Ch. 1271..1275
Chapter 1271 Sherry carefully balanced Caprice in one arm and dug her phone out with her free hand.
It was a message from Sylvia that read: “Sherry, Grandma is missing and nobody knows where she is. | don't think I'll be able to pick you up tomorrow morning. Could you go back with Aunt Wanda and Ben? Call me if you have anything.”
Sherry frowned upon reading this and sent a reply: “Hey Syl, don't worry about me. Grandma is more important. I'll take care of myself.”
There was no reply from Sylvia after that. She must be wholly occupied with trying to find Madam Carter. Sherry set her phone aside with a worried look on her face.
Madam Carter was in her twilight years and on top of her frail legs, she was also suffering from dementia. She prayed that nothing bad would befall upon the old lady.
She sat on the bed and looked at the night sky outside . She could not fall asleep. Caprice would wake up every two or three hours and ask to be fed so Sherry barely got any rest all night. Soon, it was dawn. When the sun came up, she quickly called Sylvia.
The call was connected after only several rings. Sherry asked urgently, “Hey Syl, any updates?” Sylvia answered, “We just found her.” There were a lot of background noises muddled with Sylvia‘s noise. It would appear that she was somewhere outside.
Sherry enquired further, “Is she all right?” “She's fine. I'll come to find you after | send her back home. Don't leave by yourself just yet, wait for me to get there.”
Sherry breathed a sigh of relief and quickly reassured Sylvia. “No, that's alright. You barely got any sleep last night, so you should go home and have a good rest.” Sylvia ignored her advice and promptly hung up after that.
Sherry smiled weakly and set her phone down. Today was the day she would finally leave the confinement center.
It had been several days since she last took a shower or washed her hair, but she still had to perform one last postpartum checkup.
After she had breakfast, she handed over Caprice to the care of Aunt Wanda. With that taken care of, she took a shower and followed the nurses to a ward where they performed a series of routine checkups on her.
An hour later, at the entrance of the confinement center.
Agroup of men in plain clothes approached the entrance. The two security guards posted by the entrance noticed something suspicious and went to stop them, but they were swiftly pushed out of the way.
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Upon sensing their aggression, the receptionist at the front desk asked in a voice colored with fear, “Who are you guys? What are you doing?”
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She promptly put her hands over the emergency button that would issue a notice to the local police department. She was ready to call for help at any given moment. “I wouldn'‘t click that button if | were you unless you want this place to get shut down.” Peter emerged from behind the group and addressed the receptionist sharply. The receptionist was visibly intimidated and stammered, “We... There are certain protocols you have to follow, outsiders aren't allowed without the explicit permission of the patients.”
Peter remarked with a smile, “Don't worry, we're just here to pick someone up. We don't want to cause trouble.”
With that, he placed a check on the counter. The receptionist was completely baffled when she read
the sheer sum of money written on the check. Still, she was very apprehensive of these unwelcome guests, fearing that they would cause trouble. “Who are you guys here for?” Peter mentioned with a quick smile, “A lady named Sherry Fowler and her baby.”
The receptionist jumped and asked, “Are you the father of Mrs. Sherry’s baby?” “Not me,” Peter said and backed away. Immediately after that, a tall figure with a stout presence approached from behind the group.
The man was wearing a white shirt and slim-fitting trousers. The gold-framed glasses were iconic and covered the dark gleam in his eyes. He announced his identity with a proud smirk, “I'm the father of the child.”
The receptionist had never seen such a handsome man in person. She immediately blushed. It was as if her agitation from her encounter with Peter and his men had turned to nothingness . She greeted John with a smile,” Good to see you, sir.”
“There‘s been some problems between us and she went and delivered the baby here to avoid having to see me. I'm here to pick her up and apologize to her,” John explained with a quick smile, and then asked, “Which room is she in?”
The receptionist's eyes had turned heart-shaped by this point. She answered in the most polite tone she could muster, “She's on the sixth floor, room 606.”
Chapter 1272 “Thank you.” John stepped toward the elevator after briskly thanking the receptionist. Peter and a crew of bodyguards immediately followed after him. The elevator door opened and John went inside. It took him to the sixth floor.
Meanwhile , inside a medical ward located on the second floor of the building where Sherry was having her postpartum checkup. The doctors had just finished up and she was preparing to leave when a young nurse ran into the ward.
