Chapter 138 Gloria is Captured
Gloria looked at her with contempt. "Becky's safe right now, but if you keep refusing to cooperate, I can't guarantee what might happen."
Arabella's hand clenched her phone hard inside her jacket pocket. After a long moment, she took a deep breath. "Fine. I'll cooperate."
She followed Gloria into the coffee shop.
Gloria didn't seem like she was here to start trouble—more like she was out shopping. She picked a prime window seat, flagged down a server for two coffees, and pushed one toward Arabella. "My treat."
Arabella was burning with anxiety and had zero interest in coffee. "Where is Becky?"
Gloria stirred her coffee slowly with a small spoon, completely unhurried. "First, tell me where Philip went. Then I'll return Becky."
"Philip..." Arabella's breath caught as understanding clicked into place. So this whole stunt was about tracking down Philip!
"I don't know where he is," Arabella said, looking at her directly. "I'll be honest—his mother came asking me the same thing. I have no idea. I can't even reach him by phone."
"Impossible." Gloria's voice was flat and certain. "You two were so close. I'd believe other people don't know, but you and that Daisy not knowing? I don't buy it."
She set down the spoon and looked coldly at Arabella. "You know my situation right now. When people get backed into a corner, they're capable of anything. Either tell me where Philip is, or you'll never see Becky again. Your choice."
Arabella's hands tightened unconsciously. Gloria wasn't bluffing—she was dangerous. Arabella was terrified something might happen to Becky, but Philip's whereabouts... If she told Gloria, they'd drag him back into that hopeless life.
On one side was a friend of many years. On the other was a child barely ten years old. How could she possibly choose?
"All I know is Philip went abroad," Arabella said after a careful breath, meeting Gloria's eyes. "Which country, I don't know. No address either. Ms. Reeves, kidnapping or even... murder are serious crimes. Is a suitable marriage really worth throwing away the rest of your life?"
A flash of madness crossed Gloria's eyes as she burst out laughing. "You're asking if it's worth it? I'll tell you—so what if it's not? My life is already ruined. Everyone in high society is laughing at me. The man I loved looks at me with disgust. We were about to get engaged, you know that? Ha! What am I supposed to do? Tell me, what else can I do? Only Philip can save me now!"
"Marrying Philip means marrying down," Arabella said, carefully choosing her words. "Those people who mock you will keep mocking you regardless. He can't save you. Hope should be something you hold in your own hands, not something you pin on marriage. Time is the best medicine."
Gloria was clearly losing it. Arabella didn't dare say the wrong thing—she could only try to buy time.
Because when she'd decided to come to this meeting, she'd called Becky's homeroom teacher and left the line open the entire time.
The police needed time to arrive.
If she could just keep Gloria stable for half an hour, this would all be over.
"What the hell do you know!" Gloria seemed enraged by her words. She grabbed her coffee and hurled it at Arabella. "In high society, reputation is everything! I've lost face, which means I can't survive!"
The cup hit Arabella square in the forehead, dark brown liquid streaming down from her hair. She swallowed her anger and used napkins to wipe the mess from her face and clothes.
Gloria stared at her viciously. "Who do you think you are? I was being polite asking you nicely, showing you respect, but you had to force me to—"
Before she could finish, loud police sirens sounded outside. Gloria's head snapped up in shock as two officers burst through the door and immediately grabbed her arms, restraining her.
"What are you doing?" Panic finally showed on her face. "What right do you have to arrest me? I'm a Reeves family heiress. Do you know who my father is?"
The officers hated hearing that kind of thing. One said coldly, "Just because your dad has money and power means you can do whatever you want? Sorry, but you're suspected of child kidnapping. Even if your father were the president, you're still coming to the station with us!"
Gloria finally caught on, glaring daggers at Arabella. "It was you, wasn't it? Arabella, you bitch! You called the cops!"
Arabella seriously considered the pros and cons of throwing the spilled coffee back at Gloria in front of the police but ultimately decided against it.
If she retaliated, she'd also get taken in, or at least lectured for a while. She just wanted to find Becky as quickly as possible and didn't want to waste time on this nonsense.
As police dragged Gloria away, she kept shouting, "Arabella, you just wait! I won't let this go! I'll make you pay for this eventually!"
