Chapter 2 A Late Night Rescue
1257 Words
Inside the Hayden's villa.
Hudson Hayden sat straight on the couch, holding a chess piece
"You idiots! Useless trash!" yelled Hudson.
The servants knelt in front of him in a roll, their heads hanging low.
"What happened?" Landon Hayden's voice cut in. His eyes were icy cold.
A woman turned around and knelt in front of him.
"Please, master, it was my fault. I thought I would grab a coat for the young master so he wouldn't catch a cold. But he just disappeared right beneath my eyes..."
"Of course, it was your fault!" Hudson Hayden snorted.
"You're the young master's babysitter and you know he didn't get along very well with Landon. Why the hell would you tell him Landon was coming home today from abroad? Did you do it on purpose?"
"Master, I didn't! You could kill me but we had to find Xavier first. He was dumb and he would never be able to call for help. What if he was abducted? "Zoey the Nanny bowed. She sounded as if she was about to cry.
Landon Hayden's eyes softened. He asked, "Did you call the police?"
"Of course," Hudson said. He pursed his lips. "A five-million-dollar prize and no news so far."
As they spoke, Mrs. Hayden came down with a children's shirt in her hands "How am I supposed to live without Xavier?" she wailed.
The news flew across the internet and TV. Xavier Hayden, five years old, was missing.
It was 11:00 pm and the streets were packed with search teams, looking for Xavier and also a chance of getting five million dollars.
Xavier had finished all Grace's treats. She had hoped that he would ask her to send him home afterward, but Xavier said he'd make up for it by filling her fridge.
"Just make yourself home." Xavier crouched in front of a row of shelves, his eyes fixed on a bag of potato chips in front of him.
Grace took the chips and added them to her shopping basket. "You're welcome," she said.
Xavier licked his lips. Grace suddenly felt bad for him. The way he craved treats made him look more miserable, like a stray cat.
However, after they reached the counter for a check-out, Xavier reached into his pocket and took out an American Express Centurion Card.
"Check out please."
The teller at the counter was shocked, staring straight at Xavier.
"It's on me," said Grace.
"No." Xavier insisted, "I said it's my treat."
Grace had to give in. She thought of paying the boy's parents once she found them.
It wasn't long after they left that a Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up in front of the grocery.
Landon Hayden strolled into the grocery. He checked the bank notice on his phone. "Have you seen the boy?" he asked the teller as he pulled out a photo of Xavier.
"You're his..." The owner was alert.
Summer showed him the Missing Person on the news. "This is Landon Hayden's son." Anyone with relevant information can get five million dollars."
"Five million dollars?" The boss gulped. "He just left with a woman in short hair. I think I know her address. I can take you there. She's a mobster in this town, so don't try to mess around with her."
"A woman in short hair?"
Back home, Grace and Xavier cuddled up on the couch, each clutching a bag of chips and exchanging a few pieces now and then.
"Which floor do you live on? Shouldn't you be at home by now?"
Xavier leaned back against the couch once again. "Not yet."
Grace yawned. "I need to go to bed now. Now you know where I live, so you can come over whenever you like."
"Can I drop by anytime?"
"Sure," Grace nodded.
"Nuh, I'll wait a bit," Xavier stood up and then sat back again. "If you're tired, you can go to bed first."
"I wonder what you are waiting for," asked Grace, tossing the chips to the coffee table." The TV is off now and what are you going to do while I'm sleeping? Just sit here staring at the blank screen?"
Xavier dropped his eyes. He looked a bit lost.
Grace suddenly felt guilty. Xavier probably had run away from his home because he had been ignored all the time. He had a good reason not to come back.
"Xavier," she whispered. "I ran away from home like you too when I was young. But by the time I wanted to go back, it was too late.
"Why?" Xavier asked, bewildered.
Grace didn't answer directly. "It was your home anyways, you know?"
Xavier wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry," he tried to comfort her. "You will go home sooner or later."
"You silly boy" Tears welled up in Grace's eyes.
She'd heard the same words from someone else. But in the end, she was the one who suffered.
She wiped the tears away. Just then, she noticed a few red dots on the floor.
The red dots moved and finally settled on her arm. "Whoever is in the room, you heard us! Raise your hands and put down your weapons."
Grace raised her hands.
Xavier giggled somewhere out of her sight.
The door was slammed open with force.
"This is the woman." The guy from the grocery quickly took a glance inside and shrank behind Summer, "Can I get the money now?"
"Don't get in the way of the cops," Summer pulled him aside. "You will get it after we clean up the mess."
"Mr. Hayden, please," offered the captain.
Landon Hayden came into the room. His face turned pale as he saw Grace inside.
Grace was wearing a cotton nightgown. Her real hair was short and chestnut brown. She looked very different from what she had looked like in the hotel, where she looked hot with long hair.
A tomboy. This was what she was supposed to be.
Grace almost swore out loud when she spotted Landon Hayden.
Damn, what a jerk.
Is that why he came to search my house in the middle of the night just because I had slapped him?
"Landon Hayden..."
Grace held Xavier instinctively,
As soon as she had done so, she heard a punching noise, and a hole appeared on the couch that she was sitting on. She froze in terror. The cotton fibers flew all over the room
"Stop it! I mean no harm to the boy!"
"What kind of person would kidnap a little boy?" murmured the neighbors outside.
"A jerk, a whore."
"She doesn't look like a nice person."
"Yeah, I heard she takes men home from the streets."
"She deserves some bullets as I said."
"This is an awful business, kidnapping a small boy."
Grace couldn't hold her rage any longer. She was no kidnapper or a human trafficker?
Grace turned to Xavier, who was standing motionless with his head hanging down. He looked as if he was terrified.
"You're talking about this kid? He lives right next door!" she nudged Xavier.
She knew the neighbor was just jealous because they didn't get the five million dollars.
"Why did I never see him? I'm also in the neighborhood."
"She's just pretending she's innocent. Haven't you seen the missing person on the news?"
"She is just trying to get a big deal from the kid's family, w***e!"
Five million dollars?
Grace's mind wandered to Xavier's American Express Centurion Card. So he was really from a rich family.
But what did this have to do with Landon Hayden?
- Writer
