Ethan put Willow down. "Is she not in the kitchen?"
Olivia had been preparing for the feast since the night before.
The children had differing taste buds. It would take some time to prepare different dishes.
"She's not there."
Alicia came from upstairs. "She isn't up there either."
Willow peered through the window to look at the yard. Olivia wasn't there, either. She gestured with her hands.
Ethan thought it was weird. He went to check the kitchen.
The oven's timer was up. It was beeping repeatedly.
He opened the oven to take the cake out.
There was still an unbaked cake and some fruit and cream on the side.
Olivia needed the whole day to finish cooking. It was obvious that she stopped halfway. This was the family's reunion. She wouldn't just give up for no reason.
He took his phone out to give Olivia a call. Her phone rang, but it was on the kitchen table. Her phone was in the house, but she was gone.
Willow picked up a potato by the door. It was only half peeled.
She pointed at the place where she picked it up. It was just a couple of steps from the door.
It meant that someone came to the house after Ethan left. Olivia went to open the door with the potato in her hand.
The visitor might've taken her away!
The house was still tidy. There were no signs of a struggle.
It was someone she knew. If she put up a fight, there would be signs unless she left willingly.
Then, the question would be why she didn't take her phone with her. She didn't even leave Ethan a message.
This trip was a complete secret.
Ethan only brought Kelvin along, who went to pick up the kids with him. No one expected anything to happen during this trip.
He quickly got someone to retrieve the security footage.
Kelvin said, ashamed, "Mr. Miller, bad news! All the security cameras in the area were hacked. Mrs. Miller was probably kidnapped."
The sounds it made were also weird. A bird soon landed next to her. More birds gathered as she threw some breadcrumbs on the ground.
People who had seen her wouldn't think she was just feeding the birds.
After a while, Willow walked over and gestured to Ethan. She told him through hand signs that Olivia had been taken by a man.
"What kind of man?"
Willow pointed to the bird perched on the golden-colored road sign.
"Golden?"
Alicia yelled, "Dad, I found the footage. Mr. Rivera took Mom!"
The video was paused, showing a blonde-haired man.
"Mr. Rivera? Is that one of Mom's suitors?" Ethan couldn't help but think about it that way when he saw how handsome Louis was.
Zack shook his head. "No. He's Mom's teacher. But he's weird. He's known as the Mad Doctor but loves Mom. It's not the kind of love Dad has for Mom. It's like a scientist's love for a test subject."
"A test subject…" A hint of unease flashed in Ethan's mind.
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