Chapter 768

After a brief hesitation, Charles merely muted his phone, choosing neither to answer nor reject the call.

Benedict, who had noticed his godfather’s actions, instantly pursed his lips. “Your lady’s calling you, isn’t she? I can’t believe you have the guts to ignore her, Charles. How did a lousy man like you even get yourself a wife?”

Charles felt a warm blush rise to his cheeks, but unfortunately, Benedict wasn’t done with his lecture.

“In any case, don’t you think you should return her call? She will be so worried if she doesn’t hear back from you. As a man, you ought to cherish and dote on your woman. Understood?” the latter chided, looking very authoritative with a stern expression and his arms folded.

It was the first time Charles found Benedict so adorable, and he had to do everything he could to hold in his laughter.

“You’re right, Benny. I’ll send her a text,” he replied good-naturedly before texting Whitney about not returning to the Newton residence that night.

With that done, he turned off the screen and casually set the phone on the bedside table.

Meanwhile, Zendaya had gotten tired from playing by the window and rubbed her eyes.

“I’m sleepy, Uncle Charles. I want to go home,” the little girl mumbled wearily as she turned to look at Charles.

Upon hearing that, the man hastily wrapped a tissue around the cut on his fingertip and walked to the window to carry her.

“Be good, Zendy. We won’t be returning to Harrick Villa tonight. I’ll sleep with you, okay?”

Zendaya pouted and squirmed slightly in Charles’ arms. “Where’s Daddy? Where’s Mommy? I want to hug Mommy to sleep… I can’t fall asleep without her.”

As could be seen, children were easygoing during the day, but when it came to bedtime, their stubbornness would very quickly go off the charts.

No matter how much Charles coaxed and cajoled Zendaya, the latter continued to ask for Gwendolyn.

“It’s okay if Daddy isn’t here, but I want Mommy! Why can’t Benny and I go home tonight?” she whimpered, sniffling quietly as tears rolled down her cheeks. “D-Do Daddy and Mommy not want me anymore? Is that why they aren’t letting me go home?”

Needless to say, the sight of Zendaya bawling her eyes out tugged at Charles’ heartstrings.

Oh, dear… I’ve never tucked Zendy into bed before. What am I supposed to do?

Left with no other option, Charles begrudgingly called Cedrick, only to realize the latter’s phone was off.

He quickly sent a text over, but even so, there was still no reply.

Huh? What on earth is Cedrick up to?

Quick-witted as ever, Zendaya eavesdropped on the phone call and turned sullen. “Did Daddy turn off his phone? Does he really not want me anymore?”

Benedict, too, wore a grim expression on his face. Neither of them had seen Gwendolyn or Cedrick the entire day, and it was beginning to feel like they had gotten abandoned.

“Uncle Charles, can you take me to find Mommy? I want to sleep with Mommy. I want to hear her bedtime stories…” Zendaya said stubbornly as she wiped away her tears and put on a brave front.

“There’s a lot to do at the Federal Bureau of Investigation today, so your father can’t come,” Charles coaxed. “It’s pouring outside, and I don’t know where he is. Besides, Salinsburgh has been pretty chaotic lately. If you wander about, you might meet the bad guys who devour little kids.”

Alas, Zendaya was unfazed. “Hmph! If I run into those bad guys, I’ll bite them! I want to join the army when I grow up. I want the strength and skills to protect Benny and Mommy!”

Despite being secretly happy with what his sister had said, Benedict cocked his eyebrows in cold aloofness. “Who needs your protection? Even if I’m not physically strong, I’d still be smarter than you.”

Instead of retaliating, Zendaya clung to Charles’ arm and stared at him with big, doe eyes. “Uncle Charles, can you take me to look for Mommy? Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep tonight…”

Charles sighed and dialed Gwendolyn’s number, but to his surprise, her phone was unreachable too.

What the h*ll… What’s up with these two? Did they plan this? Why else is one phone turned off and the other on airplane mode?

“There, there, Zendy. Be good,” Charles said gently amid the little girl’s muffled sobs. “How about I read you a bedtime story tonight? What would you like to listen to? I’ve never tucked you into bed before, and I’d love to try it. Will you give me a chance?”

For a moment, Zendaya felt torn and didn’t know what to say.

Hmm… Uncle Charles would be sad if I turned him down, wouldn’t he?

A heavy silence fell upon the ward, making Charles even more anxious. Oh, my goodness. I don’t know what to do! I might be able to coax Zendy to sleep, but what about Benny? I’m sure he’ll kick up a fuss too. I know Zendy listens to me, but the same can’t be said for Benny… Argh! There’s no way I can tuck them in together.

Charles was still at a loss when Nico suddenly returned to the ward with two large suitcases.

Both suitcases were filled to the brim with the children’s clothes, and it seemed as if the latter had emptied their entire closets into them.

He didn’t know how long the warning alert would last, so he decided to err on the side of caution and brought the kids’ fall and winter clothes.

Now that Nico was around, Charles felt a load off his shoulders as the men could split the task of coaxing the children to sleep.

As promised, Charles took Zendaya into an empty ward and read her a fairy tale he had found online.

“Just like that, the princess and the prince lived happily ever after…”

As soon as the story ended, Zendaya frowned, still alert and fully awake.

“Uncle Charles, you read stories like you’re chanting scriptures. I didn’t enjoy it. What should we do now?”

Speechless, Charles felt the corners of his lips twitching ever so slightly.

Unbeknownst to him and Nico, their long, arduous night with the kids had only just begun…

Meanwhile, in Cedrick’s office at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the man sat at the table in a cloud of smoke that made him look even more somber.

It was already late at night, yet there was still no information on Gwendolyn’s whereabouts. How, then, could he sleep?

Within seconds, two cigarette butts were added to the ashtray, and it was clear that Cedrick had no intention of stopping his endeavor.

He needed to keep himself awake to deal with any unexpected problems, including the safety of Gwendolyn.

It had been raining since evening, and the dreadful weather showed no signs of letting up anytime soon.

As Cedrick continued to listen to the falling rain, he couldn’t help but think of Gwendolyn. Oh, where could she be? Is she drenched? Did anyone threaten her? I wish I had answers…

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Just then, frantic knocks at the door rang out, and a panic-stricken Swain hurriedly entered the room.

“Boss! The officer keeping tabs on Mrs. Jenson’s phone location said it has finally come online!”

Cedrick instantly jumped to his feet and tossed the cigarette in his hand away. “Where is she?”

“Even though the signal’s weak, we managed to place her along Xanthon Highway on the outskirts of Salinsburgh ten minutes ago! Her phone was online then!”

Without further ado, Cedrick strode out of his office. “Get the car. We’re going to Xanthon Highway.”

At the same time, he continued calling Gwendolyn’s number, only to be notified that her number was out of the network coverage area.

“Boss!” Swain exclaimed as he tried to stop the man. “It’s late, and even if we sped the entire way, it’d still take us over an hour to reach Xanthon Highway. Besides, don’t you think it’s odd? Mrs. Jenson’s car fell into the canyon about one hundred meters away from Orchidbay Tunnel, so how did she end up at Xanthon Highway in just a few hours? Who could have taken her there?”

Alas, Cedrick remained resolute and continued walking. “I don’t want to care about that for now. Since we’ve finally pinpointed her location, I’ll need to check out the area myself.”

Unable to put his mind at ease, Swain ordered a small squad and five technicals to follow along. After all, who knew what might happen?