As soon as the words left her mouth, Charles Chase froze all over.
Cecilia Ye?
That delicate, soft little face floated into his mind. How could it be such a coincidence? Could it possibly be the Cecilia Ye he knew?
For a brief moment, disbelief flickered across his usually severe features.
Ye Jing called his name a few times when he didn’t respond, jolting Charles Chase back to himself.
He collected his thoughts and asked, "You’ve only got a month left before you’re released. Why are you so desperate to find her now?"
Ye Jing hesitated, her bloodless lips curving into a faint, sorrowful smile.
"I... I’m sick. Treatment costs a lot of money, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever get better."
She shook her head lightly. "I just wanted to know if she’s doing well... to secretly have a look at her. It’s okay if I can’t see her. As long as I know she’s living a good life, that’s enough."
Complex emotions swirled inside Charles Chase—so tangled he could barely put them into words.
It was as if he had found a long-lost sister, only to realize at that very moment she might be gravely ill.
Everyone knew how Xavier Fostern’s wife had been rescued—even he’d heard the story. Although it still needed confirmation, now that he was seeing Ye Jing up close, he could see a definite resemblance between her and Cecilia Ye.
Damn it, if she really is the Cecilia Ye he’s looking for, there’s no way he’s letting Xavier Fostern off the hook!
A staff member behind Ye Jing stepped forward to remind them their time was up.
Charles Chase reined in his emotions, looked up at Ye Jing, and said gravely, "I’ll get you a doctor. And I’ll help you find your daughter."
The ailing woman looked at him with heartfelt gratitude. Perhaps, at the very end, all her luck had finally come to her now.
Charles Chase walked down the long, dim corridor and finally stepped out from behind those heavy doors.
He exhaled deeply, feeling the turmoil in his chest settle, if only a little.
With his long legs, he strode to his car.
"President Chen, where to next?" his driver asked.
"Back to Qingshui Bay."
For reasons he couldn’t explain, he’d always felt an inexplicable closeness to Cecilia Ye. The thought that she might actually be his sister, and was in the kind of dire straits he imagined, made his mood plummet.
Taking out his phone, Charles Chase ordered people to check the orphanage Ye Jing mentioned, and assigned another group to investigate Cecilia Ye’s past before she’d come to the Fu family.
Only then did he close his eyes, leaning back, trying to piece together all the new information he’d just learned.
If it really is her...
He’d seen with his own eyes just how Xavier Fostern had mistreated Cecilia Ye.
He remembered the company annual party—damn, Cecilia had even been pregnant back then.
Everyone said Charles Chase kept a cool head, always soft-spoken and composed. But in truth, that was simply because he couldn’t be bothered to waste energy on emotions.
If there was one thing he excelled at, it was protecting his own.
……
In the office, Xavier Fostern sat slouched into his wide chair, gazing out the window.
Night had fallen, and the distant office buildings were aglow with light.
Henry Hart said there was news, and that he was checking it thoroughly.
Xavier Fostern’s heart was tight with worry. He’d already come up empty once—if it wasn’t Cecilia this time, what then?
A sapphire-blue pen was twisted over and over in his hand. Eventually, Xavier Fostern dropped it and headed to the lounge to shower.
He hadn’t had the heart or mind to take care of himself lately. For reasons even he couldn’t explain, hope and a nervous anticipation he’d never felt before had taken root within him.
The bathroom door opened. He emerged swathed in warm steam, changed into fresh clothes, and shaved away the stubble that had started to appear.
No sooner had he left the lounge than Henry Hart hurried in, photos in hand.
"Boss, I think Madam might be here..."
At his words, Xavier Fostern strode over to the desk, grabbed the stack of photos, and his breath quickened.
The first photo showed a quaint, two-story red-brick cottage. There was no one in the photo.
Henry Hart explained, "This place is in a neighborhood called Qingshui Bay. It’s... under the name of someone called Julian Jarvis."
Xavier Fostern’s jaw tightened, his eyes going cold. Of course—it was Julian Jarvis. All this time, Julian Jarvis had been helping Cecilia. She trusted him...
That realization made Xavier Fostern both angry and helpless. Cecilia used to trust him, too.
The second photo was a simple sign on the villa’s second floor: "Chi · Zao", white and understated.
So... this was her art studio?
He remembered, long ago, waking up with Cecilia one morning. She’d mentioned that someday, she wanted to open an art studio, with hibiscus trees blooming outside the windows.
So it started back then, did it? Even then, she’d already been planning her departure—her heart had already been broken by him.
Xavier Fostern closed his eyes. Pain radiated through his chest.
I was so foolish—always a step behind you. When you believed in my love, I didn’t cherish it.
Only when you were planning to leave did I start thinking about making it up to you.
It wasn’t until you were gone that I realized my regret.
……
The third photo was blurry—taken through a pane of glass—but it captured a young woman behind a coffee machine.
Xavier Fostern knew at a glance: it was Cecilia.
Her face wasn’t clear, her head was bowed, intent on her work.
Xavier Fostern scrutinized the image, long fingers stroking the paper, lingering on her tiny silhouette. Was she making coffee?
At last, he’d found her.
He slipped the photos into his pocket, looked up, and said coldly, "Bring my car around."
Henry Hart answered, then hesitated, "Are we going now?"
While buttoning his shirt, Xavier Fostern frowned, "I’ll go by myself."
He finished fastening his buttons and strode out. Henry Hart hesitated, then blurted out, "Boss..."
Xavier Fostern stopped, turning, "What is it?"
"Please... don’t take your anger out on Madam. When you love someone, don’t let them get hurt."
Henry Hart finally spoke from the heart. He’d been with Xavier Fostern for many years, received his guidance, and knew his boss’s feelings for Madam were special.
They weren’t just boss and subordinate; they truly understood each other.
Xavier Fostern paused for a couple of seconds, then murmured his acknowledgment and left.
His car was already waiting at the front entrance. Sliding in, Xavier Fostern’s heart raced from the moment he’d heard news of Cecilia.
He stepped on the gas, heading straight toward Qingshui Bay.
He wasn’t sure what he was going to do. For days, he’d imagined finding Cecilia—at first, all anger, just wanting to drag her back.
He wanted to demand why she left, why things had turned out like this. Did none of their years together mean a thing?
Later, after leaving Country Y, he spent the whole flight imagining—if only he could find Cecilia, he’d apologize, make it up to her, treat her well.
But now... now he finally understood what he felt for her.
He loved Cecilia, no matter how much he had scoffed at the very idea before.
Loving someone, it turned out, was even stranger than he’d thought. It made him lose control, made him willing to let go of everything—so long as Cecilia Ye would come back, nothing else mattered.