Boyce’s men apprehended Bess immediately after her return from the hospital and took her to a small flat.
“Is this your house?” Armand asked, even though he already knew the answer, testing Bess’s honesty.
Bess looked around at the men in the room and replied truthfully, “Yes, it is.”
She was sharp-witted. Sampson, who used to occupy this place, didn’t seem like an ordinary man, and neither did the men currently present in her home.
Armand inquired further, “Who stayed here before?”
“I don’t know them. The man gave me some money to stay here temporarily. There was a woman with him,” Bess answered without any inclination to lie.
Matthew, sitting on the sofa, tightly closed his eyes upon hearing Bess’s words, his brow furrowing deeply.
Armand glanced at Matthew and asked, “Where are they now?”
“They’re gone. The woman was injured. They went to the hospital, and she seemed to be fine. Then they left,” Bess responded.
Armand’s eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
So, Dolores was truly injured.
He cautiously cast another glance at Matthew, while Boyce, standing beside him, remained silent, refraining from speaking.
Tension filled the room, and an icy chill seemed to make everyone too timid to utter a sound.
Matthew stood up and approached Bess. He towered over her and asked, “How did she get injured?”
Bess could sense the man’s anger clearly. She dared not reveal the truth. Trembling, she lowered her head.
“Speak!”
Everyone in the room was startled by his sudden outburst of anger. Bess, overwhelmed by fear, knelt down with a loud thud. She winced in pain and stammered, “I… I don’t know. I was downstairs at the time. Mr. Herbert didn’t allow me to go upstairs.”
She seemed to understand that Matthew had come searching for that woman. “Are you here to find Ms. Flores? She was always locked up on the second floor. On the day she was injured, it seemed that Mr. Herbert wanted… wanted…”
“What did he want?” Armand was on the verge of anxiety. Why couldn’t she finish her sentence?
“I don’t know. I just saw that Ms. Flores was not in a good state, with blood on her head. Mr. Herbert was naked. I overheard them arguing upstairs. I believe Ms. Flores wasn’t willing, so… so she wanted to commit suicide.”
Though Bess didn’t state it outright, the implications were clear and undeniable. Everyone in the room knew what had occurred.
A heavy silence enveloped the room as everyone turned their attention to Matthew.
His face turned livid, and the muscles on his face trembled. He appeared utterly terrifying.
His eyes blazed with anger, as if daring Bess to lie to him, as if he would kill her on the spot. In a low, menacing voice, he demanded, “Tell me, where is she now?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. He took her directly from the hospital. But I saw him searching for routes on his cell phone, and it seemed like his destination was Sichuan Province. I’m telling the truth. I would never deceive you. I realized that Mr. Herbert lied to me about Ms. Flores being his girlfriend. It was clear that Ms. Flores didn’t love him at all. In her resistance, she would rather harm herself. Truly, that’s all I know.”
Bess began to plead, “I merely rented my flat to them. I haven’t done anything wrong. I’ve told you everything I know. Please have mercy onme and let me go.”
“If she’s telling the truth and they’re heading to Sichuan Province, our men stationed at the checkpoints will find them. Since Sampson Herbert doesn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t dare to use the highway or take a plane. Even for train travel, you need identification, so he must be taking alternative routes,” Boyce analyzed.
“I agree with Boyce. If we leave now, we might be able to catch up with them,” Armand concurred.
Matthew clenched his fists, blue veins pulsating on the back of his hands. If it weren’t for his remaining rationality reminding him not to lose control, he might have already lost his mind, rendering him unable to plan their next moves accurately.
“Armand, stay here with Abbott. Boyce, come with me.”
Armand understood the reason behind this arrangement. He would handle Maria and the impostor Dolores. However, he couldn’t delay the search for the real Dolores. Combining both tasks would be more efficient.
Besides, Boyce was less talkative than Armand. At that moment, Matthew didn’t want to be bothered by unnecessary noise.
As they exited the flat, the woman who had led them there trailed behind, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Armand glanced at her and wrote her a check. Although they hadn’t found Dolores, this woman had shown compassion. He could see that her family was in dire straits.
The woman, uneducated and unfamiliar with checks, asked, “Is this money?”
It was a piece of paper. She wondered if they were trying to deceive her, knowing that she lacked education.
“Take it to a bank, and they’ll exchange it for cash. The total amount is one hundred thousand,” Armand explained.
One hundred thousand!
The woman couldn’t stop swallowing, her family’s savings amounting to only eight thousand dollars, just shy of ten thousand. To her, this was an enormous sum of money. She could hardly believe how easily it had come to her.
“Don’t you want it?” Armand furrowed his brow. It was the first time he had tried to be kind, but the woman doubted his sincerity.
“I want it.” The woman immediately accepted the money, cradling it carefully in her hands. She feared that it might break and become useless when she took it to the bank.
Armand got into the car and drove off in a different direction from Matthew. He headed to the detention center to handle the matters involving Maria and Annabelle.
Boyce went to arrange the cars and personnel they would need. Matthew returned to the villa first.
As his car was parked at the entrance of the villa, Matthew didn’t immediately get out. Instead, he sat in the car and gazed at the lights illuminating the villa. Occasionally, he could hear Simona’s soft and sweet voice, a delightful sound to his ears.
A profound sense of dread enveloped him, like an invisible web gradually tightening around him. It constricted so tightly that he found it difficult to breathe.
He was horrified by his own unawareness, carelessness, and mistakes that had led to Dolores’s predicament.
She had been injured…
He didn’t know how to face the two children.
He had been blaming himself for Dolores’s abduction.
Inside the spacious living room of the villa, voices echoed whenever someone spoke. Simona was restless, stepping onto a stool, attempting to climb up to the piano. Her thigh accidentally pressed a key, producing a sound. Samuel furrowed his brow and walked over, “Simona, why are you being so naughty?”
He didn’t think climbing up and down would make a girl look graceful.
Pouting, Simona pointed out the window. “I can see outside when I stand here. I want to see if Daddy has come back.”
Samuel’s face tightened. Daddy had gone to find Mommy. He wondered how it had gone and if Daddy had found her.
He was deeply worried.
He was worried that something might have happened to Mommy.
“Hey, Samuel. Is that Daddy’s car?” Simona exclaimed.
Samuel followed his sister’s gaze, only to spot the car parked in the yard. He helped his sister down. “Come down quickly.”
Simon blinked. “Why?”
“No reason. If you don’t come down, I’ll go away. Later, when you come down, you’ll fall,” Samuel’s voice sounded anxious.
Jessica approached. “Samuel, why are you in such a hurry?”
“Nothing. I’m afraid she’ll fall. Since you’re here, please watch over her.” Samuel finished his words and rushed out of the door as fast as possible, running towards Matthew’s car. He stood in front of the car window and blurted out, “Have you found Mommy?”
Silence hung heavily in the air.
Tension filled the space between the two.
“I’ve been too anxious. If you found her, she must have come back with you,” Samuel tried his best to suppress his emotions, but he was still a child. He trembled all over and said in a shaky tone, “I miss her now. What should I do?”
Matthew got out of the car and held him tightly. His voice was hoarse as he spoke, “I’m sorry. I didn’t protect her well… I miss her too.”