29. Vanessa where are we?
Sophia's POV:
I dialed Adrian's number again.
He didn't pick up.
I called again.
And again.
Again.
Like this, I must have called him nearly ten times.
Not once did he answer.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
Was Lily okay?
Adrian loved Vanessa, and as far as I knew, Vanessa loved Adrian... and Lily too. At least, that's what I had always believed. The way Lily used to excitedly tell me about Vanessa made it seem like Vanessa adored spoiling her with chocolates, toys, and ice creams.
Then why would she do anything to hurt her?
Adrian had said that he fought with Vanessa because of Lily...
But...
A fight couldn't possibly make her harm a five-year-old child.
Could it?
I kept trying to console myself with these thoughts.
But deep inside...
Something kept telling me that my daughter was in danger.
Adrian wasn't answering my calls.
Which clearly meant...
He still had no idea where Lily was.
My hands trembled as I immediately called June.
She picked up on the very first ring.
I told her everything.
The moment I finished, she said firmly,
"I'm coming over, Sophi. Don't worry, okay? We'll go straight to the police station and file a missing complaint for Lily."
"Until then, keep calling that idiot husband of yours. I seriously don't understand how someone can be so pathetic and irresponsible that he got a parent card made for that bitch too."
I was far too anxious to think about Adrian.
"June, leave him. Please just hurry and come here. We need to find Lily."
As soon as I disconnected the call, my phone buzzed with a message.
From Adrian.
Of course... now he doesn't even have the courage to talk to me.
The message read-
"Vanessa's apartment is locked. Her car isn't here either. She's still not picking up my calls. Evan and I are heading to the police station to file a complaint."
I immediately replied.
"June and I are coming to the police station too."
---
I paced restlessly across the living room, praying over and over for God to keep my daughter safe.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.
It was June.
The moment she saw my tear-streaked face, she rushed forward and hugged me tightly.
But I quickly pulled away.
"June... we need to hurry. Let's go."
She nodded, then suddenly asked,
"Did you take all of Lily's documents?"
"The originals are still at the mansion," I replied hurriedly. "But I have PDFs and photos of everything on my phone."
"Good."
Then she said,
"Sophi, baby... you go down to the car. I'll be there in a minute. I just need to use the washroom."
I nodded and hurried downstairs.
Within a minute, June joined me, and we drove straight towards the police station.
While driving, she glanced at me.
"You didn't have lunch, did you?"
I looked at her as if asking,
Is this really the time to talk about lunch?
She gave me that typical June Adler look.
"Don't look at me like that."
"While passing through the kitchen, I saw your cup noodles lying there untouched. So I guessed you hadn't eaten."
"You should've eaten, Sophia. Staying hungry isn't going to solve anything."
I didn't reply.
Because practically...
She was right.
But the moment I heard Lily was missing...
My appetite had disappeared completely.
Soon, we reached the police station.
As we were parking the car, another car pulled in beside us.
Adrian's.
Evan stepped out with him.
I had seen him with Adrian a few times before, but we had never actually spoken.
The moment I got out of the car, June slammed the door shut and stormed straight towards Adrian.
Before I could react, she grabbed him by the arm and snapped,
"How can someone be so pathetic?"
I hurried after her and gently pulled her back.
"June, leave him. This isn't the time to fight. We need to file the complaint first."
Adrian looked completely guilty.
He didn't even argue with her.
Without saying a word, he walked inside.
We followed.
Soon, we were sitting in front of the investigating officer, filing the complaint.
Adrian explained everything.
"Today I wasn't feeling well, so Evan went to pick up Lily instead. But when he reached the school, he found out that Vanessa had already picked her up."
The officer frowned.
"If this lady, Vanessa, had the parent card, then she must be someone close to your family. Why are all of you so certain she might harm your daughter?"
Adrian opened his mouth to answer.
Then he glanced at me.
And fell silent.
The officer looked between the two of us.
"Sir, you'll have to tell us everything. Otherwise, how are we supposed to begin the investigation?"
Adrian swallowed nervously.
I had no idea what had happened between him and Vanessa that made him think she could harm my daughter.
Then Evan spoke.
"Adrian... may I explain?"
Adrian simply nodded.
Evan turned towards the officer.
"Sir, Adrian and Sophia are getting divorced. Vanessa was Adrian's girlfriend, and he intended to marry her."
"But when Vanessa found out that Adrian was going to have fifty percent custody of Lily, she refused. She clearly said that she didn't want Adrian to take Lily's custody at all."
I was stunned.
Did she really use Lily as a bargaining chip?
Evan continued,
"But Adrian refused. Instead, he asked Vanessa to leave."
"And this morning, when she came to apologize, Adrian pushed her away and asked her to break all ties with him."
"So that's why we suspect she might do something to harm Lily."
The officer completed the complaint and took down all of Vanessa's details.
Then he looked at us.
"You may either wait here or go home. We'll begin the investigation immediately."
