In the black car, Cristelle held the crying Candace tightly in her arms. Linford was sitting in the backseat with her. Alfred sat beside the driver, not daring to say a word.
Cristelle didn’t know why, but Candace appeared to be calmer after Linford showed up. She stopped crying, only sobbing slightly. Her chubby arms circled Cristelle’s neck, and bright blue eyes curiously cast at Linford.
Alfred cast a glance at the girl from the rearview mirror. The little girl was as beautiful as an angel. She was even prettier than her mom. And… she somehow looked so much like his. But Alfred didn’t dare to express his observation.
Linford seldom surrounded himself with any kids. The only kid he had interacted with lately was that little boy who looked like him. This little girl before him made him soft.
He fished out a chocolate bar and gave it to the little girl, “Have some sweets.”
Candace only stared at him, not daring to take it.
Cristelle felt awkward when she explained, “Candace doesn’t feel well lately. She…”
Before she could finish the sentence, Candace just took the chocolate and put it into her mouth, chewing while staring at Linford. A big smile broke Linford’s cold features.
Candace went shy, pressing her cheek against Cristelle’s chest, but still refused to break her eye contact with Linford.
Cristelle was startled by Candace’s reaction before this man. She had never been this friendly to anyone except her and Cody.
How come she wasn’t even scared of this man?
She would have avoided Linford if she didn’t feel at ease with him.
“Candace is just a bit shy,” Cristelle explained dryly. She didn’t want to talk about Candace’s condition before strangers. She wanted to protect her daughter.
Linford nodded without any words.
The car pulled over a high-rise building. The police force jumped off their cars first.
The police officer who talked to Linford before shouted through the window, “Mr. Bradley, please wait here. We’ll bring the boy down soon.”
Linford nodded.
Cristelle was so worried. Cody was just a little boy. She wondered how he was right now.
“Don’t worry. Those are the best forces in the city. Your son will be fine,” Linford meant to comfort her, but when he said that, he sounded pretty emotionless.
“Okay,” Cristelle only stared out of the car window.
The policemen brought Ingrid down pretty soon. Ingrid looked pale. She was trembling, knees buckling.
Cristelle got out of the car the minute she saw them, “Where’s Cody? Where’s my son?”
Ingrid only mumbled some incoherent words.
“Say something, Ingrid! Where’s my son?!” Cristelle cried, “Why don’t you say anything? Where’s my son?!”
“Ma’am, please calm down. Unfortunately, the boy is not here. But we’ll definitely find him soon!”
“Why? How could he be gone? Ingrid was the one who took him away! Ingrid! Say something! Where did you take him?” Cristelle lashed out at Ingrid. Candace started to cry.
Cristelle felt she was going crazy. Ingrid had taken her son. How could her boy just disappear?
Her babies were the reason why she was still fighting to survive. If anything happened to Cody, she would probably kill herself.
“Ma’am, please calm down! We’ll find the boy. I promise…”
“Cristelle,” Linford put his wide hands on Cristelle’s shoulders, “They’ll definitely get the boy. Don’t worry.”
Cristelle only cared about her boy, not noticing how intimate that gesture was. She wiped the tears from her face, “Cody will be safe, right?”
She only wanted to kill Rose and her stupid mom at the moment. Her Cody was just a little boy. How could these people do that to him?
Linford frowned as he saw the fragility in her eyes, “He’ll be okay. I promise. Just get in the car, so we can follow the police.”
Cristelle went a bit calmer after hearing what he said. She got into the car, patting and comforting Candace all the time.
Cristelle looked determined.
After what she had been through five years ago, she didn’t want to taste the pain of departure ever again.
The thought of not being able to see Cody anymore was too much. She wouldn’t be able to take it.
Candace was too tired, falling asleep in her arms. Her chubby hands grabbed Cristelle’s clothes as if she was afraid that her Mommy would go away.
Linford stared at the little girl’s face. The more he looked at her, the more he liked her.
Alfred was a bit confused. Linford was a workaholic. Why would he waste his time helping Cristelle find her son?
It seemed like this woman was special to his boss.
Fritzi’s call came the moment they arrived at the police station. Cristelle wouldn’t pick up her call, so she called Alfred.
Alfred explained the situation quickly and hung up. He didn’t want too many people to know about the situation.
When they finally got into the building. Linford took Cristelle to the restroom, “Let them do their job. We can just wait here.”
Cristelle knew where there must be certain procedures during the investigation. So she didn’t object, sitting on the couch quietly and waiting for the result.
“Bring some food,” Linford told Alfred.
Alfred brought some Chinese food back. But Cristelle touched none of them.
They sat there until midnight. The head of the police finally showed up and told them some information. After the interrogation, Ingrid and Rose admitted that they had received a phone call after they left Cristelle’s company. Some delivery man had given them the key to Cristelle’s apartment. That was how they got in.
“But where’s my son?” Cristelle only cared about Cody.
“Ingrid said the boy ran away when they got out of the elevator. Unfortunately, the surveillance cameras on that floor are broken. We didn’t find anything on that floor. But after checking out the surveillance footage of the whole building, we finally got some clues. So don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll definitely find your boy.”
Cristelle felt her heart was gonna jump out of her mouth.
“Where could he run to?” She panicked.
The police officer took a pause, “We’re still trying to find out.”
Cristelle was so worried after hearing that. She thought of those kidnappers on the news who snatched away babies and tortured them. Her heart was gonna be broken.
“Sir, please find my Cody. I can’t live without him.” Cristelle cried, “Please find him.”