Later on, Justin, Rachel, and the kids left the restaurant. Though Charlotte had been upset with Justin during dinner, she was now in his arms, fighting to stay awake while yawning continuously.
After Rachel opened the car door, Samuel consciously climbed into his safety seat. “Charlotte, say goodbye to Daddy,” said Rachel.
“Bye-bye, Daddy.”
The little girl held Justin’s head and gave him a big wet kiss on the cheek. Justin kissed her forehead in return and put her into the car, buckling her seatbelt for her as well.
“Go to bed early when you get home, okay? Don’t stay up late, and you have to eat your meals with the nanny whenever your mommy’s busy.”
“Okay, Daddy. You’re becoming very naggy.” Charlotte yawned while complaining, then said groggily, “Daddy, don’t forget to pick Samuel and me up this weekend.”
“Alright,” promised Justin, giving her a hug before closing the door.
“Drive safe.”
Rachel nodded in acknowledgment. “Come back often if you can. Charlotte will miss you.”
“Sure. Take care of yourself.”
“You too.”
The weather had gotten warmer after Springfest, but the nights were still chilly.
The two chatted in front of the car for a long while before Rachel drove off, leaving Justin standing by the entrance of the private kitchen. With his hands in his pockets, he watched the tail lights gradually shrinking into a tiny, glowing dot before getting into his car. Justin would be leaving Riverdale by the next sunrise.
The so-called North Riverdale simply meant north of Riverdale. It sounded close to Riverdale, but in reality, the headquarter of Burton Group’s subsidiary in North Riverdale was very far away. A train ride would take up to ten-plus hours, and a flight would take over three hours. Thus, driving back would clearly be unrealistic.
Rachel believed Justin would have to go back on his words even though he had promised Charlotte to pick her up on the weekend..
The following day, Rachel and Jolly searched left and right for Richard and Marilyn at the arrival hall of Riverdale Airport.
“Isn’t the flight supposed to land at 2.30PM?” Jolly checked her watch. “What’s up with that?”
Since Richard and Marilyn said they would be landing at the airport by 2.30PM, Rachel and Jolly came to pick them up at the airport. However, it was already fast approaching 3.30PM, yet they were nowhere in sight.
“I’ll go and ask for their flight information. Try calling your parents again.” With that, Rachel headed to the information desk.
“Hi, I’d like to inquire about some flight information. Has this flight landed?” Rachel handed her phone with the flight number displayed on the screen to the staff behind the desk.
“Please hold on. Let me check.”
“Thank you.”
A moment later, the staff looked up at Rachel and said, “The plane landed on time an hour ago.”
“Is that so? Thanks.”
Knowing Mr. and Mrs. Carter, they would’ve at least texted us if their flight landed an hour ago. Rachel thought this was weird.
Meanwhile, Jolly was still trying to reach her parents but couldn’t get through no matter how many times she tried. “Chris, I can’t reach my parents. Did you manage to find out anything?”
“The staff said the plane landed an hour ago.”
“What’s going on?”
Just as Jolly was about to make another call, her phone rang, and the caller ID made her eyes light up. “It’s my mom.”
Unfortunately, before she could even feel at ease, an unfamiliar male voice on the other end of the line made her frown.
“Is this Miss Carter?”
“W-Who’s this?”
“That’s beside the question. Now, Miss Carter, you must be anxious when you still haven’t managed to pick up Mr. and Mrs. Carter, am I right? I’m calling to let you know that they’re perfectly safe now, and you don’t have to worry.”
“What have you done to my parents?”
Jolly’s ghastly face startled Rachel, and the former’s words pierced her eardrums too. Has something gone wrong?! Rachel grew nervous in an instant.
“Relax, I’ve merely asked Mr. and Mrs. Carter to stay a little longer. However, as for whether they can successfully take the next flight home, it all comes down to you, Miss Carter.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re still young, Miss Carter. Why do you want to drag yourself into a situation you have no control over? There are so many good men in this world. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Do you want to see your family suffer for your choices?”
Aside, Rachel’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing so. “What in the world are you trying to say?” A little obtuse, Jolly couldn’t catch what the caller was implying.
“I won’t beat around the bush anymore, then. Break up with Leroy, or I guarantee something like this will continue to happen.”
Jolly’s pupils shrunk instantly, and she balled her free hand into a fist, clenching it hard.
“Who the heck are you?!”
“Think it over, Miss Carter. This is just a warning.” With that, the caller hung up. “Jolly.” Rachel reacted quickly and supported the woman.
“Chris, what should I do?”
“Do as he says first,” Rachel said at once. “The most important thing now is having your parents return safely. We’ll figure out the rest after that.”
“Alright.” Jolly clenched her teeth. However, before Jolly could figure out what to do about her relationship with Leroy, she suddenly got a call from Marilyn.
“Jolly.” Marilyn’s voice sounded the second Jolly answered the call. Flabbergasted, she asked in a shaky voice, “Mom, are you and Dad okay?”
“We’re fine. It’s just that something went wrong with the lift at the airport over here. Your dad and I got stuck in it, so we missed our flight and had to wait for the next one. However, there wasn’t any signal in the lift. We managed to open up a gap and asked the staff to call you with my phone. Who’d have thought we were saved as soon as the staff ended the call?”
Jolly gritted her teeth upon hearing Marliyn’s words, unable to utter a word. At that, Rachel hurriedly said, “We got the call, Mrs. Carter. Are you guys okay now?”
“We’re fine. We’ve changed the flight. Alright, I’m hanging up. Richard and I are boarding now. It’ll probably be pretty late by the time we reach Riverdale, so don’t bother picking us up anymore. We’ll get a taxi ourselves. You girls should sleep early, okay?” After Marilyn hung up, the screen dimmed.
“It’s all okay now. You heard your mom; they’re already getting into the plane.” Rachel patted Jolly’s shoulder.
“I still don’t feel easy. I want to wait for them here.”
“It’ll be around midnight by the time they land. Are you sure you want to wait here?” Rachel checked the time. “How about this? We’ll go back first, then come over when it’s almost time.”
Jolly shook her head, looking beyond awful. “He said this is just a warning.”
In other words, if she refused to break up with Leroy, more ‘accidents’ like this would continue to pop up.
