Chapter 42: Brother asking for help
Chapter 42: Brother asking for help
His furious way of speaking stunned Ella into silence.
Silence suddenly reigned in the car and Aiden calmed down a bit now. However, his anger had not completely subsided, so he was still grim and speechless.
After arriving at the underground parking lot of the company, they took the elevator to their own office without saying a word throughout.
Arriving at the department of design, Ella wanted to ask Sofia a few questions. It was not because she suspected that Sofia had drugged her food. After all, they had never had a quarrel nor a conflict when in the previous company, so she thought Sofia had no reason to scheme against her.
But last night she only chatted and drank with Daniel and Sofia in the ballroom, so she could not help but think of Daniel...
She thought he was more unlikely to do such a thing, especially when thinking of his righteous demeanour. Suspecting him would be a humiliation for him. NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
When seeing that Sophia's seat was still empty, she went back to hers.
After turning on the computer, she stared at the screen in a daze. Although she doubted that someone would really drug her food, her weird symptoms and Aiden's words made her believe! Glancing around the department, she felt that she had to be more careful there.
At this time, her phone emitted a sound of Facebook notification. Entering the password, she saw a message from Arthur, "Ella, when will you return my clothes?"
She smiled, remembering that he said she didn't have to return. She just forgot it recently, and he should rush her!
She typed quickly, "Please give me your address. I'll have it delivered to you. I've washed and ironed the clothes, and the tag is still new. Besides, don't call me by my first name. We don't know each other well."
It took her much time to preserve the tag.
She planned to buy the clothes at first, but then she thought twice-- 'Why should she buy an expensive clothes she disliked?'
Someone phoned before Arthur replied.
Seeing that it was the landline number of her family, she picked up the phone immediately. She left her seat, saying, "Mom, please wait till I went to the stairwell."
In most cases no one except her mother Caroline would call her on the landline. After walking to the stairwell and closing the fire door, she said, "Mom, you can talk now."
"Ella, I'm your brother, Jack!"
"Jack? Are you on your summer holiday?" Although she was not in close contact with her half-brother, they maintained some semblance of family at least.
At the moment Jack Morris was standing in the living room of the old home, he said anxiously, "Ella, please listen to me first. I have a hunch that something bad happened to our parents..."
She was stunned by his words, her scalp numb and brain blank. She asked hurriedly, "Don't rush, speak slower. What happened to mom and Uncle Morris?"
"Mom flew to Las Vegas two days ago, saying she was going to bring Dad back. I called her this morning to ask when they would come back, but I couldn't get through! And I couldn't get through to dad several days ago! I was so worried about them..."
His voice bordered on crying, suggesting he was really worried. Ella continued calmly, "Do you know why they went to Las Vegas? And do you know your dad ran over and killed someone several days ago? Has it been solved?"
"What? Dad killed someone? I have no idea at all! I've been at home recently but they never mentioned it..."
He added, "I only know that dad was in a bad mood because of his expulsion from school. An uncle surnamed James who seemed to have made a fortune wanted to take dad to Las Vegas for a few days, and mom agreed. But two days ago, mom, looking grim, told me that she was going to Las Vegas to bring dad back. I know nothing else."
She pondered over his words, but she could hardly figure it out based on the limited information her brother provided.
She thought for a moment, saying, "Well, Jack , you should take care of yourself at home. If you feel afraid of staying alone, you can stay at your aunt's for a few days. I can tell her."
"I will ascertain what happened to them. If necessary, I will call the police. Wait for my news at home. Incidentally, do you have any money? If not, I'll remit some to aunt, and you can ask from her."
Holding the phone in his hand, he said, voice still uneasy, "Ella, don't worry about me. Mom gave me 1,000 dollars before she left. It's enough for me. You can just focus on your investigation."
He paused, saying, "I won't go to aunt's. She's still in the dark about what happened. Mom specifically told me not to tell anyone about it. I couldn't get in touch with them, so I have no way but to call you."
"Well, I know, Jack. Wait for my news at home and don't run around. Keep the doors and windows closed when you sleep."
"Fine, go back to work, Ella. I can take care of myself. I've grown up!"
After hanging up, she was still reeling for a long time. She had a premonition that mom and Uncle Morris may really be in trouble...
'Las Vegas, the famous gambling city.' She pondered, frowning and completely confused. 'That Uncle James Jack mentioned was a notorious gambler. Why should mom agree to let them go to Las Vegas.'
After returning to the office, Ella texted Alice the whole thing, asking whether she had some friend in Las Vegas who could help investigate it.
"If you call the police now, you'll make a fool of yourself if Caroline and Luke are all fine."
Alice called her directly instead of texting. She told Ella that she had a friend who could help in Las Vegas and let Ella wait for her news.
Ella had been unsettled after the phone call. She hoped that the whole thing was just a result of her paranoia. She hoped Luke was not interfered in gambling!
It was approaching lunch time when Daniel arrived at the department of design. He asked Assistant Shaw to tell Ella to come to his office.
When she arrived at the director's office, she saw two helpings of sushi on the tea table. But she quickly shifted her attention and asked, "What can I do for you, Mr. Nelson?"
Putting down the documents, Daniel left his seat and walked towards her with a smile. "Nothing. I just want to ask why you left last night without telling me. I meant to take you home."
"Sorry... Last night Sophia suddenly had a stomachache..."
"Well, I know, I saw you two walking towards the bathroom. She's absent today, and Assistant Shaw told me she asked for leave."
"She asked for leave..." she nodded.
Daniel asked, "It's almost lunchtime. Do you have any other arrangement? If not, you can eat with me. I asked Assistant Shaw to buy sushi for me, but he bought two servings. I can't finish it on my own."
When she was thinking about making an excuse to leave, her phone in the pocket rang in time. However, it turned to be only the text message alert of Aiden, but she still found an ingenious excuse. "Sorry, thank you for your kindness. I've had an appointment with my friend. She sent the message probably to inform me of her arrival."
His dark eyes sparking, he said with a faint smile, "I guess she must be very close to you because you set a very special text message alert for her."