The Ex and Her Riches
Chapter 773

Chapter 773

Cedrick lowered his gaze and stroked his son’s head while saying seriously, “Keep Gwenny’sdisappearance a secret for now. I don’t want it to cause panic in Salinsburgh. Besides, I’ve arranged forSwain to conduct a comprehensive investigation on this matter. So far, there are two phones found,and their data are getting recovered. We’ll be getting some results tomorrow.”

Even though he was feeling conflicted, he still did a great job in planning all of that.

Charles listened silently and mulled over it before saying, “So you’re planning to wait until tomorrowmorning? For the results?”

Cedrick said nothing, but his silence was a tacit agreement to Charles’ words.

It had been a long night, and investigation results needed time to be produced. Not to mention theother party had many tricks up their sleeves and were familiar with Salinsburgh. They could hidethemselves perfectly without making any mistakes.

Waiting was all he could do.

Charles’ expression grew more solemn when he saw Cedrick falling silent.

The paper in his hands was getting crumpled as he endured his emotions in silence.

He could not remain there without doing anything when there was a possibility of Gwendolyn alreadyhurt.

Charles was not as patient as Cedrick.

At that, Charles stood up, put down the report, and turned around to leave.

Puzzled by Charles’ sudden actions, Nico called out, “Charles! It’s midnight, and there isn’t much thatcan be done. What are you trying to do?”

Charles halted and said in a determined tone without turning around, “To have one more personinvolved means we’ll have one more solution. Since Cedrick wants to investigate the matter lawfully, I’lldo it the other way.”

With that, he marched out of the room, leaving the door to close behind him with a thud.

Just like that, the office fell into complete silence.

Cedrick focused on watching over the children, his gaze dark and inscrutable.

Although Cedrick did not blame himself in public, Nico, who had been working with the former for overten years, knew him well to understand what he was feeling.

Having no intent of exposing his superior, Nico got up, straightened his clothes, and said seriously,“Cedrick, you’ve had a long night and have been drinking. You should get some rest and not burnyourself out. You’re still needed to take care of the children. I’ll go look for Swain and work with him tospeed up the investigation.”

Cedrick merely pursed his lips and nodded in response, suppressing the overwhelming despondencyhe was feeling.

Soon, the next day arrived.

Cedrick had only gotten two hours of sleep because Benedict had to be taken to the laboratory for hisIV therapy. Hence, he helped the children wash up on time.

When they were ready, Cedrick got a police officer to deliver breakfast from the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation’s cafeteria and then fed the children patiently.

However, Zendaya had only taken two sips of the soy milk when she frowned and stuck her tongue out.

“Daddy, the food here is horrible. I still like your cooking better.”

Alas, the comments only fell on deaf ears. Cedrick ate his food as if he was on autopilot; he had notregistered a single word Zendaya said.

“Daddy?” Zendaya called out, her head tilted in confusion. Just then, Benedict stopped her.

“Don’t be picky. You’re lucky to have food to eat. Didn’t you hear what Daddy said last night? Mommyand Daddy will be busy for the next few days, and they won’t be available to take care of us. Let’s bemore sensible and not give Daddy any more trouble.”

“Oh… Okay.”

Zendaya pouted unhappily and picked up her fork to continue eating. From then on, she did notcomment about the food.

Not sleeping well the whole night had given Cedrick a terrible complexion and obvious dark circlesunder his eyes.

The sight made Benedict feel bad, so he gave his father his fried egg.

“Daddy, I don’t feel like eating eggs. The IV drips messed up my appetite. I only feel like drinking waternow. Can you help me eat it?”

Snapping back to reality, Cedrick patted his son’s head and asked, “Are you feeling unwell? Do youfeel nauseous?”

Benedict shook his head. “I’m okay. I just can’t eat the egg because of the smell, but I don’t want towaste it. You should eat more.”

“Okay.” Cedrick smiled and ate the egg he got from Benedict.

After breakfast, Cedrick brought the children to the lab.

“Zendy, I’ve applied for a few days of leave for you at your kindergarten. Could you keep Bennycompany at the lab for the next few days?”

