Seven Years a Shadow: The Stand-In's Escape novel Chapter 70

He had said,

"I'm busy, I don't have time."

Thinking of this, a strange frustration surged within Emerson.

He pulled out his phone and couldn't help but send me a message.

"Send me the address, I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

After typing it, he felt something was off and changed the tone.

"Where are you and Lucas staying these two days? I'll come personally to pick you up tomorrow."

Taking a deep breath, Emerson hit send.

But the next second, an eye-catching symbol appeared.

"Lucas has activated friend verification. You are not yet his (her) friend. Please send a friend request first, and once accepted, you can chat."

"Bang!"

The soda can hit the floor.

Emerson frowned, nearly panicking, as he opened the work group chat.

Nothing... still nothing.

He scrolled through the hundreds of people in the group, but couldn't find my profile picture.

Could I have left the group?

No, that's impossible.

Hailee hadn't resigned, there's no way she would have left the work group.

Emerson smiled, but it was forced.

Thinking of the resignation letter that hadn't been opened that morning, the unease in his heart grew unbearable.

After hesitating for just a second, he called the HR manager.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was noisy, as though a family was watching TV.

Through the speakerphone, Emerson could even hear the sound of a child's voice.

"Dad, the cartoon is about to start."

Manager Smith mumbled, then seemed to find a quieter spot.

"Hello, Mr. Martin? Is there something you need to discuss?"

The deep voice of a man startled Emerson from his trance.

"No, I just want to ask why I couldn't find Hailee in the work group?"

Manager Smith paused before quickly replying.

"Assistant Roy resigned."

"When did this happen?"

Emerson almost lost his balance, calling out her name.

Manager Smith quickly explained.

"She submitted her resignation letter early the day before yesterday."

"She said her husband is stationed in Australia, and she wants to join him with their son while also pursuing further studies."

"Assistant Roy was very firm, so I followed the process and reported it. Didn't you know, Mr. Martin?"

Emerson clenched his fist tighter, almost unable to suppress a sneer.

How could he not know Hailee had a husband stationed in Australia?

Just as he was about to lose his temper, a child's voice suddenly came from the phone.

"Dad, why aren't you watching TV with me?"

Manager Smith's comforting voice followed.

"Almost done, almost done, baby, wait for daddy to finish the call, okay?"

It seemed to be an innate ability of every adult—when speaking to a child, their voice would instantly soften.

He was going to Australia, he was going to find me.

He had to get to the bottom of this.

It was me who had provoked him first, so why did he leave without saying a word?

The more he thought about it, the faster his steps became.

He walked out with a grim expression, but accidentally bumped into a woman, who smelled sweet.

"Mr. Martin?"

"Hey, where are you going?"

"You didn't send me home last night, so I had to stay at the hotel for the night. I'm mad."

Jenny stood in front of Emerson, pouting in a spoiled way.

"Go away."

Emerson had no interest in dealing with this pretentious woman and coldly said.

Jenny was stunned and immediately stomped her foot.

"Mr. Martin! What are you saying? If you keep this up, I'll be angry."

"Go away."

Emerson repeated, his eyes cold enough to freeze her.

Jenny still wanted to speak, but Emerson pushed her aside and left.

As he walked, his phone call could still be heard.

"Hello? Find out Hailee's current address for me. Also, book me a flight to Australia for today."

Australia.

Today was Lucas's first day of school.

I got up early to pack his schoolbag.

Although I had only been in Australia for two days, I had actually planned for this for a long time.