Chapter 164
"Hello, the number you have dialed is switched off. Please try again later."
The cold, indifferent automated voice grated on Martin's eardrums.
His fists clenched involuntarily.
He heard Aria complain, "What on earth did you do to upset her? After you left that day, I sent her messages, and she didn't reply. When I called her, her phone was always off."
Worried he wouldn't believe her and would take it out on Hayden, Aria quickly pulled up her WhatsApp chat history with Victoria to show Martin.
He looked at it—sure enough, there was no reply from the other party.
Martin looked up, squinting at her, "You really don't know where she is?"
"I really don't know." Aria sneered.
Martin let out a cold laugh, "Starting today, I'm cutting off Hayden's medication! Whenever Victoria comes back is when Hayden gets his medication back!"
"Are you crazy? Hayden has finally recovered a bit, and cutting off his medication now could kill him!" Aria flew into a rage. "You two are fighting—what does that have to do with us? Despicable, you're truly despicable!"
"Instead of wasting energy calling me despicable, you'd better find a way to contact Victoria and get her in front of me right away! I'm warning you—if anything happens to my child, I'll make sure the Gonzalez family pays for it!" Martin's lips curved coldly, and after speaking, he turned and left the hospital room without hesitation.
Even as Aria cursed at his back, he didn't look back.
Outside the room, Martin instructed two bodyguards to watch Aria's every move. Until Victoria showed up, she wasn't allowed to leave the room!
The bodyguards were stunned—this was too inhumane!
But they didn't dare question it and could only nod respectfully.
Leaving the hospital, Martin called Brian again.
He sat in the driver's seat.
"Mr. Collins, Mrs. Collins seems to have vanished into thin air! There's no trace of her at all! Do you think something might have happened to her?"
"If she's alive, I want to see her. If she's dead, I want to see her body!" Martin gripped his phone, his voice cold as ice. "Contact the media. Put out word that Hayden, former chairman of the Gonzalez Group, has passed away, and a memorial service will be held at the funeral home the day after tomorrow at 3 PM!"
Brian understood Martin's intention—he wanted to draw Victoria out.
What Victoria cared about most was Hayden's safety!
She would definitely show up now.
Brian's work efficiency was extremely high.
Twenty minutes later, Martin saw announcements mourning Hayden's death spreading everywhere, going viral across all social media platforms.
On TV, in newspapers, on Twitter, in short videos.
Everything was flooded with it.
He even heard at the Gonzalez Group that this had become gossip among colleagues.
Martin was confident that Victoria would show up soon.
But reality slapped him hard in the face!
An entire night passed without any news of Victoria.
She hadn't reached out to him.
When he called her, she was still blocked.
Martin tried calling her using Brian's phone.
Still switched off.
"She still hasn't shown up at the hospital?" Martin gripped his coffee, his mental defenses slowly crumbling.
Brian nodded, "No. Mrs. Gonzalez has been confined to the hospital room these past few days, too. She's very anxious and has been trying to contact Mrs. Collins, but can't reach her either."
Martin's frown deepened.
"Mr. Collins, I think Mrs. Gonzalez really doesn't know about Mrs. Collins's disappearance. You know Mrs. Gonzalez cares most about Mr. Gonzalez's health. If she knew where Mrs. Collins was, she wouldn't be able to hold out this long. She doesn't seem to be acting." Brian suddenly spoke up.
Martin glanced at his watch. "Have the people from the Hill Group arrived?"
"They're already waiting in the conference room," Brian said respectfully.
Martin got up and went to the conference room.
But he saw an unfamiliar face, though he could guess she was a high-level executive from the Hill Group.
It was a professional woman in business attire and high heels, her hair pulled up, wearing a light, subtle perfume—clearly carefully dressed up.
The woman's voice was sweet as she greeted Martin.
Martin sneered, "Where's Mr. Hill? I thought he was the one handling things with me?"
"Mr. Collins, Mr. Hill is on a business trip out of town recently, but he's reviewed all our collaboration proposals first, so you can rest assured about that, Mr. Collins."
"He sure is busy."
"Can't be helped—he's the newly appointed president of the Hill Group, so naturally he has to be busy."
Throughout the entire meeting, Martin didn't listen to a word of her presentation.
Victoria ran away, and Aaron went on a business trip.
Was this a coincidence, or a planned coincidence?
Could Victoria have run off with Aaron?
The thought of the two of them together made jealousy spread wildly through Martin's heart.
They weren't even divorced yet, Victoria.
She still had his child in her belly.
And she ran off with Aaron?
Hadn't they agreed—have the child, wait out the divorce cooling-off period, get the divorce certificate, and then go their separate ways?
Was she that impatient?
A day passed.
Martin still had no news of Victoria.
She seemed to have completely disappeared.
Martin thought perhaps he wasn't being realistic enough, so he hired a camera crew to personally set up a memorial hall and livestream it.
Netizens praised his filial devotion.
Another day passed.
Still no progress!
Martin suddenly didn't know what to do!
"Mr. Collins, Ms. Wilson is awake, but she won't eat anything." Terry's message made him feel suffocated.
He went to the hospital room.
Mia kept crying, but her crying annoyed him.
He was already sick of dealing with Victoria's situation!
"Martin, has Victoria come back?" Mia asked through tears.
Martin said, "No."
"She cares most about her father. Now you've even put out fake news about her father, and she still hasn't appeared. Could she be dead? Only if someone's dead would this be the situation." Mia interjected.
Martin's eyes instantly turned vicious as he glared at her, "Shut up!"
How could Victoria be dead? She was healthier than anyone. Everyone else might die, but Victoria wouldn't.
"Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know you think I'm a burden now. I'm not pretty anymore, and my face is ruined." Mia's ultimate weapon was crying.
He said impatiently, "That's not what I meant. But I don't want to hear you say unlucky things anymore."
"Martin, if you find her, can you make her apologize to me?"
As he was leaving, Mia suddenly said, "I only want an apology, nothing else. I don't need you to marry me. I just want justice. Martin, can you be fair and impartial for once and not be so biased? If you can't even do that, I really can't go on living."