Chapter 78
Cleo ate her meal slowly and calmly, while I was anxious as hell.
I couldn't understand why she was so composed. If my child went missing, I'd probably be crying my eyes out from worry.
I couldn't just sit back and let everyone else worry for me.
Since the child went missing from my house, there must be some clues. We'd upgraded the security system earlier, so checking the surveillance footage should give us something useful.
"Where are you going?"
Seeing me about to leave, Cleo stopped me.
I turned around helplessly. "I'm going to look for the child."
What else could I do in this situation? If anyone could give me a lead on the child, I'd be forever grateful.
"I'll go with you." Cleo put down her utensils, ready to follow me.
I quickly waved my hands to stop her. "I'm just looking for clues around the house. I'll check the surveillance footage. You wait here."
I was just afraid she'd cause trouble, afraid she'd lose her temper with the household staff again.
Something felt off about this whole thing. Unless Hayden ran out on his own, it didn't make sense that no one saw anything.
When we first moved in, I told Levi I didn't want things to feel too restrictive here, with too many people serving us - it wouldn't feel like home.
He agreed to my idea of reducing the staff, which was why there were rarely any people watching the entrance.
"Mrs. Morgan, I'll go with you."
Indigo was running around anxiously. Now that Cleo insisted she'd handed the child over to her, she was one of the people who knew Hayden had been here.
How could the house not be safe? Indigo had been busy making breakfast for me and thought she'd let the child play by himself for a bit. Who would've thought that when she went to check on him, Hayden was already gone?
This whole thing was a mess. Cleo had always had a bad temper, so Indigo didn't dare contact her again to ask if Hayden had gone back with her. One thing led to another, and it became this confusing situation.
"Alright."
I let her come with me - better than having Cleo yell at her. I knew Indigo's character; she would never do anything to betray this family.
In broad daylight, in my own home, I didn't believe someone could kidnap a child.
When I got to the surveillance room, the person on duty was Ian, the family gardener. He'd worked at the Morgan mansion for many years, and though he was getting older, he was still very thorough in his work.
Levi had arrived before me. He had Ian pull up the morning's surveillance footage.
"Sir, you're better with computers than I am. It's all here." Ian stepped back to let Levi check.
I moved closer. "Maybe I should do it."
"No need."
Levi opened the surveillance and checked frame by frame, not wanting to miss anything.
The footage showed Cleo bringing Hayden to our house, leaving Hayden at the entrance. Hayden walked in by himself, then Cleo left.
Then Hayden played in the yard for a while, and then he walked toward the entrance again...
And then the surveillance cut out...
My heart sank. What was going on?
"I guarantee no one's touched anything here. As for why the screen went black, I don't know either." Ian explained. Except for when he went out to do yard work, he was here the rest of the time.
No one in the house would have any reason to harm Hayden, and no outsiders had come in.
"The system automatically upgraded today, took about two minutes, so during that time, nothing was recorded." Levi had one hand supporting his lower back - clearly, he was struggling too.
How could it be such a coincidence that Hayden disappeared during exactly that time?
He walked toward the entrance on his own - was someone outside calling him?
Everything became a mystery again.
Indigo blamed herself. "It's all my fault. If I'd brought the child inside first, this wouldn't have happened."
I patted her back. "Don't worry yet, we'll keep looking."
But it was going to be difficult now. We'd have to ask the police for help finding him - there should be street surveillance footage.
"I'll figure something out. You stay home and wait for me, and whatever you do, don't get into a fight with her." Levi warned me, knowing his sister's personality.
I nodded. "If we have no choice, we should call the police."
I watched Levi's retreating figure, my mind in chaos. The Morgan family always valued their reputation. If Hayden were missing, Cleo's husband would probably come demanding answers, too.
If he showed up, things would get even more complicated.
I'd heard Cleo mention their divorce, though I didn't know if it was true or not. Once both families found out about this, it would be even more troublesome.
If we called the police, they'd question everyone related to Hayden.
I hadn't done anything wrong, but I had to think about the bigger picture. For now, we should keep searching.
Indigo and I returned to the living room to wait. Cleo was eating fruit. I really had this feeling that she was setting me up - otherwise, why would she show no sign of worry at all?
From the moment she walked in demanding I return her child, to now, eating and drinking without a care, compared to Hayden's disappearance, was I actually her real target?
"Did you find anything on the surveillance?"
Cleo always had that superior attitude, asking me rudely.
I shook my head. "Not yet."
"The surveillance found nothing?"
She stood up, pointing at me. "Let me tell you, if we don't find him today, I'll fight you to the death."
"Fighting me won't help. I'm upset about Hayden being missing too. Aren't we trying hard to find him?" I tried to control my emotions.
"Then go look for him! What are you doing sitting here? Go out and search..."
Cleo's tone got worse and worse. I was about to explode with anger. Levi told me to stay home so I'd be easy to reach.
I'd been restless for ages. I was trying not to alarm Aiden - otherwise I would've called the police already, or asked the Morgan mansion for help.
"Stop making a scene. What good does yelling at me do?"
Cleo sat down next to me, right beside me.
"I'm making a scene? You can't even watch a child properly."
"Did you actually hand Hayden over to me?" I shot back. "Did you ever directly ask me to watch your child?"
She pouted. "That's because I was afraid you'd refuse."
"So you knew I would refuse."
I took a deep breath. "I've told you more than once that I'm busy with work and don't have time to watch your child. And with your attitude, who do you think would be willing to help you?"
"You gave birth to the child yourself - aren't you going to raise him? You went out to have fun, enjoyed yourself, and just stopped caring whether Hayden lives or dies?"
"Today isn't the weekend - I have to go to the office. I haven't even seen the child, and you're demanding I return him to you. I'm really at a loss for words."
Might as well be straight with her. Except for this happening at my house, nothing else about this had anything to do with me.
I'm Hayden's aunt. I'm worried and anxious, too. But as Hayden's mother, Cleo should be using her own resources to find the child, not standing here blaming me.
"Blair, why are you yelling at me?"
Just as Cleo was about to attack me verbally, my phone rang.
"Hello, Faye."
"Blair, Celestia and I just had the most amazing cake."
I suppressed my anger. "That's nice."
"Oh, by the way, I saw Jessa with Hayden earlier. Looks like she's babysitting for Cleo."
Jessa was with Hayden?