Chapter 123
Jasper fell uncharacteristically silent.
From a business perspective, he of course knew what had to be done.
But emotionally, Briar was his granddaughter, whom he'd watched grow up.
"Willard, what do you think?" He looked at Willard.
He was currently the one collaborating with the Perkins family, and besides, Briar was his own sister.
Willard lowered his eyes.
After years in business, he naturally knew that people like Matthew and Susan weren't ones the Seymour family could challenge.
"Grandfather, Matthew isn't negotiating with us." His voice was heavy. "He's demanding we hand over Briar."
"We must... make a choice between the Seymour family's survival and Briar."
Hearing even Willard say this, everyone's expressions changed.
"Then hand her over! Her temperament needs tempering anyway!"
One of Briar's cousins shouted loudly, "This way we can also answer to Mrs. Gray!"
Flora sighed deeply but said nothing more.
"Then that's what we'll do. Send her away tomorrow." Finally, Jasper made the final decision.
No one had any desire to stay on the yacht longer. They all disembarked together.
Jasper had only taken a few steps when his body suddenly swayed and he collapsed straight down.
When Evelyn arrived home, both children were already asleep.
She'd just finished washing up and drying her hair when her phone rang.
She answered, and after hearing a few words, her brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
What was Matthew's situation?
He actually wanted to send Briar to a psychiatric hospital?
Her grip on the phone tightened.
Was he trying to let everyone know he had designs on her?
Never mind anything else—Sloane, who was by Matthew's side, would definitely read too much into this.
Her plan to lie low was probably about to crumble.
After hanging up, Evelyn was angry enough to want to throw her phone.
That scumbag—she'd just seen him and he was already causing trouble!
Her phone rang again.
She looked down—the caller ID showed a string of numbers.
That number—she'd long since memorized it.
Evelyn hesitated for a moment but still answered.
"Who is this?" Her voice was cold and distant.
Silence on the other end.
Breathing sounds came through the receiver, heavy and muffled, as if suppressing something.
After a moment, the person's voice sounded. "Miss Gray, this is Matthew."
"Calling me this late, do you need something?" Evelyn's voice carried obvious disgust.
She wasn't pretending—she really didn't want to say another word to this person.
"Miss Gray, I was impulsive today. I want to apologize. I'm sorry."
"Okay. If that's all, I'm hanging up."
"You look a lot like my deceased wife."
Evelyn laughed coldly inside.
Wife? He was really good at giving himself titles.
"Can you tell us apart now?" Her voice was cool, laced with sarcasm.
"I can." Matthew's voice carried helplessness, as if her light punch had struck a weak spot—painful but indescribable. "May I invite you to dinner to express my apology?"
"No need. It's late. I'm hanging up."
The busy tone sounded.
Matthew stood on his apartment balcony, looking at the lights in the night, sighing deeply.
He picked up his phone, then put it down, picked it up, then put it down, repeating this several times.
Stay calm.
This time he absolutely had to stay calm.
Until he got her back to his side.
He could wait. He had the patience to wait.
After hanging up, Evelyn's instinct was to block this number.
But she held back.
She was Adam—there was no need to block him. That would only give people ammunition.
She turned off her phone, lay back in bed, closed her eyes, and didn't fall asleep for a long time.
As her time back in the country lengthened, Evelyn's business meetings multiplied.
Working from the villa wasn't quite appropriate anymore.
Over the next few days, Evelyn was busy finding suitable office space.
After searching for a week, she finally found a place with an open view and decent renovations. She'd arranged to sign the contract today.
She'd left early in the morning.
Monica was also out on business. Only Pearl and Logan were home watching the two children.
After her walk, Chloe locked herself in the art studio, instructing Pearl not to come in, saying she needed to create.
She'd done this before, so Pearl nodded and didn't disturb her all morning.
At noon, when Pearl knocked to call her for lunch and got no response after several tries, her heart sank.
She found a spare key and pushed open the door. The art studio was empty—no one there.
Pearl's face went white. She quickly called Logan and the bodyguards to search the entire villa together.
Nothing...
She wasn't anywhere!
She and Logan checked the surveillance footage and discovered Chloe had quietly slipped out the back door around nine that morning.
Nearly two hours had passed!
Pearl felt like the sky was falling.
With trembling hands, she called Evelyn, but no one answered.
Evelyn was in contract negotiations with her phone on silent.
Pearl paced frantically in the living room, tears welling in her eyes.
Caleb came down the stairs, saw the commotion in the living room, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Pearl explained everything, tears falling as she spoke. "What should we do?"
Caleb's brow furrowed. His expression remained calm, but his fingers gripping the stair railing tightened.
"Crying won't help." He said, his voice not loud but making Pearl freeze. "Pearl, tell me everything from this morning until now. Don't leave out any details."
Pearl wiped her tears and quickly sat on the sofa.
Somehow, though Caleb was only three, when he spoke he had an inexplicably convincing presence.
"This morning, I took Chloe for a walk in the small garden and saw a litter of puppies."
"Four dogs. Three were adopted by morning joggers passing by. One was left crying in the bushes."
"Because you're allergic, Chloe couldn't bring it home. She watched worriedly for a long time."
"I had to carry her back. Then she went into the art studio..."
Pearl wanted to cry again as she spoke.
"Logan, contact property management and check the small garden surveillance." Caleb instructed Logan calmly.
Chloe had most likely gone to find that puppy.
When they checked the footage frame by frame, they indeed found Chloe appearing in the small garden around nine.
She bent down to pick up the abandoned puppy, carefully placing it in her pink little backpack.
She crouched in place, her small hands gripping the backpack straps, hesitating for a long time.
She raised her little fist to pump herself up several times before leaving the small garden and heading outside.
Seeing this, Pearl nearly broke down. "Oh god, what if Chloe was kidnapped by bad people..."
Organ trafficking, abduction, child abuse—these words popped into her mind one by one, stabbing like needles.
Caleb didn't respond.
His gaze fell on that pink backpack, his expression growing complex.
If he remembered correctly, that person had given it to Chloe.
A guess formed in his mind. He turned and went upstairs, searching through drawers.
The black and gold card with Matthew's contact information was indeed gone.