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1. Missing Child

Missing Child

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I don't have any updates on your daughter's case," the officer replied with a heavy heart. Eirene, her face streaked with dirt, her once-white top now stained brown and yellow, and her long black skirt torn to her knees, paid no heed to her disheveled appearance. Her bloodshot eyes and harsh, tear-laden voice betrayed her anguish.

"Why haven't you found her yet? It's been four days!" she pleaded, her desperation palpable. The officer exchanged a pained glance with his female colleague, Stella, Eirene's best friend. "Eirene, let's step outside and talk," Stella suggested gently, her towering presence and strength allowing her to guide the petite, weakened Eirene out of the room, despite her friend's unwillingness to leave without answers.

As they exited, unbeknownst to them, a pair of watchful eyes followed their every move, silently observing the heartbreaking scene unfold.

"Samuel, don't tell me you're interested in that female officer. That b!t*h is the one who dragged me here," Leonard said, following Samuel's gaze. Samuel looked at his friend Leonard with displeasure. Today, after a long time, he had taken a day off and wanted to spend it in the company of beautiful women, but this man had ruined everything.

"They released you, now get off my case, you jerk," Samuel said, turning to leave as Leonard screamed from behind, trying to follow. "I don't have my car or wallet. At least drop me off at the hospital."

Samuel, ignoring Leonard, stormed outside, got into his stunning blue Ferrari, and sat in the driver's seat. He looked ahead, where Eirene and Stella were talking to each other. Another man was standing, holding Eirene, and Samuel noticed how the weakened woman leaned into his embrace. Something flashed in his mind.

With a knock on his car window, Samuel returned to the present. Leonard was knocking, asking to be let inside. Staring directly into Leonard's eyes, Samuel smirked and started his car, leaving Leonard alone.

Stella, as a police officer, understood the challenges in locating the missing Lucy. "Eirene, we're doing everything we can to find Lucy, but it's not easy. She was playing in a public park, yet there are no eyewitnesses, and that area is typically crime-free," she said, her voice laced with empathy.

Eirene wanted to speak, but her voice was drowned by sobs as she wept in Robin's embrace. Robin gently stroked her disheveled, dirty hair, trying to console her. "I'll look for Lucy with Stella. Please, try to rest for a few hours," he urged.

Eirene wanted to protest, but the exhaustion from the past four days without rest or food took its toll, and she fainted as she tried to break free from Robin's arms. Seeing Eirene's condition, Stella's eyes welled up with tears. "Robin, please take her back. I'll do whatever I can to find Lucy," she said, her determination evident.

In the penthouse of a towering 25-story building, a handsome man with striking blue eyes, standing at least 6.1 feet tall, leisurely sat on the sofa in his silk green nightgown, gazing out at the glowing city below, lost in thought. This breathtaking scene was disrupted by the sound of the main door opening, and the man's dazed eyes sharpened in an instant.

"I have the details you requested," said Victor, Samuel's assistant and most trusted confidant, as he entered the room.

"No, I want you to find her child," Samuel replied, clearly disappointed. How difficult could it be to locate a child for someone with power in both the upper and underworld?

"Sir, it's not that simple. It's a matter of human trafficking," Victor explained, recounting the group he had mentioned a few years prior that was exporting people out of the country, supported by wealthy businessmen and politicians.

Samuel clenched his fist tightly. "Are you implying they kidnapped the child?" he asked hesitantly.

Victor, a man of few words, directly addressed the critical details. "Destroying them will take years of preparation. Currently, we can only buy the child from them at tomorrow's auction."

Accepting Victor's suggestion, Samuel nodded in agreement. "Do whatever you feel is suitable for the situation. Just drop the child off at the Beatrix Mansion," he said, then turned and left for his bedroom without dismissing Victor.

As he took a few steps, Samuel wanted to add something more, but when he turned around, he saw Victor squatting on the table, cleaning up the mess Samuel had created while drinking and smoking. "Clean freak," Samuel muttered, leaving without another word.

Auction day

It was well past his usual working hours, but Samuel, seated on the 6th floor of a 12-story building, remained absorbed in his laptop, diligently working. Ever since he had started a legitimate business, he had developed the habit of working late into the night, he started this to convert his black money into white but now both businesses are equally important to him.

Suddenly, his cell phone began to ring, interrupting his concentration. Irritated, he finally decided to answer the call. "Make it worth my time, or am gonna kill you," he growled, his hard and rough tone a remnant of his past dealings in the underworld.

On the other end, Victor's hurried voice came through, "Sir, some unknown gang has targeted me while I was driving towards the auction." Victor's heavy breathing indicated he had been running or fighting for a while. "Your location, I'll send someone," Samuel replied nonchalantly as he picked up his work phone, ready to call in his other men.

"No, I don't think they know my identity. It's better not to intervene. Just send someone to the auction. I've sent you the address, and ask them to bid for the girl with tag number twenty…" Victor said hastily, before the line went dead.

Samuel looked at the darkened screen, unfazed. He knew Victor was more than capable of handling the situation. Grabbing his coat, Samuel left for the address Victor had mentioned, determined to secure the girl with tag number twenty.

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