She was here to gossip. “I heard them mentioning that there was this man that looked like a supermodel who had just come here. He had a whole group of men with him and mentioned something about coming here to pick up his wife who had a bit of a fallout with him. He‘s super handsome and charismatic. They said that he threw a ten million dollar check on the receptionist's table!
“Oh my god, you're kidding!”
Agroup of young nurses flocked together to gossip about the mysterious man.
Even the medical staff and some of the other patients present in the ward joined in on the gossip. “What does he look like? Like a celebrity on TV?”
“Yeah! Isabelle at the front desk said that she had never seen such a handsome man in her entire life. He was wearing a white shirt and a pair of slim—fit trousers. He also had a pair of striking gold-framed glasses on. His skin is fair like an angel's and his features look like something straight out of a painting. She said that he was nothing like anything she had ever seen before.” “Wow, where is he? | want to see him!”
“| want to see him as well!” “| think he went to the sixth floor. Let's go to the lobby. He should be heading back down any moment now.” “Sure, sure.”
With that, they all rushed outside in a hurry. Sherry hid behind the door, visibly shaking and had turned pale. White shirt, black trousers, and gold—framed glasses, and a mysterious man who had a group of followers tailing him everywhere he went.
Who else could it be apart from John?!
Ding: The elevator stopped on the sixth floor.
The doors opened swiftly, and they were greeted by a bright corridor.
The man leading the charge straightened his collar and took a large step forward as he was smiling.
Room 606 was just down the corridor on the right side.
He arrived at the entrance in just several strides and stopped in front of the door.
Peter immediately stepped forward and knocked on the door several times.
Shortly after, they heard footsteps coming from inside.
John could feel his hands trembling with excitement. He fixed his gaze intently on the door that was slowly being nudged open. Creak.
The door was opened from the inside and the person that greeted them was a young man dressed casually.
John squinted. “Master Stockton?” Ben cried out, the surprise in his voice was impossible to miss. His immediate thought
after that was to close the door and bar the unexpected visitors from entering. Peter lunged forward and threw the door open. Several bodyguards charged into the room and dissuaded any further resistance from Ben.
Ben turned pale and retreated a step back.
John smiled stoically and stepped into the room as if he owned the place. The room was basked in sunlight. He swept a glance around the room and asked, “Where‘s Sherry?”
Ben stared at him warily and remained silent.
Right at that moment, the door to the bathroom opened, and out came Aunt Wanda with Caprice who had just changed into a fresh set of diapers. “Ben, what's the matter? Who is it—?” She had barely finished her sentence when she noticed the unexpected group of men flanking her on all sides. They cast a predatory look on the child in her arms. 1 Her eyes flashed with alertness and she held onto Caprice tightly in response. John‘s eyes gleamed as well. He could even feel his body stiffening involuntarily. He strutted toward Aunt Wanda at once.
Aunt Wanda retreated warily.
She only managed to retreat several steps backward when the bodyguards stepped forward and stopped her. There was nowhere to run.
Aunt Wanda held the child protectively and asked sharply, “Who are you people? What do you want?”
Chapter 1273
John approached Aunt Wanda and stopped right in front of her. He looked at the baby that was sleeping soundly in her arms, and a soft look surfaced in his eyes.
He turned to Aunt Wanda and smiled politely. “I suppose you’re Wanda?” Aunt Wanda was startled by this. “How did you know?”
“’m John, the father of this child.”
Aunt Wanda was flabbergasted by this revelation. She turned to Ben as if to seek confirmation. Ben nodded at her from a distance as he could not get close to her.
Aunt Wanda frowned. “You... What are you doing here? This child belongs to Miss Sherry. She gave birth to her and you don’t have any right to take her away.”
John chuckled mockingly. “As if she’d ever exist if not for me.”
Aunt Wanda grimaced and continued clutching onto the baby tightly. John motioned. “Aunt Wanda, please hand her over.”
Aunt Wanda refused to budge.
Several bodyguards began to approach her.
Aunt Wanda was shivering with fright by this point as she shouted and protested, “This is Miss Sherry’s child, don’t even think about it!”
John remarked with a calm smile, “They won’t be rough with her. Just hand me the baby peacefully and | promise you that nothing will happen to her.”
Aunt Wanda eyed him suspiciously and adamantly held onto Caprice.
John remarked in a slightly threatening voice, “I’m sure you don’t want them to wake her up either.” Aunt Wanda felt her voice caught in her throat.
Even if she refused to hand her over, these men would take her away by force, one way or another. Caprice was a baby, frail and weak. If anything were to happen to her amid the struggle...
