Chapter 800: Vanished Without a Trace
Charles turned around at the school gate, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for Rose Garden Manor.
Usually, the garden would be in full bloom by now. But this year, it was barren—no flowers, no greenery, just emptiness. The whole place felt gloomy.
Charles's unease grew as he pressed the doorbell. The butler soon appeared, looking shocked and uneasy.
"Mr. Watson, what brings you here?"
Charles didn't answer, just ordered, "Open the door!"
The butler hesitated, "Please wait. I need to inform Mr. Moore."
Charles got it, "Since when do I need Carter's permission to visit? Open the door. I need to see him."
Charles's imposing presence made the butler, already feeling guilty, tremble as he opened the door. Charles walked in, and the butler quickly followed.
"Mr. Watson, please wait on the first floor. I'll inform Mr. Moore."
Charles let him go upstairs. Soon, Carter came down in his pajamas, looking much thinner and exhausted, with bloodshot eyes and dark circles.
"Charles, you're here! I heard you were in England. What brings you back so suddenly?"
"Where is Violet?" Charles asked.
Carter, trying to stay calm, replied, "Violet? She's at school, preparing for her final exams."
Charles stared at Carter, searching for any sign of deceit but found none. He felt a wave of disappointment.
"Stop lying! I went to the school first thing after landing, and the guard told me she went missing in the first semester of eighth grade."
Carter's face changed, his eyelashes fluttering. Charles noticed and got agitated, "Carter, where is Violet? What happened?"
Carter knew he couldn't hide the truth anymore. Charles was too smart, and their lies would soon be exposed.
Carter's legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the sofa, looking lifeless, "Violet is dead!" he shouted.
"What did you say?" Charles thought he misheard. When he left, Violet was fine; she couldn't have just died.
Carter rubbed his face, sorrowfully saying, "Two years ago, the night you left, Violet was abducted at the school parking lot. We found blood on the ground, but no sign of her or the kidnappers. A DNA test confirmed the blood was Violet's."
Charles's face went pale. He felt dizzy, his vision darkened, and he nearly fainted, "Without finding Violet's body, maybe she's still okay?"
Carter smiled bitterly, "I thought that too at first. But it's been two years, and I've found nothing. The kidnappers used a van with fake plates and avoided all surveillance. We have no leads."
Charles felt drained, filled with despair, "So, who has been chatting with me these past two years?"
Carter replied, "A voice actor. We didn't want to disrupt your studies, so we hired someone to mimic Violet's voice. For two years, it was the voice actor talking to you."
Charles laughed, filled with irony, "A voice actor was chatting with me!"
Carter, knowing how hard this was, patted his shoulder, "Charles, I know you're sad. But don't lose hope. I've never stopped searching for Violet, and I won't."
Even if it's just her body.
Charles couldn't hear anything. He pulled out his laptop and started typing, "When exactly did it happen? Maybe I can find Violet. When was she kidnapped?"
Carter shook his head, "It's useless. Brian checked all the surveillance. The kidnappers and Violet vanished without a trace. Plus, it happened in the suburbs, with no surveillance around. And it's been two years; all the footage is gone."
Charles's hands froze on the keyboard. He looked at the code on his laptop in despair.
Carter sat back on the sofa, holding his face, "Ryan, Martin, everyone tried to find her. We turned Sunset Bay upside down but found nothing. After Violet's incident, I had people guard the airport, train, and bus stations, fearing they'd escape. But there were no records of them leaving. They're still in Sunset Bay, but we can't find them."
Charles stared blankly at his laptop, then suddenly packed it up and walked out.
Carter, fearing he might do something rash, chased after him, "Charles, where are you going?"
Without turning, Charles replied, "I'm going home. As long as Violet is alive, I'll find her. I will!"
Carter grabbed his arm, "What are you planning to do?"
Forced to stop, Charles looked seriously at Carter, "Carter, have you heard of facial recognition technology? I'm going to develop an app to find people using facial recognition. It can scan and identify Violet based on her facial features."
Carter was confused, "What are you talking about? What app? What recognition?"
Charles knew he wouldn't understand and didn't have time to explain. He pulled his hand away, "If you don't get it, never mind. I believe I can do it."
With that, he walked away without looking back.
Carter watched him leave, still puzzled.
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