Linford pulled a face, “I know. You don’t need to worry. She’ll be back in a couple of days.”
“Just let her come back as soon as possible. The baby needs her mother,” Mrs. Weston frowned.
Linford slowly nodded.
Mrs. Weston could tell the young man had another plan judging from the look in his eyes.
She knew she could never change his mind.
However, when they returned to the ward, Linford’s phone suddenly started to buzz.
Linford picked up the call. Someone was yelling on the other side of the phone, “Mr. Bradley… We… We lost Miss Friesley.”
Linford growled, “What do you mean that you lost her?”
“We… We don’t know… We guarded the door so well… But when we opened the door to send her breakfast this morning… She… She just disappeared.”
Linford’s eyes darkened as he heard that, “I get it now. Stay where you are. I’ll be there soon.”
She disappeared?
“Candace, Daddy needs to get some job done. I’ll be back later, okay?”
Candace didn’t want her Daddy to go as well, but she knew her Daddy needed to work. So she still nodded obediently.
“Where are you going, Linford? What happened?” Mrs. Weston asked worriedly.
“No big deal, really. I just need to find Cristelle right now.”
Mrs. Weston and Lily thus urged him together, “Then go.”
Candace’s eyes lit up as she heard that Dad was gonna find her Mom. Was Mommy coming back soon?
Linford leaned forward and kissed his daughter before leaving the room.
****
Meanwhile, in Linford’s mansion…
Cristelle was curling up in a dark corner, holding her knees against her chest. When she looked up at the wall, she shuddered involuntarily again.
There was a huge black-and-white picture on the wall. It was a tradition of some families in this area to hang dead people’s black and white pictures on the wall, especially in those houses with long histories.
Linford’s handsome face was smiling down at her in that huge black-and-white picture. Cristelle felt tiny beads of sweat traveling down her spine.
She had spent a night in this secret room, but she still didn’t dare to bring herself to face the picture. The young boy in that picture was clearly a younger version of Linford Bradley, but his eyes differed from Linford’s.
Cristelle guessed it was Linford’s brother Enzo. She never knew Linford and Enzo were twins.
Cristelle had tried to escape from Linford’s room, but she ended up getting trapped in this creepy place. When she saw that huge picture in the middle of the night, she felt her blood go cold within a second. She had tried so hard to open the door, but she couldn’t even open a crack after trying for a couple of hours.
“Help! Is someone out there?” Cristelle called for help sadly. But no one would come for her.
She slumped against the cold hard floor again and buried her head into her knees, forcing herself not to look at the spooky photo. There were more photos in this room. Some of them belonged to Linford and Clyde. While the others belonged to a gentle lady with a beautiful smile. Cristelle also saw Clara in those photos. It seemed like Linford and Clyde had known Clara a long time ago. They probably had grown up together.
No wonder Clara cared about Linford so much.
Cristelle took in a deep breath and struggled on her feet. She tried to find the trigger to open the hidden door again, but she failed.
In the end, she was so exhausted that she slumped against the cold floor yet again.
When she lost all her hope, the wall of the room suddenly shifted. A door appeared, and a tall figure walked in.
With a loud noise, the door was closed behind that man’s back again, blocking all the light from outside.
Cristelle looked up and met Linford’s cold eyes.
She somehow wanted to cry, but she looked away instantly, swallowing her tears back.
Linford went to his brother’s photo, long fingers brushing across the frame as he looked at the young man in the photo.
His eyes were sad in the dim light.
Cristelle sniffed and tried to stand up. But before she could do it, Linford suddenly walked over, scooping her up in his arms.
Cristelle wanted to struggle, but she had lost all her strength after spending the whole night in that cold room. Linford carried her out of the secret room, and the door was shut again.
“I want Candace.” Cristelle whimpered against his chest weakly.
Linford put her on his bed gently, frowning, “How the heck did you even find that room?”
“Will you let me see Candace if I tell you?” Cristelle began to beg.
“You still didn’t learn your lesson, did you, Cristelle?” Linford sternly asked as he straightened his body, ready to leave.
“Don’t!” Cristelle grabbed his cuff, “Don’t leave me here alone, Linford.”
She wanted to threaten him, but how she said it made it look like she was begging him again.
Linford smiled faintly and pushed her hand away gently, turning around.
Cristelle’s eyes went red instantly, “If you leave right now, I’ll go back to that room again!”
Linford didn’t even listen as he walked away.
Cristelle looked at the wall. The door was completely gone. She couldn’t even find the trigger.
“Linford Bradley! You massive asshole!”
However, Linford came back the next second, holding two plates of hot pasta.
“Eat,” He put one plate on the nightstand, pulling a face.
“I’m not hungry,” Cristelle turned away.
Linford only thought she was cute when she was angry. Cristelle was exactly like their daughter.
“Candace’s fine. Mrs. Weston is taking care of her right now.”
Cristelle growled, “But she needs me!”
After saying that, Cristelle shrank her teeth in her lower lips, making them bleed. She hadn’t even been there when her baby needed her the most.
Linford noticed her lower lips bleeding. He raised his hand and picked a few pieces of tissue paper, handing them to her.
“Cristelle, I’m not a monster. If you want to see Candace, you must promise that you will never leave her alone, no matter what,” Linford breathed hard.
Cristelle didn’t even take a second thought, “I promise!”