Cody pulled at his sleeve, “Alfred, just save yourself some strength. They probably have already left.”
“They won’t dare to hurt us.” Alfred mumbled to himself, “Those people won’t dare to hurt us. We’re Bradley.”
“I know,” Cody tried to make the man sit down, “She won’t hurt us anyway. We only need to stay here and wait.”
“She?” Alfred frowned, “How do you know the culprit was a woman?”
Cody shook his head and didn’t speak.
Alfred thought for a while and shuddered, “You’re not talking about Miss White, are you?”
“Nobody will do this except her,” Cody shrugged.
Alfred, however, was stunned after hearing Cody’s assumption, “She’s gonna marry your father soon. Why would she do this to us?”
“She’s trying to force Mom to leave us,” Cody clenched his fists.
Candace’s eyes went red the moment she heard the word “Mom.”
Alfred crouched down to comfort the little girl, “It’s okay, Candace. Don’t cry, okay? I’ll find ways for us to leave here.”
Candace sniffed and nodded, “But when can we get out?”
Alfred ran his fingers to Candace’s hair, “We will get out of here soon. Now, we just need to wait. Your Dad’s gonna save us soon.”
Cody looked at Alfred, “Alfred, you should sit down and save yourself some strength. That woman will set us free very soon. She won’t dare to do anything to harm us. She will let us go 20 hours later at most.”
What the boy’s words actually made sense.
Alfred thus sat down. The longer he looked at Cody, the more the boy looked like his father.
His boss had never made any mistakes before. Alfred was also sure Cody wouldn’t make a wrong calculation.
****
Lana wanted to go to Linford’s place again. If she couldn’t find a way to make Cristelle yield, all her efforts would be in vain. But Linford’s mansion was heavily guarded. She didn’t know if she could see Cristelle or not. She must figure out a way to see Cristelle immediately.
****
Meanwhile, Claire was in Frank’s lab as usual. They were doing a new experiment. Frank didn’t seem to be as focused as before. He looked preoccupied.
“What’s wrong, Professor? Are you feeling unwell?” Claire came beside him.
Frank glanced at her. He looked like he had something to tell her, but he was still hesitant to spit it out.
“What’s wrong? Did anything happen in South Africa?” Claire went a bit anxious.
“No, it’s not about South Africa,” Frank cleared his throat, “Something happened to the Bradley House again. I don’t even know when all these dramas will be over. Guess we must delay the date when we return to our base.”
Claire was confused, “What happened exactly?”
“The twins disappeared alone with Linford’s assistant. It has been three days, and Linford doesn’t even know if they’re alive or not.”
Thud!
Claire suddenly dropped the thick pile of files onto the desk.
“What’s wrong, Selena?” Frank was startled.
Claire cleared her throat, “No-Nothing… Professor, can I take a day off today?”
Without waiting for Frank’s answer, Claire just grabbed her coat and left the lab.
Frank was so confused, looking at Claire’s fading back. Why did she suddenly leave? Did he just say something he shouldn’t have?
Claire went directly to Linford’s company. But Linford was nowhere to find. Claire was so frustrated because she wanted to talk to Linford personally, asking him what the heck was happening in his family.
She could only return to Linford’s mansion, where Cristelle was locked in.
Cristelle had nothing to do these days. Her head was a mess. And she could only draw drafts as a way to spend time.
She always stayed up late because she worried about the babies causing her to barely fall asleep. “What’s wrong, Claire? You look anxious. Did anything happen?” Cristelle asked as she noticed her sister’s face.
Claire realized that the twins’ disappearance hadn’t reached Cristelle yet. Claire was hesitating if she should tell her sister about the bad news.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and raised her eyes to Cristelle, “Nothing. I’m just here to see you.”
Cristelle was suspicious as she saw her sister look pale. “What was going on outside? Please, if you hide something, say it. I really need to know!”
Claire shuddered and hardly knew where to begin. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Telling Cristelle the bad news would only make it worse. But Cristelle also had the right to know what was happening to her babies.
“Did anything happen to Cody or Candace?” Cristelle mustered the courage to ask nervously.
Claire instantly nodded, stuttering, “They disappeared… We can’t find them.”
Cristelle’s heart twitched. She almost fainted after hearing that.
Claire charged forward to hold her. “Jesus! Cristelle, just calm down. Cody is a smart boy. They will be alright.”
How did they go missing? Everything was just fine. A train of thoughts ran wild in her head.
Who would dare to do this to the Bradley babies? Cristelle closed her eyes and instantly concluded. It must be Lana White!
“Cristelle, you need to hang in there, okay? Claire tried to comfort her little sister, “Have faith in Linford. That man will definitely find your children.”
Cristelle covered her chest as she felt suffocated, slumped on the couch, “Claire, do you think the Bradley family will accept me?” The Friesley family had fallen long ago, and she was just the daughter of a corrupt politician. No big houses would want to get involved with her. She would bring disasters to their families.
Franco won’t put his entire family at risk. Claire also knew Cristelle’s situation very well. She sighed, “You don’t need to be so passive, Cristelle. Maybe we can find another way to solve these problems.”
“I don’t think it will be that easy,” Cristelle sounded weak yet determined.
Claire grabbed her cold hand, “But you also can’t just give up! After you go through this dilemma, everything will get better. Trust me.”
Cristelle was silent as she nodded to her sister.
****
The babies had gone missing for three days. Jack had tried his best, but he ended up failing to keep the lie. Franco went directly to the White House after learning of the twins’ disappearance.
Mrs. White had expected his arrival, waiting for him in the garden.
She even poured Franco a cup of expensive tea when he sat down on the chair, “You’re quite free today, Franco. You haven’t visited my house for years. What suddenly brought you here?”