Chapter 273: Your Son
A few minutes later, the restroom door finally opened, and Arya Stark quickly went to look for Emma.
"Have you seen my child?" she asked the stranger who helped her with the door.
The woman shook her head. "When I came in, I just heard you shouting."
Arya Stark's face went pale.
Ethan had just come out when he saw Grandma Qu running out in a panic.
"Grandma," he said.
Hearing Ethan's voice, Arya Stark turned back.
"Have you seen Emma?"
"Emma is missing?!" Sophia was on the verge of a breakdown when she heard that Emma was gone—a string in her mind snapped.
Two bodyguards sensed that something was wrong and hurried over to inquire.
Arya Stark relayed what had happened in the restroom.
Colin quickly grasped the situation and asked the restaurant manager to check the surveillance cameras, while one bodyguard stayed to protect Sophia and Ethan and the other went to search.
Sophia's hands trembled as she took out her phone to call the police; the phone nearly slipped to the ground as she struggled to breathe deeply and stay calm.
Perhaps Emma was just being mischievous, attracted by something fun, and would return soon.
The events unfolded rapidly. After reviewing the surveillance footage, Colin's expression darkened.
Half a minute after Arya Stark and Emma entered the restroom, a janitor with a trash cart had gone in, and three minutes later, left pushing the cart.
The manager scrutinized the footage for a while before realizing, "That's not our janitor!"
Therefore, Emma must have been drugged and taken away in the trash cart!
Someone from the kitchen rushed over: "Manager, something bad happened. Sister Lee was found knocked out in the storeroom."
Sister Lee was the restaurant's actual janitor.
Gabriel was driving; that day, after he had refused Sophia's request to put herself in danger, he had arranged for someone to secretly protect her.
This time, the person he'd sent was careful not to let Sophia notice.
He witnessed everything that happened at the restaurant, and quickly called the boss.
"Boss, Miss Kelly's child is missing."
Gabriel gripped the steering wheel tightly, almost slamming on the brakes.
How could Sam be missing?
Did Sophia go to the old house today to take Sam out to play?
"Find people, now!"
Gabriel hung up the phone and then called Alex, followed by a call to the police station, and finally dialed the old manor house.
The person who answered the call, Betty, looked confused, "The young master is at home."
"Sam is at home?" Gabriel thought he had heard wrong.
"Yes, the young master has been at home all day and hasn't gone out; he's currently dining with Madam."
If Sam was at home, safe and sound, what was this about Sophia's child going missing?
Could it be Emma?
"Betty, activate the security system immediately!" Gabriel commanded.
Betty hesitated for a second then responded with a firm, "Yes!"
Once the Lancaster family's estate security system was activated, no one could get in or out, not even a mosquito.
Sophia tried calling Gabriel twice, but the line was busy.
Just as she was about to lose hope, Gabriel returned her call.
"Gabriel, Emma was taken away at the XX restaurant. Please, you must save Emma; we can't let anything happen to her..." Her voice choked up as she spoke, drastically holding back her tears.
She realized that the only person she could rely on now was Gabriel, the person she never wanted to see in her life, the one she utterly despised.
The restaurant was located on the outskirts, and she had no idea where Emma could be taken or what could happen to her during the time it would take for the police to arrive.
"I got it; just stay calm and wait there for me, I will be there soon," Gabriel said in a deep and calm voice that steadied Sophia's trembling heart.
Stark Arya was filled with regret. If only she had known, she would have stayed with Emma, not taking her eyes off her for a second.
"Colin, call your grandmother and ask her to get Uncle Sawyer's help in searching for people."
"Alright."
Colin walked aside to call Grandmother Jekyll.
Gabriel arrived at the restaurant with the police; Sophia was searching outside.
Ethan was sitting quietly on the side with an iPad, his eyes brimming with tears, fiercely holding back his worry and tears, not letting his concern cloud his judgment, or tears blur his sight.
He and Emma had never been apart, always together like shadows. Now that Emma had been kidnapped alone, she must have been very, very scared.
Ethan was desperately using his prodigious skills to track down Emma's whereabouts.
The police began their investigation while Gabriel found Sophia in the vicinity.
Sophia had calmed down and was using her phone to ask everyone she encountered.
Finally, someone mentioned seeing a car with no license plate passing by.
"Sophia," Gabriel called out, running up to her, out of breath and grabbing her hand.
"I found out something," Gabriel shared, "they saw an unlicensed car passing on this road. Emma must have been taken by the people in that car."
"I'm aware. Let's head back to the diner and leave this to the professionals in law enforcement."
"Okay."
Sophia realized that her own haste would be futile and might even complicate things for the police, so she obediently followed Gabriel back to the diner and relayed the information she had gathered to the officers.
The police had already reached out to the traffic cops and begun reviewing surveillance footage from various streets.
Suddenly, Ethan bolted upright.
"I've got it; they're heading towards East Lake Road."
Ethan rushed forward to show the police the screen on his iPad. The officers looked at the boy in astonishment and then reached out to the traffic cops in that district, confirming Ethan was correct.
"Let's get going now!"
"I'm coming, too!" Ethan insisted.
"Kid, it's too dangerous. You can't come," the officer refused.
"If you take me, I can track down Emma's location faster."
"But—"
"They've passed East Lake Road now; they're heading to Westfield Road."
"Let's move!"
Sophia clutched Gabriel's arm, her eyes brimming with tears as she pleaded, "You have to find Emma, and keep Ethan safe."
Gabriel nodded solemnly, shook off her hand, and turned away.
"Alex, stay behind!"
"Yes, sir!"
Having Ethan along could provide clues for the police, but he was still a child, and Sophia was worried. Yet, if she went along, she would only add to the burden on the police.
She knew she had to trust the police and Gabriel.
Alex approached, "Miss Kelly, let me take you home to wait for news."
"Alright."
Back at her place in Blue End, Stark Arya, uneasy about the situation, decided to stay with Sophia.
In the car, Gabriel kept casting thoughtful glances at Ethan.
Amid the tension, the team leader tried to ease the atmosphere and said, "CEO Lancaster, your son is incredibly smart. How did you raise him?"
Gabriel turned to him with a stormy look in his eyes that startled the team leader.
Did he say something wrong? Why such a severe reaction?
"What did you say?" Gabriel asked, each word measured.
"I said your son is very smart."
"My son?"
"Yeah, you two look so much alike. Aren't you father and son?"
Boom, it was as if something exploded inside Gabriel's mind.
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