Chapter 3

"Absolutely impossible!"

The words burst out of me almost instinctively.

Officer Miller quickly interjected, "We've already tried to contact Lily's father, David, but we haven't reached him yet."

"Sarah, we *will* find your daughter. Please, let the children in the room go. I promise you, we will spare no effort to find her."

"Look at you now. Even if we find your daughter, how could you face her? Do you want her to know both her parents are criminals?"

My resolve wavered for a moment, a flicker of doubt.

A small red ball rolled slowly towards me.

A little girl called out, "Ms. Lee, can you kick it back for me?"

I steadied myself, gently tossing the ball back.

These children had no idea what was happening, still so innocent and lively.

But would my child ever be able to play happily like this again? I couldn't bear to think.

I glanced at the time, calmly shouting outside, "Eighteen minutes left! Have you found any clues?"

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