Divorced the Cheat Married the Fleet (Camilla and Lance) novel Chapter 425

With a solid lead to go on, the police immediately launched an investigation.

The homeless demographic was the easiest to verify. It didn't take long for a young officer to return, his face ashen. "It's true. The city's transient population has vanished—specifically the younger ones. The elderly scavengers, the ones in their sixties and seventies, are still around, but the young, able-bodied ones are gone."

That confirmed everything.

Leaving the highly visible elderly on the streets maintained the illusion of normalcy, but more importantly, whatever sick operation they were running required strong, resilient bodies.

If they were testing illicit drugs or experimental treatments, they needed the robust immune systems of the young to survive the trials.

Camilla's fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white.

If she hadn't stumbled into this nightmare herself, she never would have believed such unhinged evil could operate right out in the open.

The grieving father had been taken to the station to give an official statement. While the police were still compiling the list of missing isolated individuals like Latonia, reports were already trickling in—dozens of middle-aged people had quietly vanished off the grid.

They had uncovered a massive conspiracy. The deeper they dug, the more horrifying the truth became.

Once the local authorities had cleared out, Mahoney turned to Camilla and Carol. "You two have done enough. You found the thread that unraveled this whole thing, but it's too dangerous for you to stay involved. It's almost the holidays. You should head back to Cabinda. Camilla, the second we have a breakthrough, you'll be the first to know."

Mahoney had heard about Camilla waltzing into The Williams Group alone. Terrified she might get herself killed, he wanted her as far away from this mess as possible.

As he spoke, he shot Carol a meaningful look.

Catching the hint, Carol nodded. "He's right. New Year's is in two days, and we have a ton of corporate fires to put out back in Cabinda. I need to head back. You should come with me, Camilla. Elise just got out of the hospital this year; she's definitely going to want you home for the holidays."

Camilla's first instinct was to refuse. She wanted to stay and hunt down every last lead.

But the mention of Elise made her hesitate.

Elise was already feeling anxious about living under the same roof as Lance. If Camilla didn't even show up for the holidays, her mother would feel completely out of place and stressed.

With no solid leads on her father's whereabouts yet, she didn't want Elise worrying herself sick. Reluctantly, she booked a flight back to Cabinda with Carol.

"How am I being childish?!" Darwin argued loudly. "My own great-grandson is disrespecting my culinary skills! Am I not allowed to defend my honor? This is your fault! If you'd just talk me up to the kid once in a while, I wouldn't have to fight for my life out here!"

Watching the billionaire men bicker over dough, Elise shook her head with an amused, helpless smile.

The house had been filled with this kind of chaotic, loud banter lately. Darwin had practically moved into Laguna Shores, showing up every day to spoil Jasper and invent new games to play. When Lance booked parent-child activity classes for Elise and Jasper, Darwin stubbornly crashed them.

Seeing it so often, Elise had grown used to the dynamic. She could see how fiercely Darwin adored the boy and how desperately he wanted to bond with him.

Knowing the fearsome Charles family patriarch loved Camilla's son this much finally put her maternal anxieties to rest.

Susan was the first to look up and spot her in the doorway. She wiped her flour-dusted hands and smiled warmly. "Camilla, you're back."

Before Camilla could even nod, a little human cannonball launched across the kitchen and slammed into her legs.

"Mommy!" Jasper cheered, hugging her tight. "You're finally home! I missed you!"