Chapter 574: Daniel Had a Car Accident
At the Science Museum, Casey came back with some ice cream and looked around. "Hey, Uncle Daniel, where'd Justin and Joe go?"
He looked up at Daniel, who was almost inside, with those big, innocent eyes.
Daniel's fingers stiffened, and he opened his mouth but couldn't get a word out.
His throat felt like sandpaper.
When did he start using kids to get what he wanted?
"Uncle Daniel?" Casey asked again, looking up at him.
Daniel took a deep breath, turned around, and glanced towards the hot dog stand. "They went that way. They'll be back soon. Wanna head in first?"
Casey glanced at the hot dog stand and shook his head. "Nah, I'll wait for them."
Casey might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he knew better than to ditch his friends.
He stood there for a bit, watching the ice cream start to melt, then quickly walked towards the hot dog stand. "Justin, Joe, the ice cream's melting!"
He ran quite a distance but still didn't see them.
Daniel followed closely, nervously keeping an eye on Casey.
Casey stood there, looking at the melted ice cream in his hands. "Aw man, it's all melted. We can't eat it now."
"Why don't you eat yours first?" Daniel asked softly.
"No way, Justin and Joe are my friends. We gotta eat together," Casey said quietly.
The simple truths kids got sometimes got lost when they grew up.
Daniel didn't say anything, just stood there with Casey.
Casey waited a long time but didn't see Justin or Joe. "Justin wouldn't leave me. Did something happen to them?"
Daniel's fingers trembled slightly. He picked up Casey and quickly walked to the car, calling Claire as he went.
Claire didn't answer, and Daniel anxiously searched everywhere for the kids.
"Uncle Daniel?" Casey looked at Daniel driving and asked softly. "Do you get lonely when you grow up? Why don't you have any friends?"
Daniel hit the brakes, stopping by the roadside. He looked at Casey for a long time and took out his phone to call the cops but hesitated, worried it would get Claire in trouble. After thinking it over, he called his assistant. "Get more people over here to help me find Joe and Justin."
He regretted it. No matter how adults fought, kids shouldn't be dragged into it.
But it was too late.
While Daniel and Casey were looking for Justin and Joe, Ethan had them standing in the corner at home as punishment.
"Joe, if we leave like this, what about Casey?" Justin was worried about Casey and wanted to call him.
"No." Joe held Justin's hand. "That's his uncle. He won't hurt him. Besides, his uncle wants to sell us. Let him worry a bit so he believes what we said. His uncle's not a good guy."
Justin thought for a moment and nodded. "Okay then."
Outside, Jasmine came back, peeking into the study where the two kids were being punished, and asked softly, "What did you two do wrong?"
Joe and Justin looked at Jasmine with sad eyes, rushing into her arms to complain.
"Mom, Dad's making us stand in the corner."
"Mommy, Dad said he won't take us to the amusement park tomorrow."
Jasmine was a bit troubled. Ethan wouldn't punish the kids for no reason, so she couldn't say much. "What did you do wrong?"
"We..." Justin lowered his head, unable to lie and afraid of scaring his mom.
Joe, however, was quick on his feet. "Mommy, we played house with kidnappers today."
Joe's words were a mix of truth and fibs, making it tough for Jasmine to figure out.
Jasmine looked puzzled. "Kidnappers?"
"Yeah, the ones Casey's uncle brought to play with us," Joe said seriously.
Jasmine responded with an "okay," sensing something was off. She glanced back at Ethan, who approached with a serious look.
She murmured, "Casey's uncle? Daniel?"
Seeing Ethan, the two kids quickly turned and ran back to the corner to continue their punishment.
"What happened?" Jasmine closed the door and asked softly.
"Don't feel sorry for them. They went too far." Ethan hugged Jasmine, starting to act all cute. "They got into a stranger's car and took the stranger to the police station."
Ethan was also good with words, mixing truth with lies.
Jasmine thought about it: stranger, kidnapper, police station, and it clicked.
She frowned, a bit angry. "Was it Daniel?"
Ethan rested his chin on Jasmine's head, smiling.
Justine and Joe were right.
"How despicable. How could he involve children?" Jasmine was furious, clenching her fists, ready to confront Daniel.
"Yeah, I never saw him as this kind of person before." Ethan continued. "When he first joined the Douglas family, he was just in high school, looking all proper, like a gentleman."
Ethan spoke with a tone of deep resentment towards Daniel from high school.
Daniel dared to pursue his wife in high school; he must have had a death wish.
Jasmine didn't catch the underlying meaning, angrily grabbing her phone and trembling with rage. "He used to be a decent person, but now he's not even human!"
"Right, he's not human at all, targeting such young kids. They don't understand anything, and it's so dangerous." Ethan nodded, looking sincere.
Jasmine, holding her phone in anger, called Daniel.
At Lisa's, Daniel left Casey sleeping with the nanny and drove off to continue searching for Justin and Joe.
He needed to find them before Claire did, or Jasmine would never forgive him.
Just as he started the car, Daniel received Jasmine's call.
"Daniel, I never knew you were this kind of person. How could you involve children? You're despicable, you're simply..." Jasmine wasn't good at cursing but tried her best.
At this moment, Jasmine was so angry her face turned red.
Daniel hurried to explain, not watching the road, and crashed, with the airbags deploying and glass shattering everywhere.
Jasmine heard a loud crash on the other end, followed by car alarms and collision warnings.
Jasmine looked at her phone and continued to curse but got no response.
"Daniel? Why aren't you saying anything?"
There was still no response.
Jasmine looked at Ethan, surprised. "Could he really be dead?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Are we that lucky?"
Soon, two bodyguards returned, speaking to Ethan, "Daniel had a car accident after dropping off Casey. It's not too serious, no life-threatening injuries."
Ethan was a bit disappointed. "What a pity."
"The people who kidnapped the kids were all taken by the police. None escaped, and they mentioned Claire."
Ethan sneered. "I'll remember this."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
