2
I gripped the receiver tightly, cold sweat dripping down my face.
It seemed that the realities of the two lives were slightly different, so the kidnappers‘ location might have changed as well.
I, who had been confident just moments ago, suddenly began to panic.
I begged with a sob in my voice.
“Can you give me a little more time? I…
The other end hung up immediately.
I quickly composed myself, knowing that showing weakness to these desperados was useless.
The urgent matter at hand was to prepare the ransom and confirm the location.
My hand quickly wrote down the information I knew from my previous life on a piece of paper.
There were two kidnappers, both young men, and the kidnapping location was at one of their homes.
The ransom was one million dollars, to be deposited in the third trash can at the south entrance of the train station.
The kidnappers hadn’t even had time to collect the money before my brother raided their hideout, saving both the money and our parents.
Thinking of this, I immediately picked up my phone to call the police and contacted Uncle Quinn, my dad’s good friend and a shareholder in the company, asking the finance department to prepare cash directly.
Uncle Quinn sounded just as panicked as I was on the phone.
“Call the police, Mia. I’ll take care of the money.”
My heart finally settled a bit.
Two minutes later, the police arrived.
James Xu, my brother’s colleague and good friend, entered with a sour expression.
“Mia, your brother just called me. Luckily, I was nearby…”
“Filing a false police report is against the law!”
All my courage and hope crumbled at that moment.
Lucas was convinced that I was the mastermind behind the kidnapping, so he specifically sent his good friend to respond to the call.
His goal was to stop my “unreasonable behavior.”
Without police force and a criminal investigation expert to crack the location, how could I solve this?
Unable to control my emotions, I crumpled the clues in my hand into a ball.
Just thinking about my parents being tortured by the kidnappers, I broke down and cried out loud.
“Officer James, I’m not lying. I’m an adult, I’ll take responsibility for my actions.”
“Please, I need the police’s help. I need you to help me save my parents!”
I cried uncontrollably, constantly checking the clock.
Almost ten minutes had passed already, and I didn’t have much time left.
James leaned back on the sofa, casually scrolling through his phone.
Seeing me cry didn’t evoke even a hint of sympathy from him.
“They say kids raised in orphanages are cunning. You think crying can emotionally blackmail people?”
“Your brother was right, those who weren’t raised from childhood just don’t get it. Your hearts aren’t in the same place.”
“Olivia is much more sensible than you…”
Olivia and I had different fates. She was adopted by my parents at eight years old and raised like a precious pearl.
Especially my brother, whose protection of her bordered on pathological thoroughness.
Even after they both became adults, they often slept together, hugging each other.
The ticking of the clock brought me back to reality.
I forced myself to calm down, suppressing the tumultuous emotions inside.
“James.”
<
I called his name solemnly.
“Since you’ve responded to the call, you have an obligation to address my report…”
Before I could finish, James interrupted me with a merciless laugh.
“You little girl, trying to act all noble here.”
“You think you can control everything just because you’re back in the Bailey family? You’re like an outsider in this house.”
His words made me feel like I’d fallen into an icy pit.
“Your brother told me everything. Your parents don’t really love you that much, they often mix up your name with Olivia’s.”
“You’ve been playing mind games at home to get attention, making Olivia move out.”
James was eating from a fruit platter without a care in the world while belittling me.
I knew these words weren’t baseless; they were accumulated impressions my own brother had passed on to him over time.
In their eyes, I was just a scheming girl who only cared about getting attention.
I stood in front of him again. How he saw me didn’t matter at all.
“What will it take for you to believe me? My parents are in real danger right now.”
“If we miss the golden rescue window, can you bear that responsibility?”
James paused his actions and stood up from the sofa.
“Then go ahead and report me. Little girls like you just need to be taught a lesson…”
Before he could finish, two uniformed police officers appeared at the door.
“Is Mia here? We received a report and are here to handle the case.”
My legs nearly gave out, and I almost fell to the ground.
Finally, there was hope for my parents!
