Chapter 193
“Huh? Then why are the rescue teams still going in, one after another? Joanna’s not in trouble, is she?”
“My friend saw Joanna at the hospital. Mr. Fordham was there too, so it can’t be her.”
“You guys don’t know, do you? There was another woman who got taken along with them–supposedly one of the Fordham family’s nannies. The kidnapper made Mr. Fordham choose between the two women. You can guess how that turned out. I heard she was quite the looker–probably got raped and dumped in the ocean. The Fordhams must’ve sent out such a massive search just to save face. But it’s been ages now and there’s still no sign of her. For all we know, the sharks have already torn her to pieces.”
The paparazzo sounded so convinced that the others couldn’t help but nod along.
Scandals in this crowd were always wilder than fiction.
“Hey, hey, look! Isn’t that Mr. Fordham’s car? He stopped!” someone shouted.
A black car pulled up just outside the circle of reporters.
Chester, radiating fury, strode straight toward the guy spouting “the truth” and landed a brutal punch square on his face.
The man’s glasses went flying.
“Watch your mouth! That’s my wife!” Chester roared.
For a heartbeat, the whole crowd was stunned.
Everyone in Portside City
Suddenly, someone else broke away from the crowd, sprinting toward the water
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where Celestine had disappeared.
As the man passed him, he spat a furious insult-“Useless.”
Before Chester could retort, Gideon had already plunged into the sea.
A sharp jolt of shock ran through Chester.
What was going on between Celestine and Gideon?
Since she’d moved out of the Fordham estate, what exactly had happened between them?
Recent events flashed through his mind, and an uneasy suspicion took root.
A suicide pact? No. Never.
Chester drew himself upright, took a deep breath, and barked at his secretary, “Call every rescue team in Portside City–right now! I want her found, alive or dead.”
Joanna’s eyes widened with disbelief for a split second.
Since when had Chester cared this much about that woman?
A silent, bitter hatred kindled in her heart once again. Without a word, she turned her gaze back to the restless sea.
Celestine, you’d better pray you actually die this easily.
Meanwhile, Vernon finally arrived–just in time to see Gideon leap into the water
after Celestine.
He froze in shock.
Wasn’t the young master terrified of water? He wouldn’t even go near a pool–how could he just jump into the ocean like that?
This was bad. Really, really bad.
Earlier, they were supposed to head back to Oceanview City. As usual, Vernon had been compiling the Fordham family’s weekly report when he mentioned Chester’s sudden return to the old manor–and the suspiciously large amount of cash he’d withdrawn.
Gideon had immediately caught the anomaly. “No, check where Chester took the money.”
At the time, Vernon had just thought the young master was letting his paranoia,get the best of him, as usual.
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But the truth was far worse than he’d imagined.
Celestine had been kidnapped.
Gideon hadn’t hesitated: he told Vernon to prepare the cash as ransom, and they’d rushed to the coast.
But as soon as they arrived, gunfire split the air.
Gideon had bolted from the car, sprinting toward the chaos.
Vernon had barely managed to keep up–panting, stumbling to the edge just in time to see Gideon’s silhouette vanish beneath the waves.
With shaking hands, Vernon called the Prescott family’s private rescue team in Portside City, then dialed the eldest Prescott son.
By midnight, wave after wave of rescuers had combed the sea, but there was still no sign of Celestine or Gideon.
The gunshots had drawn too much attention. Despite the Fordham family’s swift lockdown of the scene, swarms of reporters and paparazzi ringed the perimeter, cameras ready for any scrap of news.
Rumors swirled through the crowd.
“Did you hear? The kidnappers went after Joanna–Mr. Fordham’s thrown everything he’s got into the search! The gunman was killed on the spot!”
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knew Chester had twins–a boy and a girl–but there’d never been any word about a marriage.
Some had whispered that the twins were the secret children he and Joanna had after quietly dropping out of the public eye.
But Joanna was in the hospital right now, and the woman they’d just been gossiping about was the one lost at sea…
A collective gasp swept through the crowd.
What a bombshell!
The slanderous reporter, dazed from the blow, quickly shook off the shock. When he realized Chester wasn’t holding back, survival instinct kicked in and he started
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Chapter 193
to fight back.
“Screw you! The whole city knows you and Joanna have been tangled up for years–the only thing missing is a sex tape! Who the hell are you pretending for? Your wife? Your wife’s probably fish food by now!”
“Bastard! Shut up!”
The two of them brawled, each punch thrown as if it could kill.
It took Chester’s secretary and two bodyguards to break them apart.
But the damage was done. The entire scene had been captured by dozens of reporters and photographers.
Even after security forced a sweep and confiscated as much footage as they could, someone always slipped through the cracks.
Chester attacking a reporter–and the revelation that he’d abandoned his secret wife for Joanna–shot to the top of trending headlines.
The news was taken down quickly, but the fallout was immediate and ugly.
The Fordham family’s stock plunged 20% overnight.
Alistair was so enraged he ended up in the ER.
Bruised and battered, Chester knelt at his grandfather’s bedside. “Grandpa, this is
all
my fault. I swear I’ll find Celestine and make this right.”
Alistair looked as if he’d aged a decade overnight. “You don’t owe me an explanation. It’s the Selwyn family you’ve wronged! I can’t even look Mr. Selwyn in the eye. Chester, I can’t begin to express how disappointed I am in you.”
Three days had passed since the rescue began, and still there was no sign of Celestine.
Even Gideon, who’d jumped into the sea after her, had vanished without a trace.
Everyone knew what that meant, even if no one dared say it aloud.
They were both gone.
If Chester had jumped in after Celestine that night–like Gideon did–maybe the Fordham family wouldn’t be in such a disgraceful mess.
His lips, bloodless and trembling, barely moved. “I’ve failed her.”
As grandfather and grandson sat in heavy silence, the secretary knocked softly. “Sir,
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Mr. Fordham, there’s someone from the Selwyn family here to see you.”
