Suddenly, the fog of confusion in Johnson's head dispersed! Everything became clear!

No wonder Tom was so abnormal on that day! It was his birthday and he wanted a father's accompaniment! But at that time, Johnson believed Tom was just dissatisfied with being disciplined by the steward.

Oh!

Johnson thought he was really a failure as a father!

He gazed at the little boy lying still on the bed, with deep regret in his eyes.

"Mr. Roberts." Feeling his sadness, Shirley walked closer to him.

His feeling might be the same as hers when she knew Alice was not playing hide-and-seek but lying unconscious on the ground at that time.

Adults usually underestimate children's ability to sense the world. They thought children were too young to know much. But actually, children were very smart and sensitive.

Shirley went on, "It's been only four days. It's not late to make up for it."

Johnson looked at her who was gentle and also powerful.

He heard that it was she alone who had persuaded Tom to open the closed door in person.

"Stay here," he ordered.

He would be relieved if she looked after Tom.

This was a command.

Shirley laughed lightly. It seemed this man didn't know how to come down from the high ground.

She took two steps back and resumed her seriousness. "Thank you. But I have a child, which you also know. I want to spend more time with her, so..."

He interrupted impatiently, "You can take her over here."

To him, this was not a problem at all.

Shirley was stunned. She hadn't expected that she would be allowed to take Alice with her, which was forbidden in other families.

But his house was big. A more child indeed wouldn't cause trouble to him.

Seeing her hesitating, he went on, "There are many rooms here. No one will bother you. I can also ask a driver to drive your daughter to school every day."

"Ah?" Shirley was shocked.

Somehow, she felt Johnson was quite a nice man. He was not as scary as others said.

With eyes wide opened, she couldn't help looking him up and down. Although Johnson didn't like to be stared at...

He didn't get angry this time. Instead, he felt somewhat pleased.

He revealed the gentlest expression ever. "Do you have any other requirements?"

Requirements?

How dare she make requirements? When she wanted to shake her head, her phone rang in the pocket.

It was Alice's number.

Shirley suddenly became nervous because Alice wouldn't have bothered her in her interview. Was there an accident?

"I, I'm sorry. I have to answer the phone first." She was so anxious that she stammered. Walking aside, she answered the phone immediately. After a dozen seconds, she hung up the phone with greater worry. "Mr. Roberts, there's an emergency. I, I have to leave now. Thank you."

Then, she left without looking back.

The phone call was made by Linda. She said Alice was missing when she was busy counting the new clothes, so she called Shirley with Alice's phone that was being recharged on the desk.

Alice was missing!

The three words made Shirley so anxious that she almost cried out.

Linda's store was on the fourth floor of Winnie Mall, one of the most densely-packed in the city. If Alice was abducted...

No, she couldn't frighten herself. She should go back first before judging the situation.

Wiping away her tears, she ran out of the gate. There, a black car was waiting for her. On seeing her, the driver opened the door for her and said respectfully, "Miss. Smith, please get into the car. Mr. Roberts asked me to drive you back."

She was confused, but then she got into the car right away. "Thank you."

This area was very isolated; one couldn't get out of here on foot. She was so worried about Alice that she forgot this.

It was a surprise that Johnson prepared the car for her considerately...

Before the car drove off, she had a look at the big villa again.

It was just like an ancient castle, grand, glorious, and solemn. Its style was the same as its owner's.

When Shirley hurried to the mall, Alice had been found.

Alice had been attracted by the delicious smell from a newly-opened fried chicken store nearby.

The big discount had attracted many people over there. The staff were so busy that they didn't notice her when she sneaked into the kitchen to smell the fried chicken.

It was a cook who spotted her. Afraid that her parents would be worried, he asked who her parents were aloud outside the store. That enabled Linda to find Alice.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Shirley made a 90-degree bow to him and kept expressing her thanks.

"It's my pleasure. I have to go back to fry chicken now. Take care of the child." The cook waved his hand kindly.

"Mommy..." Alice lowered her head and wrung her hands, knowing that she had done something wrong.

She shouldn't make her mother and Linda worried.

Shirley walked into Linda's clothes store with a straight face and didn't look at Alice at all.

Scared, Alice ran up tottering with her short legs. She said in a low voice, "Mommy, mommy, I'm sorry."

But Shirley pretended as if she didn't hear it. She took up the account book on the desk and began reading it.

This store was co-opened by Linda and her, and she merely took a small share. Her responsibility was to manage the money in case Linda, who was not good at maths, operated at a loss again.

Linda had once run a steamed bun store. In theory, a bun should be sold at over 1.2 yuan. But this silly woman thought she could earn money by selling each bun at 1 yuan, as a result of which the business collapsed.

"Mommy, please forgive me! Mommy..." Alice's big eyes were moist and her face puckered with sadness.

Her worst fear was that her mother wouldn't love her anymore.

She felt the saddest every time Shirley didn't say anything or look at her.

She pulled Shirley's pants as a sign of begging and also admitting a mistake.

Seeing that, Linda couldn't help giving the little girl a hand. She asked with a pretended serious face, "Alice, do you know what you are wrong about?"

"Yes." Alice nodded firmly and opened her eyes wide, trying not to shed tears.

Because Shirley didn't like children who cried after making mistakes.

"Shirley, Alice has realized her mistake. Don't be angry." Linda knew Shirley very well. This woman was gentle at ordinary times, but when her bottom line was challenged, her heart would be tougher than a stone.

Especially when it came to the education for Alice about the sense of right and wrong.

Shirley put down the account book, but her expression was still very severe. "Alice Smith, do you really know what you're wrong about?"

Hearing her full name, Alice felt even more worried. "Yes, mommy! I promise, I won't run around or think about eating something I can't eat anymore."

It pained Shirley to hear that.

All the people said Alice was a good girl. But if possible, Shirley would rather Alice be a wilful kid crying for fried chicken and ice-cream. It was so cruel to require a child to reject those temptations, though it was for her health's sake.

"I'm angry just because you ran away so suddenly." Shirley's heart was finally softened. She bent and scooped Alice up, using a finger to wipe away her tears. Softly, she said, "Wherever you go, you should tell Linda or me on the phone."