The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 73: Chapter 73

However, Stacey hid in a corner of the café and overheard Serena and Keith's conversation. She wore sunglasses, hunched over, deliberately pulled down her cap brim, and subconsciously stirred her cold coffee.
Stacey clenched the coffee cup so tightly that she almost bit through her lip.
Stacey was also a design student, and she had known Keith for many more years than Serena. But he had never mentioned inviting her to work for him.
Stacey's clenched fist trembled gradually under the table. She thought, 'Why does Serena, a divorced woman, still win Keith's favor?'
Serena checked the time on her phone and realized it was time to leave. She put down her coffee cup, stood up, and gently adjusted her clothes.
She said, "Then I'll be going first. Thank you for the invitation, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."
Keith also stood up and smiled, saying, "Alright, I'll wait for your reply."
Serena nodded, hesitated, and then said, "Also, thank you for today."
Keith made a gentlemanly gesture of invitation. "Seri, you don't have to be so polite with me."
Serena paused for a second before smiling. As she turned to leave, Keith said, "Seri, let me walk you back."
She was slightly taken aback and quickly waved her hand to decline. "Thank you, but I can go back by myself."
Keith looked at Serena gently. "It's getting late, and I don't feel at ease with you going back alone."
Serena hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.
Stacey didn't rise until Serena and Keith's figures completely vanished around the street corner.
She took off her sunglasses, went to the restroom, and fixed her messy hair and clothes in the mirror.
Stacey stared at her reflection, slowly wiping off the smudged lipstick from the corner of her mouth. She thought, 'Ever since the day I met Keith, he should only belong to me. This all needs to end.'
Stacey returned to the company, went straight to Erika's desk, and said, "Erika, come out. I need to talk to you."
Erika looked at Stacey in confusion. She gently put down the file in her hand, stood up, and followed Stacey out of the office.
In the company pantry, Stacey leaned against the window. Erika stood opposite her, asking with a puzzled look, "Stacey, what do you want from me?"
Stacey didn't answer immediately but looked at the pedestrians coming and going outside the window. She said, "Do you want Serena to be disgraced?"
Upon hearing Stacey's words, Erika was first stunned and then became somewhat incoherent.
The memory of being interrogated at the police station was still vivid. She had paid a huge price for bail. At the thought of Serena, she gritted her teeth with hatred.
So Erika said, "Yes. What's the plan? I'll fully cooperate."
Stacey took a few steps closer, lowered her head, and whispered into Erika's ear.
Erika's body stiffened slightly. One of her feet subconsciously stepped back, and then her expression gradually became complicated.
After finishing, Stacey stood up straight and took a step back, then asked, "Got it?"
"I... I understand." Erika lowered her eyes, her hands tightly clenched together.
At this time, Victor sat on the hospital bed while the doctor treated the wound on his face. Leon stood by, feeling both sorry and angry at Victor's injury.
"Dad, can we kick Eliza out?" he asked.
Victor's brows furrowed tightly upon hearing Leon's words. He said, "Leon, you don't understand. Between me and Ellie—"
"I understand everything, Dad," Leon interrupted. "She and Oliver always bully me, and they made Mom leave us too. What else do you want?"
Victor was silent for a moment and said in a low voice, "But Ellie didn't mean it. She didn't know you're allergic to eggs, so she—"
"Why can't you understand? She did it on purpose, and she forced Mom to leave!" Leon's face turned red with anger, his hands clenched into fists, and he suddenly stomped his foot.
"Dad, why are you still protecting them? Can't you see she wants to hurt me?" As he spoke, Leon grabbed Victor's arm and shook it.
Victor said, "Leon, stop talking. Ellie isn't that kind of person."
Leon looked at Victor, and the light in his eyes dimmed little by little. Then he helplessly let go of Victor's arm.
Victor endured the severe pain of the doctor treating his wound and let out a helpless sigh. He looked at Leon's little face, which was filled with hatred and sadness.
He couldn't understand why everyone could only see the bad side of Eliza. Although she was a bit willful, she wasn't as vicious as Leon said.
Looking at Victor like this, Leon felt even more disappointed. He shouted, "I'm so done with you!" Then he turned and ran out of the ward.
Victor hurriedly reached out to grab Leon but only caught air. "Leon!" He struggled to get out of bed, but the movement pulled at the wound on his face, making him inhale sharply in pain.
"Leon, come back!" Victor shouted anxiously toward the door.
Leon ran out of the hospital and wandered the street aimlessly, head down, hands in his pockets, listening to the rustling sound of his shoes scraping against the rough pavement.
Suddenly, he stopped and looked around in anxiety. Passers-by on the street spoke languages he could barely understand and showed him smiles as they brushed past him.
Leon clenched his fists. He didn't know where to go or who to turn to. He looked up at the distant street corner and then at the strangers around him, feeling even more lost.
"I don't want to go back..." Leon muttered.
He couldn't understand why Victor couldn't see Eliza's true colors and kept hurting him for her sake. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and tears couldn't help but flow down.
Suddenly, a black van stopped in front of Leon. The door opened, and several men in black rushed out, grabbed Leon, and dragged him into the van.
Before Leon could cry for help, his mouth was covered, and he lost consciousness. At this moment, Victor, enduring the pain from the wound on his face, ripped out the IV line from his hand and staggered out of bed.
He stumbled out of the ward and shouted anxiously to the nurse, "Have you seen my son? His name is Leon, and he just ran out." Without waiting for the nurse's reply, he chased in the direction Leon had run.