The same thought popped up in Roxanne’s mind. Is this little girl a mute?
Her sympathy for the little girl increased. In a gentle voice, she asked, “Can you give me your hand?”
With that, she stretched her hand outward.
Despite staring at her timidly, the little girl seemed to be less rigid after hearing her words.
Roxanne waited patiently for the little girl to accept her hand.
After a long hesitation, the little girl finally reached out to take Roxanne’s hand cautiously.
Seeing that, Roxanne held her hand gently and helped her up. She didn’t forget to check the little girl again for any injuries.
Because of her action, they got physically closer to each other.
The little girl felt soft and fluffy. She even smelled like milk.
Roxanne couldn’t help but recall her daughter, who was a stillborn baby.
If she were to grow up well, she’d be around this little girl’s age.
As that thought surfaced in her mind, Roxanne was overcome with heartache and regret.
As if sensing her emotions, the little girl stayed put and gazed at her quietly.
I know I shouldn’t talk to strangers, but this lady is really pretty. Strangely, I feel the urge to get close to her.
At that moment, Madilyn remarked, “Oh, what an adorable young girl. She’s as adorable as our boys!”
Roxanne nodded in agreement. “I believe she got lost. Let’s send her to the police station and see if we can get in contact with her family.”
Right after she said that, the young girl gave her a slight tug.
Roxanne looked down in confusion.
The little girl was shaking her head profusely, her eyes turning red. She seemed like she was about to dissolve into tears any minute.
Clearly, the little girl didn’t want her to do that.
Seeing the girl’s distraught expression really tugged at Roxanne’s heartstrings.
She had no other choice, though. If she didn’t send the little girl to the police station in time, she might be accused of kidnapping the latter.
Roxanne was in a dilemma.
“All right. We don’t have to go to the police station.” She squatted down and tried to negotiate with the little girl. “Do you have your parents’ phone number? I can call them so they can come here to pick you up.”
The little girl stopped shaking her head, but she slumped in dejection instead.
As she didn’t respond, Roxanne assumed she didn’t have her parents’ number. She was about to send her to the police station when the little girl moved.
Roxanne watched as she pulled out a pencil and a post-it note. She then scribbled a phone number with the word “Daddy” behind it before handing the note to Roxanne.
After taking the note from her, Roxanne punched in the number belonging to the little girl’s dad.
“Oh, she’s indeed mute,” Archie and Benny muttered under their breaths.
Roxanne stiffened and shot her sons a warning look. “Don’t be rude to her.”
The boys straightened their backs and gave the little girl guilty smiles.
Glancing at them, the little girl inched nearer to Roxanne instinctively and reached out to grab the corner of Roxanne’s dress.
However, Roxanne didn’t notice that as she was busy double-checking the phone number before making the call.
Back in the Farwell residence, Lucian strode into the mansion angrily. “Is Essie back?”
The butler came to welcome him. Wearing a worried expression, he said, “No. I didn’t see Ms. Estella around.”
After saying that, he realized the temperature surrounding his employer had dropped drastically.
Lucian’s lips thinned as he furrowed his brows.
I’ve searched everywhere I could. Where could she be? Did something happen to her?
As that possibility occurred to him, a faint gleam of malice shone in his eyes. It appeared as if he wanted nothing more than to destroy the entire world.
Right then, a lady clad in thick makeup hurried into the mansion and asked anxiously, “Lucian, I heard Essie went missing? Is it true? Did you find her?”
The lady was none other than Aubree, the one whom Lucian wanted to marry previously.
Nevertheless, Lucian kept his authoritative aura before her. “She’s still missing. Now that you’re here, I’d like to know what you told Essie this afternoon. Why would she run away from home for no reason?”
Aubree seemed surprised to hear his question as she stared at him incredulously. “Lucian, what are you saying? Are you saying I did something to Essie?”
Seemingly hurt, she added, “I did nothing to her! Never mind if someone else misunderstands me. You’ve seen how I treated her dearly over the years! Even though Essie treated me coldly, I didn’t mind and took good care of her. I never yelled at her. No way would I do something to make her run away from home!”
With her red-rimmed eyes and innocent expression, she was trying hard to convince Lucian that she had nothing to do with Estella’s disappearance.
Deep down, she wanted nothing more than for the mute little girl to disappear forever.
Indeed, she was harsh to Estella that afternoon. She also told the little girl that she would give birth to more adorable children after she married Lucian.
By then, Lucian would no longer adore Estella.
As Estella couldn’t talk, Aubree wasn’t afraid that the former would complain about her behavior to Lucian.
However, she had no idea that Estella would end up running away from home.
This is great! It will be better if she can’t return. That way, I won’t have to see her again!
