Samantha drove aimlessly on the road.
Suddenly.
A slender figure flashed from the alley on the roadside.
She abruptly stopped the car by the roadside, opened the door, and ran out of the car, shouting the name of Alexander in her mouth.
"Alexander... Alexander...!"
But the alley was pitch black, with nothing in it, so quiet that you could almost hear breathing.
She suddenly deflated like a balloon, slumped her shoulders, walked out of the alley in a daze, her eyes lifeless as if she had lost her light, surrounded by a gloom.
It had been a day.
Still no word from Alexander.
She knew Alexander well, although mischievous at times, he would never do anything to make her worry.
Even in the midst of sadness and sorrow, he was not a child who would leave without an explanation.
Alexander must be in trouble.
What should she do? How can she save Alexander?
Sadness and helplessness swept over her like a tide.
Her strength seemed to be drained, and she weakly sat on the ground, unable to contain her sobs.
At the same time.
A low-key yet luxurious Maybach stopped not far ahead.
Ethan sat in the driver's seat, the dim light shining on her, intermittently, making it hard to discern his expression.
Seeing Samantha sitting on the ground crying, the hand gripping the steering wheel suddenly tightened, a heartache twisting inside, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
Recalling Samantha's heartless words last night.
He really wanted to toughen up, leave without mercy.
However, the surroundings were silent, without a single pedestrian. He was afraid that something might happen to her, and he couldn't bring himself to ignore her.
After some internal struggle, he eventually opened the car door and walked hesitantly towards Samantha.
Immersed in grief, Samantha didn't notice Ethan approaching. Her mind was filled with concerns for Alexander.
Suddenly, she thought of Justin. Although his family's status in the capital was not as high as the Steele family's, they still ranked among the top ten families. Despite her desire to distance herself from Justin, at this moment, the only person who could help her was Justin.
She opened her phone and entered the familiar number by heart.
Justin, Yurika, Karen— the numbers of these three people were deeply engraved in her mind.
She didn't know if Justin had changed his number. Last time Justin called her, it was from an unfamiliar number. She had blocked it.
Now, with a mindset of trying her luck, she dialed the familiar number again.
The call went through surprisingly.
It rang once and was immediately answered.
On the other end, Justin's excited and urgent voice came, "Samantha?"
Hearing his familiar voice, Samantha felt like her throat was stuffed with cotton. She tried to speak, but no sound came out.
Not hearing her voice, Justin asked with concern, "Samantha, is that you? Why aren't you speaking? Did something happen?"
His concern made all the grievances in Samantha's heart surge out.
The tears she had barely held back burst out again.
All the emotions rushed out like a bursting flood, making her uncontrollably shout, "Just... Justin...”
The affectionate address caused Ethan to pause in his steps. His eyes darkened as if frost had touched them. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. Due to excessive force, the knuckles were subtly turning white.
Familiar voice— Justin, excited, sat up from the bed.
After a while, he calmed his emotions and said hoarsely, "Samantha, where are you now? I'll come to you right away."
Samantha shook her head, "I don't know where I am."
Justin patiently said, "I'll add you on WhatsApp, send me your location, and I'll come to you right away."
Samantha whispered her agreement.
After hanging up the phone, a message from Justin popped up on WhatsApp.
Without hesitation, she accepted it and then sent her location to Justin.
A gentle breeze swept by, lifting her silky hair.
Samantha couldn't help rubbing her arms, bracing herself to stand up from the ground. She found a flower bed nearby and sat down.
Ethan sat in the Maybach, his icy gaze seeming to have been touched by frost, the coldness spreading from the depths of his eyes, lowering the temperature inside the car to freezing point.
He didn't leave immediately.
Taking out a cigarette, he lit it, exhaling smoke while watching Samantha not far away.
Before long, the ashtray was filled with cigarette butts.
The car was filled with dense smoke.
Ethan leaned his head against the back of the seat, his expression indifferent, his eyes like a bottomless ancient well.
Justin arrived quickly.
In less than half an hour, he drove to the location.
After hastily parking the car by the roadside, he called Samantha's phone.
In the silent night, the ringtone sounded particularly abrupt, and Justin quickly located Samantha based on the sound of the ringing.
The moment Samantha saw Justin, it was as if she had found her backbone and support. She couldn't help but rush into his arms, breaking down in tears.
"Sob, you finally came, you finally came..."
Justin held her tightly in his arms, gently patting her back. A sense of unprecedented reassurance filled his heart as he comforted and consoled her.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here, no matter what happens, I will help you..."
His comforting words made Samantha cry even harder.
Ethan coldly watched the two embracing, suddenly stepped on the gas pedal, and the Maybach shot out like an arrow.
Justin, however, remained calm, holding Samantha like that, letting her release her emotions.
Samantha knew the situation was urgent. After crying for a while, she immediately pulled away from Justin, gripping his arm tightly. Nervously, she said, "I know I've been heartless to you before, hurt you deeply. But at this moment, you're the only person I can turn to."
Justin wiped away the tears from her eyes, his brows furrowed, and he asked anxiously, "What exactly happened?"
Samantha sobbed. "It's my son, Alexander. He... he suddenly learned about his true identity, couldn't handle the shock, and left. Ethan has been searching for him for a day and night, but there's still no sign of him."
"Ethan Steele?" Justin's face darkened. "What does this have to do with Ethan?"
Ethan was a figure in the country that no one could match.
How could Samantha get involved with him?
Samantha explained, "Alexander is the child I adopted from an orphanage four years ago. He always thought I was his biological mother. Until yesterday, he suddenly learned the truth, found out he's not my biological son, his father is Ethan, and his mother is Suzy. Unable to accept this, he ran away and has been missing ever since. I just had a dream where he was thrown into the river and something happened."
The sudden revelation brought boundless joy to Justin's heart.
Samantha's son turned out to be adopted.
Since the son was adopted, could the daughter also be adopted?
In that case, did Samantha not marry someone else?
Did this mean there might still be a chance between him and Samantha?
He knew that Alexander's fate was uncertain, and he shouldn't be preoccupied with their past romantic entanglements.
But he couldn't control himself.
***