On a pitch-black night, a black SUV stopped on a remote bridge. Two men wearing black baseball caps and masks got out of the car, opened the trunk, and took out a sack. They tied a large stone to the top of the sack and unhesitatingly threw it into the river. The sack quickly sank to the riverbed. Countless bubbles emerged on the water surface, and then everything returned to calm.
Awakening in the cold water soaking the sack, Alexander opened his eyes abruptly. His eyes were severely bloodshot due to suffocation, and his body struggled and shook continuously, attempting to free himself from the danger.
Unfortunately, the hemp rope binding him was tied too tight. No matter how he struggled, his body continued to sink rapidly. Lack of oxygen caused his face to turn liver-colored, presenting a highly distorted and painful appearance. His facial features were twisted, and his eyeballs seemed on the verge of popping out of their sockets. He looked agonized.
"Alexander...!"
Samantha, awakened from her sleep, sat up abruptly from the bed, a large wet patch in the corners of her eyes, visibly distressed. Charlotte, sleeping beside her, was also woken up. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she sat up.
"Mommy, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
Samantha buried her face in her palms, recalling the scenes from her dream. Her heart throbbed painfully.
That feeling was just too real.
Even though Alexander wasn't her biological child, she had raised him for four years, and a deep bond had formed between them. They seemed to have a telepathic connection, and she had a strong sense that something had happened to Alexander.
Seeing her silence, Charlotte hugged her from the side. Her chubby little hands patted Samantha's back continuously, comforting her in a soft voice, "Mommy, do you miss brother? Don't be sad. He will be back tomorrow. He won't abandon us..."
Charlotte's words made Samantha's tears flow even more fiercely. Alexander wouldn't come back. How could Ethan allow his son to wander outside? However, she couldn't let her sorrowful emotions affect Charlotte. Taking a deep breath and swallowing back her tears, she lay down on the bed with Charlotte, saying in a hoarse voice, "It's okay. You have to go to kindergarten tomorrow. Sleep quickly!"
Charlotte was very obedient, and sleepiness overcame her swiftly. In a short time, she fell into a deep sleep. However, Samantha couldn't sleep anymore. Her mind kept replaying the dream she had just had.
She opened Whatsapp and sent a message to Ethan, "Have you found Alexander?" The message couldn't be sent, indicating that Ethan blocked her.
This realization made Samantha even more despondent. Despite the risk of being mocked, she dialed Ethan's phone number. Still, it wouldn't connect. Did he block her number too? This unprecedented sense of powerlessness overwhelmed her.
Summoning courage, she dialed the landline of the Chelsea Creek residence. The call was answered immediately by the butler.
"Hello."
At this hour, the butler hadn't rested yet. Samantha's growing unease prompted her to ask, "Have they found the person?" She didn't explicitly name anyone, but she knew the butler would understand whom she was referring to.
"Not yet. Mr. Steele has sent everyone to search for the young master, but there's still no trace," the butler replied, his voice tinged with disappointment and worry.
Who was Ethan? The wealthiest man in Country A, a figure of immense power. Alexander was just a four-year-old child. Even if he were hiding in a mouse hole, Ethan should have found him by now. Yet, there was still no word.
It was an ominous sign.
"If they find him, please give me a call. Thank you!"
After hanging up the phone, Samantha suppressed her tears, changed into clean clothes, grabbed her car keys, and quietly left.
The streets were deserted in the early morning, with only a few vehicles shuttling along the roads. Samantha drove aimlessly, slowly and cautiously like a snail. She observed the road ahead while looking for any traces of Alexander through the car window.
Meanwhile, news of Ethan's full-scale search for Alexander quickly reached the Steele family's old residence. The Steele elderly patriarch, matriarch thought that Noah had been kidnapped. They drove to Chelsea Creek in a grand procession.
The old patriarch, now in his eighties, with white hair and wrinkled face, still exuded an inherent aura that couldn't be ignored.
"Where's Ethan? Hasn't he returned yet?"
Before coming, they had called Ethan, urging him to come back quickly. Unexpectedly, upon arriving, they didn't see Ethan. The butler lowered his head and respectfully said, "Mr. Ethan is busy searching for the young master and currently has no time to return."
The term ‘young master’ seemed appropriate since the little one named Alexander was indeed Ethan’s biological son.
Hearing this, the old patriarch angrily stamped his cane. "Tell me, what exactly happened? When did Noah disappear? Has Ethan found out who kidnapped him?"
The old patriarch was Ethan's grandfather, and although he once disliked Liam and Anna, he was very fond of Ethan, especially with the birth of Noah. If it weren't for his old age and Ethan's insistence on personally raising Noah, he would have wanted to keep Noah close and raise him himself.
As he finished speaking, Noah came down from upstairs. Seeing him, Noah coldly called out, "Grandfather."
Upon hearing his voice, all four people who had hurriedly arrived were stunned, looking at Noah with disbelief.
Anna stammered, "Noah, you... Weren't you kidnapped? How..."
How could he be at home?
Noah lowered his eyes in a bleak manner, weakly saying, "It wasn't me; it was Alexander Miller. Alexander is missing."
Anna frowned in displeasure. "Alexander? Samantha's son? If he's missing, what does it have to do with you? Why go through all this trouble?"
Her son had already been bewitched by Samantha to this extent?
Noah shook his head. "He's not Miss Samantha's biological son; he's my twin brother. He found out the truth and couldn't bear it, so he ran away."
"Twin... Twin brother?"
Everyone was simultaneously stunned, their eyes widening in disbelief.
Noah nodded, slowly explaining, "When Alexander was born, for some unknown reason, we got separated, and he was then adopted and raised by Miss Samantha. Recently, I discovered this, thinking that Miss Samantha was my biological mother. I did a DNA test with a hair sample, and the result showed that Alexander and I are identical twins, but Miss Samantha is not our mother. When he found out the truth, he couldn't handle it and ran away."
The sudden revelation left everyone present momentarily petrified. After a brief pause, unbounded joy followed. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
"I, I actually have two great-grandsons, and they are... twins. Twins! Our Steele family has never had twins for generations."
The old matriarch was also overwhelmed with joy. Holding Noah's face, she asked in a trembling voice, "Is Alexander exactly like you?"
Noah nodded, "We are identical twins, not just in appearance, but also according to DNA comparison, our genes are identical, only our personalities are somewhat different. Alexander is livelier than me."
His words made Anna suddenly wake up. In her mind, an adorable and handsome little face appeared unconsciously.
"Not long ago, did you two switch identities? The time we saw you here, wasn't it actually Alexander, right?"
Noah nodded truthfully.
Anna's eyes turned red with excitement. She turned to her husband, trembling as she held his hand.
"It's exactly the same, they really look exactly the same..."
It was like a carbon copy, to the extent that she hadn't recognized them as two different people last time.
The Steele family had twins.
The first twins in the family's history.
It was simply miraculous, too incredible.
After hearing Anna's words, the old patriarch and matriarch were also excited, eager to meet this Alexander that Noah mentioned. Soon after, thinking about Alexander's current situation, they fell into endless worry.
The old patriarch immediately issued an order, "Liam, send out all the members of the Steele family to conduct a comprehensive search. We must find Alexander and ensure his safety. The future heir of our Steele family must not be allowed to encounter any mishaps."
Liam Steele dared not delay and promptly left to carry out the order.
***