Chapter 159: Chapter 159



Jessica didn’t mince words and said what was in her heart, “I don’t know what’s going on between you and Dolores. I just think, if you and Dolores can’t be together, then I want the kids to be raised by her and me…”

Jessica’s mind had traveled far enough, she had thought about it too much.

If Dolores could make a home with Matthew, it would be good. If not, she hoped Matthew wouldn’t try to win custody of the children.

If he really wanted to win, she and Dolores were never going to be able to win.

So she clearly expressed her feeling beforehand.

“She and I did not file for divorce.” Although it wasn’t an explanation, it was still better to explain, “We are still husband and wife in the eyes of the law. I like your daughter, not because she gave birth to my children, but because I like her for who she is.”

Jessica sighed in relief. This was, of course, good.

She just didn’t know how to respond to his frankness.

“I have to go to Country A for a business trip, she’s coming with me. We may not be back for a couple of days and we’ll have to bother her with Samuel and Simona. I have arranged for someone outside the villa, if you need to go out, take them with you.” He explained.

He still hadn’t found Dolores. He was afraid Jessica would worry and the children would be looking for her too.

gⱯlnσν𝓮𝓁s․com is where magic happens So, deliberately, he told Jessica that she was going on a business trip with him.

“It’s okay, I’ll take care of them.”

After talking to him, Jessica felt much better.

“Simona…”

“She’s in my room.” Jessica seemed to know what he was going to ask, so she answered quickly, “Last night she woke up calling Dolores, I couldn’t do anything but take her to my room to sleep. I calmed her down for a long time before she finally fell asleep. Right now she should still be sleeping.”

Before she finished speaking, they heard a soft voice, “Mom…. Dad.”

She was wearing pajamas with little yellow ducks printed on them, her skin was white and soft. With her hair messy and her face white, Simona darted toward Matthew, calling sweetly, “Daddy…”

Matthew scooped her up in his arms.

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, as if making up for Samuel not letting her be near her father, “I missed you.”

In truth, she was afraid Matthew would be angry with her and not want her anymore.

Her desire to please him somehow was hidden in her voice.

Matthew pushed her hair back from her forehead, exposing her full face. Her broad forehead, large watery eyes and innocent face looked very pretty.

He rubbed his thumb on her cheek, “Did you miss me, where?”

Simona rolled her little eyes and clutched her chest, pointing to her heart, “I missed you in my heart.”

“Didn’t Mommy come back with you?”

Unable to find Dolores, her eyes searched everywhere.

Matthew’s throat constricted, his face still calm, “Your mommy had something to do, so she didn’t come back…”

At that moment, the phone in Matthew’s pocket vibrated.

He pulled it out and looked at it. It was a call from Boyce. He didn’t answer it right away. Instead, he set Simona down and patted her on the head, “Dad has to take a call.”

Simona was obedient, then Jessica came over and said, “I’ll take her to wash and change her clothes.”

“That will be fine.” Matthew nodded.

Seeing Jessica take Simona into the room, Matthew walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to answer the call.

When the call connected, “We’ve found her.”

It was as if an electric current had coursed through his entire body, stimulating every cell in Matthew’s body.

Boyce said he had found her?

His pupils were very dark. He thought he was acting very calm, but his voice wasn’t at all when he asked, “Where is she now?”

“Out of town. I’ll send you the location.”

When the call disconnected, Matthew received Boyce’s location information.

He opened the location. At that moment, Simona poked her head out of the room, “Dad, are you coming out?”

Matthew paused and turned to look at her, “Yes, I’m going out.”

“When will you be back?” asked Simona.

“I’ll be back as soon as I finish my work.”

Matthew didn’t give her a specific time. He didn’t know how long it would take and didn’t want to disappoint her.

“So, will you be back with Mom?”. asked Simona again.

“Yes.” He made the sound from deep in his chest, muffled, but remarkably firm.

Simona smiled, showing a row of small white teeth, her eyes curved into twinkling half moons, “Then I’ll wait for mom and dad to get back together.”

Matthew pondered for two seconds and then said, “Okay.”

He walked over and squatted down in front of her. He looked down at her and rubbed her hair messily.

Simona tilted her head and blinked sympathetically, “Are you looking at how beautiful I am?”.

Her voice was husky: “My daughter is the most beautiful!”.

“Do I look more like mom or dad?” Simona grabbed his arm, wanting to ask him to spend more time with her.

Looking closely at her face, the nose, mouth, eyebrows and eyes resembled Dolores’.

Especially when she laughed, her eyes crinkled into a crescent shape.

“You look like Mom and me too.”

“Good now.” Knowing Simona’s wishes, Jessica picked her up, “Your daddy has something to do. Come with me and change your clothes.”

Simona’s face immediately fell and she pursed her lips, “I just want to stay with daddy for a while.”

“He’ll be back soon.” Jessica cajoled her.

Taking one last look around the house, Matthew walked out of the villa, got into the car and turned on the Bluetooth on his phone and connected the location to the car’s GPS.

He started the car quickly and drove to the destination.

The sky was getting brighter and brighter, and by the time he arrived, the sun had risen and the clouds in the east looked red as if they were on fire. The morning fog had disappeared and life seemed to have returned to normal.

When the car reached its destination, he saw a burned-out van parked in the open field on the outskirts of town and surrounded by a police cordon.

He didn’t know why, but the closer he got, the more nervous his heart felt.

Maria didn’t hurt him, Dolores wasn’t hurt, was she?

He had no idea.

His usual calm pace was a bit of a mess. Boyce lifted the cord and stepped out from under it, “Here she is!”.

“Where is she?”

“In my car.” Boyce walked to his car and opened the door to reveal a slender figure huddled in the back seat. Her hair was a mess and her face was dirty, but otherwise she looked unharmed. Matthew breathed a sigh of relief.

“Fortunately, she’s okay.” Boyce felt grateful, “She must be so tired, she’s overslept.”

He closed the car door, apparently afraid to wake the woman in the car, “You can take my car, I’ll take yours in a little while.” Boyce held out his car keys.

Matthew didn’t answer him, but asked in turn, “What’s the situation now?”.

When we arrived, the van was on fire and she had twisted her foot and fallen not far from the van. She was awake and said someone wanted to burn her to death and had tied her to the seat. She was able to free herself and run away just….”.

Matthew’s hands suddenly clenched into fists, “Wasn’t anyone else here at the time?”

“No, whoever it was must have left after setting fire to it. I sent people out to see if anyone could be found nearby.” Boyce knew that no one knew when that person had left and it was almost impossible to find them. “Fortunately she’s okay and we also have Maria on our hands, so it’s no big deal.”

Matthew frowned slightly, doubts rising in his heart.

“Why don’t you take her to the hospital to get her foot wound checked out.”

Boyce handed him the car key again. “At the time, she said she was fine, so I didn’t call an ambulance.”

This time, Matthew took the keys and got into the car. He took Dolores to the hospital to be checked out.

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