Chapter 8 The Fifth Day of the CEO's Disappearance
At night.
Jessica straightened up the bed in the neighboring children's room. Although the bed wasn't large, it was enough to fit both of them. Danielle was still small, so the two could sleep together comfortably.
However, Danielle's bathroom was exceedingly tiny. It had only a child-sized toilet and a miniature bathtub, and no shower head was installed.
If she wanted to take a shower, Jessica still had to use the one in the main bedroom.
She picked up her pajamas and headed out. She found Danielle, who had already bathed, sitting on the couch watching cartoons.
Jessica had been busy tidying up the room all day and hadn't hugged Danielle since she got back from preschool. She casually set her pajamas aside, then scooped up her little girl into her arms. She hugged and kissed her for what felt like ages, laughing together until Danielle was giggling nonstop. After another affectionate ruffle of her daughter's hair, Jessica stood and went to knock on the master bedroom door.
It was more of a formality to knock—after all, it was her house. After tapping lightly twice, she pushed the door open and entered.
Gabriel had just gotten out of bed and poured himself a glass of water when Jessica walked in to see the tall man standing in the room, dressed in a set of dark gray men's pajamas. "I just bought these pajamas at the supermarket on a whim. Didn't expect them to fit so well," she commented with a slight smile.
The man was clearly close to six feet three inches tall, and regardless of his attractiveness or physique, no clothes would look bad on him. His skin had the healthy hue of a European but was slightly paler, giving him an exceptionally clean and distinct look. His features were strikingly handsome, and although his thin lips were pale due to a serious injury, they did not detract from his overall handsomeness.
Gabriel casually picked up his glass, his demeanor quiet and indifferent. He took a sip of water before setting the glass down. "Need something?" he asked in a calm tone.
Jessica pointed toward the bathroom inside the room. "I need to take a shower."
The man looked at her as if he misunderstood, his eyebrows moving slightly as he glanced at her again.
Jessica clarified, "You haven't left this room since you got hurt, and you might not realize how small my place is. Since it's always just been me, there's only one bathroom. The past few days, when you've been unconscious, it didn't matter, but now that you're awake, could you please wait in the living room while I shower?"
Gabriel placed his glass on the table and, without saying a word, gave a faint nod. Despite his slow pace due to his injuries, he complied with her request and walked out.
As Jessica turned her head, she noticed that he hadn't forgotten to close the door behind him, and he left gently.
She appreciated his considerate and gentlemanly attitude. He didn't cause any noise or trouble and enjoyed the simple meals she prepared. His behavior didn't give her any reason to dislike him.
This calmed Jessica's otherwise frustrated mood a little, and without wasting any more time, she went straight into the bathroom.
The living room, indeed small as Jessica had described it, offered a full view of the house's end with just a glance. Including a child's room and kitchen, it was about 650 to 750 square feet. Every corner reflected the neatness an d warmth that the lady of the house brought to it.
Gabriel noticed a cartoon playing on the TV mounted on the living room wall. Bearing various aches and pains, he walked slowly over to the couch and turned to see Danielle, who was fast asleep on it.
He glanced at the animated show, where a pink little pig joyously called for her parents and noticed a thin blanket nearby. He picked it up and gently covered the little one.
Noticing the T.V. remote control set aside, he picked it up and switched the channel to Xyleria News.
He was currently without anything to connect to the outside world and had no intention of making contact just yet, so the only way to find out about Pegasus Global Holdings's current situation and the state of the Harriman family was through the Internet or television.
Given the prominence of Pegasus Global Holdings, news stations like Xyleria News and every Xyleria finance channel were sure to be replaying news of his accident over the next couple of days. Locating relevant news reports wasn't going to be a tall order.
"This just in: It has been five days since Pegasus Global Holdings CEO Gabriel's mysterious cliff fall, and the city has deployed various rescue teams working tirelessly to find him. Three days ago, a crashed vehicle was found 400 meters below the accident site. After examination, the vehicle was confirmed to be the CEO's, and the crash site was located at a forested resort area below the cliff. However, Gabriel is still missing. Below the site of the incident is a turbulent river..."
"Pegasus Global Holdings is one of the largest diversified holding companies in Europe, ranked at the top among the four major European financial groups, headquartering in Xyleria, with branches abroad in Washington, D.C., USA, and London, UK, and is currently a leading business giant in the country."
"Gabriel's disappearance is set to cause a storm in the business community, and the Harriman family has been so anxious that they have not been able to sleep for days, desperately hoping for Gabriel's safe return."
Media personnel couldn't enter the Harriman family's estate because its security system was highly sophisticated and kept rejecting requests for interviews. Thus, reporters were left to capture footage of the Harriman mansion from afar. The camera quickly panned away, and the reporter continued to share various speculations about the mystery of Gabriel's disappearance.
Gabriel watched expressionless as people speculated about his fate and even saw a representative from the Pegasus Global Holdings director's meeting crying and expressing concern on camera, which made the corner of his mouth twitch upwards into a cold, shallow smile.
"Danielle! Danielle."
Suddenly, Jessica's voice echoed through the room. Gabriel looked over at the Danielle, which had already fallen asleep on the couch, then turned to head back toward the bedroom door. Hearing that the voice was coming from the bathroom, he made sure it was safe to enter without seeing anything he shouldn't before opening the door.
The sound from the bathroom became clearer, "Danielle, can you bring me the pajamas from the couch? I left them there and forgot to bring them into the bathroom!"
Gabriel glanced once more at the white pajamas lying on the sofa. Hearing the woman's voice from the bathroom urging him again and seeing that Danielle was sound asleep on the couch, he walked back, picked up the pajamas, and returned to the bedroom before heading to the bathroom door.
