Ryan had never been involved in the companyâs operations because he worked for the government. This was his first time entering the Carousel Group headquarter. Also, he had brought a group of subordinates with him âWhat brings you here, Ryan? I can handle it all. You can go back home now.â Jennie appeared nervous, fearful that Ryan would ruin his career on impulse âItâs okay, Mom,â Ryan said, clutching his motherâs hand âThis is an internal meeting of the groupâs board members, Mr. Tyler Why did you suddenly break in with government officials? What do you want? Let me tell you, what youâre doing is illegal!â One of the board members said to Ryan in dissatisfaction âI havenât told you what Fm going to do yet. Why are you accusing me? If you really think Iâm abusing my power, please report me. I am willing to accept all investigations,â Ryan turned to face everyone and said, âI brought people here today because the Carousel Group is suspected of disrupting the stock market. So, I need all of you to cooperate with the investigation. The groupâs operations will be halted until the investigation is over.â
Hearing that, everyone was shocked. Then another board member stood up and snapped, âNo way! The Carousel Group is a publicly traded corporation. So, if we stop all of our operations, we will lose a large sum of money every day. The group paid a lot of money every day to keep it running. And we will not be able to survive a week if we suspend all of our operations. Youâre threatening us!â
562 Matthew, Where Are You? dl âNot at all. This investigation follows the formal procedure. We will investigate each of you within the next week. Remember that you should not use tricks to get away with it,â With composure, Ryan replied to the board member with contempt in his eyes. And he thought to himself, Most of you are involved in shady dealings. And I guess that none of you expected that I would look into these things. Iâm sure I will dig out a lot of dirty secrets through this investigation eer Late at night, a cab pulled up in front of a grocery store in the town near where the incident occurred. After that, Tammy, Alicia, and Natalie stepped out of the cab âCan you stay here and wait for us?â Tammy asked the driver The driver pressed his hand against the window and asked, âHow long do you want me to wait for you? Itâs quite a distance from downtown Birmingham.â
Tammy handed him some cash from her purse. She said, âWill this make you change your mind? Iâll give you more if you stay here for us.â
The driver was taken aback. He thought, You must come froma rich family. Didnât your parents ever tell you not to show strangers how rich you were? You should feel lucky that Iâm not a bad guy With that in mind, the driver answered, âIâm not interested in your money, so keep it to yourself. Iâll be waiting for you here.
Please come back soon.â
Smiling, the girls all thanked him gratefully. The driver then put on his sunglasses and leaned back in his seat. Gradually, he was lost in thought By the time the three of them arrived at the town, it was already getting dark. As they walked in the town, Alicia clutched Tammyâs arm 562 Matthew, Where Are You? â along the way. She asked, âTammy, are you sure your brother is in this town?â
âFor sure. Isabella would never lie to me.â
âWhy donât you tell everyone where Isabella is, Tammy? Everyone is looking for her like crazy.â
âIâm sorry, but I couldnât betray her. Isabella refused to let me tell anyone. She said that if I told you guys, she would immediately leave again. Iâd be worried if I couldnât reach her.â
âIsabella is a grown-up! Why is she still doing childish things like running away from home?â
âCome on, we need to focus on what matters most now. Plus, we wouldnât have known where my brother is now if Isabella hadnât run away.â
âAre you sure this is the right way?â Looking around vigilantly, Alicia asked in a trembling voice while clutching Tammyâs arm more tightly âIâm sure. Isabella mentioned a tea shop at the end of an alley near the grocery store. Weâll see a small courtyard if we go any further in, and thatâs where she said Matthew would be.â
Shortly after, the three arrived at their destination. The courtyardâs wall of the house was somewhat high, and the gate was locked âLetâs go over the wall,â Tammy said, patting the wall Natalie drew Tammy back and said, âNo, we canât go in together. We must leave someone outside to keep an eye in case something happens.â
