Chapter 18
"Mr. Flores, my registration is gone!" I stared at the screen, my voice trembling with panic.
"How is that possible?" Samuel couldn't believe it either. He took the computer and searched again, but found nothing.
"Lucinda, are you sure your registration went through?"
"I'm positive. I even took a screenshot." I quickly pulled up the image on my phone.
After looking at it, Samuel's face filled with confusion. "If the registration was successful, why would it disappear?"
"We don't have time to discuss that now!" I started filling out the form again on my phone. "There's only half an hour left. I'll re-enter all my information and upload the video right away."
After completing the last field, I eagerly opened the upload screen—only to discover my dance video was missing.
"How can it be gone?" I stared wide-eyed, my heart pounding wildly.
It couldn't just vanish! I had saved it in my files. It couldn't disappear without a reason!
I clicked through each folder, growing more desperate with every search. Nothing. It was nowhere to be found.
I stumbled backward until my back hit a filing cabinet.
"Lucinda." Samuel jumped up in alarm and grabbed my arm. "What's wrong? What's missing?"
I stared blankly into space, trembling. "My dance video is gone. I saved it directly to my phone, and now it's gone!"
"How could this happen?" Samuel grew anxious too. He smacked his forehead, then asked, "Do you know anyone who does data recovery? There might still be time."
I shook my head. "I don't, and it probably wouldn't help anyway. Data recovery usually takes at least an hour."
"Then..." Samuel was out of ideas, pacing nervously.
After a moment, he said, "The officials for the International Ballet Competition are staying at a high-end hotel owned by the Percy Group. I've heard Mr. Percy knows them. Our only option is to ask Mr. Percy to explain the situation and see if there's any way to fix this."
My unfocused eyes suddenly lit up. "I'll go find him right away!"
I went straight to the Percy Group Building. Since I'd never visited Leopold there before, no one knew who I was.
After explaining why I was there, the receptionist followed protocol and contacted Leopold's assistant.
"Mr. Gray, there's a Ms. Lucinda Wipere here to see the CEO. She says they know each other."
There was silence on the other end for a moment before a response came. "Tell her Mr. Percy isn't in. She'll have to come back another time."
The voice sounded familiar, like I'd heard it somewhere before. But I couldn't place it no matter how hard I tried.
Learning that Leopold wasn't at the company, I decided to try his residence or the Percy Manor. Just as I left the building, I received a message from an unknown number.
[Leopold has been at the hospital with me for the past two days, personally changing my bandages—more attentive than the doctors. If you know what's good for you, you'll remove yourself from the Percy family!]
Attached was a photo of Leopold intently tending to someone's wound. Even without a signature, I knew who it was from. Over the past three years, I'd received countless similar photos suggesting intimacy.
In the past, I would have been heartbroken, silently suffering. But now, I just wanted to do what was right for me.
I drove to the hospital and went straight to Sophia's room.
"Cindy, are you here to see me?" Sophia spotted me at the doorway and smiled, inviting me in.
Leopold stood by her bed, pouring water for her, not even glancing in my direction.
"Leopold, I need to speak with you about something important. Could we talk privately?"
With only twenty minutes until the registration deadline, I had no time for pleasantries and had to get straight to the point.
Leopold didn't acknowledge me. He handed the water glass to Sophia. "The temperature's just right. Drink up."
Sophia accepted the glass with slightly flushed cheeks, gently reminding him, "Leo, I think Cindy needs to talk to you about something."
"The doctor said you need rest. Don't worry about unimportant matters."
Leopold's words hit me like a hammer to the chest. But I held back from confronting him and pressed on. "Leopold, I really do have something urgent to discuss with you."
"Then say it here." Leopold leaned casually against a cabinet, taking a cigarette from a pack. "Sophia isn't an outsider. You don't need to be secretive."
Sophia smiled sweetly. "Leo, you can't smoke in a hospital room."
Leopold was about to light the cigarette but immediately tossed it in the trash at her words. His instant compliance made my heart ache.
The year his parents died unexpectedly, he'd spiraled into depression, drinking and smoking excessively every day. Nothing I said made any difference. Eventually, he ended up in the hospital, nearly losing his life.
Donovan was furious and slapped him hard when he regained consciousness, saying the Percy family had no place for such an unworthy descendant and threatening to disown him. That finally woke him up, and he changed completely.
I had always thought Leopold only listened to Donovan. Only today did I realize he also listened to Sophia.
"Nothing to say?" Leopold looked up at me impatiently. "Then get out."
"Leo, don't talk to Cindy like that. She must be in trouble if she came all the way to the hospital to find you."
Leopold's gaze turned sharp and mocking. "If it's really important, stop being so formal. Show me you mean it."
His words were like a sharp thorn digging deep into my flesh. The pain made my throat go dry. But thinking of my dream, I gathered my courage and explained why I was there.
"My registration record disappeared without explanation. I heard you know the officials for the International Ballet Competition, and I was hoping you could introduce me to see if there's any solution."
Leopold's expression suddenly turned frightening. "What makes you think I'd help you with an introduction?"
A suffocating feeling rose in my chest, and my voice tightened involuntarily. "The International Ballet Competition is an opportunity I've waited four years for. Please help me. I really... have no other options."
"So you only come to me when you have no options? What am I to you? Your on-call lackey? A slave at your command?"
Leopold's voice dropped to an icy coldness. Every word made me shiver. I didn't believe I had done anything to wrong him, so why was he humiliating me like this?
"Leo, don't say that." Sophia's voice was soft and gentle. "The International Ballet Competition is the most prestigious ballet competition and a dream for every ballet dancer. If my foot wasn't injured, preventing me from competing this time, I would..."
She glanced at me timidly, then forced a smile. "Never mind about me. Cindy has waited four years—that's really not easy. Why don't you help her?"
Irritated by her pretense, I spoke up. "Your foot injury has nothing to do with me. The police video analysis report is out, and the video Lillian provided was fabricated."
Sophia looked at me in shock. "Is that true? Lillian told me she saw you using glass powder..."
She paused before continuing. "But that's not important now. Although the International Ballet Competition is significant, you shouldn't lie for it. You know Leo hates being deceived more than anything."
I glared at her angrily. She was deliberately twisting my words to make Leopold refuse me.
"I didn't—"
"Lucinda!" Leopold's face darkened to an extreme. "If you want my help, apologize to Sophia right now and beg for her forgiveness for your ruthless methods. Otherwise, there's nothing to discuss!"