Chapter 137 Becky is Missing
Arabella's heart skipped a beat. "What... what's wrong?"
Alexander looked at her, barely containing the impulse surging through his chest. This trip to Riverland would take at least four days, possibly longer if complications arose.
He'd been thinking about her for over a decade. He'd finally made it back into her life, and now even four days apart felt unbearable, let alone half a day.
He didn't want to leave her. Thinking of her smile, the way she looked when she was annoyed, made his long-frozen heart feel warm. He wanted to throw caution to the wind and tell her everything, take her with him everywhere so they'd never have to be apart again.
But if he came clean... she'd probably bolt the second she found out.
She wasn't materialistic, and she definitely wasn't impressed by good looks. The only two cards he could play wouldn't keep her around. His deception and his real identity would probably make her want to run even faster.
And after lying to her this long, she'd never forgive him anyway.
Alexander took a deep breath and shoved the impulse down. He smiled gently. "Nothing. You just had... a hair on your shoulder."
As he spoke, he pointed to his own shoulder, then leaned forward to brush away the nonexistent strand from hers.
Arabella's heart hammered like a drum. The moment he came close, her palms broke out in nervous sweat. His clean, crisp scent surrounded her. She ducked her head, hiding the complicated emotions flickering across her face.
She didn't want to lose Alex as a friend. And she definitely didn't want him to think of her as disgusting.
So he absolutely could not find out how she felt.
"I need to leave for a few days." Alexander straightened up, looking down at her with a soft voice. "Something came up. I have to go to Riverland. I'll be back in four days at the earliest."
All of Arabella's nervous tension evaporated instantly, replaced by surprise. "Riverland in Europe? Is it work-related? A business trip? You're selling insurance internationally now?"
Alexander couldn't help but smile at that last question, his lips curving slightly. After a pause, he said, "It's not work."
But he didn't elaborate further.
Telling the truth would undermine everything he'd worked so hard to hide. But he didn't want to lie to her either.
Arabella didn't know about his internal struggle. When he didn't explain, she thought she understood. His family was ordinary Majestic City folks, so a trip to Riverland couldn't be family business. If it wasn't work, then it had to be personal.
Did it involve Mr. White? Maybe he was flying to Riverland to chase after... him?
Arabella couldn't stop her thoughts from spiraling, couldn't stop the sour feeling in her chest. She hated feeling like this—so petty and small.
Seeing her mood drop, Alexander assumed she was sad about him leaving. He couldn't help reaching out to ruffle her hair comfortingly. "I'll come back as soon as I can. I've already arranged for doctors and nurses to look after you. If you need anything, call this number."
He handed her a slip of paper with Roy's phone number, explaining, "He's a very close friend of mine. Don't hesitate to bother him."
Arabella took it and set it aside casually. "Okay."
Even though he'd said they were close friends, she still felt like it would be imposing. Better not to trouble the guy unless it was serious.
Alexander had to catch a three o'clock flight and didn't have much time. Before leaving, he glanced at Arabella, inexplicably hoping she'd say something.
But Arabella just smiled with her eyes crinkling at the corners and waved. "Have a safe flight. Hope everything goes well."
Once things settled down between him and Mr. White, maybe she could finally let go of these feelings.
Alexander felt a pang of disappointment, but he was used to these emotions by now. If it came down to endurance, he refused to believe anyone could outlast him.
Alexander left shortly after.
Arabella's mind was on picking up Becky that evening. With her injuries and her dad still recovering, she decided to hire a courier service to bring Becky to the hospital.
The VIP room had two beds anyway, plus a private bathroom. Other than homework being a bit awkward to do here, everything else would work fine.
With Alexander gone, Becky would just have to make do for four days.
She asked the nurse for toiletries, ordered takeout timed for when school let out, and got everything arranged. But half an hour after dismissal, the courier called.
"Ms. Bourbon, I've been waiting at the school entrance for thirty minutes. I can't find anyone named Becky."
Arabella froze and quickly verified the school name and location with him. Everything checked out.
"That doesn't make sense. I cleared this with her homeroom teacher. Hold on, let me contact the teacher again."
Arabella hung up and called Becky's teacher, who sounded shocked. "I personally walked the kids out today! I told Becky ahead of time that you'd arranged pickup. She saw the courier at the gate, waved goodbye to me, and headed over. How could he not find her?"
Arabella's stomach dropped. "Did you verify that the courier was the one I hired?"
The teacher sounded guilty. "There were so many kids, and Becky ran ahead quickly. I didn't go over to confirm, but I did remind her to check with the courier herself. I saw her exchange a few words with someone, then she waved at me and left with them."
Arabella's heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Someone had taken Becky.
Who would take her? Anthony? Rachel?
Anthony had just been kicked out this morning. Taking Becky could be revenge or leverage. Rachel, on the other hand, had been bitter since their last confrontation. She was definitely capable of something like this.
Arabella asked anxiously, "Could you please check the school's entrance camera footage? I need to see who took Becky."
The teacher responded immediately. "Of course, I'll head to the security office right now."
Arabella bit her lip, hesitating before deciding to come clean. "I'm really sorry, but with this situation, I have to call the police."
She knew this might damage the school's reputation and the teacher's career. The homeroom teacher had been nothing but kind to Becky since the transfer.
But Becky was missing. She couldn't worry about anyone else right now. Finding the child was all that mattered.
Telling the teacher first was the least she could do.
The teacher paused, then said earnestly, "Becky's mom, please don't feel guilty. This happened because I didn't do my job properly. Calling the police is absolutely the right thing to do."
Arabella exhaled in relief. "Thank you."
