Chapter 29
The night was still and silent when a melodious phone ringtone broke the peace.
Emily groggily reached for her phone and answered it, only to hear a panicked voice on the other end. "Ms. Johnson, something terrible has happened—your mother is missing."
At those words, Emily instantly snapped awake, her whole body jolting as she sprang up from bed.
"What happened?" she asked while frantically getting dressed.
"I don't know either."
The caller was a caregiver from the nursing home where Emily had last placed Amelia.
The caregiver was crying, her voice filled with anxiety. "Ms. Johnson, please come over right away. I just stepped out to use the restroom, and your mother disappeared. We've already checked the surveillance footage but found nothing."
This statement carried enormous implications, and Emily's heart skipped a beat. "Okay, I'm coming right now."
She didn't waste any more time. Hanging up the phone, she grabbed her electric bike keys and rushed out.
But remembering that the two children were still fast asleep, Emily couldn't bear to wake them. Instead, she turned and knocked on the guest bedroom door.
"Are you asleep?"
William had just finished listening to Robert's report on recent developments and was about to rest when he heard Emily knocking.
"Not yet, come in."
Emily pushed open the door and saw William half-reclined against the headboard. She took a deep breath and said in a serious tone, "I have an emergency and need to go out. Could you help watch the kids for a bit?"
If it were daytime, Emily wouldn't be too worried.
But now, in the dead of night, if the Johnsons still hadn't given up and tried something with the children, she really didn't have the energy to guard against it.
William didn't ask questions and simply nodded in agreement. "Bring them over. They can sleep with me tonight."
Emily was especially grateful for William's understanding and bowed deeply to him. "Thank you."
Hearing a trace of hoarseness in her voice, William sensed something was wrong and asked one more question as she was leaving. "Is there anything I can help with?"
Facing his inquiry, Emily shook her head. "I can handle my own problems. Just helping me take care of the kids is more than enough, and I'm very grateful."
William could hear the exhaustion in Emily's voice and sense her forced strength, but seeing she didn't want to say anything more, he didn't press further.
He nodded gently.
Emily wasted no words and turned to carry both children to his room.
Aiden woke up once during the transfer, rubbing his eyes drowsily and acting cute. "Mommy, where are you going?"
But before Emily could answer, the wave of sleepiness overtook him again.
After placing both children on either side of William, making sure they wouldn't press on his wound, Emily gently kissed their foreheads. "I'm counting on you then."
"Go quickly! If anything comes up, remember to call me."
To make contact easier, Emily had bought a new phone a couple of days ago, inserted a new SIM card, and given it to William.
"Okay." Emily didn't stand on ceremony, agreed, and turned to leave.
After she left, William stayed awake all night, carefully watching over the two children.
When Emily arrived at the nursing home, she found it in complete chaos.
"What on earth happened?"
Seeing Emily arrive, the caregiver looking after Amelia breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly explained the situation. "Ms. Johnson, I really don't know what happened. Your mother still hasn't been found. I just went out to use the restroom—I never thought something like this would happen."
She was deflecting responsibility, and when she met Emily's cold glance, she couldn't help but soften her breathing.
Emily didn't have time to argue with her right now and turned to question the security guard.
The security guard shook his head. "We just checked the surveillance footage and didn't see your mother leaving, and we haven't found any trace of her in the nursing home either."
Emily's heart sank, and she instinctively thought of the Johnsons.
But she had transferred Amelia to the new nursing home without the Johnsons knowing—how could they have made a move against her?
Could someone have leaked the information?
That didn't make sense either.
Besides, how could someone with such limited mobility disappear under surveillance?
There must be something going on that she didn't know about.
Emily couldn't figure it out, but worried about Amelia's safety, so she joined the search.
Perhaps through the mother-daughter connection, Emily actually found her.
When Emily discovered Amelia, she was lying in a dog kennel, still wearing the nursing home's patient gown.
Not caring about the pungent smell on her, Emily quickly pulled her out of the kennel and carried her back to bed.
Amelia looked peaceful, as if she wasn't the one who had just caused such a commotion.
"Mom, are you okay?" Emily gently shook Amelia's body, bringing her consciousness back somewhat.
When Amelia woke up, her eyes were full of confusion. "Why are you here?"
Her consciousness fluctuated between clear and unclear—being able to recognize Emily now was actually pretty good.
"The caregiver just said you went missing. You scared me." Emily didn't hide anything from her.
Amelia needed to know what she had done so she could possibly prevent it next time.
Otherwise, if something like this happened again, Emily didn't know if she could handle it.
"I remember I was resting the whole time and never left." Her voice was extremely hoarse, her face full of confusion.
But in the next moment, she yawned again, looking listless.
Seeing Amelia like this, Emily didn't ask more questions. Instead, she tucked her in and stayed by her side all night.
When daylight broke, Emily rubbed her temples, dark circles under her eyes.
She looked at the caregiver apologizing before her, her tone stern.
"I think you owe me an explanation for what happened last night. Who took my mother away?"
She wasn't a fool who could be fooled by a few words from the caregiver.
However, this caregiver truly knew nothing, and no matter how Emily questioned her, she couldn't get answers.
In the end, the only solution was to replace the caregiver, and the nursing home assigned Amelia a more reliable one.
"This is the first time and the last time. If something like this happens again, don't blame me for taking your nursing home to court."
The new caregiver could understand Emily's anxiety and nodded, promising her repeatedly.
Emily stayed with Amelia, and only after seeing that her condition was relatively stable did she leave the nursing home.
She wasn't alone anymore—she had two children at home. She couldn't keep troubling William!
Emily hurried home, but as she approached the yard, she caught a glimpse of a dark figure flashing past.