Chapter 83 Angela's Disappearance
Haley had finished discussing the hiring matters with Justin and was preparing to have a cup of coffee. Her phone began buzzing urgently on the table. She glanced at it and saw it was Heidi. The children had been in preschool for some time, and Heidi had never contacted her during school hours.
Haley put down her cup and answered the call. "Heidi?"
“Ms. DeRoss, something has happened …" Heidi's voice tremble, "Angela is missing."
"What did you say?!" Haley's voice suddenly rose. She found a quieter place and tried to remain calm. "Heidi, what happened? Please tell me slowly."
"During morning exercise today, Todd and Angela disappeared. I checked the surveillance footage. At 8:40 in the morning, Angela left the preschool alone. Ten minutes later, Todd sneaked out of the preschool to find his sister..."
Haley's heart tightened. "So you're saying Angela has been missing for two hours?!" She tightly gripped the phone and grabbed her car keys, ready to leave.
"Ms. DeRoss, Todd didn't want us to notify you. He said he would find Angela for sure... But two hours have passed, and he still hasn't found her, so we had to contact you..." Heidi's voice was filled with self-blame. "I'm sorry, Ms. DeRoss. This is our responsibility as the preschool. The principal has already called the police..."
"I understand." Haley hung up the phone. She then called Todd.
At this moment, Todd stood on a busy street, surrounded by people feeling lost and helpless. He had been searching along this road for a full two hours with no results. He had lost his little sister.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..." His smartwatch vibrated. He glanced at it, it was Mommy calling.
He pursed his pale pink lips and answered the phone, "Mommy, Angela is missing..."
"Tell me, where are you?" Haley was sitting in the car, holding the steering wheel, and starting the engine.
Todd gave her an address. Haley said in a low voice, "Stay put, I'm on my way."
She pressed the accelerator, and the car raced away. Eight minutes later, her car stopped in front of Todd.
"It's all my fault, Mommy..." Todd's eyes turned red and his voice choked.
Haley got out of the car and ruffled his hair. "It's not your fault. Where was the last place you saw Angela?"
Todd pointed across the road. "I saw Angela across the street. I was about to catch up with her when a car drove past me."
It was a bustling street with many cars. The only fortunate thing for Haley, was that Angela didn't have an accident.
She bit her lip and asked, "Have you checked the street surveillance?"
Todd suddenly realized, "I forgot."
He was too anxious and only focused on finding his sister, forgetting everything else. Haley took out a computer from the car and handed it to Todd. It wasn’t long till, the surveillance footage of the street was pulled up.
"Mommy, Angela was last seen here..." The image paused, and Todd softly pointed at the surveillance monitor.
Haley saw Angela standing alone on the busy street, her eyes lost and confused. A pang of bitterness welled up in her heart. Angela's autism was very severe, and she couldn't communicate with the outside world at all. The doctor had instructed never to let Angela go out alone.
As a mother, she was too incompetent. Haley had been suppressing her anxiety for a long time, and in that second when she saw Angela, it finally surfaced.
She stared at the screen for a few seconds, then pointed to a red car parked by the roadside, and said slowly, "Zoom in."
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