Chapter 129: The Search After the Disappearance
"I don't know!"
Chris didn't want to get tangled up with Angelo. "If you don't believe me, go ask the police. They couldn't find any evidence to arrest me, so what makes you think I did it? Angelo, I should be the one questioning you about why you didn't protect her properly! If anything happens to her, I won't let you off either!"
Angelo gritted his teeth and threw another punch at Chris, giving up on trying to communicate with him.
He knew Chris would never admit it.
Just then, Peter suddenly ran over and said, "Someone bailed Henry and Chad out of jail three days ago!"
Angelo frowned, beginning to doubt his own assumptions. "Could it be Henry's revenge? After all, he drugged and kidnapped Joanna before."
Chris hadn't expected someone to be helping him and couldn't hide his delight.
"I didn't think Henry would be so disgusting. The police better catch them quickly!"
Angelo glanced at him, let out a cold laugh, and turned to leave.
Even from a distance, Chris could hear him giving orders: "Find out who bailed Henry out!"
Chris was in a good mood as he returned to Hillside Villa to pack some clean clothes.
Seeing this, Cynthia asked, "Chris, are you going on a business trip?"
Chris hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I won't be staying here for a while. You focus on the charity competition."
"But my parents keep asking about our wedding date. We agreed to get married, and they specifically took time off to come back to the country. Don't you want to marry me anymore?" Cynthia's eyes reddened, looking very hurt.
Chris just didn't want Cynthia to find the villa where Joanna was being held, so he tried to reassure her. "How could that be? Aren't you preparing for the competition? I'm busy with work too. We'll get married once we're done with all this."
Cynthia seized the opportunity. "Then after I win an award in the competition, we'll get married, okay?"
"Okay."
Chris wasn't really listening.
His mind was full of Joanna, hidden away in the villa.
This simple agreement was enough to calm Cynthia's restless heart.
She happily helped Chris pack his things and saw him off.
As soon as Chris left Hillside Villa, he had the driver take him to Solara Cove Villas. He sent the cleaning staff away, then brought a glass of milk down to the basement to check on Joanna.
In the dim environment, Joanna's weak breathing was barely noticeable.
She was still unconscious. Chris sat beside her, watching her.
It had been a long time since she'd lain so peacefully. Chris missed Joanna's soft voice from before and couldn't help reaching out to stroke her cheek.
When he saw the marks on her neck, he frowned, got up to get some ointment, and gently applied it to Joanna.
"I'm sorry, Joanna. I don't want to hurt you, but you were so disobedient. It seems like this is the only way you'll quietly listen to me. Don't blame me, okay?"
Chris's gaze was obsessive, his actions revealing his madness.
Three days. Joanna had been missing for three days.
After searching, the police only found her phone, crushed to pieces by car wheels. After being washed by the heavy rain, there were no useful fingerprints to be found.
Angelo had people watching Chris the whole time, but he just went about his usual routine—going to work, going home, occasionally shopping with Nicole to pick out gifts for Cynthia's parents.
Too normal.
As if Joanna had never existed at all.
The police were ready to give up, but Angelo kept insisting, until Yvonne came by with the finished piece.
Angelo was staying at Joanna's apartment in case she suddenly came home. When he heard the doorbell, he thought it was Joanna.
Seeing an unfamiliar woman, he asked hesitantly, "Do you know Joanna?"
"I'm her friend. She ordered some clothes from me a while ago. I couldn't reach her, so I came to this address myself. You are..." Yvonne had never met Angelo.
"I'm her boyfriend. Joanna's missing. If you can think of any clues, please tell me."
The two briefly introduced themselves, but unfortunately, Yvonne didn't have any leads.
She handed Joanna's piece to Angelo. "Then you can keep the clothes for her. She seemed really rushed when she ordered them, like she needed them for some competition."
"The charity design competition?" Angelo knew about this and nodded. "I'll take care of the rest. Thank you."
"Goodbye."
After Yvonne left, Angelo found Linda's contact information and called to tell her that Joanna had other matters to attend to and couldn't be at the competition.
"I'll send you the clothes. She should have left backup copies of her design drafts with you. I'll leave the rest to you."
Linda found this strange. "Has something happened to Joanna? She would never suddenly become unreachable, and why would she have someone else tell me about the design? Mr. Shen, I hope you're not hiding anything."
Angelo had originally considered Linda's health and didn't want to worry her.
But hearing this, he knew he couldn't hide it, so he told the truth. "She's missing. The police and I are doing everything we can to find her. If you have any leads, please contact me."
Linda was indeed shaken by this news. After a moment of shock, she asked anxiously, "When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I'm sorry. I only just found out that Joanna had ordered the clothes. The competition should be coming up soon. I'll leave the piece to you, and I'll do my best to find her."
"Alright, I'll handle the competition." Linda agreed.
The competition was being entered under her name anyway, and she'd been doing nothing while feeling she should give the lead designer position to Joanna.
She never expected such an accident.
After arranging matters for the charity piece, Angelo still hadn't gotten any useful information.
But Peter finally found out who had bailed Henry out of jail.
"Cynthia's parents? How could it be them?" Angelo couldn't figure out what connection they had.
Peter said, "We'll have to ask them to find out. Cynthia's baby was lost after just one meeting with Miss Jones, so they might hold a grudge and want revenge. Should I arrange a meeting with them?"
"No, we're going straight to where they're staying!" Angelo grabbed his coat and headed out.