Chapter 283: I’m Waiting for You

The moment the call connected, Zachary’s sleazy voice came through. “What?”

Caroline jumped, her eyes widening as she shouted back. But she quickly covered her mouth, glancing nervously upstairs in case Frederick heard. She moved towards the door, her phone pressed to her ear.

“What were you thinking? Seriously, did you actually think you could slip past Frederick’s radar on your own? You know who he is, right? He runs the entire Kingstown Security Department—there’s nothing he can’t dig up.”

“Or do you not trust me now? Caroline, you asked for my help, and I’ve already got people working on it. But then you couldn’t wait and decided to handle it on your own—fine, whatever. Now that I’m cleaning up your mess, you’re doubting me? Really? If you don’t believe me, I could just have them let everything out right now, you know.”

Zachary was already annoyed that Caroline didn’t follow his plan and went rogue. Now, hearing her doubt, his irritation only grew. This woman needed a good lesson, and he wasn’t shy about it. Once she felt the sting, she’d learn her place.

“Zachary, what are you talking about? Of course, I trust you. I was just wondering why Frederick hadn’t found anything yet.”

“So, it turns out you’ve been helping me behind the scenes. You’ve got great timing, honestly. I was starting to regret being so reckless yesterday, pushing Claire and Antony off that cliff. I didn’t think things through about how to handle Frederick, and there you were, covering for me.”

“I’m beyond grateful. How could I not trust you? I swear, I’m practically in love with you, Zachary. I wish I could come over right now, but you get it, right? After everything that just happened…”

“If something else comes up on my end, Frederick’s going to get suspicious. How about we wait a few days? I promise, I’ll stay with you for a bit when the time’s right.”

Caroline knew exactly what going to Zachary’s place would mean. But she also knew she wasn’t ready for that—not after everything she went through with Noah. She still hadn’t fully recovered. If Zachary noticed, there’d be hell to pay. Every effort she put into this plan would be gone for nothing. Plus, with Frederick so suspicious right now, it just wasn’t the right time to go to Zachary’s.

“…You’re probably right. Alright, fine, we’ll wait a…”

Zachary paused for a beat, then agreed.

“Of course, thank you, Zachary.”

Caroline let out a sigh of relief as soon as Zachary agreed. She hung up, but her nerves were still on edge. She really hadn’t expected him to give in that easily.

“Ms. Beaumont? What are you doing standing by the door? The General’s calling for you!”

The maid’s voice snapped Caroline out of her thoughts. “Oh, right, I’m coming.”

“Frederick, did you find Claire yet?”

She walked into the room, her eyes on Frederick as she asked.

“No.” Frederick answered bluntly, shoveling a few bites of food into his mouth before standing up to leave.

“Don’t worry, Frederick. I’m sure we’ll find her.” Caroline called after him as he left.

Frederick didn’t respond. He just put on his shoes and headed out to the Kingstown Security Department.

Over the next few days, Frederick practically lived at the department, barely coming home. Caroline was starting to get anxious. On the second night, she even tried to bring him some food. But as soon as she reached his office, she could hear Frederick’s furious voice, “What the hell are you all good for? Forty-eight hours and you still can’t find one person? Why am I even paying you? Get back out there! Keep looking! I don’t care if you have to turn the whole Kingstown town upside down—find her!”

A moment later, a group of officers exited Frederick’s office.

“Didn’t they say he didn’t care much for his fiancée?” “Yeah, looks like he’s more into her than we thought.” “He’s been up for over a day and a half now… Alright, let’s get back to it.”

Hearing their conversation, Caroline tightened her grip on the food container in her hand, her heart sinking. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Frederick found Claire and Antony. If those two were still alive at the bottom of that cliff, then she was done for. No, she had to find them before Frederick did—dead or alive.

“Miss, is there something you need?”

Caroline snapped out of her thoughts as a soldier approached.

“Oh, I’m just here to bring Frederick his dinner.”

She pulled herself together and walked into the office with the food.

“Frederick, I brought you something to eat.”

“Okay.” Frederick acknowledged her without looking up, his eyes glued to his work. He was scanning surveillance footage—clearly still searching for Claire.

“Don’t forget to eat. I’ll let you be, Frederick. Oh, by the way, with graduation coming up, I need to finish my thesis, so I’m heading back to campus for the next few days.”

Seeing how stressed he was only made Caroline more uneasy. She made up an excuse and left.

“Alright.” Frederick’s focus remained on finding Claire, and he barely registered what Caroline said. He nodded and kept going through the footage.

Once Caroline left the security department, she immediately…

Hand Zachary

Chapter 283: I’m Waiting for You

“Zachary, I’m coming over now.”

“Alright, I’m waiting for you, you tease.”