Sonia neither confirmed nor denied the statement.
Rita swallowed the scream bubbling in her throat as she questioned in disbelief, "How could she have been imprisoned? Who imprisoned her? But I saw Miss Daphne walking around just a few days ago. Could it be that she was imprisoned before I met her?"
"No. Miss Daphne had already been imprisoned when she submitted her resignation." Sonia pursed her lips.
Rita turned pale with horror. "She has been imprisoned since she submitted her resignation?"
"Yes."
"No wonder… No wonder Miss Daphne wanted to resign. No wonder she lied and tried to deceive us by saying that she went to further her studies abroad. It's because she had been imprisoned and could not tell anybody the truth! She was probably worried that she might drag others down with her." Rita speculated. "Did she offend somebody badly? Is that why she was imprisoned?"
Sonia shook her head. "No. She didn't offend a bad person. The person who is holding her prisoner is not bad. At least, not really."
"Who is it?"
"It's Charles." She pursed her lips tightly.
Rita was taken aback by the unexpected answer. "Wait a minute, Chairman Reed. Did I mishear you? Did you just say… President Lane?"
"Yes, it's him."
"Why?" She widened her eyes in disbelief. "Why would President Lane imprison her?"
Sonia sighed heavily. "Now that things have come to this, I won't hide the truth from you anymore. As you know, Miss Daphne is pregnant. What you don't know is who fathered her child. Well, I can tell you right now that the child in her womb belongs to Charles."
"Oh, Dear God." Rita inhaled sharply. "It's President Lane's? How can that be?"
"Miss Daphne has always had feelings for Charles, but Charles has never reciprocated those feelings. Due to an accident, Miss Daphne became pregnant with his child. She had been drowning in anxiety, worried that he would learn about her pregnancy. She applied for leave on several occasions to attend maternity checkups. She had planned to abort the child. She believed that she and Charles would never have anything to do with each other again once she aborted the child. Unexpectedly, Charles learned about her pregnancy on the day of her abortion. He rushed to the hospital and took her away from the hospital, and then he imprisoned her inside a villa."
That was the information found by the private investigator.
Rita heard a faint ringing in her mind as she pieced the information together. "I think I know how President Lane discovered that Miss Daphne is pregnant…"
"You do?"
She chewed on her lower lip as her expression was filled with guilt. "Yes, I do. That's because I saw the abortion report that Miss Daphne threw in the trash can that day. After that, I discussed my discovery with the other girls in the office when President Lane suddenly barged into the conversation. After he demanded the name of the hospital Miss Daphne visited, he hurriedly left without another word. At the time, we didn't know that she was carrying President Lane's child. We thought that she had been bullied and assumed that President Lane left in such a hurry because he was worried about her. I can't believe…"
Now everything made sense.
Charles learned about Daphne's pregnancy and left to stop her from moving forward with the abortion. He then took her away and forced her to deceive them by resigning under the excuse that she had gone to further her studies abroad.
"Chairman Reed, why do you think President Lane imprisoned Miss Daphne? What is his purpose in doing something like that?" Rita asked while looking directly at Sonia.
Sonia shook her head in confusion. "I don't know. The private investigator only investigated what happened to Miss Daphne. The day you saw her happened to be when she was allowed to go out for some fresh air. Charles apparently agreed to let her out for relaxation once a week, but she had to remain in the villa for the rest of the time. That's why you saw her that day. As for what Charles is planning to do… I don't know."
Still, she couldn't help but wonder, Charles took Miss Daphne away from the hospital and stopped her from moving forward with the abortion. Could it be that he wants her to give birth to his child?
The possibility of that is far from low, especially considering his actions in stopping her from moving forward with her plans.
If he had no intention of having a child, he could have allowed her to abort the child back then.
If I want to learn the specific reason behind his actions, I will need to ask him directly.
"Chairman Reed…"
"I know what you want to say. Don't worry. I will have an open and honest talk with Charles in a bit. However, I don't have the time right now. As you know, it's not appropriate for Toby and me to appear in public under our current circumstances," Sonia said solemnly.
Rita nodded. "I understand. Since Miss Daphne is allowed to come out once a week, then that means President Lane is giving her a certain extent of freedom despite imprisoning her. She is clearly not in danger under his care. It'll be enough if you ask about the situation when you have the time, Chairman Reed."
That was her real purpose.
Sonia took off her glasses to massage her ears and nose. "I will."
Rita did not stay for long and left after a short while.
Sonia lay down and tried to rest as her mind whirled with half-formed thoughts and concerns.
Toby's surgery was scheduled for tonight. She had to get some sleep and replenish her energy so that she would have enough strength to wait for Toby outside the operating room tonight.
Her nap lasted for five hours.
In the end, she was woken by the nurse who told her that it was almost time for Toby's surgery.
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