Chapter 498 Missing Tina
Courtney’s aunt, Alicia, called her on her birthday to invite both Courtney and Alexander back to the Somerfields for a meal. As they did not hail from a business background, the Somerfields did not really pay attention to much etiquette. The celebration only involved a feast, and the family gathered around happily.
At the table, Josephine was trying to get the meat from a pincer of a crab, which she then gave to Alicia after amassing a plateful.
“Happy birthday, Great-Aunt.”
Laughing joyfully, Alicia was visibly elated. Seeing this, Courtney wondered how much happier she would become if she were to see the present Josephine had prepared for her.
Unexpectedly, Josephine, who was still eating the crab, slowly took out the jade bracelet with her oily hands, giving it to Alicia. Hesitatingly slightly, Alicia then started to sob before actually crying on her husband’s shoulder like a child.
Alexander, who was still eating soup, was bewildered at this scene as he met the gaze of his bewildered daughter.
“Great-Aunt, if you don’t like it, you can exchange it at the shop. You don’t have to cry,” saying it with a nose full of crab roe, Josephine panicked slightly. Upon hearing this, Alicia looked up and gave her a few pecks while hugging her with an overjoyed face.
“I like it. I like it very much.”
Dizzy from the kisses, Josephine couldn’t help but ask, “If you like it, then why are you crying? Fiona is also a crybaby. When I asked her why she cried, she said it was because she liked Ethan.”
Hearing this, Alexander had a rare smile appear on his face. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Then, do you like Ethan? After all, Mr. Langley likes you very much.”
After mulling over it seriously, Josephine then nodded.
This made Courtney feel like a great disaster had befallen her. “I do not want you and Cameron to become relatives.”
“Miss Cameron’s temper is a bit short, so I don’t want to become related to her as well.”
…
Alicia laughed so heartily that her eyes squinted. She asked the young child, “Josie, do you know what relatives by marriage mean?”
Thinking that it should be no different from relatives, Josephine did not think about the meaning too much, seeing how happy her Great-Aunt was.
Standing up, she took another crab and continued eating.
While Courtney was eating soup, the phone on the table suddenly lit up. It showed that a message was sent by Cameron, making her think that she really shouldn’t speak about other people behind their backs.
‘Tina was saying that she’s missing her godmother, so I picked her up to let her stay overnight at my place.’
Still eating the soup, Courtney only replied with an ‘OK’.
——
Afternoon the next day, Courtney received a call during her lunch at the hospital’s cafeteria. It was from Tina’s form teacher, asking if something had happened to her, since she was absent from school yesterday.
Feeling something off, Courtney hung up calmly before phoning Cameron.
After Cameron picked up the call, her voice had a hint of fatigue. Upon hearing what Courtney said, she instantly said in disbelief and shrilly, “You said that I had picked Tina up yesterday? I didn’t!”
As Cameron had just rushed a press release for a project overnight, she had planned to sleep as soon as she got off work, but Courtney’s words were like an adrenaline shot, completely dispelling her sleepiness.
“Come to the Duncans. We’ll talk further there.”
Feeling a sense of dread creeping from within, she said those words with great effort before hanging up, unrest slowly enveloping her.
When she reached there, Alexander and Cameron were already waiting for her in the reception room of the Duncan Family with solemn faces.
“Courtney, what did you mean on the phone? You were being so vague that it made me panic in fear.”
Seeing Courtney enter, Cameron quickly went up to her. On the way back, she was so lost that she also called for Alexander to come back.
Sitting down teary-eyed, Courtney took her phone from her bag and opened up the messenger app.
‘Tina was saying that she’s missing her godmother, so I picked her up to let her stay overnight at my place.’
‘OK.’
Cameron, who saw the conversation, jumped up from the sofa with wide eyes and said in disbelief, “It wasn’t me! I was on overtime all night yesterday and didn’t even go home, so how could I have sent you the message…”
Suddenly remembering something, Cameron had a terrifying thought flash through her mind.
“I went to the supermarket downstairs to buy some coffee. During that time, I had somehow lost my phone. It was a young lady that returned it to me just as I was about to leave the place,” saying that, she fished her phone out from her bag and opened the text log between her and Courtney, only for it to show a conversation from very long ago.
This time, Courtney was truly afraid. She felt that she needed to do something while a layer of cold sweat formed on her forehead after a brief spell of dizziness.
“Courtney…”
With his deep gaze, Alexander was worried about how these continuous blows affected her.
Hearing him call out, she tried her best to look up. With eyes full of pain, she matched Alexander’s gaze and said hoarsely, “Alexander, please save Tina…”
As Cameron wasn’t in the know, she naturally could not connect the previous events with Tina’s disappearance, so she comforted Courtney by saying, “We’d lost Tina when she was much younger. Since she is grown up now, we can try searching for her. Maybe things aren’t as complicated as we think…”
But her words did not enter Courtney’s ears. The latter was trying hard to make herself calm down when suddenly, an idea shot through her mind.
Folding her sleeves up, Courtney then pointed to the symbol on the post note and asked with teary eyes, “Have you seen this before?”
Closing her eyes, Cameron recalled her memories frantically before clapping.
“I remember now. When I was at the food section of the supermarket yesterday, I bumped into a man there, and his back, no, it was his neck that had this exact symbol.”
Her words were like a hammer that smashed Courtney’s chest, after which she picked up her phone and wanted to go out.
Her hasty footsteps were stopped by a low voice as Alexander stood up with pity in his eyes. But, he had to keep his cool at that moment and reminded Courtney, “You would only alert them by going to him now. He could be long gone from that supermarket by now. Finding Tina through the man isn’t the only way. I’ll be going to the school to see what information I can glean from there. Cameron, I want you to call the police now and accompany Courtney.”
“I’m going with you.”
As a torrent of emotions raged inside her, Courtney tugged on Alexander’s shirt with trembling hands. Alexander, who turned around and embraced her tightly, gave Courtney’s exhausted mental state an energy boost.
“Just wait for me to come back.”
Saying that confidently, he then left through the Duncans’ main entrance.
