Chapter 371: Missing Her So Much It Hurts
Time was of the essence.
Sean Sterling and Caleb Caldwell turned and hurried downstairs. They drove to the city’s traffic management command center to investigate Laura Lawson’s whereabouts.
Inside the room, a massive wall of screens flickered with a dense array of surveillance feeds.
A staff member pulled up the 24-hour surveillance footage from the area around the old suburban residential complex, as well as from all the city’s transportation hubs and highway checkpoints. Their fingertips flew across the console, calling up different feeds.
The priority was to screen for any woman matching Laura Lawson’s physical description who was accompanied by two children last night, paying special attention to the black sedan that had picked her up.
Sean Sterling and Caleb Caldwell’s eyes were glued to every screen. They didn’t dare blink, terrified of missing a single detail.
Time ticked by. After a frame-by-frame review, the results were incredibly disappointing.
The surveillance cameras around the residential complex had been deliberately avoided. The black sedan had stuck to secluded alleys and ultimately vanished at a suburban intersection with no cameras.
There were no ticket purchase or security check records for Laura Lawson and the two children at any of the airports, train stations, long-distance bus terminals, or passenger ferry ports.
The checkpoints for land and water routes out of the city also showed no trace of them. It was as if the three had vanished into thin air.
"Whoever did this has extremely strong counter-surveillance skills. They left no trail. We can’t find anything," the staff member said, shaking their head in resignation.
The color instantly drained from Sean Sterling and Caleb Caldwell’s faces, and the light in their eyes slowly dimmed.
A suffocating mix of rage and helpless frustration churned in their chests.
The two men walked out of the command center side by side in silence. Their steps were heavy, and even the air around them seemed to freeze.
Back in the car, they split up the work again, one checking Laura Lawson’s phone records and the other her bank transactions.
The results were just as disheartening.
Laura Lawson’s call history consisted entirely of everyday numbers, with no suspicious or unusual ones.
Her bank account transactions only showed small expenses for daily living, the children’s school fees, and grocery shopping. There were no large deposits, not even any significant scattered transfers.
"Cash. They must have paid her in cash. Their counter-surveillance is too good."
A chilling aura emanated from Sean Sterling as the feeling of helplessness in his heart grew heavier.
They had checked everything they could, but every lead was a dead end.
It was like they had plunged headfirst into a bottomless abyss. All their efforts vanished without a trace, leaving not even a ripple.
This meant that the other party had planned everything from the start. They used a cash transaction, avoided all electronic communication, and secretly moved Laura Lawson and her children.
Every trace had been wiped clean, deliberately leaving them with no leads and nowhere to begin.
"They didn’t leave a single opening. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment escape; it was a meticulously planned operation."
"We’re stuck in a stalemate, completely on the defensive."
...
「The Lancaster Family Study.」
Sean Sterling and Caleb Caldwell stood side by side before the desk, their faces etched with exhaustion and defeat.
"Uncle, the results of the investigation are grim. We couldn’t find any useful leads. We’ve let you down."
Theodore Lancaster sat in his chair, his fingertips tapping slowly on the armrest, his gaze deep and sharp.
"All conventional leads have gone cold. The fact that you couldn’t find anything doesn’t mean you’re incompetent," he said, his voice low and calm, breaking the deadlock.
"On the contrary, it proves that the other party’s plan goes beyond the scope of ordinary crime. Every step was calculated and flawless."
Theodore Lancaster paused, his tone suddenly becoming firm and authoritative.
"For an ordinary housewife with two young children to evade all of the city’s street surveillance, transportation hubs, and traces of communication and financial activity—and to vanish into thin air in such a short time..."
"A disappearance like that is impossible with a conventional escape."
Sean Sterling and Caleb Caldwell straightened up, listening intently.
"There is only one possibility." Theodore Lancaster’s voice was resolute, each word landing with force. "A private plane."
A flicker of light sparked in Sean Sterling’s eyes, and his furrowed brow relaxed.
"Uncle, are you saying Laura Lawson took a private air route?"
"Mm," Theodore Lancaster nodded, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"We’ve set up a dragnet across all public transportation—commercial flights, railways, highways. It would be nearly impossible for them to get through."
"But private planes are different. Private airstrips and air parks in the suburbs, discreet registration, no need for standard security checks... you can even charter one anonymously."
"It’s the only way to move someone out of the city so silently within a matter of hours. I even suspect she may have already been sent out of the country."
"Of course we wouldn’t find anything if we were only searching domestically."
