Chapter 711 Gone Without a Trace

Now even the Crawford family knew that Yunice had left without saying goodbye.

No one expected her to choose such an ordinary yet hopeful day to disappear.

Even more unexpected was how absolute her departure was.

She had reclaimed everything from the Saunders family, settled every account, and her elder brother Oscar was about to clear his name and walk free.

Yet she left with nothing.

Not even the identity she had fought so hard to take back.

Freya and Victor wore equally grim expressions. Looking at Carl, they asked, “Mr. Crawford, shouldn’t we help search for her? Even if Yunice doesn’t trust Wyatt, this is still her home. How can we rest easy letting her wander off all alone?”

The thought of Yunice once helpless in that asylum made Freya want to chain her to her side.

Back when Yunice was just starting college, they had insisted on personally escorting her, worrying even then. How could they not worry now that she planned to roam the world?

At last Mr. Crawford lifted his eyelids and said, “Respect her choice. Respect her fate.”

Freya opened her mouth to argue, but in the end stayed silent.

It wasn’t the Crawfords or the Saunders she wanted to avoid. The one she was truly running from was Wyatt.

If they forced her back, she and Wyatt would inevitably tear each other apart.

Both were ruthless. If they clashed, no one would come out unscathed.

Let fate decide.

By then Yunice was already at sea, standing on the deck of a ship with a steaming cup of hot liquor in her hands.

Beside her sat Melina, wrapped in a thick shawl on her wheelchair.

Melina, Lauren’s grandmother.

Seventy-three years old, cancer-stricken, and with little time left.

She believed Yunice was her granddaughter Lauren. Yunice humored her, saying she had lived well overseas and now had come to take her away to enjoy life.

“Melina,” Yunice bent down and placed the warm cup into her hands.

Melina’s eyesight was nearly gone, her pale eyes blind to the world. She felt along the cup with practiced ease and took a swallow.

The warmth spread through her, and her eyes crinkled in bliss. “Our Lauren has done so well. In all my life, Melina’s never tasted such fine liquor.”

Her illness was past the point of treatment, so Yunice added painkillers to the drink to ease her suffering.

Soon Melina drifted into sleep, and Yunice pushed her back to her room, tucking her in carefully.

Just then, Kingsley knocked softly on the door.

Yunice stepped out to the deck to speak with him.

He drew on a cigarette, the smoke torn away by the sea wind. “Word is Wyatt’s tearing Silverburgh apart looking for you. Customs, airlines all under his watch. By the time we dock, the piers will likely be crawling with his people.”

Wyatt’s reach extended even beyond the country.

“Then tell him this,” Yunice replied. “Before the ship docks, I’ll take a dinghy ashore. Where I land – deserted coast or town harbor – will be entirely up to my mood.”

The message quickly reached Wyatt.

He kicked a side table across the room, snarling, “She’s threatening me!”

In times as chaotic as these, a young woman landing at random meant endless dangers.

Wasn’t that exactly how her mother, once rashly storming off, ended up kidnapped deep in the mountains?

Jordan sighed. “Wyatt, it’s clear she knows how to play you. As long as she makes her safety the bargaining chip, how can you win?”

“Then maybe stop the search?”

“No!” Wyatt barked instantly.

Even if not openly, the hunt would continue in secret.

“I’ll find out who lured her away. Paul, Nora – not one of them will escape.”

Half a month later, the gates of the detention center opened.

Oscar walked out, squinting into sunlight he hadn’t seen for so long.

It took minutes before his gaze dropped to the luxury car waiting outside. Was it here for someone else?

Cautiously, he approached.

The door opened, and a long leg stepped out.

Wyatt.

Oscar instinctively searched the car for another figure. Why is only Wyatt here? Where is Yunice?

She wouldn’t have missed this. Something must have held her back.

His eyes turned to Wyatt, silently demanding an answer.

At the sight of him, Oscar felt a jolt.

Wyatt seemed leaner, colder, the detached air around him sharper than before.

Wyatt’s gaze swept him with disdain. “When Yunice came out of the asylum, did you go pick her up?”

Oscar blinked, not understanding. What did he mean by that?

Wyatt continued, “If you didn’t care enough then, why would you think she’d come running to welcome you out of prison?”