Devoted Love:The Billionaire's Precious Wife
Chapter 433

Chapter 433: Chapter 433

"It’s been a year," Clark lamented. "I can’t believe it took me a year to realize she was in danger. How did you find out? I’ve also been to Stardust Lane, but the villagers there wouldn’t say a word about Carol. Either they played dumb, or they simply walked away. How did you figure out something was off from what they said?"

"I bought a cup of hot milk from her neighbor’s breakfast joint and sat down to listen to their chitchat."

Clark was in dumb silence.

Just like that?

And she managed to pick up hints from that?

"They’re all from the same town. You, a stranger, suddenly asking about Carol would have made them wary, and they would hide the truth. But if they’re gossiping among themselves, it’s a different story."

Clark laughed at himself. "I even went to her house, asking her parents abruptly."

At that time, he was almost going insane, unable to find Carol anywhere. He had to swallow his pride and ask the villagers to visit her parents again and again.

Her parents kept saying they couldn’t reach their daughter either, and Clark thought they were lying. He thought Carol had fallen for someone else, that her parents didn’t want him to bother her anymore, so they lied to him.

"Looking back now, her parents probably didn’t know anything, but I can’t be sure. We’ll have to wait for the investigation results."

"What has she been through this past year?" Clark murmured to himself. "Why are those people calling her a traitor? What kind of situation did she get involved in? Is she safe now?"

"Clark, don’t worry too much," Rosemary softly consoled. "Those people are also trying to find Carol. That means she hasn’t shown up yet, and she must be hiding somewhere."

"Where could she be hiding?" The thought of Carol possibly spending this past year in extreme danger and fear made Clark’s heart ache.

It was all due to his negligence.

He believed Carol when she said she liked someone else.

"While Carol told you she was in love with someone else, she also told her adoptive parents she found her biological ones and then disappeared from your lives completely. I suspect neither of these things are true. She might have had a reason she couldn’t stay, or she could have been taken by some other force."

Upon hearing this, Clark didn’t know whether to feel relieved or worried.

The relief came from the possibility that Carol didn’t leave him because she fell for someone else.

The worry was because Carol was nowhere to be found. She might have gotten involved in something dangerous and couldn’t get out safely yet.

Just then, Jack came out from the side building, followed by a few of his men. They were all wet and covered in blood, showing they had been working hard.

"Boss, those hard-nosed guys won’t spill a thing. They’re barely hanging on. If we keep going, they’ll kick the bucket," Jack reported to Rosemary. "I gave each of them one of those life-sustaining injections you developed. Once they wake up tomorrow, I’ll resume the interrogation."

"Alright," Rosemary instructed. "Take Clark inside to rest for a bit. Have someone pour some tea and bring some food. I need to check on my lab."

Rosemary took out two small transparent bags from her bag, each containing a cotton swab which seemed to have something on it.

Clark asked with confusion, "What are these?"

"I made a trip to Carol’s place, sprayed Luminol in the living room and backyard, and caught a hint of fluorescence."

"You mean someone was hurt? Is it severe?" Clark knew what Luminol was, and his heart clenched at the thought.

"We’re not sure whose blood it is yet. We’ll need to run some tests," Rosemary explained. "I sprayed the Luminol and swabbed some of the glowing dirt and dust with a cotton swab. We’ll have the results soon. Also, I found strands of hair in both Carol’s and her parents’ rooms. There were also nail clippings under the sofa and in corners. I’ve collected them all."

The nails and hair could be used for DNA extraction, but it might not be successful if too much time had passed.

Once the blood test results were back, they could compare the DNA to see if the blood was theirs.

If it was, it meant that they had been injured at home, with the living room being the primary crime scene and the backyard the secondary.

But if it wasn’t...

Clark’s heart clenched tightly. How did Carol’s parents get wrapped up in this? What else was hidden behind this situation?

"Oh right, boss, here are the hairs from the people inside." Jack handed Rosemary a few small transparent bags. There were also traces of blood.

"How many did you pluck?" Rosemary took the bag. Blood and hair could be used for DNA testing. The blood found in Carol’s living room and backyard could also possibly belong to the four people inside.

Rosemary then took out another transparent bag from her backpack. Inside was just a bit of powder. If they didn’t look closely, they might think the bag was empty.

"What’s this?" Clark asked again.

"This was found in the Vitamin C bottle in Carol’s room."

Jack was a little puzzled. "Isn’t Vitamin C usually in pill form? Why is it powdered?"

"This isn’t Vitamin C," Rosemary explained, then looked at Clark. "One of the components in this powder is Aetherbloom."

Aetherbloom?

Now, Clark couldn’t keep his cool. His heart felt like it was being squeezed. The pain was unbearable.

"What the heck is Aetherbloom?" Jack, who had been by the boss’s side for many years, had never heard of it. But it didn’t seem like a good thing judging from Clark’s reaction.

Clark knew that Aetherbloom was a potent poison. "You’re saying that Carol ingested poison? Is she possibly gone?"

"Not necessarily," Rosemary spoke softly. "Aetherbloom can also be used in medicine. It depends on what the other components are. Clark, don’t worry too much. Jack, take Clark to rest for a bit. I’m heading to the lab."

"Right." Jack gestured. "Clark, this way, please."

Clark didn’t know how he managed to walk into the main building. It was luxurious, just as fancy as the Reflections Villa, but he had no heart to appreciate the decor and trinkets. All he could think about was what his sister had said.

Jack came out in a change of clothes, carrying an assortment of food and drinks.

"Clark, have something to eat first, or maybe a cup of coffee. I’m telling you, this coffee is usually only for our boss. No one else gets to enjoy it."

Jack sniffed the aroma of the coffee in the air. It was so fragrant.