“Yeah.” “Got it. I’ll do it immediately, so don’t panic.”
After hanging up the phone, I picked up my bag. “You’re heading out?” asked John.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“No, I mean— it would be better to wait for updates from them instead of going about and looking aimlessly for new leads.”
“Aimlessly?” I shot back.
Probably thinking that I was acting too hostile to provoke any further, he shut up and threw his hands up in surrender.
I left the hotel without another word, and Emery texted me several addresses in W City where she thought Kristina might be.
I wasn’t familiar with the city at all, so I had no choice but to hail a taxi and go to each address one by one.
After visiting each location, Jared called, telling me to visit the suburbs we’d went to yesterday.
It started raining again while on the drive there, the taxi slowing to a stop by the roadside with seemingly no one around for miles.
“Miss, are you sure that this is where your friend told you to go? It’s way too desolate out here! Maybe you should give them a call and double-check the address,” the driver suggested kindly.
My attention turned to what seemed like an abandoned factory a short distance away from where the car had stopped. Hesitating, I told the driver, “Could you wait for a moment while I make a phone call?”
I pulled out my phone and dialled Jared’s number.
“Where are you, Scarlett?”
“I’ve arrived. Why did you ask me to come here?”
“Come on in. I’ve found Summer…”
“If you did find her, then why didn’t you bring her home?”
Silence.
And then, “You could also choose to not come over, Scarlett.”
“What are you trying to do, Jared?” My eyebrows knitted together. “Summer is your biological daughter.”
A cold laugh rang out through the phone, and he reiterated, “If you choose to not come over, I can’t guarantee if you’ll ever get to see her again.”
A threat.
What kind of person is Jared, exactly? Even after so many years, I can’t tell if he’s a good or bad person.
Never mind, that’s stupid. People’s moralities weren’t black and white.
Whatever.
I paid the fare and got out of the car, but the driver was still worried for my safety. “This doesn’t seem safe, miss!”
Nodding in acknowledgment, I opened up my umbrella. “Help me lodge a police report on your way back.” In response, the driver gave me a perplexed look before driving away.
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