Chapter 362

Emmett scowled as he eyed the nearly ten pages of plate numbers before him. “Any other progress?”

“Nope. We can only check one by one. My team’s on it, so just hold tight.”

Emmett balled his fists, feeling utterly powerless. Right now, he couldn’t do a damn thing!

Matt suddenly chimed in. “I just noticed something odd when checking the surveillance. A car was on the previous stretch around midnight but didn’t exit until nearly 2 a.m. The road isn’t short, but it shouldn’t take two hours.”

Emmett snatched the surveillance screenshot from Matt, which showed a man driving alone.

“Find out who this is, pronto! I want him in front of me!”

“I’ve already looked into the car, but the guy seems to have vanished. His neighbors said he left yesterday and never came back.”

Emmett felt a chill. Could this man have kidnapped the kids?

“Get me his home address now! And round up anyone connected to him. I’d rather take in the wrong guy than miss a possible suspect!”

After hanging up, Elio was about to head over to Leah’s.

But then Newell Milburn called. After seeing the caller ID, Elio was surprised. He hardly ever interacted with Newell.

Before he could even say hello, Newell launched into it.

“Have you been in touch with Leah recently?”

“Nope, what’s up? Leah’s been reaching out?”

“Yeah.” Newell’s voice was heavy, and he sighed. “She’s been grilling me, asking if I’m the one with the family secret recipe. I can’t dodge her anymore.”

Elio asked, “So, are you the one who’s got the recipe?”

Newell shot back instantly. “No way! I’m the black sheep, the least accomplished in our family.

Granddad even said I’d only be a run-of-the-mill doctor. I have no idea why Leah’s suspicious of me.”

Elio hesitated. “But didn’t Granddad always say you were the smartest? We all thought you’d be the one to inherit the recipe; that’s probably what Leah thinks too.”

“You don’t get it! She’s taken my wife and daughter hostage to get me to cough up the recipe. But I don’t have it!”

Elio clenched his fists. “That damn Leah!”

“With Granddad gone and no trace of the recipe, I don’t know how to prove my innocence. You’ve gotta help me out, or my family’s in deep trouble. Leah said she’d kill them if I don’t give her the recipe!”

Elio felt helpless. He still hadn’t figured out how to deal with Leah, so how could he possibly help Newell?

“At this point, why not just make up a recipe to buy some time and rescue your family first?”

“What? But Leah’s no fool. What if she finds out?”

“Do you have any better ideas?” Elio paused, then suddenly said, “How about this? Tell Leah the recipe is with me now and tell her to come after me.”