Rowena employed three household staff. One handled cleaning and laundry,

another cooked the meals, and then there was Josie, who was solely responsible for looking after the child.

The other two earned a modest salary, but Josie was paid handsomely, with eight days off a month. She received all major holidays off, as stipulated, and was often given generous gifts. Rowena did her best to be a good employer, hoping it would encourage Josie to take excellent care of her son.

But what had Josie done?

Not only had she lost the child, but now she was blaming him for not listening!

Rowena was about to explode.

Gavin was equally enraged. He pointed a trembling finger at Josie. "Josie! I'm telling you, my wife is right. If anything happens to Ulysses, I will hold you personally responsible!"

Gavin had become a father late in life and doted on his son, giving him anything he ever wanted. Now that his son was in danger, he looked like he could kill Josie with his bare hands.

Seeing their fury reach its peak, Josie scrambled behind a police officer for protection. "It wasn't on purpose! I really didn't mean it! How was I supposed to know he'd run off while I was just chatting for a minute?"

Right now, Josie wanted nothing more than to find Ulysses and give him a spanking. She had told him over and over not to wander off. He was three, nearly four. Why couldn't he just listen?

Back where she came from, kids Ulysses' age were already helping look after their younger siblings. But Ulysses couldn't even look after himself. What terrible luck! How did she end up with such a difficult child?

The lead officer stepped between them. "Mr. Templeton, Mrs. Templeton, please, try to calm down. The most important thing right now is finding your son, not assigning blame. My colleagues are checking the park's security footage now. In the meantime, try to think-do you have any relatives or friends nearby? Is it possible the boy saw someone he knew and went with them?"

Relatives or friends?

For some reason, the first person who came to Rowena's mind was Ann. This had to have something to do with Ann. Everything had been fine before Ann came to Granchester. But as soon as she arrived, Ulysses went missing.

But she couldn't be the one to say it.

With that thought, Rowena narrowed her eyes and looked at the officer. "Yes, yes, my parents and my brother live nearby!"

"Then you should call his grandparents and uncle right away."

"Okay," Rowena nodded. "Gavin, you call Ransom. I'll call Mom and Dad."

Gavin nodded and immediately dialed Ransom's number.

The phone rang for a long time before Ransom finally answered. "Hello? Gavin, what's up?"

Gavin cut straight to the point. "Is Ulysses with you?"

"No, he's not," Ransom replied. "I've been at the office all day. What's wrong? Is Ulysses missing?"

"Yes, he's missing! Josie took him to

the paund three this afternoon,

and in

blink of an eye, he was

gone. As he spoke, Gavin's voice

broke, on the verge of tears

Hearing this, Ransom grew anxious. "Gavin, don't cry. I'm on my way. I'll help you look for him!"

Ransom's office was close, and he arrived in about fifteen minutes.

"Rowena! Gavin!"

Seeing her brother, Rowena broke down. "Ransom, Ulysses is gone! He's gone!"

Though only fifteen minutes had

velvet

gone by, to her it felt like a year. As

mother, no one could truly

understand the helplessness and

agony she was feeling inside.

"It's okay, sis," Ransom said, patting her back comfortingly. "We're going to find him.

I promise."

Rowena's eyes were red and swollen. "But we've searched the entire park and the surrounding area. We can't find him anywhere."

The police had checked the security footage, but it only showed Josie entering the park with Ulysses. There was no footage of him leaving.

Ransom comforted his sister while

looking at Gavin. "Gavin, I hate to be

the one to say this, but

but wonder if Ulysses's

cant help

disappearance has something to do with that daughter of yours."