“How did she go missing?”
Roxanne couldn‘t help asking about it when the two of them left the botanical garden.
She would keep blaming herself for it if she never learned the truth.
Lucian gave her a deep and sullen look. Although Estella did not say it out loud, he knew she had left to look for Roxanne.
Roxanne‘s anxiety rose when she looked into his eyes. “Wasn‘t she with the two of you? How did two adults…”
How did two adults manage to lose a single child, especially when that child is as obedient as Essie?
Roxanne didn‘t finish that sentence.
Lucian was already panicking because Estella was missing. She knew that if she were to say those words out loud, she would sound as if she was putting the blame on him.
Lucian frowned. He looked deeply into her eyes and said tersely, “There was a disagreement with Aubree.”
“What happened?” Roxanne couldn‘t understand. What could possibly have happened to get Estella so angry that she ran away?
Lucian retracted his gaze and remained silent.
Guilt is already written all over her face even though I didn‘t tell her what exactly happened.If she ever learns that Essie has left to find her, she will put all the blame on herself.
Roxanne could tell that Lucian had no intention of telling her the truth, and that made her frown. Her lips parted, but she never got the words out of her lips.
After all, it was their family‘s matter, and she had no right to butt in.
The only thing she could do at that moment was to search for Estella.
“I‘ll look over there. You should try searching the route toward the hotel.”
The two of them parted ways after they left the botanical garden. Lucian left her some instructions before making his way toward the mountain.
As the matter was urgent, Roxanne dared not waste time. She ran toward the hotel right away.
Inside the botanical garden, Archie and Benny parted ways. While searching, they shouted Estella‘s name.
Archie and Benny were physically small, so they practically crawled through every hole and searched every inch of the botanical garden.
Still, Estella was nowhere to be seen, and neither showed up with her when they met up.
“Essie, come on out. Let‘s not play hide–and–seek anymore,” Benny choked out. He was so worried as they had yet to
find her.
Archie was upset as well, but he held his brother‘s hand and said, “Don‘t cry. Mommy is already worried sick, and we can‘t afford to worry her even more.”
Benny sniffled upon hearing that and forced himself to hold back his tears. “Let‘s leave the botanical garden and look for her out there, too.”
Archie shook his head. “Let‘s not make things more difficult for Mommy. We‘ll just wait patiently at the entrance.”
Benny nodded obediently.
The two of them were making their way to the entrance when they ran into Pippa.
“Archie, Benny, why are the two of you here on your own? Where‘s your mommy?” asked Pippa. She couldn‘t help worrying when she saw the kids being there on their own.
Archie politely explained the situation to their teacher. “Essie is missing, so Mommy went to look for her.”
Pippa‘s face darkened. “When did that happen?”
Archie replied, “We don‘t know. But we‘ve searched the entire botanical garden, and she‘s nowhere to be found.”
That means it has been a while…
Pippa immediately instructed, “Okay, I understand. You two find a spot and wait there. I‘ll go get the others to help look for Essie.”
Archie and Benny nodded in response.
After settling the two boys, Pippa sent a message to the parents‘ group chat and asked for help. She also got the other staff at the kindergarten to look for Estella.
Fortunately, almost everyone knew who Estella was, so it wouldn‘t be difficult for them to help.
