
"You go up. I'll give you three days off so you can accompany her."
"Thank you, Susan," Alice said gratefully.
Without even waiting for the elevator, Alice kept running up to the fifth floor. Out of breath, she saw Samuel at the door of the ward.
He was wearing a loose, long black coat. He was tall but thin. He was so thin that it seemed like the coat was too big for him. He looked much more haggard, with his previously well-defined cheeks now sunken and heavy dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't rested for a long time.
Alice didn't have time to think too much. "Mr. Holland, what happened to Layla?"
Samuel told her about Owen's death in a car accident.
Alice covered her mouth in astonishment. "Owen..."
She had only seen Owen a few times when he came to pick up Layla. He was a lively and proud young man. Despite his rebellious nature, he was truly nice to Layla, and Alice envied Layla for having such a brother.
He was only nineteen years old. He was so young and now he was gone. It was heartbreaking for her, let alone Layla...
Unable to hold back her tears, Alice cried, "Layla is so pitiful..."
She couldn't bear to think about how heartbroken Layla was.
"She hasn't eaten or drunk anything for days, relying solely on IV fluids. I brought you here hoping that you could accompany her and comfort her. After all, you're her only good friend," Samuel said solemnly.
"Okay. By the way, Mr. Holland, what about your wedding with Miss Eilish... On that day, you said you didn't want to get married, and the livestream cut off. What happened afterward? You didn't marry Miss Eilish, right?"
Samuel nodded. "Other than Layla, I won't marry any other woman."
But he was too confident, or rather, too arrogant. He didn't expect that there would be so many unexpected events in his life that were beyond his control.
Owen's death was devastating for their relationship. Even if they stayed together in the future, their relationship would always be shrouded in darkness.
"Why did you..." But it was pointless to ask for the reasons, so Alice swallowed back her questions.
"Mr. Holland, Owen was Layla's closest person, and his death has had a great impact on her. I'm afraid she will find it difficult to recover from it. From what I know about Layla, she will also find it difficult to forgive you."
"I just hope she gets better now. As for our future..." Samuel looked at the dark clouds. A torrential rain was about to come, and he couldn't see the future and hope. He lowered his gaze, looking somewhat helpless.
'As a strong man, showing such a vulnerable expression means that he must love Layla very much,' Alice thought to herself. But once the damage had been done, it was difficult to heal.
The more two people loved each other, the easier it was for them to torment each other. Maybe they were destined to be apart.
"I'll go in first."
"Okay."
Alice entered the hospital room. Layla was leaning against the bedside, looking vacant, like a vegetable. She had no emotions, no soul. Her eyes were empty, extremely emaciated, and she looked like she weighed less than 90 pounds.
She was destroyed.
To completely destroy a person was to ruin her beliefs and turn her into a soulless corpse.
At that moment, Alice's heart was torn apart. She suddenly had the urge to escape because she was afraid of seeing her good friend in this state.
She felt like crying.
Alice quickly wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes.
It was really hard to pretend that nothing happened, at least it was difficult for her with her mental resilience. She just wanted to hug Layla and cry her heart out.
There were only a few steps between them, but for Alice, it felt like there was a fiery trench separating them.
It took her a long time to walk towards Layla, step by heavy step. The muscles on her face had stiffened, and she forced a smile that was even uglier than crying, saying, "Layla, I'm here.
"You... you've lost a lot of weight. Are you trying to lose weight? You're already thin enough. You don't need to lose any more.
"Next time, don't disappear like this. I felt so bored when you weren't at the company.
"Do you know that all your work has been assigned to me? Did you intentionally do this out of laziness?
"Don't do this. You need to get better quickly and go back to the company to draw. Isn't that your dream?
"Layla..."
Alice said a lot of words, but Layla seemed to not hear, she had no reaction no matter what she said.
Alice poured the oatmeal from the thermos and spooned a spoonful, bringing it to Layla's lips, her voice strained. "Eat something, okay?
"I know you feel very upset, but you can't torture yourself like this. If Owen could see all of this from heaven, he wouldn't want to see you like this, he would worry about you."
When Layla heard "Owen", her eyelashes trembled.
"Life is tough. You don't know when the accident will happen, so you need to live well and live for Owen. He is watching you from above, he definitely wants to see you happy. If you continue like this, he will worry about you.
"Layla..."
Silence.
"That wasn't an accident." Layla's pale lips moved, her eyes hollow. "I killed Owen...
"On the day of Samuel's wedding, I felt upset, so I drank and went crazy to find him. I rushed out onto the road, and a truck came toward me. Owen pushed me and he got hit by the truck... I'm the killer." Layla's tone was chillingly calm.