Chapter 45
Joshua was afraid something might happen to Dorian, so he told Karen and Patricia to hurry and bring him back.
Thinking that Ella couldn't possibly be in trouble, but worried that Brian hadn't sent enough people, he arranged for more people to continue the search.
Let's see where she could hide with a child.
It was Wednesday, and Joshua had no mind for anything else. He went to the company alone.
At noon, Brian came over.
Bringing Ella's phone.
Walking into the office, his face full of grief, he presented the phone to Joshua with both hands.
Joshua looked at it but didn't take it right away. Somehow, his heart grew tense.
"What are you doing back here? Did you find her?"
Brian shook his head, too distressed to say a word. He placed the phone on the desk and played a recorded conversation saved on it.
Joshua watched, and the next second, a conversation between Ella and a strange man came through.
"I can give you whatever you want, but don't hurt my daughter. She's so little."
"I'm here. Where's my daughter?"
"What do you want? Give me my daughter back."
"Stop. Take one more step and I'll throw your daughter down."
"What happened to my daughter? What did you do to her?"
"The kid was too noisy, so we gave her sleeping pills."
"Jump from here, and we'll let your daughter go."
"I really want to know who made you do this. I have no grudge against you."
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for offending the wrong person. Go settle the score with her after you're dead!"
"Don't..."
Finally, there was only the sound of the phone dropping and chaos, then the conversation stopped abruptly.
Joshua stood there frozen, unable to react for a long time.
So Ella hadn't hidden away with her daughter.
She had really had an accident?
They encountered kidnappers. Ella went alone to save her daughter. Not only did she fail to save her, but she lost her own life too?
No, it couldn't be.
Ella was still so young, so little.
That child too, only two years old, didn't understand anything, so soft and adorable.
How could the mother and daughter possibly...
Joshua really couldn't accept this reality. Sitting there, his chest felt blocked by something, unable to breathe.
He stood up, supporting himself against the desk in discomfort. After a long while, his breathing finally became smooth.
But he still couldn't accept such a cruel reality.
Joshua grabbed Brian and demanded, "Ella staged this herself, didn't she? She doesn't have any enemies. Why would anyone kidnap her child?"
"Tell me, it's fake, right?"
Brian couldn't help but shed tears. Head bowed, his voice trembled as he spoke.
"It's real, Mr. Thomas. Mrs. Thomas and Aurora have already fallen into the sea with that car."
"The cliff is too high, the seabed too deep. The car can't be salvaged, and Mrs. Thomas and Aurora are also..."
Although no bodies had been found, the police determined they had fallen from the cliff edge, and there was no possibility the mother and daughter had survived.
"Impossible."
Joshua pushed Brian away, his body swaying, speaking incoherently, "The mother and daughter will be fine. I wasn't really going to be with Scarlett. I just wanted to make Ella angry."
"I was just mad that she hid from me that she had two children. I didn't really want to divorce her."
"She won't leave me. She'll definitely come back."
Unwilling to believe what Brian said, Joshua rushed out of the office to go to the cliff edge himself to search.
Even if something really happened, there should be a body, right?
Without a body, he wouldn't believe Ella had really had an accident.
Brian hurried after him.
All along the way, Joshua held Ella's phone, playing the saved recording over and over.
Yet he had to admit that Ella's voice carried urgency, fear, worry, and a crying tone.
That kind of fear about her daughter having an accident couldn't be acted.
And the time of the recording was about the same as when Ella had called him.
So when she faced trouble, she had tried to ask him for help.
But he hadn't answered the phone.
Joshua sat in the back seat, leaning against the chair back, tilting his head up, trying as hard as possible to calm his tense, turbulent emotions.
Yet he couldn't control his restlessness and rapid breathing.
Burying his head and pressing his aching heart, Joshua asked, "What did the police say?"
Brian replied while driving, "Based on the phone recording, they've confirmed that Mrs. Thomas and Aurora were deliberately murdered. The police have already started an investigation."
"Our people are still searching the sea for Mrs. Thomas and the child's bodies."
"Because Mrs. Thomas's identity shouldn't be exposed, I've asked the police to handle this matter secretly."
Thinking of that adorable little girl who was only two years old, thinking of Ella who was only 24 years old, dying like this.
Brian couldn't help but tear up with red eyes.
Joshua in the back seat wasn't doing any better.
Although he couldn't accept the reality.
But the reality was right in front of him. Unable to see Ella, Joshua's heart was still panicking terribly.
When they reached the cliff edge, he got out of the car and rushed forward.
Ahead was the cliff, and below the cliff was the turbulent sea.
Never mind a person falling down—even if a kitten or puppy fell down, it wouldn't survive.
Joshua couldn't imagine that just last night, Ella had faced kidnappers at this place, called him for help, and the despair he had given her by not answering the phone.
He couldn't accept the cruel truth that Ella and the child had already fallen into the sea.
His whole body went soft, and his knees dropped straight to the ground.
Joshua bent forward, supporting himself on the ground. Even though he tried hard to control his emotions, he still couldn't help letting tears fill his eyes.
His heart ached in waves.
Brian came over to help him up. "Mr. Thomas, we can only pray that the police can retrieve Mrs. Thomas and Aurora's bodies from the water as soon as possible."
Being able to retrieve the bodies would be good enough.
After all, it was the ocean, with sharks in it. Once a person fell in and there was any smell of blood, those sharks would come following the scent.
To put it cruelly, they might not even find the bodies.
Joshua still couldn't face the fact of Ella and Aurora's deaths.
He supported himself to stand up, trying hard to calm himself, and looked at Brian.
"If no bodies are found, it proves they're still alive."
"Keep searching for me. No matter what the cost, you must help me find the mother and daughter."
Brian nodded in agreement.
Joshua staggered forward.
Walking to the cliff edge, the sea wind disheveled Joshua's neatly groomed short hair. The waves crashing against the shore were like crashes against his chest, shattering his aching, unbearable heart.
His bloodshot eyes blurred with tears.
Joshua felt guilty and blamed himself, praying over and over in his heart.
Ella, you'll come back safely, won't you?
I'll never bully you again.
I'll accept your two children.
I can even help you raise them, but please, don't leave.
Don't leave me.
Ella.