Chapter 53 Closer To Daddy
Emma could hear her heartbeat now. It’s been 4 seconds since Zoe had left the swing.
“Calm down. Breathe.” Ezra said, both hands on her shoulders, trying to smooth her.
She raised her gaze at him. “Don’t tell me to calm down. She is gone!” Her eyes were starting to well up with tears. She sniffled.
“We will find her. I promise. She couldn't have left this place.” He took a breath. “I should contact the cops if you are that worried."
Cops? That word scared her. It always did.
He reached for his phone, but she shook her head, stopping him.
“No.”
“What?” he was taken aback.
“No. We can not call the cops."
Ezra gave her a curious look. “Why not? This place is huge. She could be anywhere.”
"What if she injures herself before they arrive? We have to find her. Quick, Ezra.” That was not her main reason. If the cops saw the girl, things could get difficult from there if they found something else. They could tell the Queen's Family and they knew nothing about a child. Ezra’s family were well known so if the cops did that, it also meant Zoe would be known by the world. She feared that. Anything but to make anyone else see that child.
“Nothing should happen to my daughter because I will not be able to live with myself!" She jerked away from him and ran towards the swing where Zoe was last seen. If Zoe were also hurt, she would be taken to the hospital, where the truth could be revealed. If that also happened, she would be doomed and imprisoned for the rest of her life. No. She couldn't allow that to happen. She needed to find her before she got hurt. “Zoe!” Emma panickedly moved to the swing. “Zoella!” She began to inspect every inch and every nook and cranny around her.
"She will be fine," Ezra assured her. He hoped his words would be smooth enough, but they were talking about a child here. His child. His three-year-old daughter, who his family was unaware of. If something were to happen to her—he came to a halt in his thoughts. He could not think that way. The tongue possessed great power. He could only hope that she was okay. Emma would be fine if Zoe was fine. “I will check here. Why don’t you check inside? She must have walked right past us earlier."
Emma did not even give him a glance. She was too worried to do so. She walked right past him and ran until she came to a stop in front of a building. She gazed at how big the building was. It looked like a haunted house, which was usually used to scare children or adults, but there was no name to indicate it was a haunted house, just the design of a vampire holding a hat, a bat with red eyes on his shoulder, and he was dressed like a magician. There were also a lot of creepy things around the building's walls. Anyone with a brain would know it was a haunted house. Unless… she exclaimed. Zoe!
She dashed in and stopped when she noticed chains and a padlock around the door. She jerked on it, but it was locked. She let out a sigh of relief. Zoe was not inside, which was a relief. She then went to the office in search of Betty. She could have seen Zoella. Maybe.
Her heart pondered, praying that it was just as she had hoped. Praying Betty had seen her. She knocked on the door but received no response.
“Miss Facer?” Emma turned around to see Betty standing a few inches away, holding books. “What are you doing here? Do you need help with something?”
"Exactly who I am looking for." She walked up to Betty. “Have you seen Zoella around?”
“Zoe?” She shook her head. Betty could see how restless she was. "What is the matter?"
"Zoe has gone missing. I looked everywhere but could not find her. Oh. Are there cameras around here? I could check the CCTV."
Betty shook her head. “Mr. Queen didn’t want it turned on so I didn’t do that. But Zoe is still here. She could not possibly have left here. Her hands can’t unlock the gate.” Betty set the book down on the table. “Come on, Miss Facer. I will help you look.”
“Zoella!” Ezra yelled as he took in his surroundings. “Zoella!” He came to a complete stop when he noticed something move around the pond. When Ezra recognised it was Zoe, he immediately ran to her. She was bending too close to the pond, and her attention was pulled to it. “Zoella!” He lifted her from where she had taken position. “Zoella.” He called calmly, bending down to meet her at eye level. “What are you doing?”
“Hm. Watching fishes.”
He let out a sigh. "Thank goodness you are okay. We were looking everywhere for you. Your mother is worried that something bad has happened to you. Why did you leave without telling us?”
Zoe met his gaze once more. "You two did not play with me and I think you like Emma.”
