Stainley was very considerate and sensitive to the people around him. Yet, sometimes, his character took a toll on Everleigh.
For the past seven years, they were classmates and friends. In the beginning, they would perform experiments together in the laboratory nearly every day. They attended the same classes, interned at the same hospital, and even observed surgeries together. They would see each other every single day.
She would be lying if she said that she did not know that Stainley had feelings for her.
Everleigh was not ignorant when it came to love. She knew that Stainley liked her, but she did not want to be in a relationship again. Hence, she kept her distance from him for years. She even used Christopher as a shield to make Stainley give up on her.
It had been years; if she wanted to date Stainley, it would have happened long ago. They could read between the lines, and there was no need to point it out.
The clouds were tinted red, and the evening sky was like a painting.
A white car drove from the suburbs into the city. Stainley's pale and slender hands gripped the steering wheel. Even on the bumpy road, it was a smooth ride.
Everleigh sat in the passenger seat and dialed home. However, no one picked up the call.
"That's strange."
"What's wrong?" Stainley glanced at her.
"Nothing, no one is picking up. They probably went out to play again." Everleigh frowned and continued, "Let me call Alastair."
She got off work early. Initially, she wanted to swing by a restaurant to grab some snacks for them. She wanted to call and check with them what they wanted.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later..."
The robotic voice from the voicemail greeted her.
After calling three consecutive times, no one picked up the call. Everleigh furrowed her eyebrows.
"Do you have the neighbor's number? Or the management's?" Stainley stared at Everleigh, who was worried, and he comforted her. "I'm sure they're okay. They are smart, especially Alastair."
"It's fine." Everleigh pretended to smile calmly and added, "They probably went out to play. I've warned them countless times that there are a lot of kidnappers. I told them to just stay at home, but they never listened. They won't even pick up my calls. I'm going to teach them a lesson later."
Although Everleigh pretended to stay calm, Stainley noticed the anxiety in Everleigh's eyes. He stepped on the accelerator and sped into the city.
Before the car came to a stop at the apartment, Everleigh popped open the door and got out of the car. She rushed into the building to get to her unit.
She pushed open the door to her apartment and shouted, "Alastair, Adrienne!"
She checked all the rooms, but no one was at home.
She redialed Alastair's number and heard a familiar ringtone from the living room. Alastair's mobile phone was left on the sofa, and he did not bring it with him. As soon as she realized that she lost the only way to contact her children, she started panicking.
It was getting dark. Even if they were just kids, they should know better than that.
"Don't worry, Everleigh, there are surveillance cameras in the apartment. We should go downstairs and ask the management to check the footage. There are surveillance cameras everywhere. It wouldn't be hard to track the kids in Ocpeace City."
Stainley was worried that something might happen. Hence he followed Everleigh.
Stainley's remarks reminded Everleigh. She said hurriedly, "Adrienne likes to run around, and Alastair can't control her. So Christopher asked a friend to install a GPS tracker into their watches."
She fumbled for her mobile phone swiftly.
As soon as she checked the GPS, she spotted two red dots flashing in the center of Ocpeace City. Judging from the movement trajectory, the kids had been there for a long time.
"Where is this?" Stainley stole a glance and frowned. He asked, "Isn't this near Pacific South Street?"
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