Chapter 735



Kallie nodded but couldn’t suppress her curiosity. “How was today? Everything alright with Elma?”

Calvin paused, reflecting, then gently shook his head. “Elma’s been great, actually. We had a blast. Sophie and I were thinking about having a chat with Elma’s parents to see if she could sleep over tonight. They were fine with dropping her off, so they might agree, right?”

Calvin looked at Kallie, his eyes filled with tentative hope.

With a headache pressing at her temples, Kallie forced a strained smile. “I doubt that’ll work out.” Clearly, Cara had ulterior motives. Even if Elma wasn’t sent here by Cara, she was unlikely to agree to an overnight stay.

“Understood,” Calvin murmured, his shoulders slumping in resignation.

Kallie recognized that Calvin’s kindness toward Elma was a balm for the ache of missing his sister, who had disappeared.

Kallie caressed Calvin’s head soothingly and asked about the time Sophie and Elma had departed.

Considering the timing, Kallie decided it was nearly time to prepare dinner. She suggested Calvin give Sophie a ring to discuss what they would like to eat.

However, the color drained from Calvin’s face the moment he made the call. Gripping the phone tightly, he raised alarmed eyes to Kallie. “Mom, Sophie’s line isn’t going through.”

“What?” Kallie’s face shifted suddenly. This was completely out of the ordinary. Why was Sophie’s phone unreachable? Kallie clung to a thread of hope. “Perhaps she dashed off and left her phone behind?”

Calvin crushed that hope swiftly. “No, I saw it myself when she left with Elma. She had her phone, and the battery wasn’t drained.”

A shiver of apprehension coursed through Kallie. She wasn’t easily fooled. The signs were troubling and clear. There was no doubt that Sophie and Elma were in peril.

Without hesitation, Kallie stood and reached for the phone, calling the bodyguards. “We need to find Sophie and Elma, immediately,” she commanded.

Panic was evident in Calvin’s voice as he recalled Elma’s peculiar remarks. “Mom, before they left, Elma mentioned they’d slip out the back door.”

Hearing these words, Kallie dashed to the back door. By the time she got there, it was too late. The back door revealed nothing but emptiness, no trace of the girls anywhere.

Kallie swiftly checked the surveillance footage. The culprits hadn’t even tried to sabotage the surveillance system. They had abducted Sophie right under the cameras.

Upon reviewing the footage, Calvin recognized the culprits instantly as the bodyguards who had escorted Elma here. Kallie, too, recognized them immediately, especially when Keely appeared.

In the footage, Keely was pinching Elma’s cheek, murmuring words that visibly pained Elma, yet Elma remained silent. Keely then scooped Elma up, placed her in a car, and drove away.

Kallie was shocked. Without hesitation, she dialed Cara’s number. She half-expected Cara to ignore the call, but to her surprise, Cara picked up immediately, as though she had been waiting for it.

“Kallie, are you enjoying the little spectacle I orchestrated?” Cara’s voice was cheerful, with an unmistakable hint of excitement.

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