The security guard was shocked. Wasn't that Mr. Mercer's name?
He steadied himself and looked again at the little one in front of him, his mind filled with questions.
Calling Mr. Mercer's name so directly and with such an attitude, they must have an unusual relationship, right?
What was the relationship between this child and Mr. Mercer?
Though puzzled, the security guard quickly said, "Little one, wait here. I'll go notify him."
Chloe nodded politely, "Okay, thank you, sir."
The security guard hurried to the front desk, anxiously saying, "Quickly notify Mr. Mercer, there's a child outside looking for him."
At that moment, Lance was swamped with work, feeling overwhelmed.
Suddenly hearing that a child was looking for him, he was puzzled.
"Who could it be?"
He looked up at Xavier, "Go down and check."
Xavier nodded, "Yes, Mr. Mercer."
What he saw downstairs shocked him.
There was Chloe, sitting on the lobby sofa, eating cake.
Seeing Chloe there startled Xavier even more.
He rushed forward, "Girl, what are you doing here? Are you alone?"
He was both shocked and incredulous.
Considering the distance from the kindergarten to here wasn't short at all.
This little one managed to find her way here; it was unbelievable.
Chloe raised her little face and smiled, "Yes, I'm alone. I sneaked out of the kindergarten."
Hearing this, Xavier was even more alarmed.
This girl's courage was astonishing!
He grabbed Chloe's small hand and led her upstairs.
"Alright, let's go find Mr. Mercer."
...
After the nap time ended, the teacher called the children to wake up.
All the children were back in the classroom except for Chloe.
The teacher thought Chloe was still in bed and went to call her but couldn't find her anywhere. It then dawned on her.
Chloe was missing!
The teacher immediately called the parents.
Deanna had been feeling uneasy all day. Suddenly, she received a call from the teacher.
"Teacher, what's wrong?"
The teacher's voice was choked with emotion, "Deanna, Chloe is missing!"
Instantly, Deanna stood up from the sofa, her fingers stiffening as if struck by lightning, leaving her at a loss.
"W-what?"
"Teacher, say that again?"
She swallowed hard, disbelief filling her eyes.
"Deanna, Chloe went missing after nap time. You should come to the kindergarten right away."
After hanging up, Deanna ran to the kindergarten like a madwoman.
Seeing the teacher, she immediately asked, "Where's Chloe?"
"Where is she? How could she be missing!"
The teacher explained, "Deanna, she was fine during nap time. It was only after waking up that we found she was gone..."
Seeing Deanna's frantic state, the teacher felt apologetic.
Nearby, Gregory's eyes were red from crying.
"Mommy, I didn't see my sister when I woke up."
Deanna tried to stay calm, "Gregory, check your sister's location."
To prevent her children from getting lost, she had given them watches with GPS tracking.
She never thought it would come in handy one day.
Gregory cried and shook his head.
"Mommy, sister left her watch by the bed. She didn't take it with her. I can't locate her. I don't know where she is."
Hearing this made Deanna's heart sink.
"W-what?"
Without the watch, how could she find her?
Helplessness and fear surged through her heart.
Deanna turned around and couldn't help but shout, "She was fine in the morning. Why didn't the teacher watch over her during nap time!"
"How could a child disappear after waking up?"
Overwhelmed by emotion, Deanna became agitated.
The principal quickly explained, "Deanna, we checked the surveillance footage. Indeed, it was our fault for not supervising properly. But Chloe ran out on her own."
"Deanna, we understand your feelings right now. Please don't worry too much. We've already notified the police. They are on their way..."
At this point, Deanna couldn't hear a word.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of Chloe being missing.
Deanna bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes. "Even if Chloe ran out on her own, why didn't the teacher notice?"
"If the teacher had seen it, this wouldn't have happened."
The principal nodded, "You're right. We are responsible for this."
The more Deanna thought about it, the more panicked she became.
Chloe was so young. What if something happened to her on the way...
This thought made Deanna even more worried.
Just then, Deanna's phone rang.
She frantically pressed the answer button. "Hello."
Lance's voice came through from the other end. "Dr. Deanna, where are you? Chloe came to find me at noon."
"Chloe is with you?" Deanna's heart tightened as she quickly asked, "Is she alright?"
Lance nodded and replied softly, "The child is here and she's fine."