I Quit Being a Stepmother (Cypress Gem) novel Chapter 111

Chapter 111

+25 BONUS

In the bedroom, Lauren leaned against Carter’s chest. “Don’t worry. I’m fine. The doctor said I was fully cured. There’s no chance of a relapse.”

Carter said, “Don’t get so worked up anymore. The kids are still young. They don’t know any better. Why take it to heart?”

She raised her face to look at him. “Carter, you’re just as good to me as you used to be. Thank you.”

He said, “Of course I should be good to you. You’ve got no one but me. Get some rest.

She then caught his hand and asked, “Carter, will you stay with me tonight?”

་་

He was quiet for a moment before turning away. “I’ve got work to finish at the office. The maids are all here. Call them if you need something.”

She bit her lip but forced a smile and said, “Alright.”

The next morning, the kids went off to school as usual. Autumn had crept in, and the wind carried a sharp chill.

Carter hadn’t slept much. He had had someone dig into George and Rhea’s connection, but everything pointed to them meeting only after George came to Colburn. This meant that they hadn’t known each other before.

George had been here less than a month, but Rhea was already so close to him.

Carter had smoked through the night, and now, his eyes were bloodshot. He walked to the spot where Devan had buried the baby and stood there for a long, silent while, thinking that Rhea was

indeed ruthless.

…

At 5:30 pm that evening, Devan rushed in, looking rattled. “Mr. Jamison, we’ve got a problem!”

Lauren was in the middle of picking fish bones from Carter’s plate. “What happened?”

“The kids have gone missing!”

Carter shot to his feet. “Where did they go?”

“The driver said that when he went to pick them up after school, they weren’t there. But their teacher swears they were in class all day.”

“Have you called the police?” Carter asked.

Chapter 111

“I have. The school just sent over the security footage.” Devan handed him a phone.

Carter hit the button to play the video. On the screen, the two kids slipped into the crowd after school, heading nowhere near the usual pickup spot.

A ripple of panic went through Carter. He feared the kids had been kidnapped.

“Pull every camera in the area!” Carter ordered.

He pulled every string he could to search for the kids. However, he had to keep it low–key in case someone tried to take advantage of the situation.

Carter paced nonstop in the house.

An hour later, a bodyguard returned.

Carter immediately asked, “Have you found them?”

The bodyguard shook his head.

“Then keep looking!” Carter snapped.

“Mr. Jamison, don’t the kids have smartwatches?” Devan suddenly remembered.

Carter froze. A spark of hope lit his eyes. He had also forgotten the smartwatches.

However, Lauren, who had been leisurely eating her fish, froze in place at those words. She had taken the smartwatches from the kids two days ago to keep them from contacting Rhea.

“Carter, I already checked. They didn’t wear the watches,” she said quickly.

Alisha coldly interjected, “It’s not that they didn’t wear them. Ms. Thayer wouldn’t allow it and even took them away.”

She couldn’t believe that even at a time like this, Lauren had the mood to sit there and eat.

Lauren rushed to explain, “They were almost out of battery. I thought I’d charge them and give them back. I didn’t expect this to happen…”

Carter didn’t have the patience to dwell on it. He was extremely worried. “Devan, let’s go find them.”

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