Chapter 179
"I think she ran." Aiden never overestimated human nature. "That Ryder guy found out the company had an incident and resigned immediately—he picked up his paycheck yesterday and left just like that. Haven not showing up to work at this critical moment, not even calling in for leave—if that's not running, what is it?"
Emma still held firm. "I don't think so. I've worked with Haven for a while now. She's diligent and always plays by the rules. Whenever she makes a mistake, she's the first to admit it and correct it. How could she possibly run?"
The two held opposing views, neither able to convince the other.
Kenneth was already on his phone trying to call Haven, but the call wouldn't go through. He had to interrupt their standoff. "I don't know if she blocked me or if something happened to her."
Josephine frowned slightly. "Emma, go pull Haven's file. I need her home address."
"Right away." Emma turned and ran off.
Ten minutes later, Emma returned with Haven's home address and her family's contact number. Just as she was about to dial, Josephine stopped her. "No rush. Let's visit her home first."
Aiden slumped in his chair with a sigh. "If you ask me, you're just too kind. Yesterday we should have kept her under watch. She's obviously afraid we'll push her out to take the fall, so she's not coming to work—she's basically pulled a disappearing act."
What a shame their supervisor was so nice that even now she was thinking about covering for Haven with her family. Calling would definitely expose that Haven wasn't coming to work.
"Don't speculate about others so casually." Without any concrete evidence, Josephine wouldn't believe Haven had simply fled.
She was going to visit Haven's home.
Kenneth went with her. On the drive to Haven's place, Kenneth couldn't help asking, "If Haven really is deliberately avoiding responsibility..."
Josephine sat in the passenger seat, watching the scenery fly past the window. Hearing this question, she didn't answer immediately. Haven's face surfaced in her mind.
The last time they'd seen each other was yesterday evening, when Haven had followed her to the office door.
Haven had been truly frightened then. She probably didn't even realize how pale her face was, how panicked her expression.
"As long as she doesn't run, I won't let her take the fall."
Kenneth understood. This was giving Haven a chance. If Haven really had run, she would have let down all of Josephine's good intentions.
When they knocked on Haven's door, both her parents were home. Hearing Kenneth introduce Josephine as Haven's supervisor, the couple warmly welcomed them inside.
Haven's mother even poured water. "Did our girl do something wrong?"
Haven's father looked equally worried.
Josephine took a sip of water and smiled. "Don't worry. We came by today to conduct a family survey, actually. Our company arranges employee health checkups that can include family members. I wanted to ask why you didn't come to the last one?"
"Oh, we know about that."
Actually, Josephine's explanation was full of holes. Even if they needed to survey family members, Haven could have filled it out herself—there was no need for management to visit the home.
But Haven's parents were simple people, just ordinary workers who didn't understand corporate procedures. Hearing this, they answered honestly.
"Our Haven mentioned it a while back," Haven's mother said. "But we're both quite healthy. I figured there was no need to use up your company's resources, so we didn't go."
"I see." Josephine nodded. "Actually, there's one more thing we came for."
"Please, go ahead."
Josephine set down her water glass and stood. "A department document was taken home by Haven..."
"It must be in Haven's room. I'll go get it for you right now." Haven's mother hurried to push open Haven's bedroom door.
From Josephine's angle, she could see the whole room.
Empty. Not a soul inside.
The blanket on the bed was neatly folded—no signs that anyone had slept there.
Soon, Haven's mother emerged with a document. "Is this it?"
Josephine carefully flipped through it, then nodded. "This is it. Thank you both. We'll be going now."
"Of course, we'll see you out." Haven's parents walked them to the door before turning back inside.
Josephine and Kenneth went downstairs and got in the car. Kenneth glanced up at the window. "Do you believe what they said?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Josephine placed the document in her bag and opened her phone to find Haven's number, composing a message.
Kenneth said gravely, "But Haven's not home. Where else could she be? Why do her parents seem completely unconcerned?"
"What if Haven told her parents last night that she had to work overtime at the company and wouldn't be coming home?" Josephine finished typing the last word and hit send.
[Haven, don't be afraid. Don't hide. Hiding won't solve anything. I won't let you take the fall. Don't worry. Call me when you see this.]
After sending it, Josephine looked up. "Judging by her parents' attitude, they clearly dote on their daughter. If Haven disappeared for a whole night without a word, they couldn't possibly be this calm."
"But maybe Haven is home, and those parents are just putting on an act in front of us to protect their daughter." It wasn't impossible. Kenneth had wanted an excuse to go into the bedroom to check.
But Josephine had suggested leaving, so he didn't get the chance.
Josephine placed her phone face-down on her lap and closed her eyes briefly. "When we came in, I noticed pink slippers by the entrance—only two pairs of shoes outside the shoe cabinet."
If Haven had been home, she couldn't have avoided wearing slippers.
And most importantly...
"If you were her parents, and your daughter got into trouble at work, and her company supervisor showed up at your door—could you resist asking what happened?"
Kenneth actually thought about it seriously. If it were him, he definitely couldn't hold back. Even just to ease his daughter's mind, he'd surely ask a few questions.
But these parents seemed completely unaware of any incident.
"You're right. There's only one possibility now—Haven hasn't been home since last night."
Josephine murmured agreement. "Back to the office."
They didn't speak again on the return drive, but Josephine felt uneasy. She had a somewhat terrifying theory forming.
She'd been managing the lab for a while now and had gotten to know the employees. Haven was typically an inconspicuous member of the team.
But she was known for her willingness to work hard, her good temperament, and her diligent, conscientious work ethic.
Not because she had any particular ambition—but because she had a younger sister who needed to go to college, and supposedly her grandmother's health wasn't good either.
Haven was filial and valued family deeply.
Would someone like that really choose to run away when trouble struck?
Like those people drowning in debt—their thoughts aren't about escaping themselves, but about trading their lives to make the debt die with them.
Once this thought surfaced in Josephine's mind, she couldn't suppress it no matter how hard she tried.