Chapter 159

That night, after dinner, I played with the kids until it was time for bed.

Kathy's flight was supposed to arrive that evening, but by bedtime, I still hadn't heard from her, and I started to worry.

I quickly called her, and after a long wait, she finally picked up. "Why didn't you answer earlier? It's so late, your flight should have landed ages ago."

Kathy's voice sounded exhausted. "Don't even get me started. The flight was delayed by over an hour."

"Alright, I won't keep you. I need to get home and sleep. I'm exhausted."

I nodded and hung up. Even though I had heard from Kathy, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, like something unexpected was going to happen that night.

This uneasy feeling persisted until the next morning. I had a restless night filled with nightmares, and I woke up yawning repeatedly.

But I had no idea where this anxiety was coming from.

I decided to talk to Savannah about everything that had happened since last night.

"Don't worry, Ms. Sharp. You probably just didn't sleep well and are overthinking things. It's nothing."

"The weather's getting colder. I'll add another blanket to your bed to help you sleep better."

I could only nod, as I had no other solutions.

Because I hadn't slept well the night before, I was extremely tired by noon. I decided to take a nap and called Kathy before lying down, but she didn't answer.

I figured I could call her again after my nap. But then I had a dream about Kathy.

I didn't know where she was, but I could hear her calling my name, her voice growing more urgent, as if she wanted me to find her.

I was terrified and kept calling out, "Kathy, Kathy!"

Savannah woke me up, asking, "Ms. Sharp, are you okay?"

Drenched in cold sweat, I told Savannah about my dream. She said, "It was probably just a nightmare, Ms. Sharp. Don't worry. Besides, Ms. Patel is back at work. What could possibly happen to her?"

I nodded reluctantly and checked my phone, but there was no call from Kathy. She was probably busy. Sometimes she would be unreachable for hours when she was working, only calling back once she was done.

I called her again, but there was still no answer, and her phone was now off. This made me even more anxious.

Could her phone have died? If Kathy noticed, she would have charged it as soon as she got home.

By midnight, I had called her dozens of times with no response. I was now certain something had happened to Kathy. She always checked her phone before bed and would never ignore my calls.

I couldn't wait any longer and called Royce. "Royce, do you know where Simon is staying?"

Royce was taken aback and quickly asked, "What's going on?"

"Kathy's in trouble."

After explaining the situation, Royce told me that Simon was staying at the same hotel I had visited last time.

I hurriedly took Savannah with me to the hotel and knocked on Simon's door.

The lights were on inside, and it was clear they hadn't gone to bed yet. There were a few people I didn't recognize, one of whom was working on a laptop.

I knew they were working, so I didn't pay much attention. Simon looked at me curiously. "Caroline, what brings you here in the middle of the night? Miss me?"

Ignoring his flippant tone, I quickly said, "Kathy's in trouble."

Simon's expression turned serious. "Are you sure? She went back to Skyview City, didn't she?"

I nodded. "Yes, she did. She called me after her flight landed, but I haven't been able to reach her since. She didn't even return my call before bed, which she always does. Something must have happened to her."

After hearing my explanation, Simon's face grew stern. "Got it. I'll track Kathy's location right away. I installed a tracker on your phones, so it should be easy to find her."

He spoke to one of the people at the computer, who immediately started working on it.

Simon stood by, watching. Just then, there was a knock on the door. I glanced over cautiously and saw Royce outside. I quickly let him in.

He said, "I couldn't get the full story over the phone. What exactly happened?"

I repeated everything I had told Simon, and Royce's expression turned serious. He walked over to Simon and asked, "Any luck?"

Simon nodded gravely. "We're tracking her location."

A moment later, Simon's face grew even more serious. "Kathy isn't at home, and her location signal has disappeared. This means she's in a place where the signal is being blocked. Otherwise, we would have found her."

I was frantic and immediately thought of Renee.

Renee was in Skyview City. Could Kathy's disappearance be related to her?

"I'm going back to Skyview City to find her. I'll book the next flight. Renee is in Skyview City, and Kathy is in danger."

I stood up to leave, but Royce and Savannah stopped me. "Wait. You can't find Kathy alone. We need more information."

But I couldn't wait. Every second Kathy was with Renee, she was in more danger. I knew how ruthless Renee could be.

Simon's face was grim. "Caroline, don't worry. I'll find Kathy."

I was restless, Kathy's voice from my dream echoing in my mind. She had been trying to warn me, but I hadn't realized it.

I felt overwhelming guilt. It was my fault Kathy was in this dangerous situation. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't be involved with the Jordan family.

I sat in the chair, clutching my head. "It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, Kathy wouldn't be..."

Royce patted my shoulder. "Caroline, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. Blame the Jordan family."