Xavier Crawford’s brows furrowed; another one of those boring parties. He yawned, thought Eleanor Hollis might be hungry, and ordered the kitchen to prepare something for her before returning to his room. Serenford was already in chaos; first the old man remained unconscious, then Jane Shaw insisted on divorcing Simon Quinn, and now Hugo Quinn was frantically searching for Eleanor Hollis. Everything seemed to be a mess. Simon Quinn’s temples throbbed constantly. He reached out to press them but felt a sharp pain in his head. "Sir, you should take a rest. I heard the young master is still looking for that woman everywhere; even the people above have been alarmed." Simon Quinn’s headache worsened. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have cooperated with the old man back then. "I understand. You should send someone out to search too. He would cut ties with the Quinton Family for Eleanor Hollis; if we really can’t find her, they might just sever all connections in the future." The assistant nodded quickly and dispatched the Quinton Family’s people to find Eleanor Hollis. Sitting on the couch, Simon Quinn thought about Jane Shaw sending yet another divorce agreement over; his veins pulsed on his forehead. They had just married, and now they wanted to divorce, like children playing house. What kind of logic was that? He absolutely wouldn’t divorce; he wouldn’t divorce that woman. The whole of Serenford was filled with noise because everyone had heard Eleanor Hollis was missing, and now Hugo Quinn was almost losing it—her photo was broadcast everywhere, on TV and radio, with a million-dollar reward for finding her. Presumably because of the million-dollar reward, everyone sprang into action, and the streets and alleys of Serenford were filled with people searching for Eleanor Hollis. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩 But for three whole days, no one knew where Eleanor Hollis had gone. Eleanor Hollis drove away that day, but the monitors along the route were conveniently broken, preventing any capture of her whereabouts. Hugo Quinn sat calmly in the villa; no one dared approach him. It had been three days, and Eleanor Hollis was still not heard from. He had a premonition that if she wasn’t found soon, Eleanor Hollis might just disappear from his world forever. He would never allow that to happen. "Sir, please take a break. You haven’t slept for three days. People outside are still searching; once there’s news, I’ll make sure you’re informed." Lan Yancy said with concern, especially after seeing Hugo Quinn’s deep dark circles, feeling even more uncomfortable. Hugo Quinn didn’t hear his words; he blinked his sore eyes slightly, staring straight at the ceiling. "Where could she go?" In Serenford, she only had two friends, but neither Gloria Galloway nor Samantha Sullivan were there. They didn’t even know what had happened, only that Eleanor Hollis was missing. Besides these two people, who else could she go to? Eleanor Hollis could only find... Hugo Quinn suddenly thought of Xavier Crawford. Xavier Crawford seemed to also count as Eleanor Hollis’s friend, so he quickly made a call. Xavier Crawford, just having come out of the shower, heard the phone ring and picked it up. It was Hugo Quinn. "Is Eleanor Hollis there with you?" Hugo Quinn asked hoarsely, with a glimmer of hope igniting in his heart. Xavier Crawford said blandly, and then the line went dead. Xavier Crawford stared at his phone, his lips curving. Just now, he had twisted the facts. Hugo Quinn asked if Eleanor Hollis was there with him, and he said he was in Europe. According to Hugo Quinn’s understanding, it meant he didn’t yet know what had happened in Serenford, and naturally hadn’t met Eleanor Hollis. Even if Hugo Quinn held it against him later, he had a reason to counter. After all, he only said he was in Europe and didn’t say Eleanor Hollis wasn’t there either, which couldn’t be blamed on him. Hugo Quinn hung up the phone, the light in his eyes gradually extinguishing, and his lips tugged slightly. She wasn’t with Xavier Crawford either. Where could she be? Eleanor, you mustn’t be in trouble. If something happens to her, he doesn’t know what he would do... Serenford remained chaotic for five days. On the sixth day, someone finally came to the door, but it wasn’t Eleanor Hollis—it was the salvage team. Serenford had a river running through several cities, and the bridge across the river had already seen several accidents. Many people ignored warnings and liked swimming in the river all year round, resulting in quite a few drownings. Thus, there was a specialized salvage team on the river, primarily to recover drowning victims. And in the morning, they found a woman in the river, submerged for several days. The corpse floated to the surface only when it showed signs of giant appearance this morning. Medical students know that when a corpse shows signs of giant appearance, it swells like a balloon, becoming four times its original size at least. Many such corpses get so swollen they burst out of their clothing, unrecognizable from their original face. Moreover, the river had plenty of fish and shrimp, which had long eaten away the face, making it unidentifiable. After hearing this from the salvage team, Hugo Quinn’s legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the sofa. Eleanor Hollis couldn’t be dead, especially not drowned. She loved him, wouldn’t be in such a hurry to leave; this was definitely not the truth. "Sir, don’t worry, I’ll go take a look." Lan Yancy was frightened by his current state and quickly spoke up. He followed the salvage team, wanting to leave, but Hugo Quinn stopped him. "I’ll go too, I’ll go too." He spoke clumsily, needing help even to stand. Lan Yancy quickly supported him, unsure of what to say, only managing to follow behind the salvage team. There was already a large crowd gathered by the river, including reporters; everyone was speculating whether the corpse was Eleanor Hollis’s. After all, Eleanor Hollis’s disappearance had caused quite a stir, and many rushed here upon hearing the news. Yet, some faint-hearted people began vomiting on seeing the balloon-like swollen corpse; the stench could be smelled from afar. Specialized forensic experts had arrived, and the salvage team handed the hair sample to the police. Now the corpse’s original appearance couldn’t be determined by look, but through DNA, it could be identified; then it would be compared with the DNA later. When Hugo Quinn and Lan Yancy arrived, they could smell the corpse stench from far away. Forensics people dreaded encountering corpses with giant appearance; even wearing the thickest clothing, the stench clung to the clothes, impossible to wash out even after several washes, not to mention the visual impact. First-time encounters with such corpses left a huge psychological shadow. "Sir, you stay here, I’ll go take a look first."