Chapter 198 The two finally got through on the phone
Diana asked anxiously, "Gabriel, where are you going?"
She blurted out, "Your wounds haven't healed yet, slow down!"
Diana wheeled herself after Gabriel, anxiety etched on her face.
Meanwhile, Jessica was losing it.
Five calls, all ignored.
She put her phone down, worry and disappointment were clear as day.
Grace saw her face and got it instantly. She asked, "Still no answer?"
"Yeah," Jessica answered and sighed, defeated.
Panic was setting in, and she was a mess.
Jessica contemplated anxiously, "Grace, it's been two days. No calls, no Facebook messages. Do you think something happened to him?"
The thought made Jessica even more anxious.
The more she dwelled on it, the more she freaked out.
Jessica remarked, "He's always been reliable and serious about work. Disappearing like this isn't him."
"Have you reached out to anyone else close to him? Maybe Gabriel contacted someone else?" Grace suggested.
Jessica explained, "I talked to Oscar, but he can't reach him either. I don't want to ask Jonah and Danielle. If something did happen to Gabriel, they wouldn't handle it well, and it'd just make things worse."
She added impatiently, "No, Grace, I can't just sit here. I need to go find him."
Jessica started packing, ready to leave.
Grace put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
Grace urged, "Okay, Jessica, don't rush. Panicking won't help. Let's go over it again. When did you last hear from Gabriel? Any signs something was off?"
Jessica thought hard. She replied, "It was two days ago in the afternoon. He called to comfort me about Dr. Smith harassing me. We had a good chat, then I took a nap, and I couldn't reach him after that."
Grace's heart skipped a beat. She remembered the knocking on Gabriel's door and what he said on the phone.
Gabriel grumbled over the phone, "Why again?"
Grace wondered, ‘Again?’
Who was Gabriel talking about?
Grace felt things were getting chaotic and couldn't make sense of it.
The knocking sound that night gave her a bad feeling.
She didn't want to tell Jessica and make her more anxious.
Grace said, "Jessica, calm down. I'll call Quentin. He might have more ideas."
Jessica replied helplessly, "Okay."
Grace helped Jessica sit on the couch and called Quentin.
"Still no contact?" Quentin remarked and was surprised.
Grace had told him about Gabriel yesterday. He had called too, but there was no answer.
He thought Gabriel might be dealing with a tough client or contract, maybe even blocking signals for confidentiality.
But now, realizing Gabriel was still unreachable, Quentin knew it was serious.
Quentin informed, "Okay, tell Jessica to wait. I'll get someone on it right away."
Grace insisted, "Yeah, hurry. Jessica's worried sick."
After hanging up, Quentin called Gabriel.
He expected no answer or a dead phone.
To his surprise, the call connected immediately.
"What's going on? Grace said you were missing, and Jessica's worried sick," Quentin cut straight to the chase.
Gabriel answered, "There was a bit of an issue. My phone just got service. I'll call Jessica right away."
Quentin replied, "Alright."
After hanging up, Gabriel struggled to put on the white shirt he'd borrowed from the hospital. His hands were clumsy with all the bandages, making it a slow process.
But Gabriel couldn't afford to be slow. He needed to call Jessica back ASAP, or she'd worry even more. Just thinking about her anxious face made his heart ache.
Diana, watching him struggle, finally couldn't take it anymore. She offered, "Gabriel, let me help you."
He'd already refused her help once, but now his movements were so forceful that he was loosening bandages and reopening wounds. Fresh blood seeped through the white fabric, a shocking sight.
Though his injuries weren't life-threatening, they were bad enough to need proper rest.
"No need, I can do it myself," Gabriel insisted.
Diana was persistent. She wheeled herself in front of him and looked up.
Diana reasoned, "I know you want to put on the shirt so Jessica won't see your injuries and worry. But your bandages are bleeding. If you keep this up, the blood will seep through, and she'll see it anyway. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose?"
She added, "Don't worry, I'm just helping you put on a shirt, nothing more."
Gabriel's expression softened. He handed the shirt to Diana.
"Sit on the chair," she instructed.
With her help, Gabriel quickly got the shirt on. It wasn't as neat due to the bandages, but his good physique made it hard to notice on a phone call.
After a quick check, Gabriel called Jessica back. He opted for a regular call, not a video call, to avoid her noticing anything unusual. But if she insisted on a video call, he was ready to switch.
When Jessica saw Gabriel's name on her screen, she could hardly believe it. She held her phone, thinking she might be dreaming.
"Grace, it's Gabriel. He's calling," she said, her voice trembling.
Grace reacted quickly. "Answer it, hurry!"
Jessica replied anxiously, "I'm scared. What if it's not him? What if it's bad news?"
Grace understood. When someone’s been missing, a call often means identifying a body. Jessica was terrified of that.
The phone kept ringing.
Taking a deep breath, Jessica picked up the call. She prayed desperately: Gabriel, it has to be you. You have to be okay!
With trembling hands, she slid to answer and held the phone to her ear, holding her breath.
