It was already two o’clock in the morning, and Patrick lay wide awake in bed. His brows were furrowed as he lost himself in deep contemplation.
Aimee hadn’t shown up tonight, and that was incredibly strange and unbelievable to Patrick. He couldn’t comprehend why she didn’t come or what she might be up to.
Before it was even one o’clock, Patrick had begun preparing himself mentally, eagerly anticipating Aimee’s arrival. But she never came.
Patrick’s face grew darker with each passing moment. He called Trace, demanding, “What’s going on with her?”
Trace shook his head apologetically and replied, “I’m sorry, Mr. Hayden, I have no idea.”
“If you don’t know, then find out,” Patrick insisted.
Without hesitation, Trace took the order and left, determined to locate Aimee.
Breaking into Aimee’s room was out of the question, so Trace decided to check the surveillance cameras near her room instead, hoping to catch a glimpse of her leaving.
Soon enough, Trace confirmed that Aimee hadn’t left her room.
He reported the news to Patrick, his tone filled with concern. “Mr. Hayden, something must have happened to her, right?”
Patrick shared the same worries, hesitating for a moment before instructing, “Go and fetch my grandpa.”
In the entire Hayden family, only grandpa had a legitimate reason to call upon Aimee.
Before long, Camdyn arrived. Patrick frowned, his breathing growing erratic. He said to Camdyn, “Grandpa, I’m feeling really unwell. Aimee is a doctor, right? Can you ask her to come over?”
Hearing Patrick’s request, Camdyn immediately grew anxious.
He hurried towards Aimee’s room, knocking on the door repeatedly, but received no response.
Camdyn found it odd and returned to Patrick’s room. He spoke hesitantly, “Aimee might have stepped out for something. She didn’t answer the door.”
“Grandpa, why don’t you go inside her room?” Patrick asked.
Camdyn truly wanted to open the door and investigate the situation, but he couldn’t bring himself to invade his granddaughter-in-law’s privacy like that.
Casey, who had been awakened by the commotion, appeared in Patrick’s room. She rubbed her tired eyes and inquired, “What’s going on? What’s all the fuss about? Why haven’t any of you been able to sleep tonight?”
Camdyn’s eyes immediately lit up, and he turned to Casey, saying, “Casey, you’re just in time. Go to your sister-in-law’s room and check if something happened to her. She wasn’t there when I knocked on the door earlier, and she didn’t make a sound.”
Upon hearing that Aimee was the cause of the disturbance, Casey’s displeasure was apparent.
“Grandpa, I don’t care about what she does or if she stays at home. She can do whatever she wants. I’m going back to bed. I’m exhausted,” Casey retorted.
She had no desire to go to Aimee’s room. The sight of her irritated Casey to no end, and now she was being asked to go there and confirm Aimee’s well-being. She wanted nothing to do with it.
However, Casey’s words instantly darkened Camdyn’s face.
He admonished, “Casey, Patrick isn’t feeling well. If you’re asked to go, go quickly and don’t say anything unnecessary.”
Hearing this, Casey glanced at Patrick and expressed her dissatisfaction, saying, “If you’re feeling unwell, call a doctor. What does Aimee have to do with it? I’ll call Dr. Lowe right away.”
“Casey!” Camdyn was genuinely angry and shouted at her, finally making Casey realize the gravity of the situation.
Casey pursed her lips and stomped her feet in frustration before reluctantly heading towards Aimee’s room.
Casey couldn’t comprehend what made Aimee so special. It was infuriating for her to see her grandpa protect Aimee like this.
Without bothering to knock, Casey swung open the door to Aimee’s room and hurried inside. But there was nobody on Aimee’s bed. Casey frowned, secretly delighted deep down.
Finally, she had discovered Aimee’s vulnerability.
Coming out of Aimee’s room, Casey smirked and declared, “She’s not here.”
“Not here?” Camdyn questioned suspiciously, unsure of where Aimee could be if she wasn’t in her room at this hour.
Casey shrugged and said, “If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself. Either way, she’s not in the house. I think we should call Dr. Lowe right away. Delaying Pat’s illness could make things worse.”
As for Aimee, Casey couldn’t care less.
At that moment, Patrick spoke up, saying, “No, I’m not feeling as uncomfortable anymore. Grandpa, you can go back and rest.”
“Are you sure, Pat? Are you really okay?” Camdyn’s primary concern was his grandson’s well-being and he couldn’t be bothered about why Aimee wasn’t home.
Patrick reassured him, “I’m really fine. It was probably just a bad dream earlier, and now I’m feeling better. So, let’s not call Dr. Lowe.”
“That’s good. You should get some rest then. Let me know if you need anything,” Camdyn replied.
Seeing that Patrick’s complexion had improved slightly, Camdyn decided not to insist on calling the doctor again.
He knew his grandson well and understood that if he didn’t want to see the doctor, forcing him wouldn’t help.
To ensure that Dr. Dettlaff could attend to Patrick comfortably in the future, Camdyn chose not to make Patrick uncomfortable now.
However, after leaving Patrick’s room, Camdyn couldn’t help but wonder why Aimee wasn’t home.
Observing this, Riley suggested to Camdyn, “Why don’t you give her a call? It’s quite late, and you never know if something has happened.”
“She’s an adult. What could possibly happen? Are you overreacting?” Casey interjected.
She couldn’t fathom why they were attaching so much importance to Aimee.
Camdyn shot Casey a stern look and said, “If you’re sleepy, go to bed. Don’t be a nuisance here.”
Casey stormed off to her room, no longer interested in their conversation.
Camdyn turned to Riley and said, “Let’s give her a call and find out what’s going on. I’m worried that if something has happened to her, she won’t inform us.”
Riley immediately dialed Aimee’s number, but there was no answer.
Camdyn’s expression grew increasingly grim. He glanced at Riley, who was shaking his head, intensifying his unease.
Deep down, Camdyn knew that Aimee wouldn’t do anything to betray the Hayden family, but her sudden departure without informing them always made him feel like she didn’t consider them as family.
This unsettling feeling weighed heavily on him.