Evelyn pictured in her head how she, Gwyn, and Sheffield would live a happy life together. A wide smile found its way to her lips. Happiness and contentment filled her heart.
That day, she put on a pink dress, a pair of beautiful beige shoes with kitten heels, and at last, she applied a thin layer of makeup.
When she was about to leave her bedroom with Gwyn, she saw that Carlos was walking towards them hastily. When he saw Evelyn, he quickly opened his mouth, seemingly to say something but no words were able to come out.
"Father, what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Evelyn had rarely seen her father so anxious.
Carlos noticed that Evelyn and Gwyn had delicately dressed up, so he asked, "Evelyn, are you going to meet Sheffield?"
Evelyn was impressed by how perceptive her father was. She had no intention of hiding anything from him since he had already noticed it. So she briefly answered with a yes. Afraid that Carlos wouldn't allow her to take Gwyn to meet Sheffield, she quickly added, "Gwyn has been making spectacular progress lately. I want her to see Sheffield more often."
Carlos had actually been with Gwyn every day. He certainly knew about Gwyn's progress. However… "Something happened to Sheffield," he eventually told her.
"What did you just say?" Evelyn couldn't believe what she just heard. She was so confused that she could only stare at her father.
"It's true, Evelyn. But first, please calm down and listen to me carefully." Carlos tried to soothe Evelyn while he took Gwyn from her arms.
Evelyn's hands trembled. "What happened to him?"
"It happened after he went back to his apartment last night. He called Joshua. But when Joshua arrived at Imperial City Avenue, he couldn't find Sheffield. Joshua had already segregated his men into two groups. The troops had searched Lush Hill Road and Sward Road. Finally, they found Sheffield's car in the suburbs."
Evelyn's face turned pale. But she managed to ask while still trembling, "And then?"
"There were traces of struggle around the car, and… there was blood." It wasn't easy for Carlos to tell his daughter about it. He didn't want to make her worried, but he knew that it would be better if it came from him. "It's still not sure whether it's Sheffield's blood, but it's being tested right now."
"So, where is he now?"
"Nobody knows," Carlos honestly replied.
'Nobody knows where Sheffield is.' It was slowly sinking in for Evelyn. She felt light-headed as if her head were about to explode or she was about to faint.
Without a second thought, she lifted her dress and dashed towards the door. Carlos grabbed her hand and called out, "Evelyn! Evelyn, calm down."
"Father, if it were any other time, I would have listened to you. But now I'm begging you, please don't stop me. I must find him!" Evelyn exclaimed slowly while tears were threatening to fall from her eyes.
Carlos felt deep remorse while he listened to his daughter. With the utmost concern, he sincerely said, "Eve, it's not that I don't want you to look for him. But please don't let your emotions control you. A lot of experienced people are already looking for him. They know what they are doing. Darius and Peterson have already sent every man they can spare. They will do whatever they can to find him. I'll let you know as soon as I get any news."
"But Dad, he's missing. I…and the blood. How can I just sit here? I'll just die of anxiety if I don't do anything."
Carlos understood how she felt. "Evelyn, at this point, what you should do is pull yourself together. You must be strong. Gwyn needs you. She is your daughter. I'm sure Sheffield wouldn't want you to forget about her, so take care of Gwyn. I'll also send some men to look for him."
Evelyn turned to Gwyn as if she just realized that her daughter was there. 'Yes, Gwyn…I still have Gwyn. I have to protect her. I have to be strong for her, ' Evelyn told herself.
She held back her tears, took a deep breath, and took her daughter from Carlos. With stifled breaths, she said, "Dad, I'll carefully look after Gwyn. Please inform me as soon as you have any information. I don't care how small the detail is, I have to know, okay?"
"Yes, don't worry. Sheffield is a tough guy. I'm sure he's going to be fine!" Although Carlos had his reservations about Sheffield, he still felt bad about the current situation.
"Thanks, Dad!"
