Chapter 53 Missing
Susan held Mary’s arm and walked her out. "Mrs. Thomas, lemme walk you out. Joshua’s already waiting outside."
Mary yanked her arm free. "No need, I got a driver. I will try to make myself scarce here since Michael doesn't seem keen to see me."
With that, she stormed out.
Susan only shut the door once Mary was out of sight.
Elizabeth headed back to her room, swapped out her dirty clothes, and went into the bathroom. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her swollen, aching cheek.
Looking in the mirror, she saw her left cheek was all red and puffy. Four clear finger marks were stamped on her face.
Elizabeth cupped some cold water in her hands and poured it over her cheek, instantly crying out in pain.
It was like flipping a switch.
Tears started streaming down Elizabeth’s face.
She looked at her messy reflection in the mirror, her eyes blurred with tears, and sobbed quietly.
She remembered her childhood, when Robert and Nancy were busting their butts to start their business, often leaving her alone at home. Later, as their business took off, they could give her plenty of pocket money, buy her lots of pretty clothes and yummy food.
But then, her parents started fighting every day, giving each other the cold shoulder. Then, Robert wasn't much around at home, and Nancy cried all the time. Eventually, Robert and Nancy split up, and Nancy moved out. Soon after, Robert married Jennifer.
Jennifer was a nightmare whenever Robert wasn’t home and threatened to beat Elizabeth up if she told on her.
And, Patricia was a bully and thief who would stole her clothes and shoes, cut up her dolls, and tore up her textbooks and notebooks.
On rainy days, she made her stand on the porch, not letting her come in to eat.
In winter, she’d punch holes in her shoes. The melted snow would seep in, giving her frostbite.
Jennifer often badmouthed her in front of Robert.
Patricia always told Robert that she was the one doing the bullying.
Gradually, Robert stopped caring about her. He let that wicked mother and daughter keep tormenting her.
Elizabeth felt like she was an orphan.
Finally, when she went to college, she could earn money to support herself.
She lived in the dorms every day, no longer needing to go back to that unwelcoming house.
During holidays, she didn’t go home, and Robert wouldn’t even notice she was missing.
In fact, he might’ve even felt they were better off without her.
Robert, Jeniffer and Patricia made a happy family.
Later, by chance, she met Anthony.
Anthony was drawn to her beauty.
He pulled out all the stops to win her over.
He took her to movies, art exhibitions, and gave her concert tickets.
When she worked part-time, he’d quietly wait for her, watching her silently.
During holidays, he took her out to have fun.
They watched the sunrise from the mountaintop and the sunset by the sea.
Anthony treated her like a queen, caring for her in every way. At that time, they were so in love that Elizabeth thought her painful days were finally over and she could look forward to a happy life.
Back then, Elizabeth really believed Anthony was her destiny. Who could’ve seen such a sudden change coming?
The Jones Group’s funds dried up, Robert got seriously ill and passed away suddenly.
And she was forced to marry Michael.
On her wedding day, she caught Anthony and Patricia together. Her genuine affection turned out to be a complete betrayal.
In fact, there had been signs all along.
Although Anthony treated her well, he never acknowledged their relationship publicly.
In three years together, he never mentioned her to his parents.
Elizabeth wondered why life had to be so rough. When would the dark days finally end? She lifted her head, trying to stop the tears, but they just kept coming like a busted dam.
Suddenly, something clicked. She gently touched her still-flat belly, and a wave of tenderness washed over her.
Yeah, she still had her babies.
She couldn’t give up. No matter how crappy life got, she had to hang in there and live well.
The mistakes were made by others. She hadn’t done anything wrong. So there was no need to punish herself for their screw-ups and make herself miserable.
No matter how awful Anthony was, he still had parents and a grandma who loved him.
Elizabeth thought she should hit up the hospital tomorrow for a check-up, see how the babies were doing.
She lowered her head, turned on the faucet again, and slowly applied cold water to her left cheek. Then she gently wiped the water and tears from her face with a towel, calming herself down.
The doc had said pregnant women shouldn’t get too emotional.
Mood swings could mess with the baby.
She walked out of the room, went to the kitchen, and poured herself a glass of warm water.
She opened the fridge, grabbed an ice pack, wrapped it in a towel, and then went back to her room. She lay down, placing the ice pack gently on her left cheek, and tried to fall asleep.
The next morning, Michael left the room and headed to the dining room for breakfast. Susan had set the table for him.
Michael picked up his utensils and asked, “Where’s Elizabeth? Why hasn’t she come out for breakfast?”
Susan replied, “Mr. Thomas, I’ll go check on Mrs. Thomas in her room. She usually gets up by now.”
A moment later, Susan returned with a worried look and said to Michael, “Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Thomas isn’t in her room.”
Michael looked up and instructed her, “Call her and ask where she is. It’s early, and she hasn’t had breakfast yet.”
Susan took out her phone and called Elizabeth.
“Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Thomas’s phone is unreachable,” she said, worried.
Michael stopped eating, frowned, and took out his own phone to dial Elizabeth’s number.
It didn't go through, either.
Michael stood up, called over his bodyguard, and asked, “Did you see Mrs. Thomas this morning?”
The bodyguard replied, “I’ll go ask the gatekeeper.”
A few minutes later, the bodyguard returned, “Mr. Thomas, the gatekeeper said Mrs. Thomas left the villa at 6:00 AM, carrying a luggage, like she was going on a trip.”
Michael said, “Find out Elizabeth’s mother’s phone number and address for me.”
The bodyguard went to carry out the order.
Susan asked, “Mr. Thomas, did Mrs. Thomas leave because she was upset about last night? Could she be thinking of doing something drastic? Her father’s passing has already made her very sad. I hope she doesn’t do anything foolish.”
Michael frowned deeply, wondering why Elizabeth had left so early. Was she afraid he’d find her, so she bailed while he was still asleep?
Last night, he knew Elizabeth was upset, and he wanted to comfort her but didn’t know how to start.
Because of Anthony, Michael was also pissed. He had hoped Elizabeth would come to him first to make peace.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth was also stubborn. And it just so happened that Mary had slapped her, probably adding fuel to the fire.
Elizabeth had probably never been slapped in public like that before. She must have been unable to accept it, so it was understandable that she ran away.
But where could she have gone?
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