Go After My Ex-wife
Chapter 1026 An Incident At the Mall

Raeleigh accepted the certificate. As Jepherson picked up the design blueprint, he said, "This blueprint shall remain confidential. The company will invest in its production. I wish to reiterate that under no circumstances that this blueprint be leaked. Otherwise, you'll have to face the music."

Jepherson's face darkened. His sudden change of mood took Raeleigh by surprise.

Everyone looked stone-faced. They were aware of the rules. If a vehicle's design would enter production, then its blueprint shall not be leaked whatsoever. Whoever leaked it would have to pay for it. The Harvey family treated everyone well. Be that as it may, they would never forgive traitors and spies.

Everyone knew that if it weren't for their uncompromising stance on this issue, the Harvey family would not have achieved its current status in society.

In other words, the Harvey family would spare no expense to uncover the truth. They would go to great lengths to investigate a problem. No perpetrators would be let off the hook. Some would be booted out of the automotive design industry while others would have to pay a heavier price. Such was the power and influence of the Harvey family.

As soon as he finished talking, Jepherson took Raeleigh's blueprint and left. The others watched as he made his way out of the room. When he was out of sight, everyone congratulated Raeleigh.

"Congratulations."

"Congrats."

Raeleigh's head teacher was proud of her. Never had he expected that Raeleigh would be personally mentored by Jepherson. He was pleased and this would mean that Raeleigh would not move elsewhere. Instead, she would remain in his class.

After thanking the designers, Raeleigh left alongside her head teacher. They were chatting as they made their way back to the classroom. He told her that he had wished that she would remain in his class as she would be a beacon of hope for other students, who would subsequently look up to him as a discerning teacher and was able to recognise good talents.

Without hesitation, Raeleigh acceded to his request immediately.

Scarlette and Santiago could be seen waiting for her when they returned to the classroom. The moment Scarlette saw Raeleigh, she dashed towards her and asked, "Raeleigh, how was it? Did you pass?" "Yes, I did," Raeleigh said smilingly.

Santiago flashed a smile. The news did not take him by surprise as Raeleigh was a designer par excellence.

"Raeleigh, you've got to tell the principal," said the head teacher. "He looks forward to hearing from you." After a brief pause, Raeleigh said, "Alright, I will."

"Off you go. I can't come along. I have a class now." The head teacher went into the classroom as soon as he finished talking. He announced this piece of news to everyone.

Accompanied by Santiago and Scarlette, Raeleigh made her way to the principal's office to tell him about her success. Delighted, he congratulated Raeleigh.

While they were leaving, Scarlette grabbed Raeleigh by the arm and asked, "Let's celebrate, shall we?"

Raeleigh looked at her and said, "Well, I wanted to tell Grandma about this."

She would surely be overjoyed.

Scarlette paused for a while and said, "If that's the case, then let's buy some food and celebrate at home then. What do you think?"

"Yeah, sure," said Raeleigh.

Santiago then drove them to a mall. Raeleigh trailed after them as they shopped to their heart's content. Raeleigh told them that she could not finish all the food. However, neither of them listened to her. They bought loads of food and drinks.

Since Raeleigh was not buying anything, she killed time browsing some books at the bookstore as she waited for them. Just as she took a seat, someone approached her.

Raeleigh raised her head. It was Zorion. "Hey, why are you here?" she said.

"I was window-shopping when I saw you from afar," he clarified. "You had a test. How was it?" Zorion was standing as he talked, while Raeleigh remained seated. Feeling uncomfortable, she then stood up. "Yeah, I passed," Raeleigh said. Deanna walked up to them and said softly, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Raeleigh replied smilingly.

Deanna remained quiet thereafter. She could be seen swaying behind Zorion. "You wanted to shop, didn't you?" Zorion said. "Go ahead then."

"Alright then." She wanted to buy some wet wipes. It did not bother her if she did not purchase them anyway as she just wanted to hang around in the mall.

She turned around and left. "Deanna's alone, is that okay with you?" Raeleigh asked.

Zorion clasped his hands behind his back as he turned around. "She has grown up," he said. "She needs to learn to be independent."

"Let's trail after her," Raeleigh said. She was worried about her safety. Before getting to know Zorion, it had never crossed her mind that the world was a hazardous place to live in. Danger could strike anytime and anywhere.

Even though Raeleigh had gone through numerous bad experiences in life, she had always shrugged them off as mere coincidences or some occasional bad luck. She used to presume that not all places were unsafe. However, she had changed her mind.

She then believed that trouble could strike anywhere and everywhere.

Raeleigh went ahead to trail after Deanna. Zorion followed suit. As they walked, Zorion asked, "What's the theme of the design?"

Raeleigh was taken aback. Jepherson's stern face came to her mind. "I'm afraid I can't say anything," she said. "The design will be put into production, so..."

"It sounds like it's going to be a hit in the market," Zorion said with a smile. Raeleigh glanced at him and said, "Well, let's hope it will take off."

