Overbearing CEO's Contract Love
Chapter 447: Missing

Chapter 447: Missing

"What? Grandpa, what are you trying to say?" Emma Hart leaned closer to her grandfather’s ear, his voice softly repeating, "Riley, Riley, you need to be good to Damien."

Emma Hart’s mind was about to explode upon hearing this. She seemed to freeze completely, unable to move.

"Emma, what is Grandpa saying?" Damien Sterling asked as he drove.

"No, it’s nothing. He just said he wants to go home and sleep," Emma Hart replied calmly. She sat up and used a wet wipe to cool Mr. Sterling Senior’s flushed cheeks.

The name Mr. Sterling Senior had just mentioned, Riley, echoed in her mind. Riley Turner, right? She, Emma Hart, was now Damien Sterling’s wife, yet Grandpa still couldn’t accept her. For a woman, not being respected and accepted by her in-laws was incredibly painful and sad.

Emma Hart’s eyes were as dark as night, devoid of any stars, her mood unconsciously turning anxious.

After taking Mr. Sterling Senior home, Emma Hart fell asleep on the way back to the Sterling family villa. At home, under Damien Sterling’s insistence, she removed her makeup, took a bath, and finally relaxed, lying down to sleep in the comfortable bed.

In the middle of the night, Emma Hart woke up naturally. Beside her was Damien Sterling’s steady, deep breathing. It was still dark outside, probably a bit earlier than their usual wake-up time.

She tried to fall back asleep but failed, so she quietly slipped into the living room to play with her phone.

Before she knew it, she was scrolling through Max’s social media. The more she looked, the more something felt off.

Max’s most recent fun photos were from a month ago. At that time, all his posts were filled with negative sentiments, such as "What’s the point of living?" and "What will the end of life be like?" His latest post was from midnight last night, a photo of the night sky with more of his usual negative musings.

What’s going on with this kid? Emma Hart couldn’t understand. She gave him tens of thousands of dollars every month, yet he was still so dissatisfied. It seemed she had to find time to meet with Max and get to the bottom of this.

At dawn, Emma Hart estimated that Max should be awake by now, so she called him.

"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later." The cold female voice on the other end of the line replied.

What’s going on? Is this kid still not awake? It should be time for morning study by now. A flame of frustration ignited in Emma Hart’s chest. She called Max several more times, but there was still no answer. "Forget it, you little brat. I won’t care about you anymore." Emma Hart angrily threw her phone onto the sofa.

Because of Mr. Sterling Senior’s drunken words last night and Max not answering his phone this morning, Emma Hart was restless all day at home. Her biggest concern was her troublesome brother. She hadn’t received a call from him all day. Later, she called her grandmother, but even she didn’t know where Max had gone.

As time passed, Emma Hart grew more anxious. Finally, at 8 PM, she couldn’t stand it anymore and called Damien Sterling for help.

"Why didn’t you tell me something this important earlier?" Damien Sterling exclaimed upon hearing that Max was missing.

"I didn’t think it would come to this. He’s never done this before." Emma Hart was on the verge of tears.

"I’ll send someone to find him. Stay home and wait for news," Damien Sterling said before hanging up. He didn’t put down his phone but immediately called another number. "Officer Harrison, I need your help finding someone."

With that, Damien Sterling sent some information about Max to the other party’s phone.

"Alright, no problem. I guarantee we’ll have a lead within 30 minutes," Officer Harrison assured confidently on the other end of the line.

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Damien Sterling said, satisfied as he hung up the phone.

Sure enough, within 30 minutes, Officer Harrison sent him a location and had already dispatched personnel in that direction.

Damien Sterling quickly called Emma Hart, informing her that they had found Max’s whereabouts, reassuring her to stay calm. "I want to go with you to find him," Emma Hart, frantic and anxious, insisted over the phone.

"Okay, I’ll come to pick you up," Damien Sterling agreed, not wanting to upset her. Emma Hart rushed upstairs to change clothes, and ten minutes later, Damien Sterling had his car parked outside, waiting for her. Together, they headed to the location Officer Harrison had sent them.

It turned out to be near a hotel called Golden Peace Hotel. A luxury car and several police cars were parked outside the hotel, with everyone searching for the missing Max.

Finally, they found Max unconscious in an alley filled with discarded items next to the hotel.

"Call an ambulance!" Damien Sterling urgently shouted upon confirming that Max was still breathing.

They followed the ambulance to the hospital. Max was placed in the best room available in the emergency section.

"Doctor, how is my brother?" Emma Hart anxiously asked.

"Initially, it seems his body is generally fine but he’s very weak. From my experience, it looks like he hasn’t eaten for a long time," the doctor explained with a confident nod.

"What? He hasn’t eaten? How is that possible?" Emma Hart was shocked. She might believe it if someone else hadn’t eaten, but Max, who had always lived a pampered life, letting himself starve was hard to comprehend. Besides, she gave him a generous amount of money every month.

"Why exactly he hasn’t been eating, I can’t say, but I’m certain it’s been a long time since he’s had any food. I’ll start him on some glucose shortly," the doctor said, then left the room with the nurse.

Emma Hart sat in the nearby chair, her eyes never leaving the now emaciated and pale Max lying on the hospital bed. His cheeks were sunken, and his cheekbones were sharply visible. What had he been through? Emma Hart tenderly stroked Max’s gaunt face with her hand, her heart aching.

"Don’t worry, he’ll be okay," Damien Sterling comforted her from the side.

"I want to talk to him alone," Emma Hart said, trying to remain calm.

"Alright, I’ll wait outside," Damien Sterling kissed her forehead before leaving the room to give the siblings some privacy.

As the door closed, the tears that had been welling up in Emma Hart’s eyes finally began to fall.

Why did fate have to be so cruel to them? To outsiders, their lives might seem glamorous, but the inner turmoil was something only they understood. Seeing Max in his current state made it clear he wasn’t doing well either. They were both unhappy, everyone except their grandmother.

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