âCan you stay here?*â Tammy spared a glance at Natalie and said, âI donât think youâre capable of going over the wall. Iâll get in with Alicia.â
âIâve recently gained some weight, so I canât climb the tree,â Natalie 562 Matthew, Where Are You? said awkwardly âOh, please! You couldnât even climb a tree when you were a kid,â Rolling her eyes at Natalie, Tammy immediately climbed the tree, with Alicia close behind âOuch!â Tammy exclaimed after leaping from the wall âWhatâs the matter?â Alicia sat against the wall, staring down, wondering what was wrong with Tammy. But she couldnât see anything because it was so dark âI think Iâve broken my ankle,â Clenching her teeth in pain, Tammy replied âHuh? Are you all right?â
âIâm fine! Watch out when youâre about to land. Thereâs a pool of water against the wall!â
âOkay.â As Alicia jumped off the wall, she discovered that Tammy was sitting on the ground. And she asked her with concern, âAre you all right?â
âI canât stand up now.â
Hearing that, Alicia frowned. She looked around the room and noticed a bright light. âSomeone is in there.â
âShh! Can you find my brother on your own? Iâll figure out a way out later.â Tammy asked Alicia knew this was the only option, so she entered the courtyard and walked alone along the wall. Then she found that only two rooms had their lights turned on. Slowly and carefully, she approached the door of one room and pressed her ear against it, trying to eavesdrop on the people in the room âDoes this kid really forget everything?â
562 Matthew, Where Are You?
âIt appears so.â
âSo, do we still need to give him sleeping pills?â
âHell, yeah! Our boss said that this child is super smart. And if something bad happens to him, we wonât be able to take responsibility.â
âOkay, Iâll just put some medicine into his meal later. If he truly lost his memory, he will eat whatever we give him.â
They were talking about Matthew! It seems that heâs in the other room. I need to go findhim now! At that thought, Alicia dashed into the other room while the two men were still talking. However, the next second, she nearly screamed out loud as she pushed the door open âShhh!â Matthew dragged her into the room while covering her mouth. He let go of her after a short while, asking, âWhat are you doing here?â
Alicia exhaled deeply and replied, âIâm not the only one who came here! Tammy and Natalie are here too. I just overheard the bad guys talking about giving you sleeping pills. You...â
Just as Natalie was about to continue, she heard the sound of footsteps outside. And both of them were taken aback Before opening the door, Matthew pushed Alicia into the closet âShhh! Be quiet!â He muttered Following that, a man came into the room and asked Matthew, âAre you feeling better?â
Matthew sat up in bed, staring blankly at him âYou need to eat more, kid. Itâs the only way youâll get better.
Through a gap in the closet, Alicia saw the man hand Matthew a plate of food. Matthew then took a big bite of food Donât eat it, Matthew! They put drugs in there. Alicia thought After seeing Matthew finish his meal, the man was ready to leave âYouâd better get some rest tonight. Weâre leaving here tomorrow.â
âWhere are we going?â Frowning, Matthew asked âHome. Youâve been wondering when weâre going to take you home, havenât you? Weâre sending you home tomorrow.â
Matthew nodded. And he stood up and walked around the room after the man had gone. Seeing that, Alicia attempted to get out of the closet, but Matthew shut the door and stopped her. With a long face, he said to Alicia, âDonât make a sound.â
Before leaving, the man stood in the doorway for a long time. And Matthew opened the locker door after making sure no one was outside âAre you all right? âAlicia expressed her concern as soon as she got out of the closet, ââSpit it out! They out some sleeping pills the dishes!â
âItâs too late,â Matthew said, frowning, âTve been in this room every day for the last few days. And I would sleep until noon the next day after each dinner, so of course, I know whatâs in the meal. However, if I refuse to eat, they will be suspicious.â
âTammy and Natalie are outside waiting. Iâll get you out of here,â Alicia said with determination âIâm sorry, but I canât,â Shaking his head in despair, Matthew replied