Chapter 420
No.1
As she showered, her bathrobe reminded her of standing before Nathaniel wearing nothing but that. Right. Nathaniel. Oliver.
She had promised Oliver she would call once things settled. She hadn’t contacted them yet. She wondered how they were.
She finished quickly and stepped out. “Any word from Nathaniel?”
“Well…” Maxwell avoided her gaze. “Ms. Montgomery, are you certain about him? Shouldn’t you reconsider what those four men told you?”
“What’s to reconsider? William is a good man, but you can’t force attraction. He’ll remain a colleague.” She towel-dried her hair and sat.
Maxwell sat beside her, insistent. “But Nathaniel slept with another woman five years ago! He has a son! You’d be a stepmother if you married him!”
“Sounds perfect. I skip nine months of pregnancy and get a ready-made child! Every woman’s dream. You’ll never understand the agony of childbirth.” She leaned back lazily and reached for her phone.
Maxwell was speechless.
It was hopeless. She’d lost all reason! How could she twist facts and turn disadvantages into advantages? Would William adopt a child immediately if he heard this?
Isabella ignored him, switching on her phone to contact Nathaniel and Oliver. Her screen flooded with countless messages and missed calls.
No.2
Her Do Not Disturb mode had been activated somehow. All notifications were silenced, hidden.
She opened the chat. Her screen was bombarded.
[Mommy! Mommy! Where are you?]
[Mommy! Daddy and I are searching for you! Please reply!]
[Mommy, Mommy! Waaa! Do you hate Momo now? Don’t you like us anymore?]
[Momo misses you! What did I do wrong…? Did I upset you? Mommy, please don’t vanish.]
Isabella frowned. Had she accidentally enabled Do Not Disturb?
She hadn't reached out to Nathaniel or Oliver all day. They must be frantic by now.
She immediately dialed Nathaniel's number, but only heard the automated message: "The number you have dialed is currently unavailable."
Unavailable?
No.3
She tried Oliver's phone next. The same robotic voice answered.
That's when she knew something was wrong. She turned her sharp gaze toward Maxwell. "What did you do?"
"N-Nothing," stammered the nervous man, avoiding her piercing eyes.
"Nothing?" Isabella's voice turned icy. "I know Nathaniel better than anyone. Why can't I reach him? And why is my phone on Do Not Disturb?"
"Maybe... perhaps he wasn't trying to contact you? Could it be he doesn't care as much as you think? Or maybe you accidentally enabled Do Not Disturb yourself?"
"Really? Keep digging that hole!" She slammed her phone on the table and planted her hands on her hips, staring him down.
Her eyes held the sharpness of daggers, ready to slice through his lies.
Maxwell shuddered under her intense scrutiny. He jumped up abruptly. "I need to use the restroom."
"Africa seems like a lovely place for you. You'll be on a flight tomorrow," she stated with deceptively calm menace.
Terrified by the threat, Maxwell immediately sat back down and confessed. "Ms. Montgomery, please don't blame me! This was all Mr. Granger's plan!
No.4
"He wanted Nathaniel to believe you chose William over him. He made us erase all traces of your route with Alexander so Nathaniel would think you deliberately avoided him.
"Since Nathaniel and Oliver couldn't locate you, they've apparently stopped trying..."
Stopped trying?
That explained the unanswered calls!
Nathaniel must think she wanted to be with William. He might even believe she was reconciling with Alexander!
Knowing his possessive nature, who knew what wild conclusions he'd drawn?
She grabbed her phone, attempting to reactivate her location services.
"Won't work," Maxwell admitted. "Mr. Worthington had us monitoring Nathaniel and Oliver Blackwood closely. When we checked an hour ago, they'd gone completely off grid."
Off grid...
For the first time, Isabella felt genuine fury toward her team. How would she find them now?
No.5
What if Nathaniel hated her because of this? Just when she'd finally decided to be with him...
What if Oliver had another seizure?
Consumed by worry, she snapped, "This is ridiculous. I want everyone using every resource to locate them immediately! Otherwise, you'll all be mining diamonds in Africa starting tomorrow!"
"Right away! I'm on it!" The terrified man leaped from his seat and frantically worked on his laptop.
He absolutely couldn't go back to Africa.
Isabella seemed truly enraged. Her feelings for Nathaniel were clearly genuine...
Did that mean all hope was lost for William?
No, no! His primary concern should be self-preservation! He had to complete her task, and quickly!
Isabella wanted to search herself, but her phone's programs weren't sophisticated enough to track Nathaniel and Oliver. She demanded to be taken to Rosewood Manor immediately; only there could she access the high-performance computers that would amplify her search capabilities.
As she stepped from the helicopter, she delivered her final warning: "You have one hour!"
No.6
One hour!
Maxwell wanted to cry. How could he possibly find Nathaniel and Oliver when they were deliberately evading Isabella?
Though highly skilled, Nathaniel operated on another level entirely! Where should he even begin?
Isabella stepped into Rosewood Manor.
Maxwell immediately dialed Alistair’s number in a panic. “What should I do? Ms. Montgomery said she’ll exile me to Africa if I can’t locate Nathaniel and Oliver within an hour!”
“Then embrace your African destiny. Your sacrifice honors Isabella. How noble, Maxwell!” Alistair’s voice was oddly cheerful.
Maxwell’s face fell. “But she also threatened to abandon all her research projects if they aren’t found! She said she’d lose all motivation!”
Alistair gasped audibly.
Unthinkable!
“Find them immediately!” Alistair barked. “Mobilize every resource! Leave no stone unturned!”
No.7
Surely their extensive network could locate Nathaniel Blackwood.
Inside the manor…
Isabella rushed straight to the computer room.
Her mind raced with worry for Oliver. What if he suffered another seizure believing she abandoned him? He was just a child; he didn’t deserve that pain.