The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1719 Are You Involved

As Sheryl spoke with Leila, she stared at her with furious eyes. The fire in her gaze was enough to burn Leila alive.

Leila had never seen Sheryl so mad before, so she stood aghast for a moment.

"What are you trying to imply?" Leila asked, heaving a deep sigh to gather her composure.

"Last time, you took Shirley away and kidnapped her! Now, tell me! What did you do to my daughter this time? Where did you take her? How can you do that to my little girl?" Unable to contain her anger any further, Sheryl screamed and glared at Leila, her red eyes burning.

Seeing how aggressive Sheryl was being, Melissa felt completely annoyed. Stepping forward to protect Leila, Melissa ended up confronting Sheryl instead. "Sheryl, do you still think that you are the lady of Dream Garden? How dare you barge in here and make a fuss?"

As a matter of fact, Leila had felt intimidated when Sheryl had confronted her with her previous crimes. Thanks to Melissa, who saved her from exposing herself, Leila felt relieved.

If not for Melissa's help, Sheryl would have continued attacking her with those old stories.

Leila thought that she had been cautious enough when she had kidnapped Shirley. Even if Sheryl got enough evidence to pin her down, she would be able to get away with it as long as she kept denying it. Sheryl couldn't declare her guilt based on mere suspicion.

Leila decided that she would have to be more careful later on. She reminded herself that she shouldn't leave any clues that other people might replace, or else her previous efforts would be in vain. "Melissa, I know you don't like me, and you have every right to do so. But you shouldn't ignore your own granddaughter's life just to get back at me!" Sheryl wailed painfully, begging Melissa to see past her annoyance with Sheryl.

No matter how much Melissa hated her, she was also a mother. She shouldn't have been so heartless to ignore Shirley's safety just to favor Leila.

Truth be told, Melissa's reaction shocked Sheryl greatly and hurt her feelings.

She couldn't believe that an outsider like Leila was even more important to her mother-in-law than her own granddaughter.

"Enough, Sheryl! Do you really think that I'll believe you? You can't trick me! I'm not stupid! I know that you didn't like it that I went to your company yesterday and confronted you. So you're here today to cause me trouble, aren't you?" Melissa questioned Sheryl sharply, not believing a single word from her.

Melissa never even imagined that Shirley could be lost as she was under Sheryl's care. Even though she never really liked Sheryl, she had to admit, Sheryl was a perfect mother, and she cared about her kids more than anything else. It was impossible for Sheryl to make a mistake and end up losing Shirley.

Melissa's question rendered Sheryl speechless. Nobody could understand how worried and anxious she was feeling right now. She was desperate to replace Shirley, even rushing to Dream Garden to take her chances.

"Mom, do you really think that I would do something that ridiculous?" Sheryl asked her, wearing a sad face.

Compared to Sheryl's angry and sorrowful expression, Melissa was much more confident and calm. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she replied indifferently, "Well, perhaps. I'm not sure why you're here, but I know that you're targeting Leila! You hate her!"

"Why would I be making up stories? As Shirley's grandmother, shouldn't you be concerned about her safety too?" Sheryl screamed.

Her anger was growing in her chest, making her feel like she was about to explode. Sadly, she couldn't just vent it out properly, for that would be leaving herself breathless.

"Stop all this nonsense! Get out of here now! I don't want to see you anymore."

Pointing at the door, Melissa demanded that she leave immediately, for Sheryl's question had annoyed her even more.

"Sheryl, even if what you said is true that Shirley is missing, you shouldn't have come here. I've been working in the Shining Company the entire day, both Charles and Aunt Melissa can vouch for me. I arrived home not long ago. You can't defame me with a random excuse, or I will sue you for slander!" Leila stated solemnly, her tone full of arrogance since Melissa clearly had the upper hand.

Sheryl's lips were quivering with outrage. It took her a while to replace her voice, and when she finally did, she shouted, "Don't dream of fooling me again! If by any chance, I replace out that you're involved in Shirley's disappearance again, I won't hesitate to approach Charles!"

"Sheryl, who do you think you are? Are you the head in this family?" Melissa asked furiously. She flared up since Sheryl dared to announce her dominance over Charles. Melissa couldn't believe that Sheryl thought of herself being so powerful.

Without thinking, Melissa even reached out to hit Sheryl. However, before Melissa could even touch her, Nancy intervened. She immediately stood between Melissa and Sheryl. "Madam, please, don't!" Nancy grabbed Melissa's arm and begged.

"How dare you! A mere servant dares to meddle in our family affairs! Get out now!" Feeling angry and embarrassed, Melissa thrust Nancy away roughly, pushing her to the ground. Seeing Nancy fall, Sheryl asked anxiously, "Nancy, are you all right?" She dashed to help Nancy up from the ground, feeling worried about her.

"Sher, I'm fine," Nancy replied softly. She tried to smile, wanting to put Sheryl at ease.

Meanwhile, outside Dream Garden

Charles had just returned home from work. He was about to enter the house when he heard the loud noises coming from the inside. He couldn't help feeling displeased, thinking it was Leila and Melissa who were making a fuss again. He was ready to turn his back and leave when he vaguely heard Sheryl's voice.

Initially, he thought he heard it wrong, so he stayed to listen closely. To his surprise, it was indeed Sheryl's voice. Excitement grew in his heart since he knew that Sheryl was inside. Without any hesitation, Charles rushed into the house.

"Charles, you're finally back! Come here and look at this woman. She's really crazier than ever,"

Melissa said, complaining as soon as she caught sight of Charles. She came to Charles with an aggrieved look, dragging his sleeves to seek his support.

Sheryl didn't expect that Charles would arrive home this early. She didn't try to dodge Charles this time, because her priority was to replace Shirley.

"Sher, what happened?" Seeing Sheryl's worried face, Charles decided to ask her directly. Not paying any attention to Melissa at all, he stared at Sheryl intently, waiting for a response.

Sheryl sighed heavily. Before she could say a word, Melissa interrupted her. She told Charles the whole story proactively but also pointed out on purpose that Shirley wasn't lost, and that the whole story was Sheryl's prank.

"Charles, it's just a lie that Sheryl made up! She's doing this on purpose to cause us trouble!" Melissa claimed.

After hearing Melissa's words, Charles knitted his eyebrows and stared at her silently. His eyes were warning her that she had said enough.

Melissa buttoned her lips, as if on cue.

"Are you sure that Shirley is missing?" Charles asked Sheryl in disbelief. Melissa's accusations distracted him earlier, so he had been unable to realize how serious the incident could be from the very beginning. After he came back to himself, he couldn't help getting worried.

"Do you really think that I would make a joke of Shirley's life?" Sheryl asked in rage. She was so angry. She could feel her body trembling.

Charles' question broke her heart. Sheryl couldn't believe that Charles would ever think that she would lie about their own daughter's life. She started to question if she knew him at all.

Sheryl didn't know how the heck she fell in love with Charles, a heartless and relentless man. He had already put her and the kids aside. Maybe the only woman in his heart now was Leila. 'Maybe he thinks that I'm a troublemaker now, right?' Sheryl thought.

"Leila, do you have anything to do with this?" Charles asked Leila, as after noticing Sheryl's resolute look, he felt a little embarrassed.