Chapter 280
Rosalie’s mind raced, recalling the news and cases of child abduction she had seen in the past. As a result, her thoughts grew even more chaotic.
If Aiden had truly been abducted, she would never forgive herself for the rest of her life!
However, the more anxious she became, the emptier her mind seemed. She desperately wanted to find Aiden, but she didn’t know where to start.
Just then, someone reached out and grabbed her arm, and a familiar voice whispered in her ear,
“Don’t panic.”
These simple words eased Rosalie’s heart, which had previously been filled with confusion and helplessness.
“What should we do? Aiden is missing!” Her voice trembled, and her eyes were filled with tears. “It’s all my fault. I should have accompanied Aiden to the restroom personally. If I had been with him, he wouldn’t have disappeared.”
“It’s my fault,” Jonathan admitted. “I’m the one who asked a staff member to accompany him. But don’t worry; we will find him. I’m going to seal off this entire building immediately and conduct a thorough search.”
Rosalie considered another possibility. “But what if it’s human traffickers, and they’ve already taken Aiden out of this building?”
“Then, let’s lock down the city,” he said. “Within ten minutes, we’ll seal off Strico. It’s impossible to reach the city’s highway exit in just ten minutes. Once the city is sealed, even if it’s human traffickers, they’ll have to stay within the city and won’t be able to escape. By then, we’ll be able to find Aiden.”
She was shocked-locking down the city? Could he really do that to such a bustling metropolis? However, hearing these words from him made it impossible not to believe that he could make it happen.
“Trust me. We’ll find Aiden for sure. Even if we have to turn the entire city upside down, I’ll help you find him,” Jonathan assured her.
He was going to such great lengths to find a child, solely because he didn’t want to see her burdened with guilt and remorse.
He knew that with her personality, if they couldn’t find Aiden, she would never find peace for the rest of her life.
Jonathan took out his phone and made a call to brief someone on the situation. But suddenly, a child’s innocent voice out, “Rosalie…”
Rosalie was shaken to her core. It was Aiden’s voice!
rang
She abruptly looked
up and saw Aiden standing not far away, holding hands with a man.
Rosalie rushed over and hugged Aiden tightly, her voice choked with emotion. “Where did you go? Why did you suddenly wander off? I was so afraid I wouldn’t find you!”
She rambled on, and though Aiden didn’t understand her words, he could sense her sadness. So, with his little hands, he gently patted Rosalie and nuzzled her cheek with his head.
After seeing Aiden’s return, Jonathan put away his phone. “Never mind. It’s all settled.” His gaze shifted from Rosalie and Aiden to the man who had been holding Aiden’s hand.
When he recognized the man, he raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with playful curiosity. It was quite a coincidence to encounter this man here-Aiden’s biological father, Warren York.
“I wonder if this can be considered fate,” he thought.
At this moment, Rosalie’s emotions finally settled down. She took a deep breath and looked at the child in her arms. “Where did you go?”
Aiden, however, focused on Rosalie’s lips, trying to discern what she was saying.
When Rosalie realized that Aiden couldn’t understand her, she used sign language to communicate. Aiden extended his hand, showing a part of a cochlear implant in his palm. Specifically, it was the external part of the cochlear implant that went on the outer ear.
“So, did Aiden’s cochlear implant fall off?” Rosalie thought, and she began communicating with Aiden using sign language.
After a series of exchanges, Rosalie finally understood the whole story. Indeed, Aiden’s cochlear implant had fallen off, and when Aiden was halfway to the bathroom, he realized he couldn’t hear anything. That’s when he urgently turned back to the restroom to look for his cochlear implant.
Inside the restroom, Aiden encountered a kind man, but they couldn’t communicate because the man didn’t understand sign language.
However, Aiden was clever; he dipped his finger in water and wrote on the bathroom countertop, telling the man that he needed to return to the room to find someone.
The man then decided to escort Aiden back to the room, thinking it was the right thing to do.
And that’s the situation Rosalie had witnessed.
Rosalie breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Aiden had encountered a nice person. If he had encountered someone with malicious intent, he might have been in danger of being abducted.
Rosalie straightened herself up and addressed the man standing next to Aiden. “Sir, thank you…”
Suddenly, her voice seemed as if it were caught in her throat, and her eyes were fixed on the man in front of her as if she had just witnessed something unbelievable.
“Do we know each other?” Warren furrowed his brow and spoke. The woman in front of him should be a stranger, but the way she looked at him made him feel like she recognized him.
Rosalie was in a state of shock. Of course, she knew Warren-he was Aiden’s biological father! Who could have expected that the father and son would meet under such circumstances?
Furthermore, they didn’t know each other’s identities!
Rosalie struggled to find words to describe her emotions at this moment.
“Yes.” But it was Jonathan who helped her answer. Jonathan stepped forward, walked to Rosalie’s side, and put his arm around her shoulder. Then, he smiled at Warren and said, “Mr. York, I didn’t expect to meet you here. I’m Jonathan Youngblood.”
“Jonathan from Youngblood Group?” Warren inquired.
“Yes,” Jonathan confirmed.
“Well, what a coincidence. I came to Strico hoping to visit and explore potential cooperation between our two companies. It seems we’ve met sooner than expected,” Warren said.
“In that case, Mr. York, when you plan to visit, I’ll be ready to welcome you,” Jonathan replied
The two men shook hands, and Jonathan said, “My girlfriend has seen you in the news before, but meeting you in probably quite surprising for her.”
Jonathan was helping Rosalie ease the situation.
person was
Rosalie had finally regained her composure and greeted Warren as well. “Hello, Mr. York, I’m Rosalie Leighton.”
“Hello, Ms. Leighton,” Warren replied, and he took a few moments to appraise Rosalie. After all, a woman introduced with such solemnity by Jonathan must be someone quite exceptional!