With that, Evelyn stayed at home with Gwyn. She tried really hard to distract them both. But when night came, there was still no news about Sheffield.
She was fidgeting all day, trying to keep herself from going insane. Unable to bear the anxiety anymore, she handed Gwyn to Debbie and asked Felix to drive her to Sheffield's apartment.
At that moment, the police had temporarily sealed the apartment. No one was allowed to enter.
Fortunately, Evelyn still had it in her to tell the police who she was and her relationship with Sheffield. Only after that was she allowed to enter.
The apartment, which used to be very clean and organized, was now a mess, especially in the living room and the study.
As luck would have it, Sheffield's bedroom was still close to what it used to be. The pictures of them on the wall were still there. However, Evelyn noticed that one photo was missing.
Standing in front of the wall covered with the photos, she grazed her hand on the empty space where the missing picture used to be, wondering why it was missing. 'When was it taken off from this wall?' Evelyn mused. She hadn't paid much attention to it the night before yesterday when she had spent the night here.
She pondered on it for a while and realized that the missing photo was the one in which she rode an elephant.
But she couldn't figure out if it was Sheffield who took the photo. 'Why is it the only photo that's missing?' Evelyn asked herself.
After coming out of Sheffield's apartment, Evelyn didn't go back to the manor. Instead, she went to the Tang family's house.
The Tang family had a lot of members, so Peterson bought two exclusive three-story villas by the riverside and connected them to form a big courtyard.
Felix opened the car door for her. Just as Evelyn was getting out of the car, another car came to a halt in front of the house.
When she saw Evelyn, Kaylee squinted her eyes and smiled, "Is that you, Miss Huo?"
Evelyn turned to her, confused. Although Kaylee knew her by name, Evelyn had no idea who she was. She could only guess that this woman was a member of the Tang family. Evelyn discretely looked at Kaylee and thought that she was exceedingly seductive and charming. This woman was wearing a red strapless figure-hugging dress and a pair of martens boots while holding a black designer handbag.
Evelyn nodded to Kaylee and said a brief Hello.
Kaylee approached her a little closer and the two of them stood opposite each other. One of them looked alluring and enticing while the other looked elegant and demure. "Are you here for Sheffield?
He is not here," Kaylee claimed.
"I know. I'm here to see his father," Evelyn responded.
Kaylee curled her red lips and said, "Okay. Come with me. I'll bring you in."
Excuse me, but who are you?" Evelyn didn't move despite Kaylee's urging.
When Kaylee heard this question, she was completely surprised and a little offended. She asked, "Don't you know me?"
'Why should I know you?' Evelyn wondered.
"I'm the one who Sheffield slept with more than ten years ago. How can you not know me?" There was no sign of embarrassment or shame in her tone. Instead, she stared at Evelyn in astonishment.
Evelyn finally understood. With composure, she plainly replied, "It's all in the past."
'So, she is Sterling's wife, the one who Sterling and Gillian claimed that Sheffield had slept with,' Evelyn thought, finally having some sense of clarity.
Kaylee got even more interested in Evelyn after hearing what she said. "Impressive! Miss Huo, as one of the most successful and influential women in Y City, you're really tolerant." Kaylee thought that not every woman could bear such kind of thing, so she complimented Evelyn. Even though, it might not have sounded like a compliment.
Kaylee took out a lady's cigarette from her handbag and lit it up in front of Evelyn. Then she said, "A few days ago, your boyfriend said to me that no woman is more fun than a sister-in-law. He wanted to have sex with me. Did you know that?"
Her tone and action were wild and charming, which was indeed the type that a lot of men liked.
Evelyn was stunned for a second, but then she regained her composure and said with a smile, "Sheffield always speaks without thinking. He might have just been fooling around. If he offended you, please forgive him."
Holding the cigarette between her fingers, Kaylee carefully stared at the woman in front of her, who still looked dignified. It seemed like she wanted to break Evelyn's composure. But to her disappointment, Evelyn only gave her a faint smile.
