Despite her young age, a foodie like Maya could come up with a million reasons to convince herself when it came to food.
Having given herself an excuse, Maya nodded fervently to Evan’s offer.
Evan Seet changed into a fresh set of clothes and brought Maya onto his Maybach with him. The two of them set off for Clare’s Place.
“Mommy, Mommy! We have a problem!”
Nicole was in the middle of cleaning the dishes when Nina wailed in distress.
Nicole rushed out of the kitchen and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Nina stared at her mother anxiously, “Nina is missing!”
“What?”
Nicole could feel her heartbeat speed up. She joined the kids to search for Maya throughout the house.
When she made sure that Maya was nowhere to be seen in the rear house, she hurried over to the main house.
“Where’s Evan?”
“Ms. Lane, Mr. Seet just went out.”
“He’s out? Then, have you seen Maya?”
The bodyguard paused to think for a while and shook his head.
Nicole was on tenterhooks. She led Kyle and Juan to look all over the main house for Maya, but still, there was no trace of hers at all.
What to do now?
It’s already so late! Where can Maya go?
She can’t possibly be abducted, right?
Nicole thought of all of the worst possibilities and her stomach was tied up in knots.
Kyle and Juan instantly calmed their mother down.
“Mommy, perhaps Maya’s gone out to play! She’ll be back soon!”
“Yeah, Mommy! Don’t worry! We’ll definitely find Maya somewhere!”
“Maya is not like the two of you. She has a terrible sense of direction! That is why I never let her wander off alone! What if she gets lost and bumps into bad people? What if…”
Nicole didn’t dare to think further. She hurried outdoors to look for Maya instead.
The other three of her kids tailed behind her at once.
Nicole stumbled into the darkness with her children, and together they shouted for Maya.
Now that the sky was already pitch black, they couldn’t see their paths clearly, which made their job much more difficult.
Meanwhile, Kyle and Juan were brainstorming for ideas to locate their lost sister.
The two of them suddenly looked at each other knowingly.
“How about, we just ask Daddy for help?”
“I guess that’s the only way.”
Kyle took out his phone and dialed for Evan.
Meanwhile, at Clare’s Place, Evan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out from his pocket and read the caller ID on the screen. He then swiped right to answer the call.
“Daddy.”
“What is it?”
“We need your help.” Kyle was equally reticent as Evan.
“Help with what?”
“Maya’s disappeared. Can you get your people to help us look for her?” Kyle pleaded.
Evan awkwardly lifted his head to look at Maya sucking out juices from a crab with much relish. He fidgeted in his seat.
Perhaps I should have informed Nicole before I took Maya out.
With that thought in mind, Evan hung up the call and took a few pictures of Maya before sending it to Nicole.
Back at the house, Nicole was still searching high and low for Maya with her heart pounding at breakneck speed. She had no time to check her phone when a WhatsApp notification came in with a beep.
Out of curiosity, Juan asked Kyle, “Did Daddy say he’ll help us?”
“He didn’t say anything before he hung up the phone.”
Juan sighed. It must be because Daddy doesn’t know Maya is her daughter. If he knows, he will definitely care more.
The four of them looked into every corner of the Rose Garden but still didn’t manage to find Maya.
Nicole fell squatting on the ground with her mind in pieces. She recalled how difficult it was to keep Maya alive back then.
When Maya was born, she was put into the incubator right away. She was much lighter than the other babies because of malnourishment. Nicole remembered how desperately she had prayed fervently for Maya’s life. She was even willing to exchange for Maya’s life with her own.
Fortunately, Maya was saved from the brink of death. However, another problem arose. Maya was stunted in growth because of her frail body. Then, Nicole was again busy, this time trying to make her daughter eat more in hopes that she would become strong and healthy. Luckily for Nicole, Maya herself also loved eating. Maya soon grew up into a cheerful and adorable girl in pink health, in which Nicole was very thankful for.
Since the beginning of time, Nicole didn’t have any expectations for her little Maya. She just wanted her baby girl to live a happy and fulfilling life. But now, it was uncertain whether Maya was dead or alive.
“Maya, it’s all Mommy’s fault for not keeping an eye on you!”
“Mommy, it’s not your fault. Don’t blame it on yourself.”
“Since it’s already happened, the only thing we can do is to ask Daddy for help. Why don’t you tell Daddy that Maya is also his biological daughter?”
Before Juan could finish, a strong beam of light lit up their surroundings. Right away, Juan noticed a car heading in their direction.
