About 20 minutes later, a black Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of the residential area. Seeing the vehicle, Keaton went over and said, "President Pearson…"
At this moment, Aidan appeared cold and distant; he was like a demon who had just crawled out from hell. He demanded coldly, "Have you found them?"
Keaton shook his head. "We've searched the entire residential area thoroughly, including the basement. We've also looked around nearby, but we still can't find them."
Aidan turned around abruptly and clenched Keaton's collar. He questioned coldly, "What did I tell you?"
Keaton hung his head low. "I'm sorry for failing to protect them."
"You're sorry?" Aidan sneered and pushed him away. "Can you find them by apologizing?" He closed his eyes and went on to say, "Have you found out the cause of the fire?"
"We're looking into it. The place was set ablaze all of a sudden, so it didn't seem to be an accident."
Aidan snapped, "Anyone who isn't a fool can tell that it's not an accident." He turned to look at Keaton. "Do you remember what the woman looks like? The one who pulled you away."
"I can roughly remember her face."
"Roughly?"
Keaton promptly corrected himself and said, "I remember her face clearly."
Aidan ordered, "Get to the woman in the shortest time possible."
"Yes," Keaton replied and left the place.
Aidan then said to a subordinate beside him, "Get in touch with the manager of this apartment. I have to know what started the fire at once. Also, contact the police and get all surveillance footage around this area. As soon as you find anyone who looks suspicious, arrest them regardless of their intention."
"I got it, President Pearson. I'll deal with it at once."
"Wait a minute," Aidan said. "Has Celia disappeared as well?"
The subordinate nodded. "Yes."
"Give Oscar a call and tell him to find her boyfriend's whereabouts."
After the subordinate left, Aidan remained in the same spot and looked at the uproarious crowd in the distance. His thin lips pressed into a line as he balled up his fists. Soon, the apartment's manager came over in a hurry. "I didn't know you were here, President Pearson. I—"
"Cut to the chase."
The manager wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I'll show you the way."
Presently, the fire had been put out as water dripped from the rooftop. Meanwhile, the apartment's residents were terrified as they expressed their displeasure.
When they arrived at the floor where the fire started, the manager said, "Be careful, President Pearson. The floor is covered with water."
Standing in front of a charred house, the manager said, "This was where the fire started. I asked the firefighters, and they told me that there were a lot of combustible items in this house that would be set ablaze with a little spark."
"Who lives here?"
The manager's assistant stepped forward and replied, "A news anchor rented this place and stored her items here, but she ended her lease two days ago. The homeowner hadn't managed to check on the house as he was somewhere else. Moreover, the news anchor left the place without getting the deposit back, so…"
Aidan headed to the balcony and looked up. He was on the 15th floor, and their house was on the 20th floor. Both houses were only five floors apart. Once the fire started, there wasn't time for Keaton and the others to ponder. As such, they had to leave the building through the emergency exit immediately. It seems that those people are well-prepared.
The manager said, "President Pearson…"
Aidan ordered, "Contact the news anchor and see if she was the one who put those items here."
After the assistant left, the manager said, "President Pearson, if I remember correctly, your house is on the 20th floor. Your place hasn't been badly damaged. Would you like to take a look?"
Aidan hummed and stepped forward. Realizing that the manager was following behind him, he said, "I'll go there on my own. Just carry on with your stuff."
"Yes."
Upon reaching the 20th floor, Aidan headed to the house at the end of the corridor, entered the password, and got in. The smell of smoke still lingered around the house as his curtains and the couch had been damaged.
Aidan shuffled toward the crib and discovered some toys and a milk bottle inside. He hung his head low and fell into his thoughts. Several moments later, he turned around and headed to the bedroom. Then, he took out a suitcase from a wardrobe and placed Leanna's clothes and some other stuff into the suitcase.
The moment he left the building, he received a call from Oscar. "What's going on?"
"I have a premonition."
Oscar said, "If Celia's boyfriend did it, he'll most likely demand some money. What else can he do? Don't worry, I'm on the way to your place. I'm sure we'll receive some information soon."
Aidan grunted and hung up the call before passing the suitcase to a subordinate. "Send it to Castor Villa."
…
Meanwhile, Celia was carrying the little one as the latter cried. She took a look at the backseat and asked anxiously, "Where are we going? For some reason, Ms. Fletcher has been unconscious for quite some time…"
While driving the car, Raymond replied softly, "She has passed out after inhaling too much smoke. She'll be fine."
"Where are you taking us? Please tell me."
"Don't worry, I'm taking you all to a very safe place where no one will discover us."
Celia was apprehensive. "What are you trying to do? Why don't you give me your phone? I'll call them and tell them what's going on. I'm sure they must be anxious."
She had lost her phone the moment she left the building earlier. Before she could contact Aidan, she was taken away by Raymond, who offered to bring them somewhere else as there were too many people in that place.
At that time, Celia had the child with her, and she trusted Raymond. As such, she didn't think twice before agreeing to it. However, Naomi passed out suddenly not long after they started following Raymond, who promptly supported Naomi's weight and brought them to his car. Before Celia could say anything, Raymond had driven the car away.
Raymond looked at her. "There's something I've been hiding from you for a long time, Celia."
"What is it?"
Raymond explained, "I've been working for Miss McKinney the entire time. As you can see, she's now in charge of the Crossley Group, and I'm her subordinate."
Celia couldn't help feeling nervous. "What are you trying to say?"
"Miss McKinney has found out what you all have been doing behind her back." As Raymond spoke, he glanced at the little one in Celia's arms and squinted his eyes. "She's also aware that this child is hers."
Celia was flabbergasted as her pupils dilated. "No way! President Pearson has been hiding this secret well. There's no way Miss McKinney would find out about it."
Raymond let out a sigh. "It's precisely because President Pearson has been hiding it from Miss McKinney for so long that she's pissed off upon finding out the truth. She told me to bring the child to a place where President Pearson can't find them. She'll be waiting for us there."
Before Celia could say anything, Raymond continued, "As such, you must not inform President Pearson about it. You'll know if I'm lying when we arrive at our destination."
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