Threatening someone right in front of cops—the consequences were predictable. She was quickly forced to shut up and shoved into the police car.
Before leaving, an officer told Arabella, "Ms. Bourbon, thanks to the leads you provided, we'll find the child as soon as possible. Just sit tight."
Arabella thanked them profusely and watched the police drive off. She wheeled herself to the curb, no longer maintaining the tough front she'd shown Gloria. Inside, she was terrified—afraid Becky might not be rescued safely, afraid Gloria might not actually go to jail and could be released tomorrow, afraid similar incidents might happen again...
Her phone suddenly rang. The caller ID read "Alex's friend."
She'd saved the number Alex gave her that afternoon and thrown away the paper. She'd only saved it as a courtesy, never expecting the person to actually call.
Probably just wants to politely introduce himself, right?
Arabella took a deep breath, slowly exhaling the tightness in her chest before answering with forced energy. "Hello, this is Arabella."
"Um, Ms. Bourbon, I'm Roy Evans. You can call me Roy. I'm Mr... Alexander's friend. He mentioned me to you, right?"
Roy's voice on the other end sounded cautious.
He was really hoping Mr. FitzRoy had explained things before leaving. Otherwise, how could he justify knowing about her missing child and helping find her as a complete stranger?
Ms. Bourbon might just turn around and report him to the police.
Arabella replied politely, "Yes, Alex told me about you. He said you're his best friend. We should all have dinner together sometime to properly meet."
Roy's heart settled back into his chest, though he didn't dare accept the dinner invitation. Who was he to presume? He didn't have that kind of standing.
"Actually, Ms. Bourbon, I was just passing by the mall and happened to spot Becky. Should I bring her back to you now?"
Arabella's heart jumped. "Becky? How is she? Is she hurt?"
"No, no injuries," Roy quickly assured her. "She's sitting in a KFC doing homework, perfectly fine. Not a scratch on her. Um... she's finished all her homework too. Did a really good job—didn't get a single problem wrong."
"Thank God, thank God..." Arabella exhaled heavily, the tension she'd been holding finally releasing. Her nose tingled with emotion. She took a deep breath. "Could you bring her to the hospital? I'm not really in a position to pick her up right now. She's staying with me at the hospital for the next few days."
Roy immediately agreed.
After hanging up, Arabella didn't feel relieved. She was glad Becky was safe, of course, but this also meant Gloria would be released without charges.
Her conflict with Gloria had just become serious. Given Gloria's current instability, there was no telling what she might do next.
Becky couldn't just stop going to school, and Arabella didn't have anyone trustworthy around to handle pickup and drop-off. Thinking further ahead—if Gloria tried kidnapping Becky again, how could she prevent it?
After some hesitation, Arabella called Daisy on her way back. After hearing the whole story, Daisy was shocked. "I guess Philip managed to create romantic drama even as a gay man. Who would've thought? A guy who likes guys having women go crazy over him."
After her amazement, she promised confidently, "Don't worry, leave Becky to me for the next few days. I'll take an hour off from the set every day to pick her up and bring her to you, then head back to shoot. Won't interfere with anything."
Arabella knew Daisy's position on set. A minor actress didn't have that kind of clout. Daisy was loyal, but helping with Becky would definitely earn her some scolding.
But Arabella said nothing, just tucked this kindness away in her heart. The three of them had always been like this. When Philip was at his lowest, she and Daisy had each scraped together five grand for him without letting him know, surviving on stale bread for months afterward.
When Daisy had her falling out with her family, Arabella and Philip had shown up at her family's mansion in the middle of the night, throwing pebbles at her window.
After hanging up, Arabella felt like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. Little did she know, at that very moment on set, Daisy was lounging in a luxury trailer with three assistants—one massaging her shoulders, one flipping through her script, and one handing her coffee.
Thanks to Arabella's husband, Daisy's life on set was absurdly cushy these days!
Not only had she landed the female lead, but sure, it was just a small web series—yet which entertainment industry A-lister with a powerful female lead role hadn't started out in small web series?
Having this opportunity to play a web series protagonist made her ridiculously happy.
The only downside was she couldn't share this joy with her best friend. She desperately wished Alexander would just come clean already so she could show Arabella how amazing her life had become.
