The forest was dark. Roxanne could only rely on her torchlight because the faint moonlight was insufficient to illuminate the path ahead of her.
She walked carefully inside the forest, not knowing where she was.
Roxanne only knew Estella was nowhere in sight thus far in her venture into the woods.
After sending Archie and Benny back to the hotel, she checked the messages in the WhatsApp group and noticed none of the other parents had seen Estella.
No one has yet to search the forest. This is the only place left. If Essie is really in here…
Roxanne felt more frightened the more she dwelled on that thought.
Even she was scared of being alone in that environment, not to mention Estella, who was just a little girl.
Essie would not have come inside here if it weren‘t for me.
At that thought, Roxanne gritted her teeth and hastened her steps. She must locate Estella as soon as possible.
“Essie! Where are you?”
Roxanne shouted Estella‘s name as she moved deeper into the forest, hoping to receive any response from the little girl.
However, even after she shouted until her voice turned hoarse, her surroundings remained silent.
Suddenly, there were movements at a bush nearby.
Roxanne‘s eyes shone. She thought Estella was there, so she quickly strode over.
Just as she got closer, something jumped out from the thicket
Roxanne shuddered in fear. She was on the verge of screaming due to the shock.
Upon taking a closer look, she realized that it was just a wild rabbit. She let out a sigh of relief at that realization.
Still, when she was reminded of Estella‘s unknown whereabouts, her anxiety intensified, and she walked forward at a quicker pace.
Soon, despite not knowing where she had reached, Roxanne could vaguely hear the sound of intermittent sobs around her.
Roxanne‘s heart skipped a beat. She wondered if that was Estella crying.
With that thought in her mind, she slowed down and cautiously approached the origin of the sound.
In a deep pit, Estella was squatting on the ground in a pitiful condition with dirt all over her. She was crying hysterically to the point of almost suffocating.
She had run out of the hotel in the afternoon, intending to return to the botanical garden to look for Roxanne, Archie,
and Benny. However, halfway there, a snake suddenly appeared beside the road. Overwhelmed by fear and shock, she ran aimlessly and unknowingly entered the forest beside the road.
When Estella came to her senses, she had already arrived in the deeper part of the forest.
She wanted to leave that place as quickly as possible, but she failed to find her way out. Her surroundings grew darker the more she stumbled forward.
Then, she accidentally fell into a hole.
Estella tried to climb out, but her attempts were unfruitful due to the slippery, moss–covered walls. She repeatedly fell back to the bottom of the hole after trying to climb out a few times.
Estella sensed she might not be able to escape that place. Nevertheless, she knew Lucian and Roxanne would come looking for her, so she squatted in a corner, quietly waiting for help to arrive without feeling too afraid.
However, her surroundings gradually grew darker, and the pit she was trapped in turned pitch black.
All of a sudden, something fell on her hand,
She let out a shriek and cowered in a corner. Tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably as she stayed still and did not dare to move a muscle.
Moreover, Estella was now hungry and terrified after waiting for the whole afternoon. She could not help but weep. Still, she did not dare to cry out loud for fear of attracting something dangerous.
Estella had lost track of time.
She developed hiccups due to prolonged crying. “Daddy, Ms. Jarvis, Archie, Benny…”
Anyone, hurry up and find me. I‘m so scared. I will never run away again.
Estella felt sorrowful when she was reminded of Roxanne‘s gentle face.
I wonder if Ms. Jarvis is looking for me. I miss her so much…
“Essie, is that you?”
Roxanne grew certain she did not imagine the sobs and started to feel more hopeful.
Estella stopped crying when she heard Roxanne’s voice as well. “M-Ms. Jarvis?”
Roxanne heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that. She hastily walked toward where Estella was.
She had barely taken a few steps forward when she suddenly slipped.
Roxanne’s heart jumped into her throat as she narrowly steadied herself by grabbing a large tree next to her.
She gazed downward and noticed Estella, who was cowering miserably at the bottom of a pit that was partially concealed by the dense plants around.
“Essie?” Roxanne’s heart ached terribly when she saw Estella.
Looking up at the beam of light shining into the hole, Estella saw Roxanne smiling at her in relief.
“Everything is okay now. I’m here.” Roxanne felt more guilt-ridden at the sight of Estella’s face. Yet, she did not dare to express her emotions because she did not want Estella to be afraid.
Estella’s face was flushed, as she had cried for so long. Her eyes and nose were red, and her cheeks were smeared with dirt from when she had wiped her tears earlier. She appeared very pitiable with her head hung low and her body covered in grime.
“Ms. Jarvis…” Roxanne was finally there to rescue her after she waited for so long. Estella began crying harder after a few seconds.
Roxanne was very anxious when she saw Estella wailing her lungs out. “Don’t cry, Essie. I’m going to find something to pull you up.”
Roxanne searched her surroundings for something that could help her pull Estella up as she spoke.
She consoled Estella while she looked around.
Unfortunately, Estella was bawling so loudly that she could not even hear Roxanne’s voice.
Roxanne finally found a sufficiently long tree branch after much difficulty. After bringing the stick to the edge of the hole and trying its length, Roxanne figured Estella could reach the other end of the tree branch if the latter tiptoed.
“Estella, stop crying. Come here and grab this tree branch. I’ll pull you up.” Roxanne was close to losing her voice after yelling excessively earlier. She cleared her throat to make her voice more audible.
Estella glanced up, wiped the tears on her face, and tiptoed to grasp the tree branch.
However, she could only touch the tip of the tree branch. There was still some length to be covered for her to take hold of the tree branch.
Roxanne frowned. She crawled forward and pushed the tree branch further into the hole.
Only then could Estella seize the other end of the tree branch.
After Estella wrapped her hands around the tree branch, Roxanne gritted her teeth and pulled with all her might to drag Estella out of the hole.
Unexpectedly, Roxanne did not have much strength left in her after starving for the whole night and walking for so long inside the forest.
To make things worse, Estella was too weak to cooperate with her.
As the two exerted force simultaneously, Estella remained rooted to her spot. Instead, Roxanne was tugged forward, causing half her body to hang over the edge of the pit.
Noticing Roxanne’s position, Estella hurriedly let go of the tree branch and ran worriedly to the side of the hole. “Ms. Jarvis!”
Roxanne managed to seize hold of a tree root beside her with effort. She grinned tenderly at Estella. “Don’t be scared, Essie. I’m fine.”
While uttering those words, Roxanne tried her best to climb back up.
Estella suddenly squalled hysterically at the bottom of the pit.
Heart-wrenching agony filled Roxanne’s chest. She turned her head around and saw Estella sitting on the ground, crying her eyes out.
Estella’s sobs gradually diminished, and her breathing became shallower.
Overwhelmed by panic at that instant, Roxanne’s grip slackened. The next second, Roxanne had also fallen into the pit.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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