She immediately dialed 911. The operator said officers would be dispatched right away, and after learning about Arabella's injuries, offered to have police meet with the teacher directly so Arabella could rest easy.
But Arabella couldn't rest easy at all. Despite doing everything she could, panic still clawed at her chest. After a moment's hesitation, she called for the nurse. "Can you get me an electric wheelchair? I need to go out."
The nurse had received special instructions from management about this patient. Hearing the request, she hesitated. "Why? Your injuries haven't healed yet. You really shouldn't leave the hospital."
Arabella shook her head, anxiety clear in her voice. "My daughter's missing. I need to go to the scene."
The nurse looked uncertain. "Wait here. Let me check with my supervisor."
The moment she left the room, she called Roy instead. "Hello, I'm the nurse assigned to Ms. Bourbon's room. You said to report any unusual activity. Well, Ms. Bourbon wants to leave the hospital. She says her child is missing."
On the other end, Roy nearly dropped his phone. "The child's missing?"
Becky? Mr. FitzRoy's adopted daughter?
Oh God.
Mr. FitzRoy had specifically told him to handle Becky's daily pickup and drop-off, and Roy had completely forgotten in the chaos of work!
Because he forgot to pick her up, the kid went missing! Mr. FitzRoy would literally tear his head off when he found out.
And he was the last person to know about this crisis!
He was screwed.
"Do what she asks and get her an electric wheelchair," Roy instructed. "Have two bodyguards tail her at a distance."
The nurse quickly agreed. "Will do."
After hanging up, Roy started frantically calling his team at lightning speed. "Joe, Mr. FitzRoy's daughter is missing. Disappeared from school. Find the suspicious courier who took her, now."
"Jack, soon as Joe confirms the courier's identity, track them immediately."
"Please, I'm begging you, I need weapon clearance. I'm worried whoever took her is seriously dangerous. If anything happens to Mr. FitzRoy's daughter, I'm dead. Not kidding!"
The memory of Naomi's kidnapping and murder was still fresh. That case remained unsolved, and Roy would never forget the shock of seeing those bodies at the crime scene.
If Becky ended up like that...
He couldn't let himself think about it.
By the time he'd finished making calls, his forehead was drenched in cold sweat. He grabbed his car keys and rushed out, praying they'd find her while stomping on the gas pedal.
He'd just reached the elementary school when Joe called. "This is weird. The courier is just a regular courier. After picking up Becky, he didn't take her anywhere sketchy—just dropped her at a nearby KFC. Becky's sitting there doing homework right now."
Roy was stunned. "You're sure it's her? No mistake?"
Joe replied, "Positive. A few of us are posted outside the KFC keeping watch. You think we wouldn't recognize Mr. FitzRoy's daughter? From your panic earlier, I thought the sky was falling. Turns out we found her without breaking a sweat."
Roy checked the photo Joe sent. It really was Becky!
He exhaled heavily. "Okay, keep eyes on her. Send two guys to question that courier about what the hell happened. I'm heading over now."
Meanwhile, Arabella had arrived at the school where police and the homeroom teacher were reviewing surveillance footage. An officer pointed at a figure on the screen. "This person took Becky. We've already locked down several exits. We'll search systematically from here. In this short timeframe, they couldn't possibly have gotten her out of Majestic City."
Arabella was immensely grateful. "Thank you so much."
The officer waved it off. "Just doing our job."
Too anxious to sit still, Arabella maneuvered her wheelchair outside. The homeroom teacher asked worriedly, "Where are you going? You're seriously injured. Maybe wait in the office for news?"
Arabella shook her head. "I can't just sit here. I'm going to check places Becky usually goes."
The teacher tried to accompany her, but Arabella declined. "Please stay here. If she comes back, call me right away."
The teacher reluctantly agreed. "Be careful."
Arabella forced a smile. "I will."
She wheeled herself away from the building. Not far down the path, her phone rang with an unknown number.
Arabella's chest tightened. Somehow, she just knew this call was connected to Becky's disappearance. Her finger trembled as she answered.
"...Hello?"
"Arabella, it's me." A somewhat familiar female voice came through. "Becky's with me. I won't hurt her. Just meet me face to face. That's all I want—one meeting. I promise I won't do anything to either of you."
Arabella couldn't immediately place the voice. "Who are you? What do you want with Becky?"
"You forgot who I am already?" The woman laughed with what sounded like contempt. "Guess important people have short memories. But whatever, you'll figure it out when you see me. Don't worry, I only took Becky to arrange this meeting. You've got people surrounding you so tight that normal methods wouldn't work."
Arabella was confused. People surrounding her too tightly? She didn't have anyone around her.
What did this woman mean?
But those thoughts were fleeting. She didn't have time to chase answers. Becky's safety was all that mattered.
"Where do we meet?" Arabella asked.
"Coffee shop on the commercial street near the school." The woman hung up immediately.
Arabella had wanted to ask about Becky's exact location but had no choice now. She wheeled toward the coffee shop.
It was close—she arrived within five minutes.
Seeing the woman standing at the entrance, she could barely believe it. "It's you?"
Gloria.
She and Gloria had no real conflict. Sure, Gloria had been unfriendly because of her connection to Rachel, but that didn't warrant this kind of stunt, did it?
"Surprised?" Gloria's expression was dark and unpleasant. "I thought you'd know why I wanted to see you."
"I don't think I've ever wronged you," Arabella said, wheeling up to face her. "Where's Becky? What did you do with her?"
Gloria replied, "What's the rush? Let's go inside first."
Arabella didn't move. She frowned, staring Gloria down. "I've already called the police. You'd better let her go now. I haven't told the cops you're the one who took Becky yet. Once I do, you won't be able to run."