Unable to find the clue of the person who took Sweetie away, Tianyi and Susu could only go home and wait for news.
Upon learning of the incident, Kangxi and Yanan rushed to their villa.
Tianyi and Kangxi went to the study, while Yanan stayed in the room to comfort the sad and self-blaming Susu.
Kangxi looked at the surveillance video on Tianyi's phone and said, "This person is likely not an ordinary human trafficker. There were so many children in the amusement park, why did she only take Sweetie? And you said Susu was watching Sweetie at the time, only for a moment when she went to the restroom. It's said that the amusement park was crowded, with plenty of children who weren't held by their parents."
"You mean this person's target was Sweetie?" Tianyi shivered at the thought.
"Exactly. Ordinary human traffickers wouldn't know where the cameras are in the park. If they randomly abducted a child, they wouldn't be able to avoid most of the cameras," Kangxi said naturally. "Think about who we've been investigating recently. She must already know you're investigating her."
"Wu Xiufang sent someone to do this?" Tianyi immediately took out his phone and said angrily, "I'll tell her to return Sweetie to me now!"
Kangxi stopped him and said, "If you question her now, she'll never admit it. If you push her too hard, it might be detrimental to Sweetie. Why do you think she kidnapped Sweetie? It's to use the child to threaten you, to stop you from investigating her past."
"That's right," Tianyi forced himself to calm down and said, "Then they won't harm Sweetie, they'll only use her to threaten me. As long as she lets Sweetie go, I'll agree to any of her demands."
"Of course, the child's safety is paramount," Kangxi said rationally. "But if you contact her now, she won't admit it."
"Then what should I do?" Tianyi had never felt so helpless.
Kangxi suggested, "Wait for a while. If this is the case, the person who took Sweetie will contact you. I will fully assist the police responsible for Sweetie's disappearance in finding clues. Once we find this woman, we'll know Sweetie's whereabouts."
Tianyi clenched his fists tightly, his voice trembling, "Okay."
He turned his phone's volume to the maximum, fearing he might miss a call from Wu Xiufang.
...
When Sweetie woke up, she didn't know where she was. She opened her eyes wide and saw a scarred woman looking at her.
She wasn't scared at all and reached out her small hand to touch the scars on the woman's face, saying curiously, "Are you here to scare me, brother? What kind of mask are you wearing? I want one to scare them."
The ugly woman was stunned for a second and then yelled at her, "Shut up!" She threw a bag of biscuits at her and was about to leave the dim room.
Sweetie looked around and found that her mother, her two brothers, Tangtang, and Xiaomei were not in the house. She shouted at the woman, "I want Mommy! I want Mommy!"
The woman smiled, her ugly face looking even more terrifying. She bent down and said to her, "From now on, I am your mother. You'll only get food if you're good, otherwise you'll be beaten and starved."
Sweetie pouted and said angrily, "You're not my mother, go find my mother and have her take me back!"
The ugly woman burst out laughing, "I told you I'm your mother, and this is your home now. You'd better behave and call me mother quickly."
"My mother's name is Gu Susu, my father's name is Qin Tianyi, and my home is a villa by the sea. Their phone numbers are..." Sweetie recited all the family information Susu had taught her.
She remembered her mother telling her that if she got lost, she should tell the police or kind people this information to get home safely.
The ugly woman listened impatiently, squatted down to her eye level, and said, "Forget all that. From now on, I am your mother, understand?"
Sweetie pushed her away and shouted, "You're not! If you don't send me back, my dad won't let you go!"
"Then let Qin Tianyi come find me," she said, slapping Sweetie hard across the face. "Quick, say it, who is your mother?"
Sweetie was stunned and burst into tears, "You're not my mother, I want my mother! You're a bad person..."
The ugly woman, enraged, snatched the biscuits from her hand and said coldly, "You have no food today." Then she stood up, turned around, and left, locking the door from the outside.
Sweetie finally remembered what her parents had told her about bad people who kidnap children. The auntie wearing a mask just now was one of them.
She finally felt scared and cried even louder.
Sweetie couldn't remember how she got separated from her mother.
She remembered running to the entrance to find her mother and Tangtang after using the restroom, but before she could run two steps, she seemed to smell a pungent odor and fainted.
"Mom, Dad, brothers, please save me! Help! Help!"
But no matter how much she cried, no one answered. She cried until she was exhausted and could cry no more. The entire room became unusually quiet, with no sound at all, making her feel extremely scared. She whimpered in a hoarse voice, "Dad, Mom, I want Dad and Mom..."
Yang Shasha, who was outside the door, heard the child finally quiet down before picking up her phone and reporting, "I've got the child. She was crying for a while."
The other party's voice was that of an experienced man, saying, "Very good. Send me the video and photos of the child, and I'll transfer the money to you immediately."
"No problem," Yang Shasha said, without any unnecessary words, and hung up the phone.
She opened the door and saw fear in the little girl's eyes when she looked at her. She took out her phone, took photos and videos of her, and threw the bag of biscuits at Sweetie as if feeding a dog, then closed the door.
Sweetie could no longer cry. She missed her parents and her two brothers, as well as Tangtang. She curled up on the floor and fell asleep again.
Yang Shasha sent the photos and videos to the other party and received a transfer shortly after. With this money, she could live without worry for a while and continue to search for her own child.
Two years ago, she was trapped in a container and transported to a terrifying place. To escape that hellish life, she disfigured herself and fled.
The first thing she wanted to do after escaping was to find her child at the orphanage, but the orphanage staff said the child had been adopted.
The orphanage had rules and could not disclose any information about the adoptive parents. She didn't know where to look for her child.
In her poverty, she secretly returned to Lancheng and lived by begging on the streets.
The Xie family had completely collapsed, and all the Xie family members were gone. All their former assets had been auctioned off. She could no longer regain her former identity and life.