Chapter 2

"Drag him out. Don't let him dirty the boss' rug," Bobby said to the other men, who responded quickly in fear and hurriedly dragged Edd away.

I was freed from his constraints, yet I remained frozen in place, afraid to move a muscle.

They had guns on them. If I continued struggling, then maybe the next one to get shot would be me instead.

Amber was also so shocked that she curled up in a corner. However, there was a newfound determination in her eyes.

"I swear she has a crescent moon birthmark on her stomach, Bobby! It's the exact same one that your boss has been searching for!"

Bobby glared at her coldly, and Amber immediately shut up.

He then looked at a few of his men and said, "Examine her. Stop wasting my time."

Four more men lunged toward me. I did my best to back away as much as possible, but while doing so, I suddenly caught sight of a familiar kid's doodle hanging on the wall.

It was a drawing of a family of three flying kites in the field. Written above the girl's head in the drawing was a nickname I would never, ever forget.

"Rosie."

That had been the drawing I'd made just before I was kidnapped! Mom loved it very much, and Dad even promised that he would hold on to it and cherish it for the rest of his life!

It was Dad!

He had still been looking for me even after so many years!

Overwhelmed with emotion, I tried to sit up and leaned back on the couch.

"Does your boss have the last name of—"

"Trying to talk your way out of this again, lassie? That can only mean that you're up to no good," Bobby said impatiently, cocking his gun and pressing the barrel against my forehead.

"Shut up, you. And all you others, take off her clothes and inspect her!"

I felt my scalp crawl.

If he didn't hesitate to shoot his own men, he most definitely would hesitate to shoot me either!

Meanwhile, Amber kept mumbling under her breath, trying to talk sense into me or something.

"Behave yourself, Roxy. I'll only be able to leave after they're done inspecting you. But if you keep struggling like this, I'm going to have to die along with you as well!"

How could she still be thinking of herself at a time like this?

I glanced at the drawing on the wall and decided to hold my horses for now. If Dad were coming over once they were done "inspecting" me, then we would finally be able to meet, reunite, and everything would be over.

I gritted my teeth and put up with the shame as they yanked my shirt upward.

The crescent moon birthmark on my stomach was as clear as day.

"Bobby! This one looks real enough!"

Bobby immediately strode over and looked at the birthmark on my stomach with a look of surprise on his face. He exclaimed quietly, "Wow, it's exactly the same as the one the boss drew…"

When Amber saw that the cat was now in the bag, she came over with a fawning smile on her face. "Since you're done inspecting the goods, Bobby, then about the 50 million dollars—"

Bobby's eyes were still glued to my birthmark as he waved his hand dismissively at her.

"All clear. You can get lost now."

"Alright, alright. I'm getting lost…" Amber said with a hard nod, turning to run away.

But my pendant was still with her!

I immediately jumped off the couch and grabbed her by the shirt.

"Amber! You can't go—"

"Don't let her get away!"

At Bobby's words, the lackey who was the closest to me immediately kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying backward as I lost my balance and hit the corner of the table on the back of my head.

Bobby flew into a rage at once.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? How many times have I told you that you're not to lay a finger on her until she's been confirmed?"

The blow Amber had delivered to me with the stick was still throbbing from before, and now, I could feel something warm and sticky flowing out from the back of my head.

I leaned back against the table leg, limply, while reaching up to touch the wetness. My hand was covered in blood at once.

My vision was also beginning to blur. I could feel my consciousness slipping away, and I couldn't even control my limbs at will anymore.

But I couldn't pass out now… I still hadn't seen Dad yet…

"Shit! Bobby, she's bleeding!" someone shouted, pointing at me in horror.

Bobby's brows furrowed together in a deep frown. "You two, get the doctor. And you two, go and find the boss. Tell him the birthmark looks very similar this time, and that he should come and take a look.

"As for the rest of you, be more careful with her. If she ends up being the one the boss has been looking for the entire time, and now that she's been treated like this, she could very well complain to him, and we're all going to be in huge trouble!"

Bobby's men immediately set off to find the right people and ran into Amber, still frozen at the door.

She trembled for a long while before finally asking, "Bobby… Isn't your boss just looking for a mistress? Why is she so important to him?"

Bobby's sharp eyes immediately landed on her.

"Nonsense. Why else would he say that whoever brought a woman with this birthmark on her would have their debts cleared?

"But whether the debts can actually be settled is not something they can decide."