Chapter 574 Bella Is Missing

“That doesn’t make sense. The news said the Walker Villa’s sprinkler system just happened to malfunction, but their family specializes in real estate development. How could they make such a rookie mistake?”

“Even though no one in the Walker family was hurt, the damage from the fire must be massive. On top of that, this will surely make people question the quality of the homes they build.”

“Could it be sabotage from a competitor? But that’s too ruthless! If the fire trucks hadn’t arrived in time, the entire family could’ve been wiped out.”

As they discussed, Yancey rushed into the room, panic written all over his face.

“Something’s wrong! Bella is missing!”

“What?” Anne bolted upright despite her injuries. “What happened?”

“I just finished the discharge paperwork and went to pick up Bella, but the nurse said someone already took her this morning. The person claimed to be Bella’s father. The nurse verified the birth certificate, so she handed Bella over!”

Anne’s face turned cold at the news.

She thought, “It must be Dante. He must have secretly arranged for Bella’s birth certificate and used it to take her away!”

Anne’s expression darkened. Dante hadn’t bothered her these past few days, leading her to believe he might have had a change of heart.

She never expected him to pull such a move to take Bella right out from under her nose.

Anne immediately grabbed her phone and called Dante.

No one answered.

Tears welled in her eyes. She had barely seen Bella since giving birth. After just a quick glimpse, Bella had been taken to the neonatal unit. And now, Dante had whisked her away without a word.

She muttered, “That’s my child, my flesh and blood! I risked my life to bring her into the world!”

Meryl could see Anne’s rising distress and gently tried to calm her down.

“Anne, don’t get too worked up. Your legs are still in casts. You can’t move around carelessly. Dante won’t hurt Bella. She’s his daughter too.”

“He must have taken her for a paternity test!” Anne bit her lip, her voice trembling with anger.

She worried once the test confirmed Bella was his biological child, Dante would have even more reason to keep her away from Anne.

“We’re already divorced,” Anne muttered bitterly. “I gave birth to this child on my own. Why won’t he just leave me alone?”

Yancey, unable to bear seeing Anne in such pain, blurted out, “I’ll go find him! I’ll bring Bella back!”

“Yancey, stop right there!” Anne called out sharply. “The Paltrow family isn’t as simple as you think. Going there won’t accomplish anything.”

Dante was a wealthy man with immense resources, while Yancey was just a regular medical student. Barging into the Paltrow family’s domain would likely get him thrown out.

Anne took a deep breath, regaining a semblance of composure.

“Meryl is right. Bella is Dante’s child too. He won’t harm her. He’s just doing this to force me to come to him. I’ll wait. Let him make the first move.”

Meryl and Yancey escorted Anne back home.

Anne didn’t eat much for lunch, and Meryl knew it was because she was worried about the child.

Though she trusted that Dante wouldn’t hurt Bella, Anne’s heart as a mother couldn’t help but remain with her child.

Taking out her phone, Meryl dialed Chandler’s number.

Chandler was having lunch in his office when his phone rang.

Seeing Meryl’s name, he answered immediately. “Meryl?”

“Chandler, what’s going on with Dante? Why did he take Bella without saying a word?”

Chandler, on the other end of the phone, was stunned, clearly unaware of the matter.