A twinge of pain shot through Bethan’s heart.
She knew what Yannie was going through; she had been through the same pain and despair of losing her child before.
“Don’t jump to conclusions just yet, Yannie.”
Bethan sighed and tried her best to console Yannie. “Brettley and I will try to help you.”
With that, she hung up and turned to stare at Brettley. “Thomas and Yannie are at the hospital now, but Riley has gone missing.”
At this moment, Brettley was pawing through some documents, but he did not seem at all surprised to hear this. He lifted his head to glance at Bethan. “So?”
Bethan furrowed her brow at the nonchalant look on his face. “So we have to help them find her!
She knew the anguish Yannie was going through, and she could not help feeling a little surprised at Brettley’s reaction.
She understood him well and knew he was always a careful and deliberate man. Not only that, but he was always eager to help out his friends in need.
Riley was not only Yannie and Thomas’ daughter but had, at one point, been under Bethan and Brettley’s care. Therefore, Brettley’s reaction was far too cold and aloof to be considered normal. He was not a heartless man, of course.
At this thought, Bethan sighed and strode over to him. “Have you already come up with a plan? Or do you already know where Riley is?”
Brettley did not deny this.
Instead, he put down the papers and glanced impassively at Bethan. “Nigel texted me this morning to tell me that Sean has arrived in Saigen City. Shall we catch up with him sometime?
Sean?
Bethan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s he doing here in Saigen City?”
Bethan and Brettley had flown all the way to Saigen City for other people; Bethan had come to join Gwen on her trip whereas Brettley was here to help Thomas settle his business.
However, Sean did not possess any friends or family in Saigen City, so what was he doing here?
“He’s here to experience the world–renowned Saigen City winter, of course.”
Brettley curled his lips into a smirk, gently clutched Bethan’s wrist, and pulled her into his arms. “Let’s all meet for dinner tonight. We should invite Thomas and Yannie too.”
Bethan stared at him in puzzlement, her brow still scrunched. “What on earth are you talking about?”
Why was he suggesting inviting Thomas and Yannie to dinner with Sean?
The three of them did not know each other well, and even if they were friends… Thomas and Yannie would probably be worried sick about Riley, so how could they want to attend a gathering with Sean?
At the thought of this, Bethan sighed and said, “I don’t think this is the right time. Our priority right now is to help Thomas and Yannie track down Riley. Since Sean is already here, we could use his help too.”
Finding Riley was more important than catching up with Sean.
“I think we should probably meet him first.”
Brettley smiled and gently pressed a kiss on Bethan’s cheek. “Perhaps we won’t need to go in search of Riley anymore once we see him.”
Bethan did not understand this. “What wouldn’t we need to go in search of her once we meet him? He’s not Riley, after all.”
Brettley curled his lips into a wry smile, then reached out to tap her nose playfully. “That’s not what I meant, stupid.”
Bethan frowned. “Well, what is it that you mean, then?”
“All I need is for you to believe me; go call Yannie and Thomas right now and ask them to join us for dinner with Sean tonight. There’s a surprise waiting for them.”
Bethan paused, and despite still feeling a little dubious over this, she still decided to trust Brettley.
She strode out of Brettley’s office and dialed Yannie’s number.
Yannie was in the midst of trying to figure out Riley’s whereabouts, so she, too, was a little confused about why Bethan and Brettley would invite her to dinner with their cousin. Nonetheless, she accepted Bethan’s invitation.
“Well, Bethan, since Mr. Morrison says that meeting this Mr. Wheeler will help us find Riley eventually, I guess there’s no harm trying. Don’t worry; I promise I’ll find a way to make Thomas come, too.”
After hanging up, Yannie turned to glance at Thomas, who was fixated on watching the surveillance tapes from a few days ago. “Thomas, Bethan told me that…”
“Come look at this,”
Thomas interrupted her before she could even finish. He grabbed hold of her arm excitedly and pointed at the computer screen. “I’ve finally found them! Look, it’s Denise and Tina, isn’t it?
“Those bitches! I should’ve known they were behind this; I was wrong to think they wouldn’t dare lay a finger on an innocent child!”
Thomas slammed the table in fury and snarled, “I should’ve known not to show Denise mercy.
“Now that Tina has been convicted of murder, Denise will never admit to kidnapping Riley to avoid being arrested too. We have to find her as soon as we can!”
Yannie bit her lip when she laid eyes on the screen before her.
This was a surveillance tape from a few days before, just before Riley had gone missing.
Since someone had wiped all the security cameras on the day of Riley’s disappearance, Thomas had no choice but to attempt to find clues from previous surveillance footage.
To his surprise, he managed to find something.
Yannie clenched her fists as she stared at the image of Tina and Denise on the screen, smiling and chatting.
She, like Thomas, had thought Tina and Denise would not dare lay a finger on Riley since their primary target was Thomas, but to their surprise…
These people did not know where to draw the line at all! Riley was not even six months old, so how could they do this toa small, innocent child? “I’m going to Hughes Residence right now.”
Thomas caught sight of Yannie’s rage and immediately pulled her into his arms, frowning.
“We’ll confront Denise in person about this.”
The familiar warmth of his embrace surged through Yannie, and for a split second, she did not want to pull away.
However, the image of what happened at Howard Mansion the day before appeared in her mind, and she instinctively removed herself from Thomas’ grasp, turning her head away so as not to meet his gaze.
“Let’s go then.”
Thomas felt his heart sink at this.He could not help feeling like an invisible hand was squeezing his heart as he watched Yannie turn and walk toward the exit.
His only intentions of hugging her were simply to comfort and reassure her.He knew she was worried sick about Riley, but he never thought that after what happened the day before, even a gesture of reassurance from him would elicit such a hostile response.
A deep feeling of dread seeped into his heart, and he curled his lips into a bitter smile.
He could not help feeling that Yannie would one day leave him.
Perhaps she would do so as soon as they found Riley.
Even though he, too, was a victim of the events that transpired, he did not seem to have the right to ask her to stay.
However, he could not entirely blame Tina and Denise for this either.It was his arrogance and lack of consideration that led to this tragedy.
He should have known that someone as cunning as Tina would cease at nothing to drag him down, even stooping so low as to poison him! He should not have believed a single word of hers…
“Thomas.”
Yannie did not hear Thomas’s footsteps behind her after she left the surveillance room, so she turned to glance in his direction.
At this moment, Thomas was staring blankly back at her, but his thoughts seemed to have wandered elsewhere.
The sorrow and grief in his eyes made her heart lurch.
She knew why he was feeling his way, but at the same time, she did not know how to make him feel better.
Yannie sighed, walked back toward him, and gently tugged on his sleeve.
“Let’s go.Didn’t you say we should go over to Hughes Residence to confront Denise right now? Let’s go, then.What’s most important right now is to find Riley as soon as possible.”
Yannie’s voice immediately pulled Thomas back to reality.He was silent for a while before finally breaking into a smile.
“You’re right.Nothing matters more than Riley.”
With that, he grabbed hold of her hand.
Yannie instinctively tried to break free of his grasp, but the harder she tried to pull away, the harder his grip became.
Finally, she sighed and decided not to struggle anymore.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.