Chapter 2The Daughter in the Storm Drain

My daughter’s terrified, tearful voice came through the phone. “No, Mommy, I’m scared.”

Just as I suspected. Property management was just fobbing me off.

“Don’t be scared, Piper. The firefighters will be there soon, and Mommy is almost there too. Is the rain heavy where you are? Did you find anything to stand on?”

“I’m standing on a big rock, Mommy, please hurry. It’s so tiring to stand like this.”

“Be a good girl, Piper. Mommy will be there any minute. You have to hold on!”

Tears streamed down my face. In my previous life, when Piper fell into the drain, the water initially only reached her waist. But because property management delayed the rescue for so long, all the rainwater flowed into the drain, submerging her and causing her to drown. The pain of losing my daughter was excruciating. I absolutely would not let it happen again in this lifetime.

Suddenly, the fire department called me. “Ms. Jones, we arrived at the complex entrance but were blocked by property management. They said the child has already been rescued and told us to leave.”

I was furious. “Please don’t go back! My daughter hasn’t been rescued! Property management is lying!”

The firefighter hesitated. “Ms. Jones, we understand you’re anxious, but property management wouldn’t lie about a rescue, would they?”

“I’m begging you, please go back and check! My daughter is definitely still in that drain! Please, I’m begging you to go back and check!”

After my repeated pleas, the fire department finally agreed to go back and verify. I tried calling my daughter again, but her smart watch was unreachable.

I was furious. How could property management treat a human life so lightly? Not only did they refuse to help, but they also blocked the firefighters. Was it just because they feared such an incident would affect property values, or was there something else going on? I couldn’t comprehend it.

I called property management again. “Did you or did you not rescue my daughter?”

“She’s already been rescued.”

“Then let me speak to her.”

“The child was scared and has fallen asleep.”

It was the same excuse as my previous life. I wanted to crawl through the phone and tear them apart!

“Then wake her up and let her answer the phone!”

They grew impatient. “Don’t think you can order us around just because you’re an influencer. You have no special privileges here!”

They slammed the phone down. When I called back, they simply wouldn’t answer.

Then the fire department called again. “Ms. Jones, property management took us to the drain, and there was no one inside.”

“How is that possible? Our complex has six drains. Did you check all of them?”

“We only checked five. One is abandoned, and the opening is completely blocked. No one could possibly be inside.”

“My daughter is definitely in there! Please, can you go and check that one too?!”

The firefighters were clearly in a difficult position. Before the call even ended, I heard someone shouting in the background.

“Why aren’t you firefighters leaving? Do you know how much you’re affecting us by just standing at our complex entrance? People will think there’s a huge emergency. Leave now!”

Property management was already trying to drive them away.

The firefighter on the phone said, “The property manager is directly blocking the entrance and refusing to let us in. They insist the child has been rescued and sent home. I’m sorry, Ms. Jones, we don’t have the authority to forcibly enter a complex without an emergency.”

“No! Property management is lying! I have surveillance at home; my daughter isn’t there! You have to believe me, my child is still in that drain! Please, you have to save her!” By the end, I was openly weeping.