"Oh, come on. You've got to be more confident of yourself," Zorion said. Raeleigh thought for a while and said, "I am confident. But I guess you need lady luck to be by your side at times before you can pull it off. Occasionally, I draw inspiration from people around me. Lanox was conceptualized when I saw Deanna and you sitting together at the beach. I did not expect that it would be a limited-edition production. I've hoped that you will have one to your name."

"No worries, we're good," Zorion said. "Deanna loves our present car." He did not bother explaining much. He had always been his reticent self.

People tended to be relentlessly obsessive when it came to pursuing worldly success. Zorion had lost himself in the past too. Ever since he befriended Raeleigh, he had turned over a new leaf and became less attached to material wealth.

He was at peace with himself by virtue of that shift in perspective.

Zorion placed his hands in his pocket. Being tall and slender, he glanced around as he walked. Like a reservoir that was slowly drying up and nearing its final days of existence, Zorion's state of mind was one of calmness and acceptance as he resigned himself to his fate. As a result, he looked older than his age.

In the past, he had been smart for someone his age. The same could be said of his emotional intelligence right then.

After walking for a while, Raeleigh said, "Glad to hear that."

Zorion looked at Raeleigh and said with a smile, "Are you alright? I didn't catch you off guard, did I?"

"Nah," Raeleigh replied immediately. Although she was not accustomed to his behavioural change, she actually liked it.

"Excuse me. Excuse me." While they were walking, a lady could be seen chasing after a kid sitting in a toy car. Raeleigh watched as the kid sobbed. She seemed petrified. Immediately, she dashed forward to stop the car even though she barely had the strength to do so. Zorion was stunned. He extended his hand to grab hold of the car. The lady held the child in her arms, trying her best to console the poor kid. Zorion loosened his grip before turning around to look at Raeleigh. "Are you nuts?" he said. There was a tinge of displeasure in his gaze.

Raeleigh remained silent. She was tongue-tied when she saw Zorion giving her a reproachful look.

Was she being a fool for attempting to save a kid?

Was it foolish to stop the toy car by blocking it?

The onlooking crowd could be seen encircling Raeleigh and Zorion. They were blabbering about how they managed to save the kid. Carrying the kid, the lady walked towards them. "Thank you so much," she said.

The kid was still sobbing. Raleigh looked at her before directing her gaze towards the floor and said, "The flooring is anti-slip. Why in the world did you push the toy car to such a distance?"

Embarrassed, she replied, "Well, she just wanted to have some fun. I didn't know that it would speed off the moment I pushed it."

The lady blushed. Her remark left Raeleigh speechless. Raeleigh secretly thought that she was one lousy mother.

"Good to know that she's alright," Raeleigh said. "Don't accede to her whims and fancies next time." Then, she looked around and wondered where Deanna was.

"Where's Deanna?" Raeleigh asked. Zorion realized that they were supposed to look for Deanna. He walked out of the crowd and went about searching for Deanna. Alas, she was nowhere to be seen. "There's a commotion here," Raeleigh said. "Why didn't it catch her attention?" She was puzzled and worried. Zorion thought for a while before turning around and squeezing through the crowd to find the lady and her child. It turned out that they had left.

Raeleigh trailed after him. Now that they had gone, she knew she had been taken for a ride.

"Now what?" Raeleigh asked as she looked at Zorion. Zorion took his cell phone and called Deanna. However, she did not pick up the call.

"It's gonna be alright," Zorion said. As soon as he hung up the phone, he glanced around. Then, he grabbed Raeleigh by the arm and led her to the surveillance control room.

As they retrieved the CCTV footage, they found out that Deanna had been abducted.

"Scarlette, where are you?" Raeleigh called Scarlette while she was viewing the CCTV footage. Scarlette had been looking for her. She could be seen standing near the spot where Raeleigh sat a moment ago. "I'm looking for you," said Scarlette. "Where have you been? Santiago have been distressed." Scarlette knew that she would be alright. True enough, she was safe and sound. Santiago took the phone and said, "Where are you?"

Raeleigh was dazed for a while. Then, she said, "I'm in the surveillance control room. Deanna was here, but she's been abducted. Wait outside. Zorion and I will be there in a bit."

Raeleigh put her cell phone in the bag. Zorion stood up and looked at her. He had been on tenterhooks. Now that Deanna was kidnapped, he was all the more agitated. Somehow, he was able to regain his composure as he stared at Raeleigh.

Raeleigh looked at him and said, "Let's head out. It's gonna be alright. Don't worry."

Raeleigh's optimism was infectious. "Yeah, it's gonna be alright," he said as he nodded.

"Come on, let's go," Raeleigh said. "They're close by."

Raeleigh turned around and made a dash for the entrance of the mall. Scarlette could be seen waiting for her. Santiago had driven off.

Scarlette walked towards Raeleigh and said, "Hadrian's here all along. He sent me a text message when he saw those abductors taking Deanna away. Look."

Scarlette understood the gravity of the situation. Even though she did not take a liking to Deanna, she put that aside right then.

Scarlette showed Zorion the text message. There was an address. A photo was attached too. He realized that the abductors had taken Deanna to a house in some remote suburbs.

Even though Capital City was large, there were not many housing estates in that area. Zorion had been to some of the estates. He could tell the exact location at a glance. Zorion got it.