Chapter
Chapter 192
“How could Theo just disappear?!” Madeline’s voice rose, sharp with tension. “Are you sure he didn’t go to that birthday party he mentioned?”
Carter replied calmly, but with a grim edge. “He left both his phone and tracking watch at home. Clearly, he didn’t want to be found.”
Madeline gasped. “But he loves Kelly the most, doesn’t he? Have you asked her?”
“Not yet,” he said. “I’ll call her now.”
Theo was her precious grandson. Madeline hurriedly added, “Let me know if you hear anything… No, forget it. I’ll go search with Denise too.”
After hanging up, Carter dialed Kelly.
She sounded surprised when she answered. “Theo’s not with me… Is he missing?”
Panic crept into her voice. A real accident would ruin everything. Without Theo, she had no excuse to stay close to Carter. It was so much easier to manipulate a child than an adult.
After a pause, her voice softened. “Carter, do you think… do you think Sharon might’ve taken him?”
Carter’s brow furrowed. “But Marie is sure he left on his own. No one picked him up.”
Kelly’s tone was gentle, coaxing. “But he left his phone and watch behind. That’s not something he’d do if he was coming to see us. He didn’t want anyone to know where he was going. If he was coming to you-or me-why sneak around like that?”
She hesitated, then continued, “Didn’t you say Sharon has been pushing for a divorce lately? And you agreed?”
“Maybe she doesn’t know how to back out now, so she took Theo-so you’d see how much your son still needs his mother. That way, you’d think twice about the divorce, for Theo’s sake.
“And remember, Theo usually stays at Madeline’s on weekends. But yesterday, he lied. That means this was planned. Maybe it was Sharon who reached out to him and made him run away from home.”
Carter went quiet for a few seconds before answering. “I don’t think so.”
He remembered how resolute Sharon had been when she brought up divorce. It hadn’t seemed like a bluff.
He couldn’t explain it exactly, but he had a feeling-Sharon really meant it this time.
Kelly’s heart sank.
Carter, who had never once trusted Sharon, was suddenly defending her?
His attitude… had changed.
It had to be because of her little performance that day. Somehow, Sharon had left an impression.
Kelly knew one thing for certain-Carter had always admired women with talent. If a woman was just a pretty face with no substance, no matter how stunning she looked, she couldn’t hold his interest. Just like Sharon used to be.
That was exactly how Kelly had attracted him in the first place.
No. She couldn’t let him fall for Sharon again.
Meanwhile, at the amusement park, Sharon had no idea Theo had gone missing.
1/2
She was about to take Matty to the next ride when her phone rang.
It was Carter.
She hesitated for a second before answering.
“Carter. Calling about the divorce?”
He’d proposed a clean break, that she was to leave with nothing. She’d told him the next day: absolutely not.
She’d given birth to his heir. She’d spent five years caring for Theo and him like a live-in maid. No pay, no thanks-and now he wanted her to walk away empty-handed? He had to be dreaming.
She wasn’t planning to remarry anytime soon, but Xavier had already helped her find a good lawyer. The appeal was filed, and now they just had to wait for the legal process to unfold.
The lawyer had warned her: if Carter refused to consent to the divorce, it would be hard to win in the first trial.
2/2
