I Married the President

Ivy Tanner scrolled through the phone’s address book. All the numbers were unfamiliar, leaving her no way to use her connections to contact Claire Sinclair.

Disappointed, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She’d almost forgotten about Ethan Kingsley.

She hid the phone, then immediately went downstairs. She picked up the landline and tried to call Ethan Kingsley.

She dialed his work number, which she got from a business card he had left here. She just wasn’t sure if he would pick up on a weekday.

The line rang for half a minute, and just as she was about to lose her patience, the call suddenly connected!

Ivy Tanner immediately spoke into the phone, "Brother Kingsley!"

"Third Miss Tanner?" A woman’s voice came from the other end of the line.

’Corinne Linden...’

Disappointment showed on Ivy Tanner’s face, but she had to feign ignorance. "Sister Linden, I’m looking for Brother Kingsley."

"He’s in the shower. What do you need him for?"

’A shower?’

’He just left my place this morning, less than three hours ago. Taking a shower in the middle of the day... He must have been fooling around with Corinne Linden.’

’Otherwise, why would Corinne Linden be answering his phone?’

A wave of desolation washed over Ivy Tanner, but she could only pretend to be upset. "I... I... I can’t find Sinclair... Sister Linden, do you know where Sinclair is?"

"You mean Claire Sinclair?"

"Uh-huh, Sinclair is missing!"

"I don’t know, and Ethan probably doesn’t either. But I’ll ask him for you in a little while."

"Thank you, Sister Linden."

"Alright, I’m hanging up now."

Corinne Linden hung up first. She glanced back at the closed bathroom door, a flicker of displeasure in her eyes.

’That fool, Ivy Tanner. Call her a fool, but she still knew to call Ethan Kingsley to find Claire Sinclair.’

’An eight-year-old’s intelligence is enough for that, so it’s perfectly normal. But for some reason, it still made Corinne Linden deeply uneasy.’

Just then, Ethan Kingsley emerged from the bathroom, wearing only a bath towel around his waist.

Corinne Linden’s face grew hot. She looked away and mentioned casually, "Third Miss Tanner just called you. She was looking for Claire Sinclair, said she’s missing?"

Ethan Kingsley took his phone back from her and tried to call Claire Sinclair, only to find it was turned off.

Corinne Linden couldn’t help but ask, "Who are you calling?"

"Claire Sinclair’s phone won’t go through. That’s a first. A little unusual." Ethan Kingsley’s lips curled into a smile as he then dialed another number: Adrian Quincy.

The call connected quickly. He said, "Young Master Quincy, my Little Cutie is looking for Claire Sinclair. Why won’t her phone connect?"

Adrian Quincy’s voice was grave. "Claire is missing."

"What?" Ethan Kingsley’s dark eyes narrowed. Hearing those words from this man meant the situation was already quite serious. "How long has she been missing?"

"Help me find her," Adrian Quincy said, ignoring the question.

Ethan Kingsley smiled. "I help you find her, and what do I get in return?"

"Claire is pregnant."

"..."

Adrian Quincy’s voice was heavy. "Claire has done a great service for Ivy Tanner. If you don’t help me now, you’ll regret it later."

With that meaningful statement, he hung up.

Ethan Kingsley calmly set his phone down, a smile playing on his lips. "They say love makes people stupid. Young Master Quincy certainly hasn’t disappointed."

"What’s wrong with him?" Corinne Linden asked.

"Claire Sinclair is pregnant, and she’s also missing. Young Master Quincy is probably in no mood to fight with me right now. We have to seize this opportunity to make a move."

At his words, Corinne Linden also began to laugh. "This certainly is a good opportunity."

She paused, then asked with some unease, "What do you plan to do about Third Miss Tanner? Are you just going to keep her around forever?"