The Apple of My Eye

Chapter 409 A Mystery Man (Part Two)

"Ahhh!" Yvonne screamed. She felt pain radiating to the rest of her face and completely folded her

body on the floor, fearful of being struck again.

The mysterious visitor was breathing heavily. Then, he said, "To be honest, I hate Autumn much more

than I hate you." Not only was his face disfigured, Autumn had destroyed his life as well. He swore he

would make Autumn pay.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Yvonne whimpered. She peered at him, feeling both pain and Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

fear that this could be her end if she did not agree to his demands.

"I'm sure you are dying to get out of this place, " said he. He hunched down and looked at Yvonne with

a sneer. "I could help you get out of here." Yvonne was listening. "But… you have to do everything I tell

you."

She thought, 'What do I have to lose?' Yvonne was sick of the dark and dreary hole she was stuck in. If

it meant leaving the place, she wouldn't mind doing this stranger's bidding. "Okay, I will do whatever

you ask. Just take me away from this dreadful place, " she decided.

The stranger clapped his hands in glee at Yvonne's submission.

Not long after that visit, Yvonne was reported to have escaped prison. Autumn could not believe the

news, thinking it was just a hoax. But the police called to warn her about the escaped felon and asked

to report Yvonne's whereabouts urgently.

Still Autumn found it incredulous that Yvonne would be able to break out of prison. For certain, she had

help because it was not something she could do alone.

Autumn opted to keep this development a secret, even from Charles. But he knew it somehow. He was

worried about Yvonne and decided to check on Yvonne's visitors. He came upon an unfamiliar name:

Ferry Fang.

Charles asked his wife, "Autumn, do you know anyone named Ferry Fang?" She looked at him blankly.

Charles doubted she had any idea about who the man was. He also noted that lately, Autumn's

memory was quite erratic, and getting worse.

"I don't recall anyone by that name, " she finally replied. Her efforts to remember the name were futile

and this made her a bit impatient. Suddenly, she snapped at Charles, "Don't ask me anything more

about it. I am already very confused!"

Charles was taken aback at Autumn's outburst. "What is wrong with you?" he asked worriedly. He

already sensed something was not right with his wife, especially her sudden change in moods. He tried

reaching out to her.

But Autumn brushed off his hand. "I'm fine, " she snapped. Autumn quickly stood up and announced,

"I'm tired and will rest upstairs."

Charles stared at his wife's receding figure, anxious about her seeming abnormal behavior lately.

He didn't notice Nancy, who watched a slightly deranged Autumn head upstairs. Stealthily, she made a

call and said, "I've done what you asked. I've been giving Autumn the drug and she's now showing

signs of insanity. Will you let me see my son?"

"Ahhh, definitely. You have my word, " the person on the other line said. He continued to speak, "But

you have to keep giving it to her until Autumn becomes totally unstable. And then I will allow you to see

your son."

Nancy became agitated. "You should have honored our deal. I already gave you money so that I could

see my son, " she whispered.

Nancy held on to the receiver tightly, fear gripping her. 'What if my son is harmed while being held in

custody all this time, ' she thought.

The stranger on the phone said menacingly, "Nancy, there is no trade-off to speak of here." He laughed

eerily. "You either follow my orders to fulfill the task or else…"

"All right! Just be sure my son will return safe and sound, " Nancy agreed. She knew there was no way

out and she had to do his bidding. "What else do you want me to do?" Nancy asked.

The stranger was now smiling, satisfied with her responses.

Autumn was behaving abnormally, unable to hold her temper or even remember things. Worse, she

had become paranoid that Charles was cheating on her.

Charles was both worried about his wife, and losing his patience over her behavior.

He tried to bring Autumn to the doctor for a thorough check-up but she threw a terrible tantrum and hit

Charles several times until he gave up. Everyone who knew of her situation was suddenly worried that

she was losing her mind.

Arthur decided to ask a doctor-friend to examine Autumn at home. She threw him out of the house in

anger, which left Arthur extremely embarrassed.

As the doctor left, he advised Arthur, "The symptoms manifested by her may be drug-induced. I've

seen this in another case. You might consider this as the cause and conduct a careful investigation."

After Charles was told about this assumption, he thought of Nancy.

She was the only other person in close contact with Autumn daily, and was responsible for preparing

food for Autumn.

So he decided to keep a close watch on Nancy for several days. He was annoyed when his sleuthing

yielded nothing. There was even one day when he came off work as he searched online for the cause

of Autumn's symptoms.

One evening, Leila returned to the office for something she forgot and found Charles' office all lit up.

She knocked and entered. "Mr. Lu, why are you still here? It's already very late."

"I needed to use my computer and didn't realize what time it was, " he replied. He sat back, composed,

and then inquired, "And what brings you here? Did you forget something important?" Leila saw an

opportunity and decided to take it.

"I bought some dinner on my way home and realized I forgot something so I came back, " she

explained. "Mr. Lu… would you like to join me for dinner?" She motioned eating at the office.

"That sounds great!" Charles answered. No one was more surprised than Leila that her boss agreed to

the invitation.

The truth was Charles was getting sick of Autumn's suspicions and her cursing and wanted to relax.

Dining with Leila would be relaxing, he decided.

The secretary quickly moved to set up the food, grateful for the company. As she opened the meal box,

a tempting aroma floated in the room.

"That smells delicious, " Charles complimented. He was thankful for her offer. With Autumn so unstable

these days, it had been a long time since she cooked for him.

"Well, have your fill, " said Leila. She made sure Charles would be satisfied with the food, then,

carefully pried out information. "Mr. Lu, are you not being served well at home?" Leila asked innocently.

Seeing him wolf down the food astonished her. It seemed like he missed having a good meal.

Charles was thoroughly enjoying his food and gave no thought to keeping his situation a secret.

"Because of certain domestic matters, I have not enjoyed a single meal at home in quite a while." He

straightened up, patted his stomach and said, "But it is very kind of you to give me a meal." Charles

smiled at Leila in gratitude.

At that moment, he was reluctant to go home and deal with Autumn.