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Chapter 118 He Feared Because He Cared
“What are you going to do? We’ll still be shooting in Stonebrook for a few more days.
“The exhaustion will take care of it for me.” Maia yawned several times, “I’m going to get some shut–
eye.”
“I’ll walk you back.”
“It’s fine. Dinner’s about to start. They’re going to need you here for the live broadcast.”
Aiken looked at the time and nodded at Maia, “Rest well, then. I’ll send you some dinner when the
broadcast is done!”
“Sure.”
Maia was alone when she heard footsteps behind her. She thought it was one of Stonebrook’s staff and
turned around.
A cat came out of the side of the road and looked at her.
There was a collar around its neck. It sauntered to Maia’s feet, completely unafraid. It rubbed itself
against her.
Maia smiled and petted it. “There’s a whiff of osmanthus about you! It smells good!”
Suddenly, she heard a loud thud and watched as the lights around her went off. Stonebrook was
plunged into darkness.
What happened? Did the power go out?
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Maia was about to use the flashlight on her phone when she caught a scent. Then, someone seized
her from behind. Her mouth was covered by a rag before she could scream. She struggled for a while
before passing out.
The dining hall was thrown into a state of chaos too.
“Please remain calm, everyone! The circuit probably tripped because we used up too much electricity.
It’ll be back soon!”
The dining hall’s light came back on after about a minute. The cameras were restarted as well, and the
livestream was also restored.
The power outage did nothing to hamper the lively dinner. The livestream gained over five million
views. Most of the viewers wanted a glimpse of the warring couple, but Cedric and Maia were nowhere
to be seen!
It was close to nine o’clock when the livestream ended.
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Aiken checked the time and called Maia at once. However, she didn’t answer her phone.
“Is she asleep?” Aiken wondered, as he went to look for her.
Just when he walked out of the dining hall, one of the crew came in, clearly distressed. There was a
phone with a cracked screen in his hand.
“What happened?” Aiken stopped the crew and asked.
“Is this Ms. Maia’s phone, Mr. Aiken?”
Aiken nodded. He recognized her phone immediately.
“I knocked on her door earlier, but no one answered. So, I asked the staff to open the door with a spare
key. There was no one in the room! I stumbled upon her phone nearby!”
He looked around and made sure no one else was there. He said in a panicked tone, “Ms. Maia has
gone missing, Mr. Aiken!”
“What did you say?” He looked at the crew incredulously.
“We’ve searched all over Stonebrook, but we couldn’t find her!”
Aiken was stunned. “Hurry up and call the police! Also, tell the others to refrain from spreading the
news out!”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Aiken. The director already gave us the order. No one’s going to let it slip!”
Everyone knew the implications if this piece of news got out.
Aiken ran toward Maia’s homestay. He needed to see it for himself. He needed to see that she wasn’t
there with his own eyes!
Meanwhile, at the airport, Baz answered a phone call. He leaped from his seat the moment he got the
news.
“It’s bad, Mr. Cedric. Ms. Maia’s gone missing.”
Cedric was unsettled. He grew grim and left the plane without a word, Baz following close behind.
The police were there by the time they arrived. They scoured the scene but they didn’t turn up with
anything.
Aiken saw Cedric and said immediately, “Why did you leave Stonebrook? No one would’ve dared lay a
finger on Ms. Maia if you had stuck around. Are you happy now?”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe clammed up at once when Cedric glared at him.
“What happened?” Cedric might seem calm but a storm was brewing within him.
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“We have no leads on Ms. Maia’s whereabouts, Mr. Cedric. We’ve locked down Stonebrook. There’s no
way anyone could get out, but we just can’t find her.”
“Has anyone reviewed the security footage?”
“We did that, but there was a power outage when Ms. Maia walked through here. It didn’t capture
anything useful.”
“What did it capture?” He was calm. Too calm.
“Ms. Maia stopped here and turned to look around. She probably saw something, but a cat came out of
nowhere. It probably lowered her guard, but there was actually someone tailing her!”
Cedric didn’t say or ask anything further. Instead, he headed straight toward the room next door.
Everyone was confused at how calm and collected Cedric was.
However, he alone knew just how dismayed and terrified he was over the fact that Maia had gone
missing. The intense unrest he felt now was proof of just how much he loved her. He feared for her
because he cared for her.
Baz said, “Looks like it’s a diversion, Mr. Cedric. Someone waited for you to leave Stonebrook and
snatched Ms. Maia. Could it be Theo?”
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