Chapter 128 Acknowledging a Godfather
"Hold it right there!" Alison yelled.
Erin turned around, looking completely unfazed. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
Seeing Erin's expression, Alison felt a headache coming on. She waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it, just go."
She really didn't want to see Erin, this ungrateful woman, anymore. If it weren't for the fact that Erin genuinely loved Jackson, Alison wouldn't have bothered with her at all.
Erin left, and the housekeeper closed the door. Alison closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep to temporarily forget all her troubles.
But the more she tried to sleep, the more awake she felt. In a daze, her phone suddenly rang.
Without thinking, Alison answered, "Jackson, are you okay?"
However, there was only silence on the other end.
Alison glanced at the screen and realized it was Aidan calling. Great.
She quickly composed herself. Ever since she told Aidan that Jackson was her boyfriend, he hadn't bothered her. This time, he should be even more convinced of her relationship with Jackson.
"Alison, where are you? Who told you to quit?" Aidan finally spoke, his voice tinged with anger. He had gone to San Francisco to escape her, but after leaving, he realized he couldn't stop thinking about Alison. She had deeply rooted herself in his heart.
"Mr. President, the company fired me. I think I have no more ties with YD. If you have any work-related questions, you can ask Miss Claire Toronto. She knows more than I do," Alison said calmly. She wanted to hang up immediately; she didn't like Aidan's interrogative tone. But after thinking it over, she held back. After all, Aidan hadn't done anything wrong to her.
In her heart, she knew right from wrong very clearly.
"Come out, I want to see you," Aidan demanded, not caring whether Alison agreed or not.
"Sorry, I have no obligation to meet my former boss." With that, Alison hung up. She wanted to cut ties quickly, just like with Jackson. The more she was nice to him, the more hope he gave her, and the messier things got.
But as soon as she hung up, her phone rang again. It was Aidan.
She really didn't want to see him. There was no future for her and Aidan.
So, she turned off her phone and threw it on the bed.
Being pursued by a man can sometimes be a good thing, but sometimes it's painful because if you can't make promises, it's just deceit.
She didn't want to deceive anyone; she just wanted to be herself quietly.
As the sky darkened, the housekeeper had been out picking up the kids for a while and hadn't returned.
Alison couldn't wait any longer. She turned on her phone and saw numerous missed calls, some from Aidan and some from the housekeeper.
A sudden sense of foreboding hit her, and she hurriedly called the housekeeper back. "Auntie, what's going on? Why aren't the kids back yet?"
"Ma'am, the kids are missing."
"What?!" Alison screamed, sitting up straight. "When did they go missing?"
"Over an hour ago. I tried calling you, but you didn't answer," the housekeeper said anxiously, searching for the kids outside.
"I understand. I'll call Laura to help look," Alison said.
"Laura is already looking. Ma'am, you're still recovering; you shouldn't go out. Let Laura and me handle it."
Alison interrupted, "Don't worry about me. Just find them and call me immediately when you do." She hung up, regretting turning off her phone.
Now, the kids had been missing for over an hour.
Oh God, what should she do? What if they were kidnapped?
Ignoring the pain from her chest surgery, she threw on a loose shirt and flat shoes and rushed out the door.
This was the second time Sophia and Ethan had run away from home. Why were they so disobedient?
She searched everywhere she could think of, but as night fell, there was still no sign of the kids.
She was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Laura, any news?" Alison asked anxiously.
"Not yet, sis. We're still looking," Laura's voice was also filled with worry, making Alison even more tense.
There was no trace of the kids near the house or the preschool.
She slumped on the curb, clutching her chest, feeling helpless.
It seemed she had no choice but to call the police.
Just as she was about to dial, her phone rang again.
This time, she checked the screen carefully. It was Aidan.
She really didn't want to answer. She had seen his missed calls earlier but didn't want to return to YD. Rebel had already found some clues, and as long as she stayed with Rebel, everything would eventually come to light.
But she didn't want to turn off her phone again either.
The phone kept ringing, and passersby gave her strange looks.
"Why doesn't she answer her phone?" someone muttered.
She was on the brink of collapse. The kids were missing, and she was losing her mind.
The phone finally stopped ringing, but soon she received a text message.
"Return to work at YD, or you won't see Sophia and Ethan again."
Seeing this, Alison understood everything.
Those two little rascals must have sneaked off to YD to find their so-called daddy. They thought Aidan was their dad.
Oh God, Aidan had already seen them.
Alison jumped up and immediately called Aidan back. "Aidan, tell me, where are the kids? Are they okay?" But Aidan coldly replied, "I want to see you in my office tomorrow." Then he hung up.
She missed the kids so much that even a short separation made her anxious. But now Aidan was saying she couldn't see them until tomorrow, and she felt a deep sense of frustration. She tried calling him back, but Aidan had turned off his phone, as if to retaliate for her earlier shutdown.
She was worried sick but powerless, forced to wait until tomorrow to see the kids. When she returned home and told the housekeeper and Laura that the kids had been found, she couldn't muster any joy.
The truth she had hidden for so long was completely exposed by the kids that afternoon. Sophia and Ethan's resemblance to Aidan was undeniable.
Maybe Aidan would be surprised too, because she had once told him the kids looked a bit like him. That was the only way she could explain their resemblance to Aidan.
That night, she didn't eat dinner and couldn't sleep well.
She desperately wanted to see the kids immediately but feared facing Aidan. She spent the night sighing, and when she woke up to the morning sunlight, she hoped things wouldn't be as bad as she imagined.
Looking haggard, she arrived at the YD building again, hesitating at the glass doors.
Her thoughts were a tangled mess. As she took the elevator straight to the CEO's office, all she could think about was Sophia and Ethan, silently praying: Kids, please be okay and behave.
Standing on the familiar floor, looking at the familiar glass door, she felt a pang of sadness. Why force her to come back to work?
She knocked lightly, even though she was anxious to see the kids, she waited politely. Inside, a new woman sat at Claire's old desk.
"Come in," a voice called from inside.
Alison clutched her chest, her face pale as she pushed the door open. Thankfully, the bandages were thick enough that she didn't use too much force, or her recent surgery would have been for nothing.
As soon as she entered, the door to Aidan's office opened. Aidan walked out, heading straight for her. "Alison, you finally came." He reached out to take her hand, not caring whether she wanted him to or not.