Chapter 4

I was stunned. Just as I wanted to press on to ask why, the phone call started buzzing, as if its signal was disrupted. Following that, the call abruptly ended.

Immense terror crashed over me instantly. I called back desperately, but could not get through no matter how I tried.

I heard a series of footsteps approaching. Norman showed up around the corner with a worried expression on his face.

He exhaled in relief when he saw me, then he hurried up to me. He reassured, "Dezzy, the authorities are already looking for her. Don't worry too much."

I bit my lip, barely able to hold myself together as my mind filled with self-reproach and regret. "If only I were more careful, Liv would not have been taken away."

Norman held me in a tight embrace, his tone sorrowful. "Don't say that…"

At this moment, my phone rang. I lifted my phone immediately, only to see that it was Sarah calling.

"Are you alright, Dezzy? Norman mentioned that Liv went missing. Why did you keep something like that from me?

"I'm still overseas. Flights are put on hold because of the weather. Wait for me. I'll find a way to get back!"

I shook my head in despair. Not only would traveling require time and energy, but Sarah would also have no choice but to worry alongside us when she returned.

After ending the call, I tried calling the future me from three years later. Alas, I still could not get through.

Slightly perplexed, Norman asked, "Whose number is this? Is it the wrong number, Dezzy?"

While I was taken aback, not knowing what to say, the police called once again.

"Ms. Lisbon, we just discovered a van with a young girl in it passing by suspiciously at the time of the incident. We have arrested the driver, so please come down to the station."

I shot to my feet, then rushed to the police station together with Norman.

The driver was in the interrogation room, crying his eyes out as he confessed to everything in fear. He was indeed from a trafficking ring, working with his partners to have a young girl trafficked to the mountains.

In a rage, I charged toward him to smack him in the face, but I was stopped by a police officer.

The driver then said, "I only abducted an abandoned beggar at random. She really wasn't the daughter of some CEO!"

I froze. When an officer led me to identify the victim, I only saw a haggard-looking girl curled up on a chair. Her hair was disheveled, and her skin was sallow. It was true—she really wasn't Olivia.

In a soft voice, the officer said to me, "We have confirmed that this child has been part of a group of beggars for some time. She definitely isn't the same girl—"

I grabbed onto the officer's arm forcefully, mumbling, "Officer, my daughter must have been kidnapped. She's in danger. You people have to find her, I beg you!"

Shock came across the officer's face. She patted my hand and reassured, "A situation like this is typically a child trafficking case. We will do our best to search for her. Her life will not be in danger."

I shook my head; hopelessness filled my heart. I was about to respond when my phone rang out. It was a call from the unknown number from three years in the future.

I answered it immediately, but the sound from the other end of the call was choppy, and the person's voice was muffled.

"Hurry up and check the surveillance footage… The culprit is… Document—"

"Dezarae? Dezarae?" I called out loudly, but the call cut off once again. Those who were present appeared to be in dismay when they heard me shouting my own name.

Norman took me by the hand. Concerned, he asked, "Are you okay, Dezzy? Are you worried sick about Liv? Do you want to head home and get some rest…"

While he hesitated to continue, I couldn't be bothered to explain. I shoved him away and went to look at the surveillance footage again.

At the same time, a dozen text messages flooded in all at once, as if my cellphone had just caught a signal once again. I read the messages, holding my breath, and I had a revelation. I finally had a way to save Olivia's life!