Chapter 4

At 8:30 am the next morning, I arrived at the city police headquarters.

My legs felt like jelly. It took me three times as long as usual to climb the dozen or so steps to the second floor.

A veteran officer in his 50s was waiting for me.

He slid a clear evidence bag across the desk.

Inside was the silver locket. It had darkened with age, and part of the chain had broken, but its shape was still the same.

I reached out and touched the scratch in the lower-left corner through the plastic.

It was mine.

It belonged to my daughter.

I collapsed onto the office floor and sobbed.

She had been gone for 25 years.

I clutched the evidence bag, tears streaming down my face.

I didn't know how long I cried before finally wiping my face and pulling out the bank statements and evidence of Sophie's theft.

I slapped them onto the desk.

"I want to file a report. My adopted daughter, Sophie Bennett, stole 300 thousand dollars. I want the Financial Crimes Division to open a case."

The veteran officer gave me a strange look.

He didn't take the documents.

Instead, he stood and retrieved a cotton swab and a sample tube.

"Ms. Lyons, first, we need to perform an expedited DNA test."

I bit down on the swab, tears still streaming down my face.

Then came the waiting.

Three hours passed.

I sat in that office without drinking a sip of water or even using the restroom. I couldn't stop thinking about the same question over and over.

If my child had survived, what kind of life had she lived for the past 25 years?

Had she been sold by human traffickers? Or forced into child labor somewhere? Or left homeless, begging on the streets?

She had been just a tiny baby when she went missing, left to fend for herself in this world for 25 years.

The more I thought about it, the more unbearable it became. My fingernails dug into my palms until they left bloody marks.

At 1:17 pm, the door opened.

A brown envelope was placed on the desk.

But I didn't look at it.

My eyes were fixed on the woman standing in the doorway.

She was young, dressed in a crisp police uniform, with two bars and a star on her shoulders.

Her short hair was neatly tucked behind her ears. Her back was straight, and every step was quick and steady.

The moment she entered, the three officers sitting in the room immediately stood.

"Captain Reed."

She nodded in acknowledgment, then looked straight at me.

Her eyes were red.

But she didn't cry.

She walked over, knelt in front of me, and took both my hands in hers.

Her hands were warm and strong. There was an old scar across the back of one.

When she spoke, her voice trembled slightly, but every word was clear.

"Mom."

After a moment, she added, "Mom, I'm sorry you had to suffer all these years."

I went numb.

That single word, "Mom", hit me like a defibrillator, pulling me back from 25 years of darkness.

She picked up the brown envelope and pulled out the DNA report. She pointed to the result and held it out to me.

"My name is Liana Reed. I'm the captain of the Financial Crimes Division. Three years ago, while investigating an international fraud case, I discovered the truth about my identity. That trail eventually led me to the locket."

My ears were ringing.

She tightened her grip on my hands.

"Sophie is suspected of involvement in the largest international telecom fraud case we've been investigating. The mastermind goes by the codename 'Black Dragon'. My team has been tracking him for three years."

She paused, then lifted her chin resolutely.

"I'll get you the justice you deserve."