The feeling of helplessness in Sean Sterling and Caleb Caldwell’s hearts vanished instantly, replaced by a sharp, ready-to-strike edge.
"Our thinking was confined to public systems. We missed the biggest blind spot: the private sector," Caleb Caldwell said, excited by the new lead.
Sean Sterling and Caleb Caldwell had spent all night at the hospital and had been running around investigating all day. Theodore Lancaster couldn’t bear to see them exhaust themselves further.
"I’ll have someone else handle the private plane investigation. You two go home and get some proper rest. I’ll contact you when I need you."
As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes turned cold, and he immediately made a call to arrange it.
"Run a thorough check on all takeoff and landing records from every private airport and air park in and around Aston for the last 48 hours. Include any unscheduled, temporary takeoffs."
"Find out their flight paths and destinations. Whether it was a private charter or a corporate jet, don’t miss a single one."
"Focus especially on anonymous charters, private planes with no public owner, and short-haul routes heading abroad. They’re operating in secret, so they definitely wouldn’t have registered under a public identity. Their flight path most likely bypassed standard monitored routes."
"Yes, Mr. Lancaster," the person on the other end replied respectfully.
Theodore Lancaster hung up the phone and tapped a knuckle lightly on his desk. The oppressive aura of someone long accustomed to power suddenly intensified around him.
"As long as we can lock onto the private plane that picked up Laura Lawson, we can follow its flight path and trace the charterer’s information. That will lead us to her and the children."
Sean Sterling and Caleb Caldwell nodded in agreement, their fighting spirit and confidence reignited.
A moment later, the two of them turned and left the study.
Just as they reached the door, Theodore Lancaster called out to Sean Sterling, wanting to speak with him alone.
Caleb Caldwell nodded to Sean, took the hint, and left, closing the door behind him.
The heavy wooden door muffled all outside sounds, and the study fell silent.
The light fell on Theodore Lancaster’s face, softening the coldness of a man in power and revealing the distinct care of an elder.
He stood up, walked over to Sean Sterling, and looked at him with a heavy gaze.
Sean broke the silence, his demeanor neither servile nor overbearing. "Uncle, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Theodore Lancaster got straight to the point, not beating around the bush.
"Be honest with me. Are you dead set on completely severing ties with the Sterling family?"
"Do you really plan to disown your parents for the rest of your life?"
"..." Sean’s hand, hanging at his side, suddenly clenched into a fist. His Adam’s apple bobbed a few times as an unspeakable, complex mix of emotions churned within him.
After a long moment, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse and trembling with cold rage.
"They humiliated the woman I love, forced her to leave, and killed my children."
Sean jerked his head up, his eyes bloodshot with unrelenting hatred and pain.
"I can’t forgive them. If I did, I would be failing my dead children—they were twins—and even more so, their mother."
"Because of their interference and scheming, I didn’t just lose my children. I lost the love of my life."
Theodore Lancaster sighed softly, his tone carrying the gentle admonishment of an elder.
"Your aunt told me what happened. You’re still young. The children are gone, but you can have more in the future. But..."
Sean suddenly cut his uncle off, his tone hard and leaving no room for negotiation.
"Uncle, if you’re going to try to persuade me to go back to the Sterling family, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to hear a single word of it. I’m sorry."
With that, he left the study without a backward glance and slammed the door shut.
Theodore Lancaster: "..."
Sean Sterling strode out of the Lancaster family study, got in his car, and drove straight to Isla Griffith’s apartment.
The digital lock beeped softly, and the door swung open.
A familiar, faint fragrance immediately greeted him.
Nothing inside had changed.
Her slippers were placed neatly by the door. The silk scarf he’d given her was hanging on the coat rack.
A throw pillow on the living room sofa was askew, and her favorite mug sat on the coffee table.
On the kitchen counter was her half-used canister of herbal tea.
Her skincare products were arranged untouched in the bathroom.
Even the small night light on the bedroom nightstand was still in the position and at the brightness she preferred.
Everything was just as it had been when Isla Griffith was home, as if at any moment he would hear her laugh and call his name.
But in the empty living room, the silence was broken only by the sound of Sean Sterling’s own breathing.
No lights, no sounds, no her.
Sean slowly walked to the side of the bed. He ran his fingertips over the cool sheets, where a faint trace of Isla Griffith’s scent seemed to linger.
His Adam’s apple bobbed violently. His eyes began to burn uncontrollably as memories and longing washed over him like a tidal wave.
He missed Isla Griffith so much his chest ached.
’Isla, please come back. I miss you so much.’