Chapter 0543


    Alex still came to pick up Candice as usual, but the weather wasn''t great today. It was gloomy and


    looked like it was about to rain.


    For some reason, Alex felt uneasy.


    When Lauren came out of the office and saw him at the entrance, she approached and greeted,


    "Alex? Why are you still here? Didn''t Candice already go back?"


    "She went back?" Alex asked.


    "Yeah, she went to meet a client in the afternoon and never came back to the office. I guess she


    went straight home from there," Lauren exined.


    With furrowed brows, Alex left.


    On the way back, he tried calling Candice to ask if she had gone home, but no one answered.


    Alex couldn''t help but feel his heart sink. While Candice wouldn''t initiate calls, she usually answered


    his. Especiallytely, when she was at work, Alex would stay with Ellis, and Candice would answer


    the phone out of concern for Ellis.


    Just as Alex reached Candice''s home, it started raining heavily.


    The nanny wouldn''t stay overnight and would leave every evening. When Alex returned, she was


    already a bit annoyed. "I''ve already stayed half an hourte. I think I should get overtime pay."


    Alex asked in a grave tone, "Where''s Candice? Has shee back?"


    "No. If she hade back, I wouldn''t have stayed overtime," the nanny replied.


    Alex''s heart sank even more.


    He looked outside. It was pouring outside, and the sky was terrifyingly dark.


    Suppressing his impatience, he contacted Lauren to ask if the client Candice was supposed to meet


    was still with her.


    Soon, Lauren called him back. “I asked Edmund, and he said Candice didn''t show up. He''s pretty


    upset about being stood up.”


    Lauren also sensed something was wrong. Candice was usually very diligent at work, and it was


    unlike her to be so irresponsible.


    Just as she was about to ask Alex more, he ended the call.


    With his phone in hand, Alex''s sense of unease grew stronger, but he forced himself to stay calm


    and organized.


    Ellis was on the couch as the rain continued. She seemed to have sensed Alex''s unease and was


    fidgety and whimpering.


    Only then did Alex notice Ellis''s distress. He looked at the sky outside and had to suppress his


    anxiety and tension whileforting Ellis.


    When Sieg arrived, the rain had intensified. Upon entering, he shouted, "Have you told Candice I


    wasing?"


    He was aware that Candice didn''t like him.


    However, upon entering, he noticed something was wrong; Alex''s face was unusually serious.


    "What''s wrong?" Sieg asked.


    "Candice is missing," Alex replied.


    "Do you suspect Oscar did something to her?" Sieg inquired.


    Alex hugged Ellis, took a deep breath, and replied with a heavy tone, "I don''t know."


    He had sent people to look for her. He would have gone himself, but Ellis was still at home.


    Alex still had some rationality left, so he called Sieg over.


    Sieg, however, thought Alex had called him to ask about Oscar.


    Seeing Alex''s serious expression, Sieg spread his hands. "All I know is that he’s probably in the


    area; I don''t know anything else. Anyway, he has a grudge against you. Why would he target


    Candice? I think you might be overthinking it. She''s a grown woman, and it''s broad daylight. Surely,


    she wouldn''tck awareness of safety. Besides, maybe she''s caught up with work or meeting


    someone else, so she hasn''t had a chance to rush back. Her phone might be dead or turned off,"


    Sieg reasoned.


    "Lex, you''re just worrying unnecessarily. She''s a woman in her thirties; who would be thinking about


    her?" Sieg''sst sentence elicited a sharp look from Alex.


    Sieg knew he shouldn''t have said that about Candice. He made the gesture of zipping his lips and


    stopped himself. "Okay, I won''t say anything else."


    "Before I return, don''t leave," Alex instructed as he stood up and ced Ellis beside Sieg. He spoke


    in a low voice, "She’s scared, so just watch her for a while. I''ll be back soon. There''s food in the


    fridge, and she needs to drink milk before bedtime."


    Sieg suddenly found himself with an unexpected baby in his care. He turned to look at Ellis, meeting


    her eyes for a few seconds. He was about to curse, but he stopped himself, considering he was in


    front of a child.


    When he looked up again, Alex was already braving the storm outside.


    Only then did Sieg realize that Alex had called him over to babysit his daughter.


    In his mind, he let out a curse, but looking at Ellis''s face, which was so simr to Alex''s, he resisted


    the urge and instead picked up a toy dog from the sofa and handed it to her. "y with this. Your


    dad is out looking for your mom."


    -


    When Candice regained consciousness, she could hear the pouring rain outside.


    Furrowing her brow, she slowly recalled that after she and Lauren had parted ways at the


    intersection, she was supposed to meet a client.


    However, she remembered being bumped into by a child, whom she managed to dodge, and then


    she felt something cover her nose before losing consciousness.


    The street wasn''t particrly secluded, but it was around 3:00 PM on a weekday, so there were few


    people around.


    Candice struggled and realized her wrists were tied with a rope, but aside from that, she didn''t feel


    ufortable.


    Various possibilities shed through her mind, such as kidnapping or robbery.


    The room was quiet; only the sound of rain could be heard.


    In the extremely dim environment, Candice was almost blind; all she could see was ck—a deep,


    suffocating ck.


    It was impossible for Candice not to feel scared; her throat was tight, and at one point she couldn''t


    even let out a sound.


    The overwhelming darkness enveloped Candice, plunging her into a sense of oppression.


    Her breath became rapid, and her heart raced uncontrobly. The unknown fear always had a way


    of amplifying one''s senses many times over.


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    "Is anyone there?" she asked.


    In reality, she didn''t even know if her voice had been audible. But after uttering those words, she


    found herself unable to speak further.


    The fear in her heart continued to rise. Just as Candice felt she was about to be suffocated, the


    door of the room suddenly opened, and a blinding light flooded in.


    With the light came the roaring of a car engine.


    Squinting, Candice took a while to adjust to the light. She looked toward the door and saw a familiar


    figure slowly approaching.


    "Ms. Renault, feeling better?" Oscar''s voice, tinged with a smile, sounded particrly eerie in the


    empty room.


    Candice looked in his direction, her heart sinking. "What do you want?" she asked in a hoarse


    voice.


    Oscar crouched in front of her, and a hint of almost manic emotion shed in his eyes behind the


    lenses. "When do you think Alex will find you?"