Chapter 3Lies in the Midst of Crisis

As soon as Cason saw the officers, he rushed over to shake their hands.

"We're colleagues," he said, "I'm here to meet Allen's sister."

That's when I noticed Cason was in casual clothes.

He turned and started heading for the door, seemingly intending to slip away.

But the two officers immediately blocked his path.

I quickly stepped forward to update them on the situation.

"Officers! My parents have been kidnapped. I have a recording!"

The recording I had made earlier was finally useful.

The moment the kidnappers' voices came through, Cason's face turned pale in shock.

"Allen clearly said they are actors...

"He said you planned this whole thing yourself."

I snorted dismissively, not in the mood to waste words on him.

I slowly unfolded the crumpled piece of paper in my hand.

Drawing from the fragmented memories of my previous life, I tried to recall every detail.

I quickly pieced things together in my mind and tried my best to come up with an excuse.

"Officers! I can give you details about the suspects. They haunted my house once before.

"I'm not completely sure, but their voices sounded similar... they asked me for directions before."

Soon, the sketch artist and the surveillance team were in place.

I focused all my attention on describing the two kidnappers' appearances.

With a comparison to a database of known offenders, the police quickly identified them.

Both were young men who had served time for robbery.

One of them had rented a house under his real name, so the police immediately planned a rescue operation.

I slumped onto the sofa.

Cold sweat drenched my entire body.

Twenty minutes later, the police officer accompanying me got a report.

"Sorry, Ms. Baldwin, we didn't find any trace of your parents at the scene.

"But we did find this."

They had discovered numerous photos the kidnappers had taken. Among them were pictures of my parents and of me.

"They've been watching you for a long time. Don't worry, these two won't escape."

I felt like my head was about to explode.

The worst-case scenario had come to pass.

The kidnappers had moved to a new hiding place, which meant the lead I had was now useless.

Cason, standing off to the side, made a call to Allen.

Although he lowered his voice, I could hear every word clearly.

"It's a real kidnapping. We have suspects. You need to come back..."

To my surprise, Allen laughed on the other end of the line.

It sounded almost like he was deliberately letting me hear.

"Enough with the charade. How do you prepare to end this?

"If Mom and Dad felt angry at you, don't come crying to me."

The fear and resentment from my previous life rushed back in an instant.

I felt even if he didn't like me, he should at least believe his friend's words.

I wasn't at fault, and neither were my parents.

For over twenty years, they had raised him with love, but now, for the sake of their adopted daughter, he had ignored their safety.

If my parents knew the truth, they'd be heartbroken.

I felt sorry for my parents.

As I wiped the tears from my eyes, the house phone suddenly rang.

The officer in charge of surveillance gave me a look.

My heart skipped a beat.

The kidnappers were calling again!