Chapter 563
Standing Before Love
Skeptical about Heatherâs words, Leon stared at her suspiciously while giving her a mischievous grin, feeling happy to see her in the hotel.
âDid you sleep well?â Heather changed the topic because she thought it was a hassle to attempt to clear his doubts.
Leon looked out of the window with his eyes squinted, and the dark circles under his eyes became more apparent. Truth was, Heather had already noticed this but she deliberately quizzed him despite knowing his restlessness. Seeing him so fatigued, she continued to mock him, âSeems like you didnât get enough sleep yesterday. Serves you right for being so stubborn about changing rooms.â
Much to her surprise, Leon remained silent. After a while, he blurted discontentedly, âYou came to persuade me to delay the opening.â He didnât wish to delay the launch of their company and he thought that Heather was being impulsive.
âYouâre in over your head. Iâve already made that decision, so thereâs no need to persuade you.â Being the lone wolf she was, she would not be swayed by Leon.
âYouâre being ruthless, Heather,â Leon countered.
âYou have no say in this. As for the investigation, however, you may prove yourself useful.â Since Leon was sharper in investigations, Heather intended to drag him into it.
Puzzled, Leon peered at her as he wondered why she was so persistent on getting to the bottom of the incident.
âYouâre aware of the dangers of digging into this?â Assuming it was his own family that was wreaking havoc, he felt compelled to remind her of the risks. Knowing the lengths they would go, he wished she wouldnât interfere.
âI need closureâitâs important to me.â Since she couldnât directly look into whether the Lockes and the Moriartys were working together in secret, she could only start from the explosion.
Heaving a sigh, Leon fell back onto his bed, utterly infuriated by her. âYouâre really arrogant, Heather.
What do you want from me? A direct confrontation?â He asked tiredly, as if he was terrified of the person he hinted about.
âIâm not doing it your way. After all, I only wish to know whether the Moriartys are behind this,â Heather expressed her true thoughts, not wanting to burden him.
âWhy wonât you just believe me? Itâs really not the Moriartys. After all this time, do you still not know that Caleb merely wants to have you by his side and not hurt you?â Leon questioned in rage. He had made this assumption after having analyzed the statistics for a long time. Although he didnât want it revealed to her, he felt the need to at that moment.
âSo what? Sure, he wonât hurt me but thereâs no guarantee he wonât attack my family. Even if he wonât lay a finger on me, heâll surely give my family a hard time.â Although Heather was surprised by Leonâs information, it was as she saidâCaleb would never give up harassing the Langstons.
Feeling lethargic, Leon merely wanted to lie on the bed and do nothing as he did not have the energy to continue debating with Heather, but she just wouldnât cut him some slack.
âWhat Iâm saying is that since Caleb has no hand in the detonation, why would you even bother looking into it?â Leon was going insane out of frustration from Heatherâs unusualness.
âI wish to face him. Itâs like heâs vanished into thin air after disappearing for so long. Regardless of his intentions, I wish to look for him and make sure of his plans.â With that, Heather made her goal of meeting Caleb apparent.
Seeing how her aims grew more dangerous than the last, Leon sprung out of bed and exclaimed, âNo way! Calebâs a real snake! You shouldnât start messing with him.â
âI canât just sit around enjoying my peace. Sooner or later, Iâll have to face it anyway, so I might as well take the initiative to approach him instead of waiting.â As she no longer had the desire to drag the matter any further, she decided to be the one to find the Moriartys since they wouldnât show up.
So far, the Moriarty Family hadnât made a move, so Heather couldnât figure out whether they were waiting for an opportunity for an ambush or for the Langstons to make a compromise. Since they were still friendly on the outside, Heather thought she might as well use that to her advantage and approach Caleb to find out anything she could.
âSince when were you this dense, Heather? Youâre oversimplifying things!â Seeing how Heather was growing irrational, Leon scoffed coldly. The Heather he once knew wouldnât have made such rash decisions.
âHow should I know my odds at winning if I donât at least give it a try?â Since she had made up her mind, whatever he said would not make her waver.
âFine, then. Iâll not stop you, but Iâll not jump with you either.â Since they didnât see eye-to-eye, Leon decided not to give her his support.
âFine. I wonât force your hand,â Heather claimed apathetically. Based on their stiff exchanges, it seemed she really had ticked him off.
âFrom now on, Iâll only put my mind on the company. Do not come looking for me for anything else,â he furiously stated as he signaled for her to leave the room.
As a result, both of them were irked by each other. Before Heather rushed out the door, however, she gave Leon a final glance. âIâll prove myself right.â
Bang! Leon slammed the door shut. Then, he lay against the door, perturbed by Heatherâs self-
destructive behavior. Despite being told that Caleb had no intentions to harm her, she insisted on taking him on. She is truly offering herself up on a silver platter!
Despite their conflict, Leon couldnât bring himself to calm down as his friend walked toward her fall.
Hence, he decided to inform Matthias about this. Since there were certain details that he couldnât disclose, he planned to only tell him the causes and effects.