Zendaya, who sat obediently in the high chair, bobbed her head. “Okay. I’ll take care of Benny.”

Once they entered the ward, Joshua entered with a medical tray to give Benedict the IV fluids.Meanwhile, Zendaya sat beside the bed, reading her storybook.

Cedrick, too, stood by the bed, but his mind soon wandered off as he watched his son get his fluids.

As if reading the man’s mind, Benedict looked up and said decisively, “Daddy, I’ll be fine with Zendyhere. You still have a lot of work, right? You can go. I’ll take good care of Zendy and me. We’ll stay hereand not make you worry.”

The boy was only five years old, yet he was thoughtful and great at studying a person’s expression.Cedrick could not be prouder of his son, and he bent forward to plant a kiss on the former’s forehead.

“Be a good boy, Benny. I’ll come over at night.”

Smiling, Benedict waved at the man. “Go on. I’ll wait for you tonight.”

Right then, Zendaya put down her storybook and pointed at her face, saying, “Daddy, I want a kiss onthe cheek, too.”

Of course, Cedrick walked over and kissed her gently on the cheek. To his surprise, the little girlwrapped her arms around his neck and forcefully planted a few kisses on his face.

“I know you’re busy with work. I’ll be a good girl and do my best not to cause you any trouble.”

Although it did not sound exactly promising, it was not easy for a troublemaker like her to make such apromise.

The children’s reassurance filled Cedrick’s heart with warmth. Even tears began to well in his eyes.

Holding back his tears, Cedrick gave a few reminders calmly and got up to leave.

Joshua, too, walked out with Cedrick. When they were out of earshot, the latter said softly, “I reallydon’t have extra energy to spare these days. Please watch the kids for me when I’m not around.”

Ever since Charles found out that Gwendolyn was missing, he, too, disappeared. There was no newsfrom him, nor did he return to the Newton residence.

On the other hand, Nico, Neville, and Swain had been busy working on a huge case in Salinsburgh.Hence, Joshua was the only person Cedrick could rely on to take care of the children.

Joshua promised, “Don’t worry, Cedrick. I’ve just finished medical research, so I’ll be free for a fewdays. You can leave Benny and Zendy to me. I’ll take good care of them.”

Now that he had his friend’s promise, Cedrick patted the former firmly on the shoulder and drove to theFederal Bureau of Investigation without wasting another second.

In the ward, Benedict had turned his head to look at the leaves rustling outside the window; his childishfeatures tensed to form a stern expression like Cedrick’s.

Before he dozed off to sleep the previous night, he vaguely heard the conversation between Cedrick,Charles, and Nico.

That was when he found out that his mother had gone missing and that her absence from the Harrisresidence was not because of her busy schedule.

Benedict knew how upset Cedrick was feeling at the moment, so he did not want to drag the latterdown.

I need to let Daddy carry out the investigation without worrying about anything else. That way, he’ll replaceMommy sooner.

Meanwhile, Zendaya sat at the foot of the bed, focused on reading a storybook. There was an innocentlook on her face as if nothing concerned her other than having fun.

Just then, Benedict took an orange from the table and offered it to her. “Didn’t you say the breakfastwas horrible? This is sweet. You’ll be full after having some.”

After leaving the lab, Cedrick sped off to look for Owen, the repairman.

At the same time, Owen was focused on repairing the phone Cedrick brought to him.

In fact, it was almost done. There were a few steps left until Owen could try turning on the device.

Hence, Cedrick sat patiently in the corner for ten minutes so the man could focus on his job.

“Mr. Jenson, it’s done.”

Owen handed over the phone he managed to piece together with a look of pride. “It’s quite damaged,but fortunately, the data chip is intact. I changed the screen and some hardware. It can’t be restoredcompletely, but you can still browse the original information on the phone.”

Immediately, Cedrick took the phone and opened the contacts list.

Fortunately, the latest call log was retained. What caught Cedrick’s attention was the suspicious call logbetween the phone’s owner and two seemingly plain unknown numbers.

The calls were not frequent, but they always lasted for more than five minutes.