Chapter 119

"Did you see that little actor just now?" Jaydon asked.

"No, Mr. Grimm."

Jaydon searched all the dressing rooms and the photography studio he'd rented, but couldn't find Irvin. Panicked, he immediately instructed his assistants to search separately. About eight assistants began searching the photography studio and nearby scenic spots.

Joanna, worried, said, "Davian, let's go back now."

"Mommy, what happened?" Davian asked.

Joanna explained, "Let's go back and pick up Irvin. It's been so long; he must have finished his audition."

"Okay."

Joanna hurried back to the photography studio, where she found Jaydon anxiously searching.

"Jay, where's Irvin?" she asked.

Jaydon took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Joanna, please calm down first."

"Jay, where is Irvin? Did you hide something from me? Tell me now!"

Seeing Joanna's red, anxious eyes, Jaydon confessed, "Irvin had an audition here. After the audition, he went to remove his makeup, then disappeared. I'm looking for him! Don't worry. This photography studio isn't that big; he must have run off to play."

Joanna's legs buckled. She staggered, nearly falling.

"Joanna!" Jaydon rushed to support her. "It's okay. No need to worry so much."

Regaining her composure, Joanna frantically looked around, shouting, "Irvin, Irvin! Where are you? Come out now!"

Davian and Lilia, also anxious, shouted, "Irvin! Irvin!"

Everyone panicked and searched. Half an hour later, they'd searched the entire studio without success.

"Irvin, Irvin!" Joanna cried, near hysterics. "This photography studio has no surveillance cameras. I'm afraid someone kidnapped him! I don't know what to do!"

Jaydon said, "Check the surveillance cameras outside the scenic spots. We can find out who took Irvin."

"Good."

They hurried to the surveillance room. As Joanna turned, she saw several bodyguards in suits standing behind her. Bruce, with a cold expression and furrowed brow, confronted her.

"Joanna, you're back with Jaydon? You ignored everything I said. I warned you: if I find out you're with him again, you'll pay the price."

Joanna's heart pounded; fear filled her eyes. She stared at Bruce, then slapped him hard across the face.

"Slap!" Bruce, stunned and shocked, recoiled.

Joanna gritted her teeth. "Bruce, you're despicable!"

Bruce's anger flared. Damn it! She slapped me in public! he thought. Women are never satisfied. He touched his cheek, his eyes blazing, then raised his hand to strike back, but hesitated, noticing Joanna's expression.

Joanna cried, "Bruce, where did you take my son? Tell me! Don't hurt him! I'll take it out on you if you have problem, but don't harm my son!"

She punched him frantically. Bruce was speechless, stunned by the sudden attack. I should be confronting her, he thought. Now she's attacking me!

"Are you out of your mind? How would I know where your son is?" he asked.

Joanna shook with anger. "Stop pretending! You took my son! Give him back! If anything happens to him, I'll fight you to the death!"

Bruce coldly flung her arm away. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Jaydon, furious, said, "Bruce, did you take Irvin? How could you?"

Bruce replied, "Jaydon, Joanna, I told you, I know nothing about your child! Stop acting like mad dogs."

Their belief that Bruce was responsible solidified. Joanna again lunged at him, grabbing his sleeve, tears streaming down her face. "Bruce, where did you hide my son? Please, stop this! Give him back!"

Chapter 119 (continued)

Bruce said, "You're crazy! How would I know where your son is?" He hated being wrongly accused. I wouldn't kidnap a child! That's ridiculous! I wouldn't use such a method even to get revenge on Joanna.

Davian, pale with anger, pointed at Bruce. "You big baddie! Where's my brother?" Lilia cried, "Irvin, where did you go?"

Joanna sobbed uncontrollably. "Bruce, I beg you! Give me back my son! Don't use my child to punish me! I beg you!"

Bruce took a deep breath, held her face, and stared into her eyes. "Joanna, I don't know what you're talking about. I've never seen your son!"

"That's impossible! It must be you! You must have hidden him! I'll call the police and charge you with kidnapping!"

"Heh. Then call the police."

