Chapter 45 Nathan Goes Missing
Isabella smiled gently. "I don't care what Nathan said at all. If that's what makes him happy, then so be it. It doesn't affect me either way."
Even though Nathan was just a child, Isabella respected his right to choose.
Just like what she had told William when fighting for Olivia's custody, children had the right to choose, too. Whether they wanted to live with their father or mother was entirely up to them.
That was Nathan's choice, and Isabella naturally wouldn't interfere.
"Sweetheart, just remember that no matter what happens between Mommy and Daddy, it will never affect you."
"We're just living differently now, but our love for you will never change. In my heart, my precious Olivia will always be the most wonderful little girl in the world."
Isabella reached out and gently caressed Olivia's chubby cheeks, her face lighting up with a contented smile.
The rideshare driver, witnessing this touching moment between mother and daughter, couldn't help but smile as well.
After dropping Olivia off at preschool, Isabella called another car to get to work.
Constantly being late because of personal issues made Isabella feel terrible, but her lab colleagues were incredibly understanding.
"My downstairs neighbor is a single mom. Besides working, she has to drop off and pick up her kid from school every day, then cook dinner when she gets home. Just watching her exhausts me," said Emily Turner, the youngest person in the lab.
She was only twenty-five, a graduate from a prestigious university with a wealthy family background, who simply enjoyed the feeling of working.
According to Emily herself, achieving success in her career brought an incomparable sense of accomplishment.
Watching their enthusiasm always reminded Isabella of her own post-graduation days.
Back then, her professor had actively fought for her graduate school spot, and the university's overseas study program had reserved a place for her. Either choice would have been a guaranteed win for Isabella.
Her phone suddenly rang, snapping Isabella out of her wandering thoughts.
It was an unknown number.
Isabella answered politely with a simple "Hello."
William's voice came through the line.
"Nathan's missing."
Those few words hit Isabella like a thunderbolt.
She instinctively pushed back her lab chair and stood up, the sound drawing everyone's attention. Emily's hands trembled as she looked up from her research papers.
"What happened?" Isabella frowned.
"This morning after you left, Tammy and I split up to search for him, but we haven't found Nathan anywhere."
"Did you call the police?" Isabella asked.
"We've already filed a report, but there's no news yet," William answered curtly.
Nathan was still the child she had carried for nine months. No matter when or where something happened to him, Isabella would always be the most worried.
"Send me the address. I'll take a car over right now."
After hanging up, Isabella found herself in another dilemma.
She had barely been at work for a short while, and constantly taking leave for family emergencies might upset her colleagues.
However, the young people in the lab were incredibly understanding. Emily looked directly at Isabella and nodded.
"Isabella, you should go. The child's safety is more important. We can use this time to discuss our research direction anyway."
Feeling guilty but grateful, Isabella nodded, submitted her leave request, and took a car to the address William had sent.
On the way, Isabella checked Nathan's smartwatch location on her phone.
The watch showed it was powered off, so her phone couldn't detect any signal, leaving her with no clue about his whereabouts.
William's location was at a park near the house. As soon as Isabella got out of the car, she spotted him.
Tammy was pacing frantically, sweat beading on her forehead.
William appeared composed on the surface, but his deeply furrowed brow revealed his extreme agitation.
Isabella remained much calmer. "Don't panic."
She looked around but didn't see Laura anywhere.
"Call Laura and get her over here."
Given Nathan's dependence on Laura, Isabella figured it would be more reliable to have her there to calm Nathan down once they found him.
"This has nothing to do with Laura."
Isabella laughed bitterly. "If Laura really has nothing to do with this, then why would Nathan fight with us because of her?"
Laura was at the root of this. Besides, Isabella wasn't even trying to blame her.
William's frown deepened, but since there were no better options at the moment, he called Laura to come over.
On the phone, Laura was also shocked to hear that Nathan had disappeared.
She reacted quickly, immediately asking William for the address and rushing over.
Laura hadn't expected Isabella to be there, too. Her gaze shifted between the two of them, her heart filled with unease.
She had been wanting to ask all last night how William had ultimately handled Isabella's feelings.
But Laura knew that some questions, once asked, might backfire, so she restrained her urgency.
"Nathan hasn't contacted me today either. I just tried calling him, but no one answered. Isabella, you are Nathan's biological mother after all. Don't you know where he likes to go?"
Laura's way of speaking always came across as fake. Even when talking to Isabella, she sounded like she was acting coy, which was incredibly annoying.
Isabella remained silent, focusing all her attention on finding Nathan. She had no energy to argue with Laura.
"Isabella, I don't mean to criticize, but you should at least pay attention to your child's preferences, shouldn't you? Otherwise, we wouldn't be completely without leads."
Isabella couldn't hold back anymore and snapped without turning around: "Didn't Nathan say that you'll be his new mom from now on? Don't you, as his new mom, know where he's hiding?"
Laura finally stopped talking. The arguing ceased completely, and Isabella's ears finally had some peace.
They had already searched this park inside and out twice. Isabella was certain Nathan wasn't here.
This was a gated community with excellent security, so there was no need to worry about Nathan being taken by bad people.
The only concern was that he had run off on his own and might encounter some danger.
"Let's go check the surveillance cameras in the area. First, we'll see which direction Nathan went after leaving the community, then roughly eliminate possible places he might have gone."
Isabella proactively suggested a plan.
Randomly searching without any leads would definitely be ineffective and would only waste precious time.
So the group hurried to the nearby police station to review the surveillance footage from around the community.