Forbidden Passion
Chapter 587 Theodore Was Frantically Looking for Her

Theodore stood at the bedroom door for what felt like forever, trying to keep his anger from boiling over. He pulled out his phone and made a call.

The call went through, but no one picked up.

Theodore gripped his phone tight, thinking he'd been way too soft on her lately.

He walked into the bedroom and chucked his phone on the bed. The more he thought about it, the madder he got. He stormed into the bathroom, took a hot shower, and came out, staring at his phone, lost in thought. After the blow-up with Phoebe that afternoon, she hadn't come back to the office. Her coat and bag were still there, and he was pretty sure he'd seen her phone on her desk before he left.

Theodore figured Phoebe was still pissed and didn't want to be around him, so he didn't bother asking where she was. But now, thinking back, something felt off.

He picked up his phone and dialed Phoebe's number again. It rang and rang until it went to voicemail, but no one answered.

A sudden wave of unease hit Theodore.

He immediately called Carol. It was late, and Carol was already asleep. She groggily answered the call.

Seeing the caller ID, Carol snapped awake.

She sat up abruptly and said, "Mr. Reynolds, you..."

"Carol, did you see Phoebe this afternoon?" Theodore cut in coldly.

Carol was taken aback. She tried to remember what she'd done that afternoon and if she'd seen Phoebe. After a few seconds, she confidently said, "No, I didn't see Ms. Ziegler at all before I left. Mr. Reynolds, is something wrong?" Theodore had a meeting in the afternoon and a dinner in the evening, leaving the office at 6:00 p.m. Carol should've left later than him. If Carol hadn't seen Phoebe come back, it meant Phoebe hadn't been avoiding him but hadn't returned to the office at all.

Theodore replied, "Nothing, I'll hang up now."

He hung up, feeling even more uneasy.

Without thinking, he grabbed a black down jacket, threw it on, and strode out the door.

The trip from Imperial Apartment to the Reynolds Group took just ten minutes. The night was cold and foggy, wrapping the whole city in a chill.

Theodore crossed the street, and a black car sped past him from behind. Inside the car, Phoebe's head was covered with a black cloth, and she was squished between two people.

Theodore got to the company. The security guard downstairs was dozing off but snapped awake when he saw Theodore show up so late. He jumped to his feet.

He asked, "Mr. Reynolds, what brings you here so late?"

"I left something in the office," Theodore said, taking a few steps inside before stopping abruptly and turning to the guard. "What shift are you on today?"

The guard replied, "The swing shift."

Theodore continued, "Did you see Ms. Ziegler today?"

The guard scratched his head and thought for a moment. "I saw Ms. Ziegler running out of the office this afternoon. She was only wearing a thin suit, not even a coat. I thought she was just stepping out to get something and would be back soon, but she hasn't returned since."

Theodore frowned. "You said she left the office this afternoon wearing just a suit?"

"Yeah, in this cold weather, wearing so little is bound to make her sick," the guard nodded vigorously.

Theodore's face turned stormy. Phoebe hadn't come back to the office since she left in the afternoon, so her phone should still be there. But where the hell was she?

Where could Phoebe have gone?

The guard watched Theodore's grim expression and stood there awkwardly.

Theodore turned and walked out, dialing Patrick as he went.

It didn't take long for Patrick to answer, his voice groggy and hoarse. "Why are you calling me so late?"

"Are you at Cindy's place?" Theodore asked right away.

Patrick lay flat, glancing at Cindy, who was turned away from him. He said, "Yeah, you called me in the middle of the night just to ask where I'm crashing?" Theodore inquired, "Phoebe isn't at Cindy's place?"

"Of course not. If she were here, I wouldn't have a place to stay. Don't tell me Phoebe ran away from home again?" Patrick's tone was unmistakably smug.

Theodore hung up without another word. Standing outside the company, the night wind, carrying a chill, swept through and tousled his hair, sending shivers down his spine. Where could Phoebe have gone?

He suddenly felt a pang of panic. Last time, he had deliberately said those things in front of Evelyn, making Phoebe move back to Imperial Apartment from the hotel.

Given Phoebe's personality, she wouldn't go to Golden Apartment to avoid worrying Evelyn. So where would she go?

Theodore called Lawton, asking him to check the guest records at Kedora hotels to see if Phoebe had checked into any of them.

Lawton, who had just started his vacation, had to get out of bed and dutifully help Theodore track Phoebe's whereabouts.

Theodore returned to Imperial Apartment and sat on the couch all night. He silently vowed that once he found Phoebe, he would lock her in a golden cage so she wouldn't dare run away from home again. As the sky gradually lightened and the first rays of morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Theodore's phone rang.

Theodore grabbed it and answered, "Lawton, did you find anything?"

There was a pause on the other end, followed by the voice of a middle-aged man. "Theodore, it's me. Have you been able to reach Vanessa? She hasn't returned since she left the hospital yesterday." Theodore immediately sat up straight, his muddled thoughts becoming clear. "James, don't worry. Could Vanessa have gone to a friend's place?"

"She did mention meeting a friend when she left the hospital yesterday, but she hasn't come back all night. I've called her, but she hasn't answered. I'm worried something might have happened to her." Listening to James's worried voice, Theodore replied, "Wait a little longer. She might come back by noon. I have something to attend to here, so I'll hang up now." As soon as Theodore hung up, Lawton's call came in.

"Mr. Reynolds, I checked all the three-star and above hotels, and none of them have Mrs. Reynolds's check-in information. Could she have gone to a friend's place?" "No, as far as I know, Cindy is her only friend in Kedora, and I asked last night; she didn't go to Cindy's place," Theodore said, rubbing his temples. When Phoebe left the office yesterday, she didn't take her phone or bag and wasn't wearing a coat. It didn't look like she was planning to go far. She didn't go to Cindy's place, nor did she check into a hotel. Could she have gone back to Golden Apartment?

As Theodore hung up the phone and was about to head to the closet to change, his phone rang once more, this time from an unknown number.