Forget just taking time off to pick up a kid—she could literally walk off set in a rage and the director wouldn't say a word.
Still, Daisy had perspective. Alexander was giving her this chance because of Arabella. How far she'd go in this career ultimately depended on herself.
Besides, she genuinely loved acting and had no intention of sabotaging her own path forward.
But she'd definitely made up her mind—she was taking time off these next few days. She'd personally stand guard at that elementary school and make damn sure nothing happened to Becky again. After all, the kid was Alexander's adopted daughter.
The producer would understand matters involving the investor, surely.
Daisy was contentedly contemplating the perks of privilege when loud banging erupted on her trailer door, followed by an impatient male voice. "Hey, Daisy Gray! Director's ready to shoot. Get your ass out here! You're such a diva, always hiding in your trailer. If you didn't have some talent, I would've demanded a new scene partner ages ago!"
Daisy jumped up furiously and yanked the door open, both of them immediately pointing fingers and yelling at each other. She shouted, "You acting-obsessed freak! What trash are you to lecture me? You study craft all day and you're still not even good! You constantly need me to help you get into character—have you no shame?"
The man shot back, "You only got this role because your sugar daddy bought your way in! What right do you have to criticize me? I got here on pure merit, unlike you!"
"What? Look at your ugly mug—like you were raised on rats or something. The director having bad luck casting you as male lead means this series is doomed!"
"Then what about you? Drinking coffee when you should be watching your weight! The costume department has changed your wardrobe like five times already. Keep eating and you'll turn into a pig!"
Daisy clutched her side in rage. Her sharp tongue usually devastated people, and with this guy she'd found her match—she never lost verbally. But this bastard was so infuriating she wanted to crack his skull open with a brick. Just cursing him out clearly wasn't satisfaction enough.
Finally, she pulled out her trump card. "Keep pissing me off and I'll have you replaced. You want to keep acting? Dream on!"
That line worked every time. The man immediately fell silent.
Only then did Daisy feel better.
This guy was the director's choice for male lead—someone named Ethan Green. She had no idea where he came from, but for someone in his twenties to land a male lead in a web series without proper acting school training or any entertainment industry track record was suspicious. She figured he must have some kind of connections.
But Ethan's usual behavior was so pathetic—not only was his mouth poison, but he was completely shameless, mooching food and drinks from everyone on set. It made her think maybe he actually came from beggar stock.
Anyway, he had an absolutely terrible reputation across the entire production. Some said he came from an elite family and ran away to pursue acting. Others claimed he was a drug addict and gambler who'd blown all his money and been disowned by his family.
Either way, Daisy had zero good feelings toward this person. Whenever he came looking for a fight, she was happy to oblige with a verbal beatdown.
Though his acting skills—credit where it was due—were actually pretty decent. Especially in this series where he played a rich playboy who gambled, drank, and whored around in the early episodes. It was like he was born for the role.
Meanwhile, Arabella wheeled herself back to the hospital. The moment she entered the room and saw Becky sitting at the desk attending her online class, tears immediately flooded her eyes. She pulled Becky into a tight hug. "Thank God you're okay. Were you scared? Did Gloria hurt you?"
Becky looked confused. "Ms. Bourbon, didn't you have the courier take me to KFC and tell me to do my homework there while you'd come get me?"
Arabella froze. So Gloria hadn't actually kidnapped Becky—she'd just been bluffing?
Choking up, she stroked Becky's hair. "Yes... yes, that's right."
As long as the child was safe. As long as she wasn't traumatized.
It took several minutes for Arabella's emotions to settle. She turned to Roy with gratitude. "Mr. Evans, I really can't thank you enough for today."
Roy didn't dare accept thanks. If he hadn't forgotten to pick up the kid, none of this would've happened. Seizing this opportunity, he offered proactively, "You're not mobile these next few days. How about I handle pickup and drop-off?"
Arabella smiled and politely declined. "That's not necessary. I've already arranged things with a friend. But thank you."
Roy internally wailed. He was done for. Trying to redeem himself clearly wasn't going to work.
If nothing else, maybe he could shadow her friend and protect both her and Becky's safety from a distance? Would that be enough for Mr. FitzRoy to spare him?