Adrian was an influential businessman.
Naturally...
His influence helped.
The police force immediately started searching for Lily.
We sat quietly on a bench outside.
After a long silence, June looked at me.
"Sophia, you haven't eaten anything since morning, and you've been crying continuously."
"At least eat something."
I shook my head.
"No... I don't want to eat. My appetite is gone."
"If you want something, you can have it."
Then Evan spoke softly,
"I know all of you are worried... but sitting here crying and starving yourselves isn't going to help."
Nobody replied.
Finally, June looked at Adrian.
The hatred in her eyes was impossible to miss.
"It's all your friend's fault."
She glared at him.
"For five years, Adrian."
"Five years."
"You treated Sophia like a maid in your own house just because you believed she was a gold digger."
"So how could you never recognize what Vanessa really was?"
Adrian slowly looked up.
His eyes were bloodshot-from guilt... or perhaps from helplessness.
He looked straight at me.
"Sophia..."
"I'm really sorry."
"I know it has been my fault throughout."
"I mistreated you from the day we got married."
As he spoke, he reached forward and held both my hands.
I immediately pulled them away.
The disgust on my face was impossible to hide.
"Adrian..."
"I waited for freaking five years."
"Five years... hoping that someday you'd realize your mistake."
"Hoping that someday you'd understand that I was never a gold digger."
"But instead..."
"You made sure I cried myself to sleep every single night."
"And now..."
"Now that Vanessa has shown you her true colours..."
"You're apologizing?"
"Do you even realize what you're saying?"
He lowered his eyes.
"Believe me or not..."
"But Sophia..."
"I truly am guilty now."
Before I could reply, June laughed mockingly.
"Then keep your guilt to yourself."
"Because without you, my friend is doing much better."
"She's happier."
"She smiles now."
"I don't even recognize the person she had become while living with you."
"So stay away from her."
I looked at Adrian and said firmly,
"And now..."
"I want one hundred percent custody of Lily."
"Earlier, I believed you loved her and would take care of her."
"But you proved me wrong."
"You're not just a terrible husband..."
"You're a terrible father too."
"Pathetic too," June added without missing a beat.
Evan rubbed his forehead.
"Guys... please this isn't the time to fight."
June immediately shot back,
"What do you mean, 'please'?"
"Don't you see they're arguing over their daughter's custody?"
Evan sighed.
"That can be decided in court."
Then he looked at all of us.
"But let's come back to the harsh reality."
"Our priority right now..."
"...is that Lily is missing."
--------------
Vanessa's POV:
Adrian didn't do right by me.
I apologized to him, but he didn't even listen. Instead, he humiliated me in front of his entire office.
He wants my resignation now.
Fine.
He'll be the one begging me to come back.
I sat on the couch, lost in my thoughts.
Yes, I had abducted Lily.
Soon Charles would call Adrian for the ransom... or maybe send him a message first.
We had no intention of hurting Lily.
Of course not.
I had watched her grow up since the day she was born. No woman could ever bring herself to harm such an innocent child.
I just wanted money from Adrian.
I was still thinking about everything when Lily slowly began to stir.
She opened her eyes.
We had mixed sleeping pills into her water, so she had been unconscious for quite a while.
As soon as she woke up, she burst into tears.
I immediately rushed to her side.
"Lily... what happened? Please calm down."
But she kept crying.
"My head is hurting, Vanessa..." she sobbed. "A-And... where are Mommy and Daddy?"
I wrapped my arms around her gently and quickly brought her a glass of water.
"Here, baby. Drink this."
She obediently drank the water in one go.
Then she rubbed her teary eyes, looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, and asked in a small, confused voice,
"Vanessa... where are we?"
-----------------
Adrian's POV:
We were still waiting at the police station.
The investigation was ongoing.
The police managed to trace the last locations of both Vanessa's and Lily's phones, but it was of no use. Their last locations were somewhere near Lily's school. After that, both phones had been switched off, making it almost impossible to track them any further.
Vanessa's car was eventually found parked in a mall's parking lot.
When the police checked the mall's CCTV footage, Vanessa was clearly seen carrying an unconscious Lily in her arms. There was a man with her as well, but his face was completely covered.
From the mall, the two of them walked towards an area where there were no CCTV cameras.
And just like that...
The trail went cold.
The police had no clue where they had gone after that.
Wanted posters were printed and circulated immediately, but no one reported seeing them.
According to the police, Vanessa and the man were most likely hiding inside a house somewhere. The entire city was being searched, police teams were spread everywhere, yet there was still no sign of either Vanessa or Lily.
Every passing minute felt heavier than the last.
Then suddenly-
My phone rang.
An unknown number.
My heart skipped a beat.
I picked it up immediately.
A man's voice came from the other end.
"If you want your daughter back, prepare 4 million. And don't you dare say a word to the police... or else you won't be able to see your daughter again."
Before I could say a single word-
The call was disconnected.