Jaydon pushed Bruce away. "Let go of Joanna!" Bruce staggered but held firm.

"Bruce, Irvin is just a child! You can't do this! Take your anger out on me, but leave my child alone!" Jaydon warned.

The bodyguards surrounded Jaydon; a fight ensued, joined by the studio's security guards and assistants. Seeing Joanna and Jaydon's distress, Bruce realized Irvin was truly missing.

He sneered. "Someone else made a move before me. Joanna, I'm telling you one last time: I didn't kidnap your son! I wouldn't use such a shameful method."

Joanna, tears streaming, begged, "Bruce, if you took Irvin, please don't hurt him! Otherwise, you'll regret it!" She shook him frantically. If he hurts Irvin, he'll hurt his own son.

Bruce replied coldly, "I never regret anything I do! Believe it or not, I didn't do it. I would admit it if I did."

Joanna began to believe him. Bruce is righteous; he'd admit it if he did it. If he kidnapped Irvin, he'd openly provoke me. I might have wrongly accused him.

Chapter 119 (continued)

"Irvin, where did you go?" Joanna cried, then fainted.

"Joanna!" Bruce and Jaydon cried out. Bruce caught her. "Send people to search for Joanna's kid!" he instructed his bodyguards.

Joanna regained consciousness quickly. "I need to find my son!"

Bruce said, "I've sent people. Don't be anxious!"

"The surveillance room!" Joanna ran towards it. The studio has no cameras, but there are cameras outside.

Chapter 120

Joanna arrived at the surveillance room. A security guard played the surveillance videos. Joanna watched intently, afraid to miss anything. Bruce smoked outside, while Jaydon accompanied Joanna.

Dozens of videos later, they found nothing suspicious. Irvin had been missing for over three hours. Joanna was breaking down; Jaydon blamed himself. He asked for more videos.

"That's all I have," the guard said. "You need to go to another room."

"Let's go now," Jaydon said.

As the guard replayed a video, Joanna saw a familiar figure. "Wait! Rewind. I want to watch it again."

A tall, thin man appeared; his face wasn't visible, but Joanna recognized him. "That's Derick Haynes!"

She zoomed in. Jaydon murmured, "Is that?"

Joanna cried, "It's Derick Haynes!"

Joanna's heart pounded. Ingrid and her children hate me. It makes sense Derick would want revenge. The cruelest way is to hurt my children.

Jaydon shook his head. "Really? Derick is your half-brother. He probably didn't take Irvin."

Joanna sneered. Half-siblings are worse than strangers. Strangers wouldn't want me to disappear. But my half-siblings would.

"It could be Derick," Joanna said.

"But he didn't have anything with him, and we didn't see him with Irvin," Jaydon pointed out.

"Call the police! We're wasting time!" Joanna urged.

"It hasn't been 24 hours yet; they won't file a case," Jaydon replied.

Joanna stood up. "I'm going to find Derick!"

Jaydon suggested, "Call your father; see if Derick's home. Ask him if he's seen Irvin."

"Good idea," Joanna said, calling Shaun.

Shaun answered, "Hello, Joanna?"

"Hey, Dad! Is Derick home?" Joanna asked.

Shaun was surprised. Derick and Joanna never got along. This is a surprise. He glanced at Derick's room. "He's out. Why are you looking for him?"

"Any idea where he went?" Joanna asked anxiously.

"No," Shaun said.

"Can you give me his number?"

"Wait a moment." Shaun was about to open his contacts when Ingrid entered.

"Hubby, who are you talking to?" she asked.

"It's Joanna," Shaun said.

Ingrid's face changed. "Why are you talking to that bitch?"

"Conon. Stop it." Shaun replied to Joanna, "Joanna, I can't find it now. I'll send it later. Why are you looking for Rick?"

Joanna sobbed, "My son is missing! It's likely Derick took him! Dad, ask Derick if he took Irvin!"

Shaun was shocked. "What? That's impossible! Why would Rick take your son?"

This revised version corrects grammatical errors, improves sentence structure, and removes the unnecessary website promotion. It also maintains the emotional intensity of the original text while making it much more readable.