Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Chapter 1922

He grabbed his phone and dialed Millard's number with a sense of urgency in his voice, "Is Xavier in J City?"

Millard responded immediately, "Yeah, he's here. He has never left."

"Okay."

Jonathan hung up the call, his mind still swirling with unease that seemed to grow with every discrepancy he found.

No!

He needed to see Estelle now!

Only seeing her in person would ease his mind!

Snow was falling heavily in J City, grounding private planes, so Jonathan decided to drive to C City.

In the afternoon, Josiah returned from the docks and went straight to Amiee's house. As soon as he walked in, he asked, "Any news from Estelle?"

Amiee shook her head, "Nothing. She hasn't sent any orders in the last couple of days, and for the past two days, all video calls with Jonah switched to recording mode."

That meant Estelle couldn't conveniently take video calls.

Josiah frowned and asked, "It's been two days?"

"Yes!" Amiee stared at her phone.

"Could Estelle be in danger?" Josiah's face turned pale.

"If she were in danger and her phone died, Eagle Valley would send out a silent alarm to notify me. But there's been no activity from Eagle Valley," Amiee explained.

Still uneasy, Josiah said seriously, "Amiee, I think I should go look for Estelle. I can't focus on anything here in J City. I'd rather go check on her myself."

"We need to stay calm at times like this and follow Estelle's plans. She hasn't told us to act, and we shouldn't take matters into our own hands and mess up her plans," Amiee stated firmly.

"But I can't stay calm!" Josiah frowned tightly, "And if it's always recording mode, Jonah will eventually notice something's off. No matter how advanced the technology, it can't compare to a real person." Rather than waiting for Jonah to come to him, it would be better for him to find Estelle first!

Amiee suddenly said, "You reminded me that there's a flaw in my setup. The timing for the video switch is always the same. I'll go change it right away."

It had only been two days; hopefully, Jonathan hadn't noticed.

Most people wouldn't catch such a detail.

By the time Jonathan arrived in C City, the sky had turned dark.

Old Wade was surprised to see Jonathan, "Mr. Lamont, what brings you here?"

Jonathan asked, "Is Grandpa feeling better from his cough?"

Old Wade led him inside and answered, "The weather's been rough these past few days, so it's been a bit up and down. The doctor prescribed a new medicine, and he's still adjusting." The weather was gloomy, with a bitter wind.

Walking down the covered corridor towards the inner courtyard, Jonathan asked, "Where's Ella?"

Old Wade looked puzzled, "Ms. Macclain? She's not at home."

Jonathan stopped abruptly, "No? When did she leave?"

Seeing Jonathan's expression change, Old Wade quickly said, "She left the day after she got back. Didn't you know?"

A sudden weight seemed to drop in Jonathan's chest, his voice hoarse, "Has she been gone a week?"

"Yes!"

Jonathan steadied his racing heart and continued towards the back of the house, not stopping to see Old Mr. Jarvis, but heading straight to Estelle's room.

Sensing something was amiss, Old Wade followed closely.

Jonathan pushed open the door. It was dark inside. Something within him sank into that darkness for a moment.

He stepped in; the bed was made, a thin layer of dust settled on the desk, indicating it had been days since anyone lived there.

But in last night's video call, she was still lying on the bed reading to him.

What was going on?

Jonathan's mind was in turmoil, and he struggled to think clearly. He pulled out his phone and dialed Estelle for a video call. This time, it took an extra two seconds before the call connected. There she was in the video, sitting in a chair in her room, greeting him with a charming smile, "Have you had dinner yet?"