Chapter 338: Whereabouts Exposed
Wren Sutton’s eyes were filled with exhaustion and uncertainty.
Adrian Lancaster’s men were coordinating with the police, but after searching from yesterday until now, they hadn’t turned up a single valuable clue.
Honestly, she didn’t have high hopes for Finn Foster’s offer to help.
But she understood Finn Foster’s good intentions and didn’t want to refuse his kindness.
Wren Sutton fought back the tears welling in her eyes, pulled her phone from her bag, and opened her photo gallery to find a recent picture of Isla Griffith.
That was from before her best friend’s miscarriage and hospitalization, before her meeting with Yvonne Donovan. She was in the sweet, passionate throes of her romance with Sean Sterling, radiating vitality. Her expression was gentle and lively, her smile was radiant, and her eyes sparkled with light.
Wren Sutton held the phone out in front of Finn Foster.
"Her name is Isla Griffith. She’s my best friend. She hasn’t been feeling well recently and was staying in the hospital. Yesterday morning, she left on her own, without a word, without her phone. I’ve lost contact with her."
"Finn, please take a look for me. Have you seen her anywhere in the last couple of days?"
Finn Foster lowered his head, his gaze falling on the phone screen.
The moment he saw Isla Griffith’s photo, his eyes widened in surprise and he froze on the spot.
’The woman in the photo... she looks just like that girl I saw at my grandma’s this morning. You could say they’re identical.’
"Wren, is your best friend a twin?" Finn Foster asked.
Wren Sutton shook her head. "No."
’That settles it, then,’ Finn thought. ’If she’s not a twin, it has to be her.’
He was naturally straightforward and couldn’t keep things to himself. Now that he was certain, he blurted out without a moment’s hesitation, "Wren, I’ve seen her. And I know where she is."
Finn Foster’s tone was serious and certain. He didn’t sound like he was joking.
The light instantly returned to Wren Sutton’s once-dim eyes. Her face filled with surprise and delight, and her heart leaped with hope.
She grabbed Finn Foster’s arm instinctively, as if grasping a lifeline.
"Finn, you’re not joking with me, are you? You’ve really seen Isla, and you know where she is?!"
Finn Foster understood Wren’s excitement and anxiety, so his tone grew more serious, not daring to be careless with his words.
"Wren, I’m telling the truth. I’m not joking."
"Isla is at my grandma’s house right now. I went back this morning to get my laptop and saw her with my own eyes. She looks exactly like the person in the photo. There’s no way I’m mistaken."
"You’re saying Isla is in Avenia... and at Granny Foster’s house?!" Wren Sutton froze on the spot. Her mind went blank, and she was completely stunned.
It felt so unreal, as if she were dreaming.
She had listed so many possible places on paper yesterday, but she had never once considered Avenia.
’No wonder we haven’t found any clues. Isla isn’t even in Aston.’
The next moment, tears streamed down her face—not of sadness, but of joy at finding something she thought was lost. They were tears of overwhelming relief.
From yesterday until now, Wren had been so worried she could barely eat or sleep, constantly anxious about Isla’s whereabouts and her health.
Finn Foster’s few, certain words had given her hope and strength.
"How is Isla now? Is she hurt?" Wren Sutton asked urgently.
Finn Foster reassured her, "Wren, my grandma is taking great care of Isla. When I went back, the two of them were eating breakfast."
Wren Sutton let out a sigh of relief, a smile finally gracing her face.
"If Granny is taking care of Isla, I can definitely rest easy."
Adrian Lancaster, who was beside her, also breathed a sigh of relief.
He had spent the last two days rushing around with Wren, and seeing her so haggard and distraught pained him more than anything.
Now that they knew where Isla Griffith was, the tense line of his mouth relaxed into a slight smile. He reached out and patted Finn Foster’s shoulder again.
"Thanks a lot. You’ve been a huge help this time. Otherwise, we don’t know how much longer we would have been searching."
Finn Foster scratched his hair, embarrassed.
"Brother-in-law, I didn’t do anything, just provided a piece of information. If you really want to thank someone, you should thank my grandma. She was the one who took Isla in last night."
Adrian Lancaster nodded, his gaze filled with gratitude and appreciation.
"We will definitely thank Granny in person. Her kindness and warmth are what helped us."
"Of course, your role wasn’t small either. If you hadn’t gone back today, we still wouldn’t know where Isla Griffith is."
After saying that, he looked at Wren Sutton and took her hand.
"Honey, we can’t waste any time. Let’s go to Avenia now."
"Okay."
Wren Sutton could no longer hold back, wishing she could fly to her best friend’s side immediately.
Although she was full of questions, wondering why Isla had chosen to go to Avenia.
