Falling For My Ex's Uncle - Chapter 456: Chapter 456

My heart was filled with regret. I knew this was a trap, but I thought maybe if I went alone, I could uncover the truth. Instead, I ended up dragging Alfie down with me.
What I didn't expect was that he had come alone, and before he could even make a move, he was struck down by an electric baton and fell straight to the ground, powerless to fight back.
Looking at Alfie, who had been knocked out ten minutes before I arrived, I felt helpless. All I could do was let out a quiet sigh, furrow my brow, and pretend to lose consciousness as well.
Time dragged on in the suffocating silence of the room. After what felt like an eternity, a bucket of ice-cold water was suddenly splashed over my face, shocking me awake. I slowly opened my eyes to see a face I knew all too well.
"Laurel, did you ever think you'd end up in my hands?" Kailyn stood above me, looking down with disdain. She wore a black suit jacket, a duckbill cap, and her makeup made her look even more beautiful, giving off an appearance of delicate fragility.
But when I locked eyes with her, the cold, deadly gleam in her gaze made my heart tighten in terror, and a strong murderous intent surged from her, sending a chill down my spine.
"Kailyn, what do you want from me?" I fought to keep the fear out of my voice, trying to pretend to be as frightened as she expected me to be.
I hadn't imagined that the person who had set this trap and brought me here would be her.
I'd always known that Kailyn held a deep hatred for me, seeing me as a thorn in her side, but I never expected her to have the guts to kidnap me like this.
"Is it you who wanted to kill Marvin?" I asked, lifting my head and fixing my gaze on her.
When Kailyn heard my question, she smirked, a cruel and mocking smile that reeked of disdain. "I didn't want to kill him. He chose death himself. I suppose he didn't tell you why I wanted his life?"
She paused for a moment, then bent down with a grace that almost seemed malicious, her fingers pinching my chin as her gaze flickered with thought. Then, with a smirk of understanding, she said, "I guess he was scared. He was afraid I'd hurt you. Seems like this man is really devoted to you. You already have someone who loves you so much—why can't you just give Alex back to me?"
Her smile vanished in an instant, replaced with an icy expression as her grip tightened on my chin. Her eyes, sharp and filled with venom, bore into me like she wanted to tear me apart.
In her mind, it seemed, if I was with Alex, then she would be the one to marry him.
I had thought that after all this time, she would have come to terms with her marriage to Austin, but it seemed she still couldn't let go of wanting Alex for herself.
Indeed, sometimes love could make a person lose their mind, to the point of becoming dangerously obsessed.
"Do you want to kill me?" I managed to squeeze out, my voice shaking with the weight of her grip, my eyes locked on hers.
Kailyn scoffed, her laugh shrill and sharp. "Don't you want to know why I wanted Marvin dead?"
By the time I saw Kailyn, I had already begun to suspect why Marvin hadn't told me the truth about who attacked him.
Even if he did, with Kailyn's personality, she would never admit it, and Marvin probably couldn't present any solid evidence.
More importantly, if he spoke out, we would be putting ourselves in danger.
After all, Kailyn had the entire powerful Shepherd family behind her.
"Did you push me down the stairs and cause me to lose my baby?" I forced myself to meet her gaze, each word laced with a chilling accusation.
Kailyn's body stiffened, and a look of surprise flashed across her face. Her cold fingers gently traced my cheek, and her voice softened unnervingly as she spoke, "Didn't think you'd figure it out, did you?"
"Edwin is your man. Was Liesel your doing?" I pressed, my anger rising with every word. For a long time, I had thought Austin and Bailee were behind my suffering, but now I realized how wrong I had been to overlook Kailyn's hatred toward me.
"Liesel?" Kailyn's hand slipped away from my face as her brow furrowed, a flicker of confusion crossing her features. Then she sighed with resignation, her voice tinged with bitterness. "Liesel's death has nothing to do with me. She brought it on herself."
"Kailyn, do you know who Bailee is?" I looked up, my eyes meeting hers with unyielding determination.
I knew, even if Kailyn hated me with a burning passion, that the Parks family would never let her act out so recklessly. Not to mention, she couldn't afford to kill a police officer. She was clearly being used by someone behind the scenes.
Bailee's manipulation was more dangerous than I had ever imagined.
She might appear to be just Austin's person, but in reality, she had used her connection to him to gain Kailyn's trust, even earning Leah's favor.
Yet, all the while, she had been hiding Alex's injury and was now attempting to use the life debt to insert herself into the Herrera family, not just for the title of Mrs. Herrera, but for the status of the Lambert family.
Kailyn had always been domineering and cruel, bullying anyone who didn't please her. Anyone she disliked, she would cast out, sometimes even driving them out of the city. In this, she had inherited her mother's ruthless nature.
Her actions were despicable, and she deserved to suffer, but the time for her to face the consequences hadn't yet come.
She needed to be punished, to experience the pain of being utterly powerless.
So, for now, she couldn't die.
Kailyn stared at me coldly, her narrow eyes burning with hatred. Her gaze seemed like it could throw me out of the abandoned high-rise at any moment. But I knew she didn't want to kill me—at least not yet.
If she did, Marvin would never forgive her.
"You still care about others?" Kailyn's smile returned, though it now held a chilling edge. Her gaze shifted toward the still unconscious Alfie lying on the floor.
Just then, a man standing not far away held up a camera, his face twisted with a lecherous, evil grin.