Chapter 129 Elara's missing

Chapter 129 Elara's missing
Maurice's POV

"Mr. Lanfield, welcome," the manager in charge of the amusement park greeted, lowering his head as soon as I arrived.

Bringing my hand to my face, I pulled down the black shades I wore, my eyes scanning the environment.

The park was filled with people, both young and old, giggling and dancing, having fun.

A small smile tugged at my lips.

I hadn't been here in months.

"What..." The manager cleared his throat before speaking again. "What brings you here today?" he asked.

The smile on my face disappeared. I turned to look at him, a brow raised. "Do I need a reason to come to my family's amusement park?"

He immediately shook his head, a nervous laugh leaving his lips. "No... No, sir. I'm sorry."

My family's park... Clara's.

A few years after Clara went missing, my mum fell into a spiral of depression. The only thing that took her mind off my younger sister's disappearance was work.

Because of that, my father built this amusement park and gifted it to my mother, which she named after Clara.

C.L. Park.

Inhaling deeply, I looked around the park again before returning to the manager, who still had a smile on his face.

"How has business been?" I asked.

The answer was obvious from how filled up the park was, and it wasn't even a weekend.

"Well, this park is one of the best," the manager replied, grinning widely, his tone showcasing pride. "We've been getting a lot of good reviews from both children and adults."

Good.

My mother was good at everything she did. The park she dedicated to her daughter wouldn't be any different.

Nodding, a small smile appeared on my lips.

The manager cleared his throat before walking closer to me. "Sir, also about the huge ride that..."

He kept on speaking, but his voice slowly faded into the background.

From the corner of my eye, I caught a familiar figure with two children dancing around her.

"Elara?" I mumbled, squinting my eyes.

The figure had a huge smile on her face as she chanted with her boys. Even though she stood far away, I was certain it was her.

My heart began drumming in my chest.

This was the first time I was seeing her since confirming who she was.

She looked radiant, her long hair swaying behind her.

"Mr. Lanfield? Mr..." the manager called, but I was no longer listening. My feet began walking towards her.

I was right. It was her.

The way her face brightened when she saw me made my heart skip.

Thinking about it now, although I could barely remember what she looked like before, the air of familiarity around her was evident.

And her children... My nephews were amazing.

Leo called me uncle.

I knew it was just an ordinary name he called his mother's male friends, but to me it felt different.

Like he was acknowledging the fact that his mum was my sister.

My heart leaped with joy.

Elara was free with me.

She said whatever she wanted, which was nice until... until she said that she wished she had slept with me.

No way.

"...It would have just made everything complicated," I said without thinking, shaking my head.

Jayden and I had never seen eye to eye on a lot of things, but one thing I was glad about was that it wasn't anyone else with Elara that night, and that it was definitely not me.

It would be hard to explain.

How could I ever tell her the truth then?

But she took it the wrong way.

"Elara..." I tried to explain, but she refused to listen. Elara shook her head and stood up, muttering an apology.

Fuck.

I muttered, lowering my head.

I wasn't thinking about how my words might have sounded.

Shit.

Closing my eyes, I let out a curse, slamming my hand on the chair.

This was terrible. I had to clear things up with her. I had to tell her the truth.

Elara needed to know that I didn't say those things because I preferred her with that bastard or because I didn't think she was attractive, but because I knew who she was.

She was my sister.

For the past week, all I could think about was how to break the news to Elara.

She knew that she wasn't the Ashfords' real daughter, but she had never mentioned anything about finding her real parents.

It was as though she didn't care whether they were alive or dead.

Where do I start?

A frustrated sound left my lips, and I opened my eyes.

No matter what, I had to tell Elara the truth today.

Elara didn't come back for a while.

At first, I wasn't worried.

The park wasn't exactly small, and there was a long queue at almost every food stall. She probably got caught up buying snacks for the boys.

Plus, I needed time to think of how to break the news to her. What to say. Where to start.

I couldn't just tell her, I'm your brother. You're my long-lost sister.

I kept rubbing my sweaty hands on my knees, taking deep breaths.

A few more minutes passed.

I glanced toward the direction she had walked earlier.

Nothing.

The smile that had been lingering on my face slowly disappeared.

Something felt... off.

I shifted on the bench, tapping my fingers lightly against my knee as my gaze swept across the crowd again.

Still no sign of her.

The boys were too busy running around with each other to notice anything. Jake was laughing while Leo chased after him, the two of them weaving between other children.

Normally, Elara wouldn't leave them alone for this long.

Not after everything that had happened recently.

She was overly protective of them.

Almost paranoid because of when Jayden had taken them.

But now...

A knot slowly formed in my stomach.

Something didn't feel right.

I stood up.

Maybe she had gotten lost looking for a restroom.

Maybe someone she knew had stopped to talk to her.

Maybe...

No.

I told myself, looking for excuses not to worry. I had just found out who she was less than a week ago. There was no way I was losing her now.

But none of the excuses I told myself made any sense.

Elara wasn't the type to disappear without saying anything.

Especially when her children were waiting for her.

I looked around once more, my gaze becoming sharper this time.

Still nothing.

Not even a glimpse of her hair.

My chest tightened.

Maybe... maybe she was just avoiding me. I had made things a bit awkward because of my response to what she said.

"Uncle Maurice?" Jake's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I forced myself to look calm before turning toward the twins, who were now standing next to me.

Leo glanced at the side of the bench where Elara had previously sat before returning his gaze to me. "Where is Mummy?"

"What?" A frown appeared on my lips.

They hadn't seen her too?

"She said she was just going to get a drink and then come check on you guys. Didn't she come over here?"

So she wasn't just avoiding me; she hadn't been to see the boys either?

"No, she didn't, Uncle," Leo responded.

A cold feeling crept up my spine.

"Does your mum have a phone?" I asked the twins, taking my phone out of my pocket. "Let me call her."

"No. She doesn't," Jake said slowly.

Leo nodded. "Mummy said that she lost her last phone and since then hasn't gotten another one."

"Jayden didn't..." An exasperated breath left my lips. "Your father didn't get her a phone?"

Jake shrugged.

"That fucking..."

I caught myself just in time.

The boys didn't need to hear me curse because of their father.

"It's okay. It's probably nothing." I forced a reassuring smile that I didn't feel. "Both of you should stay here. I'd go look for her."