Comforted by his words, Nathan leaned down and tenderly kissed Colby on the forehead.
âGood boy,â Nathan said warmly.
âIâll be back in the evening.
â
With a smile, Colby waved at Nathan and reassured him, âJust go.
Weâll be here waiting tonight.
â
Setting aside the fairy tale book, Destinee gently pointed to her cheek and teasingly remarked to Nathan, âDaddy, I want a kiss too.
â
Nathan strolled over, leaning in to gently kiss Destinee on the cheek.
She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, and planted a tender kiss on his face.
âDaddy, I understand youâre busy.
Iâll try to behave and not cause any trouble for you.
â
While Destinee mentioned âtryâ, it was unusual for such a mischief-maker to express such intentions.
Touched by the childrenâs words, Nathan felt a warmth in his heart, his eyes welling up with tears.
Struggling to hold back his tears, Nathan managed to speak a few words of concern in a steady voice before he departed.
Aldric followed him outside.
In a quiet plea, Nathan murmured, âIâm stretched thin these days.
When Iâm not around, please look after the kids for me.
â
Kyson had disappeared since he learned of Lucindaâs disappearance last night.
He hadnât returned home.
Sonny, Larry, and Lonnie were all tied up with major cases in Stastle, leaving Nathan to rely solely on Aldric.
Aldric spoke firmly.
âNathan, donât worry.
I recently completed a medical research project and Iâm not busy right now.
Iâll take good care of Colby and Destinee for you.
â
Nathan gave Aldric a reassuring pat on the shoulder before heading off to the National Security Bureau.
In the ward, turning his head to gaze out the window at the swaying banana trees, Colby mirrored Nathanâs serious expression.
Last night, when he wasnât quite asleep, he faintly heard the conversation between Nathan, Kyson, and Sonny.
It turned out Mommy hadnât returned to the Simmons family for some urgent matters.
She was missing.
Colby understood his daddyâs deep sadness.
He didnât want to burden him further during this difficult time.
He resolved to ensure his daddy had no worries about him and Destinee.
Only then could his daddy focus on finding Mommy as soon as possible.
Seated at the foot of the bed, Destinee was deeply absorbed in reading fairy tales.
It appeared that she was oblivious to everything else except for playing around.
Colby grabbed an orange from the bedside table and handed it to Destinee.
âDidnât you think breakfast was awful? This is sweet.
Have some, itâll fill you up.
â
*
Upon leaving the lab, Nathan promptly sought out Gregory.
Gregory remained focused on restoring and repairing the phone Nathan had sent over the previous night.
The restoration was nearly complete; only a few final steps remained before he could attempt to power it on.
Nathan refrained from disturbing him and waited patiently nearby for ten minutes.
âMr.
Payne, itâs finished.
â
Gregory handed over the barely pieced-together phone proudly, saying, âIt was completely broken, but luckily, the data chip is intact.
I replaced the screen and other hardware, so while it doesnât look the same as before, you can still access the original information on the phone.
â
Nathan promptly took the phone and accessed the contacts.
He saved all the recent call records and discovered two phone numbers associated with suspicious calls made by the phoneâs owner.
The phone owner didnât frequently call the two numbers, but each call lasted more than five minutes whenever dialed.