Chapter 45 It Was Her
The next day, as soon as Matthew arrived at the company, Victor entered with a grave look on his face, "Matthew, the three kidnappers committed suicide last night at the police department."
Matthew was momentarily stunned, "Suicide?!"
"Yes, poisoned themselves."
"Huh, looks like the mastermind made their move, managing to kill three people within the police department without anyone noticing and staging it as a suicide. How on earth did Madison get involved with such people? Have you found any leads?"
The situation was becoming increasingly odd to Matthew. If it were merely child abduction, that would have been one thing, but it was becoming clear that this was no simple case of child trafficking.
"Good thing we confiscated their cell phones before they were sent to the station. Guess who I found they had been in contact with?" Victor said with a hint of mystery in his tone.
Matthew fixed his gaze on Victor, awaiting a response, and no longer equivocating, he revealed, "Brianna. It’s her. I found call records in one of the cell phones, plus evidence of two money transfers Brianna made to them through an international online bank."
It came as a surprise to Matthew to hear the name Brianna spill from Victor's mouth.
"Why would she kidnap Madison’s child?" Matthew was in confusion. Tapping his pen against the desk, he mulled over the situation—why would she pay to have Madison's child kidnapped when their lives barely intersected, especially considering Madison had been absent from Horizon City for years? Matthew couldn’t fathom Brianna’s motives.
"I haven't figured that part out either. could it be..." Victor hesitated, unsure whether to voice his suspicion.
"What?" Matthew raised an eyebrow.
"Could she believe that Madison's child is yours? That’s why she acted? After all, Madison didn't seem particularly close to her so-called husband that you mentioned. Could the child actually be yours?”
Matthew's deep eyes bore into Victor as if to say, ‘Would I not know if I had a child?!’
"All right, forget it." Victor couldn't handle the intense scrutiny from his Matthew.
"There must be someone behind Brianna. She’s not capable of murdering someone in the police department without anyone being the wiser," Matthew finally spoke up.
"Could it be ‘K‘? There’s been no major lead from him for so many years, and the last few leads we had went cold."
"I'm not sure. Let's keep a closer watch."
"Sure."
"How’s Madison doing?" Matthew couldn’t help but ask.
"Her daughter hurt her ankle trying to escape, and I took them to the hospital last night. Her son went back with... her husband?" Victor noticed a distinct darkening of Matthew’s complexion at these words. "Well, the man that came with them went back, anyway."
Seeing Matthew remain silent, Victor bade him farewell, "I'll be taking off then." After Victor left, Matthew leaned back in his chair, sinking into contemplation. His thoughts turned to Hannah. Pulling out his phone, there were no new messages. He listened to an old voice message from Hannah announcing their departure from Horizon. The cute little girl who had come to his office and called him 'Dad’ would probably not be seen again.
Deciding he didn’t want to work today, Matthew grabbed his coat and left the office. The secretary, surprised by his early departure, watched the CEO leave.
"Matthew left so early today," someone remarked with a hint of curiosity.
"Yeah, can a workaholic get tired too?" chuckled another.
Jannis overheard the girl's whispers and stood up, "Focus. The boss is free to leave whenever, but you're still on the clock."
Murmurs of dismay filled the air as the workers resigned themselves to their tasks.
*
Matthew walked into the parking lot, planning to message his buddies for a drink, but remembering Victor mentioned that Madison was in the hospital, he put his phone away and drove there instead.
Hannah had just fallen asleep when Madison was preparing to meet Quentin, Rachel, and Nicholas, who heard that Hannah had been hospitalized and couldn't wait to get to the hospital.
As she turned around, Matthew was standing behind her not far. They looked at each other in silence, neither speaking nor stepping forward. Seeing Matthew after such emotional turmoil might have been a once-in-a-lifetime feeling for Madison.
Matthew moved closer, stopping just 3 feet away from her.
"Matthew," Madison initiated a greeting upon seeing he wasn't inclined to speak.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Madison asked, a touch of concern in her voice. She wondered why he was at the hospital. She remembered him mentioning a cold the day she left. Could he still be ill?
She didn't realize how attentive and caring she still was toward him.
"No, just visiting a friend." Matthew wasn't about to admit he came specifically for her. They were divorced, but couldn't they still be friends? It wasn't a lie.
"Oh." Relief washed over her, finding out he wasn't sick.
"How's your daughter?"
"Oh, she just fell asleep. The doctors say it's nothing serious, a couple of days of observation, and she'll be fine."
“Asleep? I won't disturb her then,” he thought.
"That's good to hear. Well, I better get going."
"Okay."
Their paths crossed as they parted ways.
"Matthew!" Madison called out to him, turning around.
Matthew looked back and met her gaze. A light smile flashed across her face. "Matthew, thank you."
He offered a faint grin in response and then walked away.
Madison watched his retreating figure and whispered in her heart, "Matthew, thank you for saving Quentin and Hannah. I'm sorry for keeping them to myself. Don't worry, I'll take good care of them. Goodbye."
As soon as Matthew left, the elevator doors opened, and Quentin dashed out, followed by Nicholas and Rachel. Quentin threw himself into Madison’s arms, affectionately calling out, “Mom, Mom.”
Madison had taken Hannah to the hospital yesterday and hadn’t had a proper hug with her son yet.
“Mom, how’s Hannah?” Quentin asked anxiously.
“Yeah, how’s Hannah doing?” Rachel also asked with concern.
“She just fell asleep. The doctor said today that she’s recovering well and should be able to be discharged tomorrow if all goes well," Madison reassured everyone, knowing they were all worried about Hannah.
“That’s a relief,” Rachel’s voice trembled with emotion. She had watched the two children grow up and loved them as her own.
Madison led the group quietly into the hospital room to peek at Hannah and then took them out for a midday meal.
At the dining table, Rachel asked, “Madison, will you go back once Hannah is discharged?” She knew that if it hadn’t been for the incident involving Quentin and Hannah, they would have returned to Frostpine by now. With both kids safe, it was probably time to start planning their return.
“Are you going back soon?” Nicholas was surprised to hear Madison’s leaving so quickly.
“Yes, once Hannah is discharged, we will take them both back,” Madison replied, her decision firm. This incident with the children had not been discovered by Matthew this time, but by staying here, they could be found out sooner or later. She didn’t want to risk it, and the kidnapping had left her shaken. She tried to return to Frostpine for peace of mind.
Upon hearing Madison’s plan, Nicholas felt a hint of melancholy, “Let me know when you’ve booked the tickets. I’ll come to see you off.”
“Okay,” Madison accepted graciously.
Nicholas said no more. His greatest fear was Madison’s calm acceptance, which only confirmed that they would never have a future together.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