Ezra looked at Zoe for a long time, trying to process what the young child said. She was not wrong. He liked her. "This is between your mother and me. And that is not true; if you had asked, we would have returned to play with you. Sometimes adults are not just into little kid things, but you could have told us before you wandered around."
“I am so sorry, daddy.” Zoe sighed, her gaze returning to the pond. “The fish are happy. They make me happy.”
“Would you like to have them as a pet?”
“Really?” She exclaimed, adoringly staring at him, and he nodded. Of course, he nodded. Her expression darkened, and her gaze returned to the pond. “But won’t that make them prisoners? They should be at the aquarium, not a playground." Just like in the orphanage. They would always go to the aquarium on Saturdays every two weeks. Even if she did not always want to go, she had no choice.
"Some smart kids like you do not like rides or swings, so they put the fish here to keep them company. They enjoy it just as much as you do. The fish are not prisoners.”
“Then I will get the pet.” She fixed her gaze on him. “Also, call Emma. She will be upset with me because I ran away."
“Right! Please excuse me." He dialled Emma's number, but no one answered. Ezra recalled that she had left in rage and had not taken her bag with her. "Mummy is not answering the phone. Let us go and wait for her." He walked out with Zoe in his arms. They both went straight to the shade to take a seat. Ezra gave her some orange juice, and Zoe was overjoyed about the new pet her daddy was going to get her.
Emma's voice was heard a few moments later, which scared Zoella. “Where did you run off too? You scared me!”
“Hey. Easy there.” Ezra stepped in front of her just as she was about to approach Zoe. "She is just a kid."
“Yeah. A spoiled one. Why did you not call me as soon as you found her? I roamed the whole place. I was terrified, Ezra."
“I know. I tried calling, but you were not with your bag." He motioned to the bag sitting on the chair next to Zoe. "You should be gentle with her, okay? She was sad and thought we weren’t playing with her so—”
“She wondered about.” Emma completed and Ezra nodded. "That does not give her the means to flee and cause us concern. You have no idea how terrified I was." She was terrified, no doubt about it. Emma's gaze met Zoella's, and even though she was angry, she could not bring herself to be angry at her. I am sorry, baby, she said to herself as she approached her. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? If something had happened to you, Mummy would get hurt. Really hurt.” And she was sincere. She may have adopted the child for another reason, but she meant every word she said. Zoe was her new source of motivation. Not because she was trying to con Ezra, but because she wanted the best for the girl. She wanted her to have a good life without having to worry about the world or money, just like she did.
“I am sorry, Emma. I am not going to do it again."
"She has already said that she will not do it again, so..." Emma gave Ezra a sidelong glance. “I also promised her a pet fish.”
"You what?"
“Nevermind.” Ezra gave Zoe a headshake.
“I will mind, alright? She should be punished, not given a fish. Even if you get it for her, there is no room at my house for the fish."
“Hmm. I am glad you mentioned it."
She looked at him curiously. “What is that supposed to mean?” She could see the expression on his face. “Ezra.”
He sighed, licked his lips, and stared at her. "I am sorry for not informing you, but I bought a house in your name." Emma opened her mouth to speak, but there were no words. "The keys and paperwork will be delivered to you on Monday."
“Wh—wh—”
"Don’t worry, it is a small house on the Upper East Side. I want her to be in a comfortable environment."
“But she is comfortable enough in Larkhill.”
"I would like for her to have her own room."
“But she has that.”
“Not spacious enough. Look, I know I should not do it, but she is also my child, and it is also my right to look after her."
"What exactly are you saying?"
“I want her to be as close to her father as she is to her mother. Your new apartment is on my property. Just a few blocks from my house. Think about it. It will do us good.” Would it? “Call me when you are ready to move your belongings. I will send some people over." He smiled then went to Zoe. “Are you happy about the news? You can now keep as many fish as you want."
Emma's heart beat faster by the minute as she watched him play with Zoe. It was like being in a movie, except everything was moving fast— moving blur, and she was only standing in one spot, watching it all happen. Legs numb and stomach screaming for help. She wished it were a dream, but she realised it was not when she heard laughter in the distance. How was she going to get away from this without getting caught?