After a moment of consideration, I replied, “Flora, you can go back anytime you want. It’s only me and Ashton in the house, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
With a smile on her face, she nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Mrs. Fuller.”
As I glanced around the kitchen, I realized that I had forgotten to take my phone from the bedroom, so I looked towards Flora and said, “Please help me to get my phone upstairs.”
I had left it charging for the whole night. It should be fully charged by now.
After she brought it down to me, I switched it on and browsed through the trending topics on social media. As expected, it was mostly about the holidays and many people were looking forward to it.
Besides, there were many sales happenings on online shopping platforms. Looking outside the window, it was still snowing currently. I figured it would be inconvenient to go out today.
Hence, I decided to stay at home and do some reading instead.
I was about to fall asleep when I received a call from Jackson at noon.
I answered the call, and before I could say anything, he had cut me off. “Scarlett, where are you?” He sounded anxious.
“In the villa,” I replied. But, again, before I could continue, his voice had come from the other side. “Summer has gone missing in W City. Has Ashton told you about it?”
Immediately, my mind went blank, and my ears started to ring.
Jackson called my name several times on the other side of the line, but I did not hear him.
Flora came to check on me when she heard the sound of my cup smashing to the floor.
“Mrs. Fuller? Mrs. Fuller?” Flora called me a few more times before I finally snapped out of my trance.
Looking around aimlessly, I still could not digest what he had said.
She looked at me worriedly. “Mrs. Fuller, are you okay?”
I shook my head, unable to respond. Jackson’s words earlier echoed in my ears. He said that Summer is missing.
I wanted to get up, but before I could get to my feet, my knees buckled, and I fell back into my chair.
“Mrs. Fuller, are you okay?” Flora asked.
I shook my head again. I remembered that I had not hung up the call, so I reached for my phone.
Putting it to my ear, I parted my lips, trying to speak, but my mouth went dry, and my words died my lips.
“Scarlett, are you alright?” Jackson’s worried voice rang from the other side.
I tried to speak again, but I was so choked up that I could not do it at the moment. Seeing my condition, Flora was so worried that her hands started to shake.
She then went to bring me a glass of water. “Mrs. Fuller, have a sip of water first. Don’t panic.”
I nodded and drank the water. Even the water was difficult to be swallowed.
After a long while, I finally found my voice back. I picked up the phone and asked, “Jackson, what did you say just now?”
My voice was still a bit hoarse.
Jackson said, “Scarlett, don’t panic. I’m not sure what happened exactly there. But perhaps you can travel to W City to investigate.”
“Okay.”
The first person I wanted to call was Jared.
After I hung up the call, I immediately dialled his number. But no one picked up the call.
I continued to call several times but to no avail. So, I called Emery.
Fortunately, she answered the call quickly. “Hi, Scarlett. What’s up?”
“Do you know anyone from W City? Can you help me to check on the Crest family there?”
She was taken aback by the agitation in my voice for a moment. “Okay. I’ll do it immediately.”
After a pause, she asked tentatively, “Scarlett, anything happened?”
“I have no idea as well. Jackson told me that Summer is lost,” I confessed.
She gasped. “What? When did it happen? I did not hear anything from my side. Doesn’t Summer have a video call with you every night?”
“Yes. But for the last two nights, I did not call her because Ashton and I came home late. So, I figured I should call her today instead. But when I called Jared just now, no one picked up the phone,” I replied, eyes brimming with tears.
As I spoke, I began to choke up once again.
Emery sighed on the other side of the line. “Scarlett, don’t panic. We haven’t known anything yet at the moment. Let me call and ask first. I have friends in W City. I’ll find someone to get more information for you.”
I nodded and hung up the call. I could not wait for a minute longer to book the flight ticket to W City. It had been more than ten days since Jared brought Summer to W City.
It’s about time for me to bring her back now.
I drove out of the villa and headed straight to the airport. Ashton called me again and again. I saw his calls, but I had no intention of answering any of them.
Arriving at the airport, I checked in and boarded the plane. Before departure, the air stewardess reminded us to switch off our electrical gadgets.
I took a look at the message sent by Ashton: Scarlett, before you do anything else, answer my call first. I’ve sent someone to find Summer.
I shut down my phone regardless. As the plane took off, I felt my heart shattered into a million pieces.
There were wounds that will never heal. And Summer was my lifeline. After years of being with her, I had treated her like my own child. I’ve lost my child before; I can’t bear to lose another one.
