Upon hearing her question, Estelle could not help biting her lower lip.
“No, no, no. Cristofer doesn’t know that he has a twin brother. Maybe the so-called telepathy doesn’t exist.”
Without saying anything, Estelle poked the lemon slice in the glass with a straw from time to time, and her mind was a mess.
Soon, Rebecca started a new topic.
“Estelle, Henry is not well. I went to the welfare house yesterday. The teacher there said that Henry often talked to himself against the wall at night, which scared other children.”
Estelle looked at her wristwatch. It was two o’clock in the afternoon.
Mr. Mysterious didn’t sleep last night because of the pain in his arm. He took several painkillers and didn’t fall asleep until this morning. At this time, he should be sleeping.
Considering that Mr. Mysterious didn’t currently require her care, Estelle proposed, “Rebecca, I’d like to go see Henry.”
Rebecca questioned, “Aren’t you supposed to go to the company today?”
Estelle shook her head.
Yesterday, the conflict between her and Mr. Klein at the golf course affected their cooperation. As a result, she didn’t feel like working today. Additionally, she wanted to prepare delicious and nutritious food for Mr. Mysterious, so she chose not to go to the company.
Rebecca suggested, “Okay. I want you to visit Henry. You have a gentle and kind demeanor, and he feels closer to you. Perhaps seeing you will improve his condition.”
The welfare house was located a bit far from the city, and they faced an hour-long delay due to traffic.
Upon arrival, they noticed an unusual silence at the welfare house.
Rebecca was puzzled and said, “Usually, the teachers play games with the children outside at this time of day. Why is it so quiet today? Estelle, let’s go to the director’s office.”
As they walked a few steps further, they encountered the director of the welfare house, who appeared flustered and anxious with a pale face.
“Ms. Kosslyn, what’s going on?” Rebecca halted and inquired.
Only then did Ms. Kosslyn notice their presence. “Hello, Miss Miller. Hello, Miss Hudson.”
“You seem really worried. What happened?”
“Henry… Henry is missing!” the director disclosed, “All the teachers are out searching for him, and even some nearby residents are assisting, but several hours have passed, and we still can’t find him anywhere!”
Estelle felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing the news. “When did he go missing?”
“According to the other children, Henry was in his room before the afternoon nap. But when they woke up, he was gone. Lately, Henry has been emotionally unstable, but he’s been resisting treatment. Despite our efforts to persuade him, he refuses to take medication. If he doesn’t receive proper help soon, there’s a high risk he might contemplate suicide…” explained the director anxiously.
Hearing that, Estelle felt a chill all over.
She suddenly recalled, ‘Mr. Mysterious said that people suffering from depression might commit suicide if their condition got worse.’
‘The torment of this disease is even unbearable for an adult like Mr. Mysterious, let alone a five-year-old boy like Henry!’
“Estelle, what should we do now? Let’s go to look for him!” Rebecca suggested anxiously.
Estelle took a deep breath, trying to stay composed. “Alright. Ms. Kosslyn, have you already contacted the police?”
“Yes, I did, but our welfare house is quite far from the police station, so it might take them some time to reach here,” Ms. Kosslyn replied.
Estelle nodded.
‘The police will be able to find some clues after checking the surveillance videos. With their help, we can find Henry sooner. Henry is just a child, and he might not go further.’
Estelle’s phone beeped at this time, and she received a message from Mr. Mysterious.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll send some people to look for him.’
Seeing the message, Estelle called him immediately.
“Estelle.” Mr. Mysterious answered the phone almost in a second.
“Sir, given your ability to easily track my location, can you also find out where Henry is?” Estelle inquired, putting him on speakerphone.
“Calm down, Estelle. My subordinates have gone to look for him,” Mr. Mysterious tried to persuade her.
“You also don’t know where Henry is?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know my whereabouts?”
“I understand you well enough that sometimes I can guess your location and other times, I find out through Ron,” Mr. Mysterious explained. “He’s been silently watching over you every day.”
Not feeling up to discussing it further, Estelle anxiously asked, “Sir, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Henry suffers from depression, just as you used to do. So I’m wondering what patients with depression would do if they were extremely desperate.”
Mr. Mysterious fell into silence.
“Sir?”
“They would try every means to commit suicide,” Mr. Mysterious said in a low voice after a few seconds. “They might take sleeping pills, walk to the middle of the road, or do something else to end their painful life as soon as possible.”
Hearing this, Estelle calmly analyzed the situation, “Henry has been living in the welfare house all the time and doesn’t have access to sleeping pills. This welfare house is remote, and there are not many cars on the road, so he won’t suicide by getting himself hit by a car… Are there any other possibilities?”
“Let me see…”
Mr. Mysterious seemed to be increasingly emotional and breathed more and more quickly.
“Sir?”
“I’m listening.”
“Are you okay?” Estelle asked worriedly.
“I’m fine. I was thinking about what I would do if you left me, so I was a little emotional just now,” Mr. Mysterious responded and then took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “Estelle, is there a river or pond near the welfare house?”
Hearing their conversation, Ms. Kosslyn immediately said, “Yes! There is a nearby river on the east of our welfare house!”
Mr. Mysterious then suggested in a sobbing tone, “Go there and look for him. Hurry up!”
Hearing this, Rebecca turned around and ran toward the river without hesitation, followed by Ms. Kosslyn and Estelle.
However, Ms. Kosslyn was elderly and couldn’t run fast. As for Estelle, she had had lung surgery before and couldn’t do strenuous exercise or she would be breathless. Therefore, they couldn’t catch up with Rebecca.
Soon, Rebecca’s anxious shout came from not far away.
“Henry! Henry!”
Hearing her yells, Estelle and Ms. Kosslyn looked at each other and then ran over in a hurry.
A few distance away, Rebecca was kneeling on the grass at the riverside, wet all over. And Henry was lying beside her motionlessly.
Rebecca was so flustered that she didn’t know what to do. “Estelle… Henry doesn’t move…”
Estelle squatted beside Henry, put a finger near his nose, and felt his faint breath.
“He’s still breathing. I’ll do chest compression for him first,” she suggested.
“Okay.” Rebecca anxiously nodded.
“Call an ambulance!” Estelle suggested.
“Okay. I’ll do it right now!”
Estelle then folded her hands, put them on Henry’s chest, and pressed it again and again.
Seeing such a scene, Ms. Kosslyn burst into tears and kneeled beside them, “Oh, God. It’s unbelievable that he committed suicide… He is only five years old!”
Suddenly, Henry spat out a mouthful of water and began to cough violently.
“He’s awake! He’s awake!”