As of now, he could only wish for Matthias to protect Heather. Unfortunately, after having run a check on Matthiasâ background, Leon discovered that Matthias had his plate full as well.
Unlike the impeccable façade he donned, he wasnât as influential and powerful within the Locke Family.
Thus, he could also be troubled by his family members.
Aware of that, Leon suspected that Matthias had already known about the collaboration between the Moriartys and the Lockes but could only do as told. And sadly, the only one who could have Matthias down on his knees was the head of the Locke Family, which led to Leonâs fear of the possible pact between the two families.
In the end, Leon pulled out his laptop that he always carried with him. Luckily, he hadnât left the laptop at home during the explosion, or all the data he had collected would have turned to dust.
After going through the Locke Familyâs information, Leon couldnât find anything about the shady, mysterious head of the family. Even on various media platforms, he could not find any photos of the Lockesâ head, nor any audio files either. Regardless, Leon couldnât grasp the intention behind the enigma or what they were preparing for.
Despite the lack of information, Leon knew that the Lockes were no decent businesspeople. Whether it be things that were immoral or unlawful, they had done it all. However, the information Leon had at hand suggested that Matthias had no hand in the familyâs fishy business, and it was his leader and relatives that were behind the obscene acts.
Pondering on this, Leon wished to understand how much Matthias knew about his familyâs inside jobs.
Nevertheless, he wasnât sure whether Matthias was actually working with his rotten relatives. Thus, Leon could only make a bet for now.
While he scrolled over the pages of data, he was contemplating how he should approach Matthias about the matter and more importantly, whether to reveal the truth to him.
Either way, the only thing Leon was sure of was that Matthiasâ affection for Heather was genuineâthat was the only leverage Leon had. Regrettably, Leon wasnât Matthias so he couldnât tell if Matthiasâ
feelings for Heather were strong enough for him to go against his own family.
Up until now, Leon had stressed himself very much for Heatherâs sake, assisting her both openly and discreetly. Judging by the Moriarty Familyâs power, Leon thought that the only group that could take the family on was his own. If the Moriartys were to take action, perhaps even the Lockes had no way to stop them.
Needless to say, Leon hadnât the influence nor the capabilities to help Heather with his familyâs power as he was unable to persuade his grandfather to lend a hand.
Despite that, there was a way that could guarantee his help, and it was one that got Leon scratching his head and biting his lipsâget Heather to be his wife and put a baby in her. To Leon, who had never pondered about marriage and having a child, the idea was indeed crazy. Besides, it wasnât like Heather would agree to it.
Skipping the impractical method, Leon concluded that he wouldnât be able to get his familyâs help. Even if it was a matter of life or death, he would not look for his family.
On the other side, a ringtone pierced through the silence. Knowing that she wouldnât be receiving any calls from anyone except Matthias, Heather immediately locked her phone as she wasnât in the mood to speak to anyone.
After having called thrice and with none of them being picked up, Matthias simply sent her a text. As a matter of fact, he had received a text message earlier mentioning Heather was in danger and urging him to hurry over to Violeast Hotel.
In order to make sure the message wasnât actually spam, Matthias wished to call her for confirmation, not knowing it was Leon behind it.
In fact, Leon wanted to test if Matthias would come to him. If he rushed over without any hesitation, that would prove he really loved Heather and lost his rationality in the process.
After a while, seeing how Matthias hadnât responded, Leon figured he was calling Heather. Leon knew that she wouldnât answer any calls or reply to any texts that werenât coming from Robert or Myra.
Indeed, feeling irritated by Matthiasâ volley of calls and texts, Heather immediately turned her phone off without even glancing at his texts.
Her temper would get even worse whenever she was upset. And so, when Matthias made another call, he noticed that she had already switched off her phone. As it was rare for her to do so, he couldnât help but worry.
To verify the text, Matthias attempted to dial the number of the sender, and Leon revealed a victorious grin when he saw the formerâs call.
However, Leon chose not to answer the call and continued to text. Hastily, he typed down a series of messages and sent them over to Matthias.
âSince you have the time to ask for proof, why donât you come over and see for yourself? Or perhaps, Director Locke, you donât care one bit about Miss Heatherâs safety. Well, thatâs all I have for you. Itâs all up to you whether to come over or not.â Leon sent an aggressively provocative message. At that moment, Heatherâs whereabouts were constantly changing, so Matthias would be forced to come over since he couldnât determine her position.
âWhich room in Violeast Hotel?â There was no way Matthias could afford to barge into different rooms to locate the sender based on the urgency of the matter at hand.
âFifth floor.â After revealing the floor he was in to Matthias, Leon swiftly erased the number of the burner phone and waited as a show presented itself.
He wanted to see if Matthias would check on every room on the fifth floor. If Matthias was able to locate him, Leon would share with him Heatherâs ballsy plans and try to have the other man protect her.
As for what would come next, it all lay with Matthiasâ determination as Leon hoped that Matthias wouldnât let him down. After all, it was just one floor.