Falling in Love With A One-Night Stand

563 Matthew, Where Are You?
Ryan had never been involved in the company's operations because he worked for the government. This was his first time
entering the Carousel Group headquarter. Also, he had brought a group of subordinates with him
"What brings you here, Ryan? | can handle it all. You can go back home now." Jennie appeared nervous, fearful that Ryan would
ruin his career on impulse
"It's okay, Mom," Ryan said, clutching his mother's hand
"This is an internal meeting of the group's board members, Mr. Tyler
Why did you suddenly break in with government officials? What do you want? Let me tell you, what you're doing is illegal!" One
of the board members said to Ryan in dissatisfaction
"| haven't told you what Fm going to do yet. Why are you accusing me? If you really think I'm abusing my power, please report
me. | am willing to accept all investigations," Ryan turned to face everyone and said, "| brought people here today because the
Carousel Group is suspected of disrupting the stock market. So, | need all of you to cooperate with the investigation. The group's
operations will be halted until the investigation is over."
Hearing that, everyone was shocked. Then another board member stood up and snapped, "No way! The Carousel Group is a
publicly traded corporation. So, if we stop all of our operations, we will lose a large sum of money every day. The group paid a lot
of money every day to keep it running. And we will not be able to survive a week if we suspend all of our operations. You're
threatening us!"
562 Matthew, Where Are You? dl
"Not at all. This investigation follows the formal procedure. We will investigate each of you within the next week. Remember that
you should not use tricks to get away with it," With composure, Ryan replied to the board member with contempt in his eyes. And
he thought to himself, Most of you are involved in shady dealings. And | guess that none of you expected that | would look into
these things. I'm sure | will dig out a lot of dirty secrets through this investigation eer
Late at night, a cab pulled up in front of a grocery store in the town near where the incident occurred. After that, Tammy, Alicia,
and Natalie stepped out of the cab
"Can you stay here and wait for us?" Tammy asked the driver

The driver pressed his hand against the window and asked, "How long do you want me to wait for you? It's quite a distance from
downtown Birmingham."
Tammy handed him some cash from her purse. She said, "Will this make you change your mind? I'll give you more if you stay
here for us."
The driver was taken aback. He thought, You must come froma rich family. Didn't your parents ever tell you not to show
strangers how rich you were? You should feel lucky that I'm not a bad guy
With that in mind, the driver answered, "I'm not interested in your money, so keep it to yourself. I'll be waiting for you here.
Please come back soon."
Smiling, the girls all thanked him gratefully. The driver then put on his sunglasses and leaned back in his seat. Gradually, he was
lost in thought
By the time the three of them arrived at the town, it was already getting dark. As they walked in the town, Alicia clutched
Tammy's arm
562 Matthew, Where Are You? - along the way. She asked, "Tammy, are you sure your brother is in this town?"
"For sure. Isabella would never lie to me."
"Why don't you tell everyone where Isabella is, Tammy? Everyone is looking for her like crazy."
"I'm sorry, but | couldn't betray her. Isabella refused to let me tell anyone. She said that if | told you guys, she would immediately
leave again. I'd be worried if | couldn't reach her."
"Isabella is a grown-up! Why is she still doing childish things like running away from home?"
"Come on, we need to focus on what matters most now. Plus, we wouldn't have known where my brother is now if Isabella hadn't
run away."
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Looking around vigilantly, Alicia asked in a trembling voice while clutching Tammy's arm
more tightly
"I'm sure. Isabella mentioned a tea shop at the end of an alley near the grocery store. We'll see a small courtyard if we go any
further in, and that's where she said Matthew would be."

