Chapter 1245 - 1185: I Miss Her Too

A crescent moon hung in the sky, the long pier stretching out into the sea. Adrian Desmond stood at the very end, a long shadow trailing behind him, his whole body steeped in loneliness and sorrow.

Sally walked to a point ten meters away from Adrian, not daring to go closer. Claire Desmond saw her father’s back and burst into loud wails, stretching out her little hands for Adrian to hold her.

"Claire, be good..." Sally tried to soothe her, but no matter how she coaxed, Claire wouldn’t stop crying. These days Claire was especially insecure.

Claire’s crying dragged Adrian’s far‑flung thoughts back. He turned around, looking at his daughter who was sobbing like a little tear‑drenched doll, frowned slightly, and strode over.

"Claire, what’s wrong?"

"She seems to have had a nightmare just now. She started crying as soon as she woke up," Sally explained.

Adrian took his daughter into his arms and gently soothed her a few times. Claire gradually stopped crying, but her little hands clutched his clothes tightly, unusually lacking in any sense of security.

"Is our Claire missing Mommy?" he asked softly in her ear, his voice filled with grief that would not dissolve.

Longing surged like the tide, roaring in to drown him. Sienna Johnson was very important to him—he’d always known that. Without Sienna, he felt his world had gone completely dark, stripped of all color.

"I miss her very much too," he murmured in his daughter’s ear.

...

Adrian brought his daughter back to the Johnson Family home.

The Johnson Family had many children; on ordinary days they could turn the place upside down. But today it was unusually quiet.

Kathryn saw Adrian return and came up to greet him. "Mr. Desmond, you’re back... Madam Johnson is waiting for you. She said that if you came back, I should take you to see her."

"How are the kids?"

"Curly has been unhappy all the time, and Hugo cries and fusses a lot..." The only one who’s stayed calm is Sheehan.

Claire was lying on his shoulder, asleep. Adrian was about to set her down and hand her over to Sally so she could take her back to the room, but Claire opened her eyes, looked around, and started crying.

Adrian could do nothing but keep holding her as he went to where Pauline Briggs was staying.

At this moment, he didn’t want to go back to his own rooms either. Without Sienna there, it would surely feel utterly cold and deserted.

After the old lady passed away, the Johnson Family household was rearranged.

Sienna and Adrian, as the lady and master of the Johnson Family, had moved into the main rooms, while Pauline lived in the west wing.

The three children were temporarily staying with Pauline now.

When Adrian arrived, Samara was telling Sheehan a story, her soft voice almost like a lullaby. Sheehan’s eyelids were slowly drooping and lifting.

Hugo was asleep. Curly sat cross‑legged on the bed, very quiet.

"Daddy." Sheehan, sharp‑eyed, was the first to see Adrian.

"Daddy, you’re back? Is my little sister back too?"

Curly sprang up from the bed and looked at Adrian, then peered behind him. Not seeing Sienna, the light in her eyes dimmed bit by bit.

"Where’s Mommy?" Curly asked.

Sheehan also asked, "Mommy?"

Adrian couldn’t bear to face them. He walked in holding Claire. Pauline looked at the sleeping Claire and asked, "Claire’s all right, isn’t she?"

Annan Briggs hadn’t told Claire anything about being injected with a sedative, so Pauline just assumed Claire had simply been kidnapped.

Seeing that Claire hadn’t been injured and was safely back, she was able to relax.

"She’s been a bit traumatized."

"Let me hold her."

Adrian carefully handed Claire over to Pauline. Claire woke up again, looked at her daddy, then at her grandma, and closed her eyes again.

"Has she had her milk?"

"We fed her once in the car."

Samara got up and fetched a blanket to cover Claire. She gently stroked Claire’s hair, her face full of pity and tenderness.

"Mom, put her in the crib," Adrian said.

"She’s been frightened. I’ll hold her for a while."

Claire slept lightly. Even if someone spoke just a bit louder, she would wake. No one knew what those kidnappers had done to her.

Kathryn brought in a bowl of chicken noodle soup and set it in front of Adrian. Pauline said, "You probably haven’t had dinner. Eat a little."

Adrian had no appetite, but he couldn’t refuse Pauline’s kindness, so he lowered his head and began to eat.

The room was very quiet; the only sound was Adrian eating his noodles. Claire woke up, and Adrian fed her a little of the broth. The broth was made from richly stewed chicken stock—Claire loved it.

"Claire, you like it? Tomorrow Grandma will stew you another whole chicken, all right?" Pauline said softly.

Claire finally smiled. Seeing her smile, Adrian bit his lower lip. Thankfully, she’d only been frightened and hadn’t been damaged.

Once the four children were asleep, Pauline finally asked about Sienna.

"You still haven’t found Sienna?"

"No."

"The kidnappers haven’t asked for ransom or anything?" Pauline had always thought this was just a normal kidnapping case.

"Mom, I will bring Sienna back."

Whenever Pauline thought about the conversation she’d overheard between those two women, her heart churned uneasily. Her daughter was so beautiful, which only made Pauline more afraid. In these past two days, new white hairs had started to sprout.

"Whatever amount of money they want, give it to them. If it’s not enough, I still have some, and if that’s still not enough, I’ll go borrow from your grandfather’s family. As long as she comes back safe and sound."

"I understand."

This was simply not a problem that money could solve.

After Adrian soothed Pauline and Samara a little, he got up and returned to his own room.

As he’d expected, the room was cold and empty. He thought of that night before they left for summer camp, when Sienna had been packing their luggage and had asked if he liked the matching parent‑child outfits she’d picked out.

Adrian had said, "They’re hideous."

In truth, he loved them.

It wasn’t that he found parent‑child outfits especially nice‑looking; it was that wearing the same clothes as Sienna made him happy.

"Sienna..."

He sat down in front of Sienna’s dressing table and picked up a peach wood comb. There were still a few strands of her long hair caught in the teeth. He laid the hair in his palm, and a great wave of sorrow rose up in him.

"Night Owl, I’m going to tear you to pieces!"

Whenever he thought of the culprit behind all this, Adrian wanted nothing more than to kill him.

Suddenly his phone chimed—it was an MMS.

Adrian opened it and saw Sienna’s bare shoulder, Night Owl kissing her cheek, his face full of smug satisfaction in a selfie.

"Night Owl!"

Another text came in; it was still from Night Owl.

—She’s my woman now!

Adrian let out a cold, mirthless laugh and sent him a text back.

"In Sienna’s heart, you’re nothing but a rapist! I’m the man she truly loves!"

"..."

"Night Owl, what exactly are you so proud of?"

"..."

"You’re nothing but a pathetic loser. Sienna will never love you!"

Adrian sent several texts in a row, but Night Owl didn’t reply. Adrian was waiting for Night Owl to strike back, but he didn’t.

He only sent a picture—his upper body naked, pressing down on top of Sienna...