Chapter 128
Arthur's expression turned grave at his grandfather's warning.
"Don't worry, Grandfather. I won't allow her near the company's core operations."
Isaac nodded in approval. "Since Caroline wants to separate and you're unwilling to reconcile, you might as well grant her wish quickly. Don't waste her time."
He paused at the doorway. "Meanwhile, consider finding a suitable replacement. This house needs a proper mistress." His voice hardened. "As for Heidi—she'll marry into this family over my dead body."
After Isaac left, Arthur sat in the sudden silence, bone-deep exhaustion settling over him.
He felt strangely hollow, as if something essential were missing. But he didn't pay much attention to it.
Layla, who had been listening with partial understanding, looked up at him with tearful eyes. "Daddy, are you really separating from Mommy? I don't want that. I just want her to come home."
Her voice trembled. "I promise I won't play with Ms. White anymore."
Arthur's brow furrowed deeply. He hadn't realized how much the children—who had seemed so indifferent to Caroline—actually cared for her.
After reassuring Layla and having a servant take her back to bed, Arthur retreated to his bedroom and called his assistant.
"What have you found?"
"Mr. Windsor, we found no record of Caroline at the research facility," the assistant replied nervously. "It's as if she was never there."
Arthur's lips pressed into a hard line. "Are you suggesting her name appearing on the volunteer list was a ruse from the beginning?"
The assistant didn't dare say it outright, but the suspicion had crossed his mind.
Everyone knew Caroline loved Arthur deeply while Arthur's heart belonged to Heidi. Caroline had recently created drama about divorce—perhaps the fire was another scheme for attention.
"Keep searching," Arthur ordered, sharing the same thought. "Find Caroline."
The assistant hesitated for a moment. "Sir, the court hearing is in two weeks. Ms. Hamilton didn't withdraw her petition before disappearing, and the divorce agreement is ready. What should we do?"
Arthur's fingers drummed a rhythmic pattern on the table. "Have the lawyers ready. We'll proceed as planned."
The assistant acknowledged the order, secretly thinking: Let's see if Caroline shows up then!
---
Just as Arthur got into bed, Alton's call came through.
"Arthur, what have you done with Caroline? Where is she?" His voice trembled with fury. "If anything happens to her, I swear I'll make you pay with your life!"
Arthur's suppressed anger ignited instantly. "Pay with my life? What gives you the right to make such threats?"
"You bastard! Caroline disappeared after boarding one of your Windsor Group vehicles. And you dare tell me you have nothing to do with this?" Alton shouted. "I've made copies of the security footage. If anything happens to her, I'm coming for you!"
Arthur's expression turned colder. "So you knew Caroline volunteered for the Windsor Group experiment?"
Alton didn't deny it.
"So you knew what she was doing and helped her anyway?" Arthur laughed bitterly. "You must have quite the special relationship, conspiring in this deception."
"Deception? What the hell are you talking about? Answer me—where is Caroline?"
Arthur gripped his phone tightly. "Whether she lives or dies has absolutely nothing to do with me. Even if she died right in front of me, I wouldn't care."
"You bastard—"
Before Alton could finish his cursing, Arthur hung up and then pulled up Caroline's chat window.
[Caroline, did you think staging a fire and getting Alton to lie about your illness would stop me from divorcing you? I WILL divorce you.]
[As the mother of two children, you've abandoned them for your selfish interests. You've completely failed in your responsibilities. I will be in court in two weeks, without fail.]
He blacklisted her contact, dismissing her silence as deliberate avoidance.
---
"Daddy, will you tell us a bedtime story?"
Arthur turned to find Layla and Logan at his door. Despite his weariness, he took their hands and led them to the nursery, reading with forced enthusiasm.
An hour later, Logan remained wide-eyed and restless. "Daddy, your stories are boring. I want Mommy's stories."
Arthur had no choice but to hold him, soothing him repeatedly from nightfall until dawn.
At six in the morning, just minutes after Arthur had finally closed his eyes, the alarm clock rang.
As he prepared for the day, the butler watched him with sympathy.
"If only Mrs. Windsor were still here," he sighed. "She understood the children so well. Mr. Windsor wouldn't have to struggle so much."
"When Mrs. Windsor was here, the children rarely fell ill," the butler continued. "Whenever they did, she would stay up all night caring for both of them."
"But since she left, the young masters have been sick more frequently, and their temperaments have become quite difficult!"
Arthur pressed his lips together without responding, and the butler wisely dropped the subject.
---
At seven o'clock, as Arthur sat down for breakfast, Layla skipped over with a piece of paper.
"Daddy, is this Mommy's? I found it in her bag. I think she forgot it. Is it important?"
Arthur's eyes focused on what was not waste paper at all, but a medical report—Caroline's diagnosis of late-stage ovarian cancer.