Kayla immediately turned toward the door, curious about the person barging into someone else's room without knowing the meaning of manners. Kayla was sure it wasn't Arshaka or the nurse assigned by the doctor to monitor Emeli's condition. She even suspected it was Elena, still upset after Arshaka had scolded her and threatened to have her thrown in prison just the other day.
However, Kayla was shocked when she saw who was standing before her. It wasn't Elena, as she'd expected. An unfamiliar man stood in the doorway. He stared at Emeli with a bitter smile.
"Excuse me, who are you? Why did you come in without permission?" Kayla asked, half protesting.
"Who are you? Don't you know I'm the owner of this house?!" The man glared at Kayla as if he disliked her question. Then he strode quickly toward Emeli.
Emeli lay weakly on the bed, staring blankly at Jeremy's arrival. Her grandfather had never liked her.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Arshaka's father?" Kayla immediately guessed that the arrogant man was her employer's father. To Kayla, Jeremy looked nothing like Arshaka. His facial features alone made that obvious, let alone his attitude and rough voice.
"That's right. So I have the right to every room in this house. No one can tell me what to do here!" Sir Jeremy declared as he reached for Emeli.
"Wait! What are you going to do with Emeli, Sir?"
Kayla began to panic. Jeremy lifted Emeli into his arms and then tried to pull the IV line from the child's arm.
"Sir, don't!"
Sir Jeremy raised a hand, signaling that he didn't want Kayla to come any closer.
"Please don't remove her IV!" Kayla clasped her hands in front of her chest, genuinely begging Sir Jeremy not to do anything that could endanger Emeli.
"Stay there if you don't want me to do this!" Sir Jeremy threatened when Kayla continued moving closer.
Another man entered the room and removed the IV bag from its stand.
"It's safe, right? We're taking Emeli to an orphanage now. So don't try to stop us if you still want to see Emeli alive."
Once again, Sir Jeremy threatened Kayla, making her frantic, while Emeli already looked resigned. She had accepted that she might have to die, though deep in her heart, she felt a stab of pain at the thought of leaving her father forever. Emeli didn't feel ready to part with Arshaka.
"Don't do this, Sir, please! Let me take care of Emeli." Kayla continued to beg.
"No. As long as she stays with Arshaka, she'll keep causing trouble. She's a burden to my son. She's a problem child—a jinx!" Sir Jeremy declared, making Emeli feel even weaker.
"My son's future has been ruined because of this child. She has to leave Arshaka's life so he can be happy with Elena."
Emeli held back the anger exploding in her chest when she heard that woman's name. She was completely powerless now.
Sir Jeremy carried Emeli out of the room, while Kayla ran after him and grabbed his leg.
"Sir, don't! I promise, Sir, I'll take Emeli far away from Mr. Shaka." This time, Kayla was crying. Clear tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes. She couldn't bear to imagine what would happen to the child in her care.
"Hey, poor woman! I don't trust you. Get out of here, and don't ever tell Arshaka that I was the one who took this disabled child away!"
Sir Jeremy was about to step forward, but Kayla's hand held one of his legs back.
"You damn woman!" Sir Jeremy immediately kicked Kayla hard with his other foot, sending her flying to the side and crashing into the corner of a table.
"Ow!" Kayla winced, her lower back throbbing with pain. Emeli squeezed her eyes shut. If only she had the strength, she would have thrown everything in that house at Sir Jeremy for treating Kayla so cruelly.
Sir Jeremy and his men immediately ran out of the room. He wanted to hide Emeli before dealing with Kayla.
When Kayla saw Emeli being taken away, she ignored the pain in her body. Emeli's safety mattered more right now.
"Sir, stop!" Kayla shouted as she ran after them. Unfortunately, Sir Jeremy's men locked the house before Kayla could make it through the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Open the door!" Kayla pounded on it.
"Auntie, please help Emeli!" Kayla shouted. She was confused. None of the household staff were there that morning. The large house had suddenly fallen silent. "Was this planned by Sir Jeremy? He must have told Aunt Muna and everyone else to leave and stay out of it."
"Mr. Arshaka, I have to call him," Kayla murmured, then ran to her own room to look for the flat device.
"Oh God, please save Miss Emeli," she prayed silently. Unfortunately, she couldn't get through to Arshaka's number.
"Mr. Arshaka, where are you? Come on, Sir, pick up the phone! This is an emergency." Panic and anxiety overwhelmed Kayla.
Cold sweat poured down her face as she imagined that Sir Jeremy hadn't taken Emeli to an orphanage at all, but intended to harm her.
"Mr. Arshaka, you're the only one who can save your daughter. I'm sorry I'm helpless. I couldn't stop this. I'm weak." Kayla struck her own head. Sadness and frustration blended together. "What will happen now? Emeli is gone, and Mr. Arshaka will suspect me of kidnapping her? Judging by Sir Jeremy's behavior earlier, it's entirely possible he'll twist the facts."
"No, that can't happen. Mr. Arshaka may not be answering his phone, but I'll send him a message as proof that I took the initiative to report what happened. Mr. Arshaka, why won't you answer? Argh! Poor Emeli."
As Kayla was typing a message to Arshaka, her phone rang. When she checked who was calling and saw Arshaka's name on the screen, her spirits immediately lifted. In the end, Arshaka had called her himself. Hopefully, Emeli and the others hadn't gone too far.
"Hello, Kayla. What's wrong?" Arshaka asked when he heard Kayla's ragged, uneven breathing over the phone. Even though he wasn't beside her, Arshaka knew she'd just been running.
"Miss Emeli, Sir, she—"
"What happened to her?!" Arshaka snapped.
"Your father took Miss Emeli away. He said he was taking Miss Emeli to an orphanage," Kayla reported, her breathing still unsteady.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The call was immediately disconnected by Arshaka.
"Sir! Sir! Hello, Sir." There was no answer from the other end, and when she called again, Arshaka's number was already inactive. This sent Kayla into another panic.
"Oh God, what should I do?" Kayla sank weakly to the floor and rubbed her face. She had no idea what to do. Her mind was completely blank.
"The window!" Her mind ordered her to get out through the window. Kayla ran toward it and pulled back the curtains. But she was shocked to realize that metal bars blocked her way out.
To be continued.