abcnovels
Chapter 267
Chapter 267
Chapter 267
Chapter 267
The adults didn’t bring up Kendrick’s accident in front of Alex. Before Christopher and Joyce flew to Nardor, they had come up with an excuse that they had work to do there, so they wanted Alex to stay with Yuliana during that period of time.
Even though Alex was playful and mischievous, the private education he had received from Kendrick made him mature and wiser than regular children. He may not display those traits most of the time, but his maturity and wisdom were evidently there. Even if none of the adults told Alex anything about Kendrick’s accident, he had already developed an inkling of what actually happened.
Ever since Joyce brought him to Yuliana’s apartment that afternoon, Alex remained quiet and obedient, which was completely different from his playful and carefree behavior. He even responded to Joyce’s reminders seriously.
Before Joyce left, Alex had taken the initiative to hug her and told her not to worry about him. He then promised to complete his homework on time, and that he would always study diligently.
It was as if Alex had grown up overnight.
However, he was only eight years old.
Yuliana didn’t persuade Alex anymore. Instead, she just smiled gently. “How about I keep you company while you do your homework?”
Alex paused in writing for a moment. He tilted his head to glance at Yuliana in hesitation before he nodded.
Alex was able to answer the questions very quickly. Since he had already completed the curriculum of the second and third grades, the summer homework meant for first-graders was obviously not a
problem for him. However, there were many questions in the exercise book, so he still needed more than an hour to complete it.
Finally, Alex went to bed at eleven o’clock.
Yuliana sat next to his bed while tucking him in. “Sleep well.”
Alex’s eyes remained open as he stared at her unblinkingly.
He stared at Yuliana for a while without saying anything. The latter asked, “What’s wrong? Is the bed too uncomfortable for you? Or is it because you’re not used to sleeping here?”
Alex just shook his head. “Nope.”
“Then, what’s wrong? Why are you staring at me without saying anything?”
Alex had Kendrick’s eyes. Whenever he stared at people without smiling, he was able to look intimidating despite not having any expressions on his face. Even though Alex was still young and didn’t have a distinct aura, he would be able to look as intimidating as Kendrick once he grew up.
The thought of Kendrick made Yuliana’s eyes darken slightly.
After finding out that Kendrick got caught up in a car accident in Alendor and had gone missing. Yuliana was left in a state of shock for a very long time. Even though she barely talked to him, the thought of Joyce and Alex suffering still made her feel distressed.
Yuliana was never a superstitious person, to begin with. However, when she was reminded of the incidents that plagued the Solace family that year, she couldn’t help but suspect the involvement of a voodoo curse or a spell that endangered the whole family. First, Zachary was caught up in an unfortunate incident. Then, Winnie fell horrendously ill. Now, even Kendrick had gone missing.
Suddenly, Alex asked a question, “Aunt Yuliana, is my daddy dead?”
Upon hearing that question, Yuliana turned to look at Alex immediately. His chubby face still seemed
calm as ever. His eyes were clear and innocent as if they could see through everything in the world.
Yuliana was stunned for a moment. At first, she wanted to skim over the whole thing with an excuse. She was about to speak up when she looked into Alex’s eyes. Suddenly, she couldn’t say anything at all
After a long moment of silence, Yuliana selected her words very carefully before finally replying, “No. He just got into an accident. That’s all. We still haven’t found him. Your mommy and Uncle Chris went to look for him. They’ll definitely find him.”
The moment Yuliana was done speaking, tears started rolling down Alex’s cheeks. However, he didn’t bawl loudly, unlike other children. He clamped his mouth shut tightly, intending to hold his sobs back, but his tears continued to stream down his cheeks continuously. In the end, he lifted his hands and covered his eyes as suppressed sobs slipped from his lips.
Yuliana didn’t say anything. She averted her gaze aside to give Alex a moment of privacy as he released his pent-up feelings.
A few minutes later, Alex’s tears gradually stemmed. He was starting to calm down.
