Chapter 497 A Man

“Nathaniel, L...” Christina felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach in despair, causing her immense discomfort.

Nathaniel wrapped an arm around her shoulder and massaged her brows. “It’s going to be fine. Leave this to me.”

“But-”

“Take care of the kids. Trust me,” Nathaniel asserted.

Christina’s brows knitted together. Left with no other choice, she nodded in agreement. “Okay. Let’s keep in touch with each other.”

At that, Nathaniel spun on his heels and left with the file.

Christina felt a deep sense of remorse as she watched him walk away. She could tell that he had prepared the gifts with care, knowing the importance of their visit to the Gibson family.

Alas, all of his efforts were in vain, and it pained her to see him hurt in such a way.

Christina’s eyes were burning as she turned to look at Azure. “Grandma, you’ve disappointed me.”

Anya marched over to join Azure and gave Christina a dismissive look. “Don’t be naïve. The Hadley family is at odds with us.

How could you still defend Nathaniel at this juncture?” D “He’s my husband. Besides, that accident wasn’t his fault!” Christina protested as tears glistened in her eyes.

She felt like she had been betrayed by her own family.

Despite that, Azure maintained a stern and cold expression, her gaze filled with an icy resolve. She remained silent, showing no signs of remorse for using the kids as leverage to threaten Nathaniel.

Biting her lip. Christina demanded, “Lucas and Camila are your grandchildren. How could you use them. as pawns to fulfill your own desires? What will happen when they discover the truth when they’re older? Won’t they be furious with you?”

Isn’t she afraid the kids will blame her when they grow up?

Azure scowled. “That’s it. We’ll talk about that later. For now, he has to fulfill the agreement.”

She had made up her mind, so no one could persuade her otherwise.

Christina quickly ran after her. “Where are Lucas and Camila?”

As long as the kids were safe, she was fine with everything else.

Seeing Christina’s concern, Azure responded darkly, “Rest assured, they are safe. Just be patient and wait. I’m doing this for your own good, young lady.”

“Grandma, I know you’re upset, but you cannot-

Before Christina could finish her words, Anya shoved her away. “Grandma won’t tell you where the kids are. Just stay here and don’t cause a commotion With that. Anya held Azure and helped her up the stairs Disappointment flooded Christina as she watched them walk away Noticing that no cars had left the premises since her arrival, she realized that the children were still inside the expansive house However, finding their whereabouts within the vast residence posed a daunting challenge.

Nevertheless, Christina wasn’t about to give up.

I have five days to find the children and save them. If I succeed. Nathaniel won’t have to make that investment in the project. I can’t let him give away his hard-earned money to the Gibson family.

That night, Christina found it impossible to sleep. She spent the entire night tirelessly searching the vast Gibson residence.

However, with its numerous sections and locked rooms, her solo search proved challenging The butler had been instructed not to grant her access to any keys, further complicating her mission.

Christina’s search proved futile.

At dawn, she fell asleep out of exhaustion in one of the guest rooms, deciding to get some rest before continuing with her search.

Having learned of Christina’s relentless search, Azure took measures to ensure her plan remained undisturbed by arranging for someone to lock the guest room Christina was staying in from the outside. When Christina woke up around noon, she felt a pang of hunger and made her way to the door. To her dismay, it was locked from the outside.

I can’t believe they locked me up!

Christina pounded on the door angrily. “Open the door now! Open it!”

Alas, Christina’s desperate yells and pounding on the door went unanswered, echoing through the building with no one to hear or respond to her helpless pleas.

“Open the door! I need to find Lucas and Camila!”

Meanwhile, Anya was enjoying her lunch alone when the housekeeper reported to her, “Ms. Gibson, Ms. Steele has been locked up. She is crying and pounding on the door. Shall we release her?”

A smirk played on Anya’s lips. “Why should we release her? Ignore her and don’t bring her any food. She can starve for today.”

Christina’s tough. She didn’t die back at the cliff, so she won’t starve to her death this time, too.

The housekeeper dared not defy her order and nodded before leaving.

After finishing her lunch, Anya strolled out of the house and followed a path that led to the backyard. Her steps carried her to a storage room tucked away from plain sight.

She fished out the key and unlocked the door to see two kids huddled against each other.

They were none other than Lucas and Camila.

“Evil woman, let us out!” Lucas screamed in fury.

two mido à prisilia en fed de pi continuity. When theri asike they friend diemelten in the disde la condnes of this room Armen who did this to them After petting Ineked up in the dark for the whole night, Camila was trembling as the chung in tightly in Her voice was disoriented as die whispered. Lovas Feared Can you take me to Mommy?”

Anya shot them a glosting look as an iry grin played on her lips. “You got locked up as you were naughty Hote dere they treat my room at their playground! Serve them right?

Fury flashed in Lucas gaze “Evil lady, let us go! We want to see our mommy’ If Daddy finds out you’re been bullying us hell definitely make you pay””

Anya scoffed mockingly, her voice dripping with disdain. “Oh, how armusing. Your daddy is too preoccupied to come to your rescue! And as for your mommy, well, she hasn’t the faintest idea of your whereabouts. She won’t be able to find you?” Her terrifying laughter filled the air Camila burst into tears and kept asking for her mother. Lucas did his best to comfort his sister, but his efforts seemed futtle in soothing her distress Pleased. Anya spun on her heels to leave. In a sudden turn of events, a small figure dashed toward Anyha, delivering a forceful push that caught her off guard.

Taken by surprise, Anya stumbled forward before crashing to the ground, screaming out in anguish.

“Ow! Ow, my face hurts! You little b*stards, do you want me to punish you both?”

Without hesitation, Lucas took Camila’s hand and ran for the door. They both stepped on Anya’s back on the way out in their haste to flee the scene.

“Lucas, I’m scared Camila’s eyes welled up with tears, her rosy cheeks turning pale. It was a heart- wrenching sight to behold.

Lucas wiped her tears away gently. “Don’t be scared, Camila. Let’s go. We’ll be safe once we find Mommy!”

Mommy taught me to protect Camila at all times as I’m a man He grabbed her hand tightly and continued running, his voice echoing through the surroundings as he shouted for Christina.

“Mommy, where are you? Mommy!”