With that in mind, she heaved a long sigh and reluctantly handed Caprice over.
John carefully took the baby.
He felt the tender, soft skin of his daughter. There was now a measured gentleness in his gesture as if he was handling a priceless jewel. It seemed to him that the slightest force would disrupt the baby from her sleep.
Slowly and carefully, he took her in his arms and pressed her against his chest.
He gazed at her chubby little face. He felt a warm and fuzzy feeling swelling inside him. This was his daughter, the daughter of John Stockton.
He was a father.
Her cheeks were rosy and fleshy, she was just as cute, if not more so than Odell’s children.
He smiled with pride, then turned to ask Aunt Wanda. ” Where's Sherry right now?” Aunt Wanda’s eyes twitched. “I don’t know.”
John turned to Ben again.
Ben answered crossly, “I don’t know either.”
John made a look and proceeded to sit on the edge of the bed with Caprice in his arms. He noticed a paper pasted on the wall with something written on it.
The name of the mother and baby was written on the sign. The mother was Sherry Fowler and the baby was Caprice Fowler.
A deep look appeared in his eyes, then he shot a look at Peter. “Find her.”
Peter nodded and marched outside immediately. He stumbled into a nurse as soon as he stepped out of the room.
He quickly enquired, “Hi, could | know where Sherry Fowler is? She’s the mother residing inside this ward.‘
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The nurse answered dutifully, “Miss Sherry should be in the middle of her postpartum inspection, it’s located on the second floor.”
Peter turned to look at John.
John was hunched over and looking at his daughter dotingly. He ordered them without averting his eyes from his daughter, “Bring two men with you and find her.”
“Understood.” Peter immediately summoned two bodyguards to go with him. The room immediately fell silent after that. The two remaining bodyguards were vigilantly standing guard a short distance away from John.
Ben and Aunt Wanda stood together awkwardly. She was warily staring at John. Meanwhile, Ben sneakily reached for his phone and sent a text message to someone.
After about ten minutes, Peter returned.
He went straight to John with a frown zipped across his brows. He informed him in a hushed voice, “Sir, we checked all the rooms on the second floor but found no signs of Miss Sherry. The nurses mentioned that she was
there minutes ago but suddenly disappeared. They don’t know where she could've gone.
Next Chapter
Chapter 1274
John frowned upon hearing this and quickly commanded, “Dispatch more men, seal every single exit in the building, and search every room until you find her.”
The woman must have gone into hiding after she found out that he was here. However, he had their daughter, and he knew that she would not abandon her daughter and run off on her own.
Two hours passed.
Peter and his men had searched through every nook and cranny of the confinement center. The only thing they had not done by this point was to dig through the very foundations of the building. Still, there were no signs of their target.
Peter returned and carefully whispered in John’s ears, Sir, we searched every corner of the place but we couldn't find Miss Sherry anywhere, also...”
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John coddled his daughter in his arms with a flash of ice inside his eyes. “What is it?”
Peter gulped and informed, “We noticed that the emergency exit at the back of the confinement center was left open even though it should be closed most of the time. We suspect that Miss Sherry has escaped the building.”
John frowned with a terrible look on his face.
She ran?
She ran away!
What about her daughter?
He shot up from his seat.
The suddenness of his action must have awoken the sleeping baby. She was wide awake now but bawling at the top of her voice.
A soft look immediately overtook John’s eyes as he looked at Caprice affectionately.
She was pouting and crying at the top of her voice.
Aunt Wanda promptly stepped up and stated, “She must be hungry, she needs milk.”
John glared at Peter impatiently and roared, “Find her immediately!”
“Wahh!!!” Caprice cried even louder.
John grimaced.
Peter nodded wryly and slowly shuffled toward the door.
“Wait.”
Peter turned back to look at John warily.
John was very irritated by this point but found himself strangely soothed when he looked at Caprice.
He took a deep breath and said, “I'll go down with you.” He proceeded to head toward the door with Caprice in his arms.
Aunt Wanda and Ben quickly followed after him upon seeing this.
The elevator took them to the ground floor.
The group stepped out of the elevator and entered the lobby of the confinement center.
Caprice was still bawling her eyes out because she was hungry and needed milk. She cried incessantly and it seemed she would never stop until her hunger was appeased.
When John reached the entrance to the building, he silently gazed at Caprice’s beet-red cheeks and frowned. Peter and several bodyguards stood quietly next to him.
The staff members and the nurses could tell from one look that he was not in a good mood and knew better than to approach him.