Shortly after, the three arrived at their destination. The courtyard's wall of the house was somewhat high, and the gate was
locked
"Let's go over the wall," Tammy said, patting the wall
Natalie drew Tammy back and said, "No, we can't go in together. We must leave someone outside to keep an eye in case
something happens."
"Can you stay here?*’ Tammy spared a glance at Natalie and said, “I don't think you're capable of going over the wall. I'll get in
with Alicia.”
"I've recently gained some weight, so | can't climb the tree," Natalie
562 Matthew, Where Are You? said awkwardly
"Oh, please! You couldn't even climb a tree when you were a kid," Rolling her eyes at Natalie, Tammy immediately climbed the
tree, with Alicia close behind
"Ouch!" Tammy exclaimed after leaping from the wall
"What's the matter?" Alicia sat against the wall, staring down, wondering what was wrong with Tammy. But she couldn't see
anything because it was so dark
"| think I've broken my ankle," Clenching her teeth in pain, Tammy replied
"Huh? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine! Watch out when you're about to land. There's a pool of water against the wall!"
"Okay." As Alicia jumped off the wall, she discovered that Tammy was sitting on the ground. And she asked her with concern,
"Are you all right?"
"| can't stand up now."
Hearing that, Alicia frowned. She looked around the room and noticed a bright light. "Someone is in there."
"Shh! Can you find my brother on your own? I'll figure out a way out later." Tammy asked

Alicia knew this was the only option, so she entered the courtyard and walked alone along the wall. Then she found that only two
rooms had their lights turned on. Slowly and carefully, she approached the door of one room and pressed her ear against it,
trying to eavesdrop on the people in the room
"Does this kid really forget everything?”
562 Matthew, Where Are You?
"It appears so."
"So, do we still need to give him sleeping pills?"
"Hell, yeah! Our boss said that this child is super smart. And if something bad happens to him, we won't be able to take
responsibility."
"Okay, I'll just put some medicine into his meal later. If he truly lost his memory, he will eat whatever we give him."
They were talking about Matthew! It seems that he's in the other room. | need to go findhim now! At that thought, Alicia dashed
into the other room while the two men were still talking. However, the next second, she nearly screamed out loud as she pushed
the door open
"Shhh!" Matthew dragged her into the room while covering her mouth. He let go of her after a short while, asking, "What are you
doing here?"
Alicia exhaled deeply and replied, "I'm not the only one who came here! Tammy and Natalie are here too. | just overheard the
bad guys talking about giving you sleeping pills. You..."
Just as Natalie was about to continue, she heard the sound of footsteps outside. And both of them were taken aback
Before opening the door, Matthew pushed Alicia into the closet
"Shhh! Be quiet!" He muttered
Following that, a man came into the room and asked Matthew, "Are you feeling better?"
Matthew sat up in bed, staring blankly at him

"You need to eat more, kid. It's the only way you'll get better.
Through a gap in the closet, Alicia saw the man hand Matthew a plate of food. Matthew then took a big bite of food
562 Matthew, Where Are You?
Don't eat it, Matthew! They put drugs in there. Alicia thought
After seeing Matthew finish his meal, the man was ready to leave
"You'd better get some rest tonight. We're leaving here tomorrow."
"Where are we going?" Frowning, Matthew asked
"Home. You've been wondering when we're going to take you home, haven't you? We're sending you home tomorrow."
Matthew nodded. And he stood up and walked around the room after the man had gone. Seeing that, Alicia attempted to get out
of the closet, but Matthew shut the door and stopped her. With a long face, he said to Alicia, "Don't make a sound."
Before leaving, the man stood in the doorway for a long time. And Matthew opened the locker door after making sure no one was
outside
"Are you all right? "Alicia expressed her concern as soon as she got out of the closet, ‘‘Spit it out! They out some sleeping pills
the dishes!”
"It's too late," Matthew said, frowning, ‘Tve been in this room every day for the last few days. And | would sleep until noon the
next day after each dinner, so of course, | know what's in the meal. However, if | refuse to eat, they will be suspicious.”
"Tammy and Natalie are outside waiting. I'll get you out of here," Alicia said with determination
"I'm sorry, but | can't,’ Shaking his head in despair, Matthew replied