Chapter 182 Return
Horizon City.
Madison spent the entire weekend at The Old Residence. After the last phone call with Victor, who promised that Matthew would call her back, she had been waiting anxiously. However, she had yet to receive a call from Matthew, and even Facebook had yielded no replies.
The kids had gone out cycling with Mr. Johnson; they'd been especially keen on it these past couple of days. After lunch, Madison stayed in their room, finding it hard to focus on her design drafts. Her heart had been restless, sensing that something had happened. She had tried calling Matthew to no avail and could not resist calling Victor again.
The phone rang with no answer for a long time, making Madison even more uneasy.
Then, there was a knock at the door. Madison opened it to find Valerie standing there. "Valerie, what's going on?" she asked.
"Miss Willow and Patrick are here, waiting downstairs," replied Valerie.
Madison wondered if Willow and Patrick had come to visit. "I'll change my clothes and be right down," she said, quickly returning to her room to change. Coming downstairs, she saw Willow and Patrick sitting in the living room. Valerie had poured them water and prepared some fruit.
"Willow, Patrick, what brings you here?" Madison asked, her spirits lifting somewhat at the sight of them. She smiled and greeted them.
"I wanted to come and check on Mr. Johnson and Quentin," said Willow. In her brother's absence, she felt it was her responsibility to take care of her sister-in-law and the two cherished kids. So when Patrick suggested that they go out and try some new restaurants, she firmly declined, insisting on returning to The Old Residence. Upon hearing this, Patrick decided to tag along instead of going out for a meal, opting to come here for a visit.
Willow looked at Madison's somewhat haggard face and guessed she must be tired from looking after Quentin and Hannah alone since her brother was away on a business trip.
Madison shook her head, "Taking care of them isn't hard, but I've been worried because I haven't been able to reach Matthew for the past couple of days."
Patrick overheard and immediately responded, "What about Victor? Have you called him?"
"I did call him a couple of days ago. Back then, he said Matthew was out handling things, but there has been no message or callback since then. I tried contacting both of them today but couldn't reach either one. I'm just a little uneasy," Madison said with evident concern in her voice.
Patrick took out his phone and said, "Don't worry, I'll try calling them now."
"Yes, don't worry. Let Patrick find out," Willow added, trying to comfort him.
Patrick stood in the living room, in front of Madison and Willow, and dialed Matthew's number. The phone indicated it was temporarily unavailable. Seeing Madison's expectant gaze, he frowned slightly. Why was it not connecting?
"It's not connecting," Patrick told Madison.
Hearing this, Madison deflated a bit, which seemed natural since she had faced the same response for the last two days.
"I've been worried because I've been getting the same message whenever I've called him recently..." Madison's voice trailed off as Willow patted her back soothingly. "Patrick, try calling Victor again," she suggested.
"Okay, I'll call Victor again and see," Patrick said.
After the phone rang several times, it was finally picked up. Without waiting for the other end to speak, Patrick hastily asked, "Victor, where are you guys? Is Matthew with you? Sister has been really worried about not being able to reach you."
At that moment, Victor and Dorian had just landed at Horizon City Airport.
Before Victor could answer his question, Patrick heard the airport announcements in the background and excitedly asked, "Victor, have you guys come back?"
It was unexpected. They were only gone for a week, which was surprising since they were supposed to be gone for a month.
Madison and Willow, hearing Patrick's questions, both looked at him with eager anticipation as he spoke on the phone.
Compared to Patrick's enthusiastic excitement, Victor was exceptionally cold, to the point where Patrick even felt a bit sad. Could something have really gone wrong? But they were all back at the airport, after all.
Victor asked calmly and seriously, "Patrick, where are you?"
Patrick's excitement was as if doused with a bucket of cold water. Glancing at Madison and Willow, he said the truth: "I'm over by William's place."
"Who are you with? Is your sister there too?" Victor asked.
Curious about the reason for the question, Patrick glanced again at Madison and Willow before responding on the phone, "Yeah, I'm with Sister and Willow."
Madison and Willow observed the change in Patrick's demeanor. He had just been excitedly saying they had returned, but now he seemed calmer. They didn't know what Victor said on the other end of the phone, and it made them anxious.
Patrick tentatively asked, "Victor, what's going on?"
Victor was silent momentarily on the other end before saying, "Take your sister to the bar. We will talk when we meet there."
"Alright." Patrick hung up the phone, feeling a faint unease. His gut told him that something had definitely happened to Matthew; otherwise, his calls wouldn't go unanswered. If Matthew had come back with Victor, he would have contacted them immediately unless... Matthew hadn't come back at all.
Seeing him end the call, Madison and Willow quickly pressed him, "Patrick, what did Second Bro say? Are they back? Why hasn't Matthew called me?"
"Yeah, Patrick, spill it. You're killing us here," Willow demanded, pacing in frustration.
Patrick put down his phone. "Victor told me to bring Sister to Jonah's Bar to talk," he said.
"Okay, are we going now? Then let's go," Madison urged, her mind racing with thoughts of Matthew being hurt. They kept it from her, so she was desperate to find him.
"I'm coming too," Willow said.
Patrick gave Willow a nod. If something had truly happened to Matthew, they all deserved to know.
Patrick quickly suggested, calling Mr. Johnson, "You might want to give him a heads up; Quentin and Hannah will surely come looking for you when they return. As for Victor... I'm not quite sure what the situation is, but just in case he comes back late..."
At that moment, Madison realized the urgency and fumbled for her phone to dial Mr. Johnson.
Patrick hastily added, "Don't mention Victor's coming back. Just say we're all planning to hang out."
Madison glanced at Patrick, nodding in understanding. After all, if Matthew were seriously injured, Mr. Johnson would be really worried.
While Madison was on the phone with William, Patrick texted Mitchell and Liam to hurry over to the Nightshade Bar. Before leaving, Madison instructed Valerie to look after the two youngsters, assisting with their evening routine and getting them to bed.
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