Aunt Wanda and Ben could not figure out what was on his mind either, and they looked at Caprice with stark concern.
Caprice’s heart-wrenching cries were the only voice echoing through the building.
Meanwhile, behind a thick pillar only roughly ten meters away from the entrance of the confinement center. Sherry was hiding behind the pillar and cautiously peeking into the building.
Caprice’s cries reached her ears even from this distance. It stung her to hear her child crying like this. She felt as if her heart was stabbed by a knife!
She clenched her hands tightly, tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes. She was this close to charging into the building to rescue her darling daughter.
The only thing that stopped her from doing so was the flashbacks of the grueling year she spent locked up inside John’s house and her time in the staff dormitory. These oppressive and haunting memories surfaced from the back of her mind out of nowhere.
If she committed to such a reckless move, not only would she fail to get Caprice back, but she would also be thrown back into that torturous chamber.
Chapter 1275
She was not going back to that life where the only reason for her existence was to become a tool for John to vent his emotions! She no longer wanted to have anything to do with this man!
She clenched her hands tightly and dug her nails into her flesh.
After a while, she took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. She readied herself and made a run for it.
She was still wearing the gown provided by the confinement center. The moment she bolted out from behind the pillar, she heard someone crying out from inside the confinement center in a voice colored with shock, “That looks like Miss Sherry!”
Everyone turned to look.
John immediately shoved Caprice who was still crying into the arms of Aunt Wanda. Then, he threw the glass door open and chased after Sherry.
His figure zoomed in the direction Sherry ran toward like a flash of lightning. He was rapidly shortening the distance between the two of them.
He was only several meters away from catching up to her. It seemed a matter of seconds before he would seize her by the collar but at that crucial moment, he heard a sharp honk blaring from beside him.
Acar suddenly swerved in out of nowhere and came in between himself and Sherry. He grimaced and had to come to a stop to avoid being run over.
Only now did he realize that the chase had taken them to a busy intersection. The pedestrian light had turned red and countless cars were accelerating across the intersection without the slightest intention of stopping for him.
In a matter of seconds, Sherry had bolted to the opposite end of the intersection.
He balled his fist and roared, evoking a primal rage from the depths of his existence. “Sherry!”
Sherry, who was on the opposite side of the intersection, froze as she looked back at him.
John stood and stared at her, a raging current of cars separated the two of them like a raging river at high tide.
Despite the distance between the two of them, she could recognize his appearance at just one glance. She also detected the burning rage seething within him.
His demeanor was a complete departure from his usual calm and collected self. She felt her legs trembling underneath her when she saw him in this state.
However, these emotions were quickly suppressed by a burst of anger. The thought of the injustice he had brought upon her immediately wiped away the very last trace of fear inside her.
She took a deep breath and straightened herself up. She turned around and continued walking down the road. “Sherry, don’t you want your daughter?” John’s voice could be heard clearly despite the traffic.
Sherry stopped, gnashed her teeth, and continued pressing forward.
She heard his voice again. “Sherry! If you stop right now, | promise you that I’ll forgive the debt you owe me!” Sherry grimaced and continued her advance. She was not going to stop for him.
In the blink of an eye, she vanished from John’s sight.
John frowned. As soon as he saw the long-awaited green light, he charged across the intersection.
It was too late.
By the time he reached the other side, there was no sign
of Sherry anywhere. How was he supposed to know which path she had taken?
He froze like a pillar in the middle of the street, his eyes began to turn red underneath the gold—framed spectacles. How could she walk away even after he promised to forget about everything that happened between them?
How could she abandon her daughter? 2
Was she... Was she so determined to get away from him? 1
While John was at the confinement center, Sylvia and Odell were in a neighborhood near the academy.
Somehow, Madam Carter had managed to stumble here after leaving the house last night. It was pure luck that a young lady saw her and kept her safe.
Since there was no way for the lady to get any useful information from Madam Carter concerning her relatives, she let the old lady sleep at her place to keep her safe. After that, she made a police report.
Sylvia and Odell only learned about Madam Carter’s whereabouts after the police matched the profile description of the old lady and got in touch with them.
The good Samaritan lived in a rather aged apartment, but her place was relatively clean. Her name was Shermaine. She was in her early twenties. She had long weaving dark hair and fair skin to match. Even without makeup, her features were delicate and pleasant to look at.
Another distinctive part of her was the way she smelled of paint. The moment she opened the door, Sylvia felt an odd sense of familiarity with the young lady.