جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 8

"Who in the world are you, and what is this car accident about?" I asked, pulling on the handbrake with all my might.Still shaken, I stared at the crash site not far away, my back drenched in cold sweat. Someone with a voice identical to mine spoke through the phone. "Do not doubt me. I am you from three years in the future. That's why I know about all these." However, this felt absurd to me. I was convinced it was a tech-savvy voice-phishing scammer who was manipulating my voice. For all these years, my life was simple and happy. I had a daily routine. Moreover, my daughter, Olivia Sacks, was safe and well at home, and there was nothing amiss with her even after I left. This was such an ordinary day. How could my daughter possibly die? After simmering down, I wanted to hang up the call and ring Olivia up once again. Right at this moment, the person on the other end of the call said urgently, "I can prove to you that I am not just running my mouth. Liv is truly in danger!"

Alarm bells rang out in my head, washing out all other sounds around me. I leapt to my feet and rushed to the washroom. The washroom was filled with silence. No one was in there. My secretary said to me with a serious look on her face, "I'm certain that everything happened in less than ten minutes. There is no way that anyone could hide a five-year-old child without anyone noticing. "I have informed the security team to look into the surveillance footage from the entire building. We will be able to find her soon." I attempted to call Olivia on her smartwatch, but it just showed that her phone was switched off the entire time. I managed to locate her smartwatch's GPS coordinates. It was less than 300 feet away.I followed the signal, only to find the watch lying on the floor in a corner with no one in sight. I clenched my hands into tight fists, fighting to calm myself down. "Ask around with the people around here and see if they have seen Liv." Soon enough, an employee rec

By the time I walked out of the surveillance room, the worried look on my face had vanished completely. The tension on Norman's face eased up. He walked to my side and held my hand in a caring manner. "Don't worry. Even though we haven't found Liv, the police have made progress, haven't they? "We will find her sooner or later. Liv will be so heartbroken when she returns if you hurt yourself over this." I grimaced, pulling my hand out of his grasp while saying calmly, "Of course I know that. Don't worry. I will take good care of myself. As for the investigation, let's leave it to the authorities, as long as they can find something. "Officers, just inform my husband if you people make any progress. You don't have to keep me informed." Dumbstruck, everyone stared at me. After all, they saw, with their own eyes, how anxious I was earlier. The female officer nearest to me shot me a strange look. "Ms. Lisbon, aren't you worried about your daughter? Just ten minutes ago, you were

From this day forward, Sarah stayed at my place. She walked her talk—taking charge of all funeral matters so that I did not have to worry at all. I went to work as usual every day while she handled the nitty-gritty matters, seeing to everything from the funeral to the cemetery personally.On the few occasions when she came to my workplace, she looked haggard, and her dark circles showed.After she dropped by a number of times, people at the company even commented about how Sarah, Olivia's godmother, was more affected than I was. Nonetheless, I ignored it all.Seven days after Olivia's death, the burial finally began. The solemnly-built memorial was decorated with white chrysanthemums and lilies.Norman's and my family members who were able to make it had come. To express how important this was to her, Sarah invited her friends and family as well. Throngs of people squeezed into the memorial hall. It was indeed a sight to behold. Norman and Sarah stood at the door, both dressed in