<h4>Chapter 492: ming Him</h4>


    At that moment, the usuallyposed and rational Epletely lost her calm andposure.


    She picked up Eric’s phone and answered Aurora’s call. The melodious voice on the other end came through.


    "Mr. Nelson... I beg you, for my sake, please give my cousin another chance! Kimi might be a liar sometimes, but he’s a good kid... Mr. Nelson, I’m willing to forfeit a year’s share of my earnings if it means you’ll forgive him!"


    Hearing the pleading tone, E let out a coldugh. "Miss Wilson, your words areughable. If he were such a ’good kid,’ he wouldn’t have conspired with his mother to bully my Elias!"


    Aurora was stunned, not expecting Mrs. Nelson to answer the call. She panicked instantly. "Mrs. Nelson... Kimi and his mother know they were wrong. Please, just this once... I don’t care about my profits or anything else!"


    E’s eyes shed with icy resolve.


    Even though she suspected Aurora might be innocent, she couldn’tpletely rule out her involvement. "Miss Wilson, let’s set that aside for now. I have to ask—did someone put you up to calling Mr. Nelson just now?"


    "No, no one! I called on my own..." Aurora’s voice faltered.


    "I hope you’re not hiding anything, Miss Wilson. My son, Elias, was just kidnapped, and at that critical moment, Mr. Nelson was too preupied chatting with you to notice! Miss Wilson, if you’re lying to me, won’t your conscience bother you?" E’s voice rang out sharply, trembling with fury and desperation.


    Elias’s abduction hadpletely unraveled her. After all, he was her son—how could she not be heartbroken and terrified?


    "What? Elias... Elias was kidnapped? Mrs. Nelson, I swear, I have nothing to do with it! I only called because my aunt, Mrs. Wilson, begged me to intervene. This kidnapping... it has nothing to do with me!" Aurora eximed in rm.


    E let out a bitterugh. "I hope everything you’re saying is the truth, Miss Wilson."


    Her tone was frigid,ced with biting sarcasm, as Aurora stammered apology after apology on the other end of the line.


    "Enough. She has nothing to do with this!" Eric’s voice came from the doorway.


    E’s chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, her heart aching deeply. She turned her icy gaze toward Eric.


    Eric froze for a moment, startled by the resentment and anger in her eyes. When had E ever looked at him like this?


    Without another word, E coldly ended the call, not even bothering with a goodbye to Aurora. She threw his phone onto the bed with a sharp motion.


    "You’ve met Aurora, haven’t you? What makes you so sure she has nothing to do with Elias’s kidnapping?"


    Eric walked over wearily, attempting to pull her into his arms, but E shoved him away forcefully.


    Her eyes briefly caught sight of the wound on his forehead, but the thought of him speaking to Aurora while their son was being kidnapped only deepened her anger. Her gaze grew colder.


    "I haven’t met her," Eric exined, his voice heavy. "But the Wilson Group’s sess depends on our Nelson Group. She’s one of ourpany’s rising stars. There’s no way she’d jeopardize her career with something like this—"


    E let out a bitterugh, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Why are you so eager to defend her, Eric? Have you fallen for her?"


    Eric’s expression darkened. "E, I know you’re upset, but that’s not fair."


    E’sughter turned bitter, filled with both pain and rage. "Eric, if you don’t care about her, then why did you entertain her call for so long when she was pleading with you? Isn’t your style usually to reject someone outright and hang up? Yet you let our child wait on the side while you chatted. You didn’t even notice when the bodyguards were overpowered, and Elias was taken! If you’d been more attentive—if you’d cared a little more—our son wouldn’t have been kidnapped!"


    E screamed, her voice trembling with pain, her eyes brimming with tears. The anguish of losing her child had shattered herposure and stripped away all logic. "It’s because it was Aurora on the phone! That’s why you couldn’t refuse her! You softened, Eric! You’ve let me down so much!"


    Eric furrowed his brow, his heart aching. E had never doubted him before, but now...


    Given that this involved Elias, her inability to stay calm was understandable. Watching E in near-copse tore at his soul.


    "You’re right... It’s my fault," he admitted. "Because she’s one of our rising stars, I wanted to exin why I couldn’t agree to her request—"


    "You’re just making excuses! Eric, stop defending yourself and focus on rescuing Elias! Otherwise... I’ll never forgive you!" E shouted angrily.


    Eric stared at his wife in disbelief, her tear-streaked face filled with grief and fury. Without sparing him another nce, E stormed toward the door.


    "E... Didn’t you say you’d trust me no matter what?" Eric’s voice was filled with quiet despair.


    E paused for a moment but didn’t look back. She walked out.


    Eric didn’t chase her. He knew she was emotionally unstable and on the verge of breaking down. Anything he said now would only make things worse.


    E rushed downstairs, her steps hurried and uneven, until she spotted Lucas standing in the center of the living room. He was watching her with gentle concern.


    "Dad..." she choked out.


    "E, Eric didn’t mean for this to happen. Who would ever wish for their child to be taken? Please, calm yourself," Lucas said softly, handing her a handkerchief.


    E wiped her tears and slumped onto the sofa, her sorrow evident. At that moment, little Dorian came running into the room. Spotting Eric at the top of the staircase, he asked, "Daddy, where’s Elias? Why didn’t you bring him back?"


    Eric’s face turned pale. He forced a weak smile. "Elias... is staying at a friend of Daddy’s house. He likes it there and said he’lle back in a few days."


    The room fell silent. No one wanted to shatter Dorian’s innocence with the harsh truth.


    "Mommy, Daddy’s not lying to me, right?" The little boy ran over to E, his bright eyes filled with doubt.


    E picked him up, setting him on herp. With reddened eyes, she nodded. "That’s right. Elias will be back in a few days. Dorian, you have to be good, okay? Let’s not go to school for now. Wait for Elias toe back, and then you can go together."


    "Okay! I’ll stay home with Mommy. When Eliases back, we’ll go to school together!" Dorian’s innocent voice tugged at E’s heartstrings, and she had to fight back another wave of tears.


    Lucas and James exchanged a nce before quietly leaving the living room and heading upstairs.


    E sat quietly, holding Dorian close. Her mind was consumed by the image of Elias being carried away, drugged and unconscious, looking lifeless.


    Dorian was safe in her arms. But where was Elias?


    Elias... you must be safe. You have to be. If anything happens to you, this family will never recover.


    Time crawled by, each second feeling like an eternity.


    For E and everyone else, every moment was an agonizing wait for news.


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