“Grandfather!”
Elena suddenly woke up. The clock showed that it was already midnight, but her grandfather had not returned home, and Joseph was not back either. He was still out looking for the old master. Ava and Michael were gone as well, same as Sasha. Everyone seemed to have disappeared entirely.
She had slept for two hours, and she could not sleep anymore. Elena lifted the quilt and got up.
She looked at her phone on the bedside table. She had not contacted him since the incident, and he had not spoken to her at all. She knew that even if she looked for him, he might not be willing to say anything to her. After all, he only cared about Ava, and no one knew if he was in a plot with her.
However, she had no one else to look for besides him! She fetched her phone and searched for the familiar number. Her long finger was about to click the dial button, but she hesitated again.
After consideration, she decided to call Joseph instead. “Brother Joseph, any updates?”
“There is still no news. Don’t worry. Ava will not mistreat grandfather. Our people are still looking for them.”
It was impossible for Elena not to worry about them. Then again, it was useless for her to be worried when Joseph had no news about Old Master Garcia. She hung up the call and searched for the number again. A few moments later, she finally made up her mind to dial the number.
The dial tone rang twice before the call was answered. “What’s the matter?”
The deep and low voice still sounded alert; there was no sign of sleepiness. It was already past midnight, was he still at work?
“Eldest Young Master Williams, have you been with Ava during the day?” Elena tried to make it sound casual, but her palms had already started to sweat.
“Yes.” His answer was like his usual self, it was difficult to guess what was on his mind.
“Then, where is she now?”
“I don’t know.”
Elena was unsure if his answer meant that he really did not know or was unwilling to tell her. Nonetheless, she had an inexplicable feeling that she could trust him. He might be terrible to her, but at least he would not lie.
“Did she tell you her plans when you both went your separate ways?”
“No.” It was still a concise and straightforward reply, and then, there was a long silence. Elena could not think of any other questions anymore. He said no, and that was it. She would not get any more news from him.
“Then…”
“Where are you now?” It was the first time Michael took the initiative to speak to her that night.
“I’m at Garcia’s mansion,” Elena answered honestly.
He was meant to live in Garcia’s mansion as well, but he was Eldest Young Master Williams, and there was no need for him to tell her where he went. It was a different case for her. If Michael had no other plans in City L, she would just spend her time in Garcia’s mansion.
After that, there was a long silence again.
In the end, Elena whispered, “Eldest Young Master Williams, I will hang up now. It’s late…”
“He is fine.”
Elena had not had time to digest what he meant when a beeping sound came from the phone. Michael had hung up. She redialed the number, but his phone was turned off.
What did he imply? Did Eldest Young Master Williams mean her grandfather was fine? Why did he not make it clear? Was her grandfather really okay?
Elena hesitated and dialed Joseph’s number again.
“It’s late. Why aren’t you asleep yet? Don’t worry. Grandfather will be fine. You should rest early.”
Joseph knew that she must have been too worried to fall asleep when she called him at that hour.
Elena immediately explained, “I called Michael just now, he said… He said that he is fine.”
“He is fine?” Joseph did not get it. He was not concerned if Eldest Young Master Williams was okay or not.
“No, he said, he is fine.”
Elena did not know how to explain it. Michael did not explicitly say who when he said that.
“Brother Joseph, I can’t explain it. I asked him if he knew where Ava was, and he said he doesn’t know. He also admitted to being with Ava earlier today, and after that…”
The conversation after that was a little weird.
She hesitated for a while before she continued to say, “After a long silence, he asked me where I was, and I said Garcia’s mansion. Then he was silent again.”
Most people might find it hard to understand the silence, but Joseph could. Based on the relationship between Elena and Michael and the fact that Michael and Ava were already together, the long silence meant they had nothing to say to each other. However, none of them wanted to hang up the phone first.
“In short, he finally said that ‘he is fine’ and hung up the phone right after that.”
“I understand.” Joseph nodded to himself as he continued his search in the vast sea.
“Eldest Young Master Williams likely knew where Grandfather is, but he doesn’t want to tell you.
“However, rest assured that he will not lie to you. Grandfather must be fine if Eldest Young Master Williams said that he is fine.”
At least, things were fine at that time.
“Brother Joseph, where are you now? I can’t get through to Eldest Young Master Williams. What are you going to do next?”
Even though Elena was relieved with Eldest Young Master Williams’s words, she could not relax when her grandfather was still missing. None of them could relax until he was found.
“I’m out at sea.”
Joseph walked toward the deck. He faced the direction of the sea breeze, so his voice and speech sounded blurry and confusing.
“We found some clues left behind by Ava. They went to the open waters.”
“It is still quite far out, and it will probably take another day to get to them. I am also not sure about their exact location, so it might not be easy to find their boat.”
“You said that Ava left a clue?” Why did she think that it was weird?
“I know. Ava may have deliberately lured me out here, but it’s obvious that Grandfather is in her hands now. I have to go even if it is a trap.”
Joseph had no other choice. He had trusted that Ava would not hurt his grandfather, but he was no longer sure. There were many pirates in the open sea, and they would not survive if they were to encounter them. He was sick with worry.
“Brother Joseph…”
“I know what you wanted to say, but you should be clear about your situation now.”
She was pregnant. She would not help them if she joined the search.
“Stay at home. I don’t want to be more stressed than I am now. Also, Ava had lured me away. She had likely taken action in Garcia Corporation. I need you to talk to my mom tomorrow and tell her what you know. She will help you out.”
Elena exhaled and finally nodded to herself. “Okay, I know what to do.”
She hung up the call and checked out the time on her phone. It was half-past midnight. Lottie was probably asleep. She had planned to find out for herself when her phone suddenly rang. It was an unknown number! She was not sure why but her heart skipped a beat!
She hesitated momentarily before she answered it. “Hello.”
“Elena.” Ava sounded like she was rather happy and relaxed. “Do you want to know where your grandfather is? Come out now. I want to see you.”