The truth was, he had overheard his mother, Joyce, talking to someone on the phone that afternoon. She happened to mention Kendrick’s accident on the phone. Since Alex was a bright child who knew what death meant, he spent the afternoon in fear.
However, the little boy didn’t dare to ask what happened to Kendrick after spotting Joyce’s condition. When she was on the phone, she held her tears back and tried her best not to cry, but it was obvious
that she had cried earlier since her voice was all hoarse and scratchy.
Alex had never seen Joyce looking that vulnerable.
The gloomy atmosphere at home was the reason why Joyce decided to send Alex to live with Yuliana.
That was the reason why the little boy thought that Kendrick was dead.
Having heard Yuliana’s reply, Alex let out a relieved sigh. At the same time, the pent-up stress and fear that was accumulated within him for so long finally found an outlet, hence his emotional breakdown.
When Yuliana noticed that Alex had stopped crying, she grabbed a warm towel and started wiping his face. “A little boy like you shouldn’t think too much about life. Your mommy and Uncle Chris will definitely find your daddy.”
Alex nodded obediently in response.
“Now, go to sleep.”
Alex closed his eyes as instructed while Yuliana sat by his bed. Once he fell asleep, she got up and switched off the lights before exiting the room.
In reality, Yuliana wasn’t as optimistic as she sounded when she comforted Alex.
The people who rode in the same car were already found, with Kendrick being the sole exception.
A long time had already passed since the accident. If the rescuers were able to locate Kendrick in the first place, they would have done so some time ago. However, if they were still unable to find him at this hour…
That meant his chances of survival were really slim.
Meanwhile, Christopher and Joyce arrived in Nardor the next morning. They had to travel from the airport in a car for another few hours before they could reach the city where Kendrick carried out his work.
That city was extremely rundown. Its overall condition was worse than a small county in the Solaces’
country.
The energy project that Kendrick was in the middle of inspecting would have brought massive changes to that city if it was to be greenlit in the future.
The duo didn’t waste any time at all. The moment they arrived at the city, they quickly met up with Hugh before proceeding to meet the local police force and the rescuers. Since the city was in such bad shape, naturally, the quality of the search-and-rescue equipment they had was bad. When Christopher and Joyce came to the city, they had hired a professional search-and-rescue team from Nardor in advance. At the same time, they also brought over professional search-and-rescue equipment from their country.
Once they arrived at the scene, they deployed the search-and-rescue team and their equipment to the river valley immediately to look for Kendrick.
Alas, even after the rescuers devoted their efforts to searching for Kendrick in clockwork shifts. without stopping to rest for almost a week, they were still unable to find any traces of Kendrick. The rescuers spent the whole time searching all the way from the spot where the accident occurred to the bottom of the river. They even fanned out and combed every inch of the large area meticulously, but they couldn’t locate any of Kendrick’s personal belongings at all.
It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
Joyce and Christopher stayed in Nardor for half a month. Even though the latter followed the search- and-rescue team into the river valley many times, he was still unable to find Kendrick.
By then, news of Kendrick’s accident was already spread in the country.
Back in Solace Corporation, those who harbored malicious intentions were itching to rear their heads.
Layla was already married to another family, so she wasn’t considered a member of the Solace family. The only one who could lead both the Solace family and Solace Corporation could only be the oldest son of each generation.
Besides, Layla was a woman who had become the daughter-in-law of another family, so she wasn’t viewed as a member of the Solace family.
When Kendrick was still present, no one dared to say anything. Now that he was gone, the sight of Layla taking his place and issuing orders displeased everyone else to the point that they would never acknowledge her.
They figured that if a married woman could issue orders in Solace Corporation, which meant the other members of the Solace family were entitled to the same privilege.
Layla couldn’t suppress the crowd at all. The higher-ups who used to call her “Ms. Solace” in such a friendly way didn’t hesitate to start arguments with her in the meeting once they found out about Kendrick’s accident. In fact, they didn’t mind humiliating Layla at all.
Now, Christopher and Joyce must rush back to Solace Corporation to regain control of the situation. Otherwise, the whole company would be thrown into chaos.