Holden fixed his gaze on the clothes, like he could rip them apart just by looking at them.

“Sadie, I'm not going to kill you. I'll make you wish you could die. You'll suffer until you beg me to end your life," he muttered to himself .

The garden was dead quiet. Then, Holden's phone blared loudly, interrupting the silence.

It was Adrian calling.

The moment Holden picked up, Adrian's voice came through, full of panic.

"Holden, the kids are missing!"

"What do you mean? Why would the kids be missing?" Holden was furious when he received the news. "Weren't they supposed to be monitored by the group of people at the farm? How could they disappear?"

Overwhelmed by the recent troubles with Ariana, and now the disappearance of the children, Holden felt he was on the verge of breaking down.

Adrian replied, "Calm down for a moment, okay? Some shady character infiltrated the staff and abducted the two kids from the bathroom. Sonia and I are chasing them now. How are things on your end? Was Sadie the one who tampered with the brakes?"

Holden could hear the hustle of traffic in the background of Adrian's loud voice.

As Holden's hand holding the phone trembled, he struggled to remain composed, knowing Adrian and Sonia were in pursuit of the children.

After taking several deep breaths, he said, “We discovered her car and the clothes she wore that night on the mountain. It was definitely her."

"That crazy bitch!" Adrian cursed. "If she messed with the car, it's likely she took the kids as well."

Holden paused, processing the situation and realizing something. He said, "Not necessarily. If it were her, she wouldn't have left the children at the scene that night. This must have been planned in advance."

With that thought, Holden felt a bit calmer. It was clear they were targeting him. If their goal was to truly shatter him, why not leave Ariana's body right in front of him?

They hadn't done that, and it likely indicated that Ariana was still alive, perhaps held captive or hidden away. They probably intended to use her and the children as leverage against him.

Regaining his composure, Holden told Adrian, "Send me the real-time location. I'm on my way to help look for the kids."

"Okay. Sonia and I are handling it now. Drive safely, and don't rush,"

Adrian advised before hanging up and forwarding the location.

Meanwhile, Sonia was driving at full speed.