But at this moment, what she felt more than anything was relief.
As long as her best friend was safe, nothing else mattered.
On the way to Avenia, the scenery outside the car window slowly rolled by.
Adrian Lancaster leaned back leisurely in his seat and pulled out his phone.
Wren Sutton, who was beside him, noticed his movement. Guessing he was about to call Sean Sterling, she quickly stopped his hand.
"Don’t tell Sean Sterling yet. Let me see Isla first."
Seeing Adrian Lancaster’s confused expression, she explained patiently.
"The whole reason Isla left without a word was to get away from Sean Sterling. The conflicts that have built up between them, the tangled mess of their problems—it’s not something that can be solved overnight. Forcing them to meet now would only make things worse."
"If they meet now, I’m afraid Isla won’t be able to handle it emotionally. If she gets agitated again, it will be even harder to calm her down."
Adrian Lancaster glanced down at his hand, which Wren was still holding, then looked up into her genuinely worried eyes. He fell silent, hesitating for a moment before weighing his options and putting his phone away.
"Alright. We’ll do it your way," he said, his voice low and gentle. "We can arrange for her to meet with Sean Sterling once she has completely calmed down."
Between his friend and his wife, he chose to listen to his wife.
Wren Sutton’s heart finally settled. She gave a small nod. "Okay."
A doting smile touched Adrian Lancaster’s lips as he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
"Now that we know where Isla Griffith is and that she’s safe, you can finally relax."
"You had insomnia last night and barely slept a wink. Rest in my arms for a while now. I’ll wake you up when we get to Avenia."
Wren Sutton’s eyelids were heavy, and a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She was indeed tired.
Now that the weight on her heart had been lifted, her anxiety faded. Leaning against Adrian Lancaster’s chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, she quickly fell asleep.
Adrian Lancaster lowered the privacy partition, took off his jacket, and draped it over Wren Sutton. He gazed down at her serene, beautiful sleeping face, his eyes filled with a tenderness so deep it seemed to overflow.
He leaned down slightly, resting his forehead against hers, the faint, fresh scent of her filling his senses.
"Honey, please don’t ever do what Isla did. Don’t ever leave me without a word."
Adrian Lancaster closed his eyes, his voice very low, with a barely perceptible tremor of fear and unease.
...
「Avenia.」
Isla Griffith woke from a dream, curled up in bed, hugging herself tightly, trying to heal her own wounds.
After a long time, she finally composed herself and pushed the distant dream from her mind.
She was still bleeding after the miscarriage. When Isla Griffith got up to change her pad, she realized she’d used the last one in her pocket. The rest were in her car, which was parked in an empty lot not far from Granny Foster’s house.
Granny’s house didn’t have any pads, so Isla Griffith prepared to go out.
"Granny, I’m just going to my car to get something. I’ll be right back."
Granny Foster was in the kitchen cooking and came out as soon as she heard her voice.
"What do you need to get? Tell me, I’ll go get it for you."
Isla didn’t want to trouble the elderly woman over such a small thing.
"My car is a mess, you won’t be able to find it. I should go. I’ll be back in a few minutes."
Granny Foster couldn’t win against her. "Alright then. Wait a moment, don’t go out just yet."
Isla Griffith obediently stood in place. Soon, Granny Foster rummaged through a wardrobe and pulled out a thick, coffee-colored knit hat and a soft red scarf, putting them on her.
"It’s windy outside, and you’re weak right now. You absolutely can’t get chilled, or it will cause long-term health problems."
"Get what you need and come back quickly. The chicken soup is almost ready. Come back and have a nice hot bowl."
Isla felt incredibly moved by the elderly woman’s thoughtful, meticulous care.
"Okay, I’ll get my things and come right back for a bowl of Granny’s chicken soup."
The two of them looked at each other and smiled, like they were family.
Then, Isla Griffith pushed open the door and walked out of the small courtyard.
A cold wind brushed her cheeks. She instinctively wrapped her scarf tighter and walked slowly to her car, opening the trunk.
Just as she bent down, head lowered, rummaging in a bag for pads, the sound of a car engine roaring approached from behind. It then sped past her, kicking up dust from the ground.
’Whose car was that? Driving so fast, are they in a hurry to die or something?’ Isla grumbled to herself.
She looked up, and her eyes fell upon a familiar black SUV.
Just one glance, and it felt as if all the blood in Isla Griffith’s body rushed to her head. She was dumbfounded.
That unique license plate number—she had seen it a few times. It was, without a doubt, Adrian Lancaster’s.
’Why would Adrian Lancaster’s car suddenly be in Avenia? And it’s parked right in front of Granny Foster’s house.’
’There’s only one possibility. They’ve found me.’