“I agree,” I took a deep breath. “Dad, I’ll fulfill your conditions, but you have to guarantee Cameron’s safety! If anything happens to him, I won’t let you off.”
“Heh, don’t worry…” he smirked. “As long as you bring the money and that bitch here, I guarantee your little lover won’t lose a hair!”
“But his injuries…”
“I’ll take care of him!” He waved his hand, tearing his T-shirt and pulling out a strip of cloth. “I’ll stop his bleeding. Are you satisfied?”
He suddenly released Cameron.
Cameron fell heavily to the ground, emitting a muffled groan.
“What are you still doing here?” Jacob Campbell glared at me. “Get out! Get out and do your job! Oh, and take this little bitch with you. Her crying annoys me!”
I forced myself to stay calm, draping Queenie’s arm over my shoulder and leading her out of the old warehouse.
After bringing Queenie out, I immediately found Patrick and told him everything that happened.
He reassured me not to worry and quickly arranged for the five million in cash. Then he returned to the police station to deploy resources.
“There’s one more condition, Patrick!” I panicked. “My dad insists on seeing my mom… But at a time like this, where can I find her?”
Patrick paused for a moment. “How much do you remember about your mom? Tell me everything.”
“I don’t have any memories…” I said numbly. “I never knew I had a mom since birth… My concept of a mom comes entirely from Stella.”
“If necessary, find someone to stand in for her.”
“What?” I was shocked, shaking my head repeatedly. “No! My foster mother is already seriously ill. If she gets this shock, I can’t bear the consequences!”
“Laura, I have to get back to the police station immediately!” Patrick frowned. “You must find a solution to this. We don’t have much time, saving Cameron is urgent!”
Find a solution… where can I find a solution?
I was so anxious, feeling like my heart was being gnawed by ants and cooked in hot oil, it was so uncomfortable.
Just then, Yasmin called. “Miss Campbell, when are you coming back? I specially bought some mangosteen, I heard it’s your favorite…”
My ears were buzzing, but my mind was unusually clear at that moment.
Yasmin…
Yasmin, who was about the same age as Stella!
Patrick’s words echoed in my ears: “If necessary, find someone to stand in for her.”
“We don’t have much time, saving Cameron is urgent!”
I saw a glimmer of hope, but I felt despicable for even considering it. Would Yasmin agree to this? She had no relation to us. How could she agree to such a life-threatening task?
I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them again.
“Yasmin,” I managed to squeeze out a few words, “Can you come to the apartment? I’ll be waiting there for you.”
Yasmin didn’t suspect anything. An hour later, we met at the apartment. She still smiled kindly, looking at me with concern.
She was carrying a thermos, inside was the soup she had just made. She said I often stayed up late, my complexion wasn’t good, and I needed to take care of myself.
I picked up a cup that I had previously laced with sleeping pills, my hands trembling slightly.
“Yasmin, have some water,” I handed it to her.
She smiled, drank it in one gulp, then went into the kitchen, still considering what delicious food to make for me.
“Yasmin, I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“What?” She looked up, puzzled. “Miss Campbell, what did you say?”
“Yasmin,” I looked at her, forcing a smile, “You’re like a mother to me.”
Her smile suddenly faded, as if lost in thought, before she spoke after a long while. “Miss Campbell, actually I have a daughter too… It’s just a pity, I haven’t seen what she looks like.”
“You have a daughter too?”
“Yes, if I could have kept her by my side, she would have been about the same age as you now.”
My heart was suddenly filled with mixed emotions. “Yasmin, why didn’t you keep her by your side? Did you abandon her right after she was born… Yasmin, no matter what happens, you shouldn’t give up on your daughter. A daughter without a mother is truly pitiful…”
“Yeah,” Yasmin’s eyes reddened, and her movements slowed down.
“It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault…” She said while turning away to wipe her tears. But in a few moments, she leaned against the wall, her body swaying. A few seconds later, she collapsed to the ground.
“Yasmin…” I knew the medication was taking effect.
Tears streamed down my face, my heart felt like it was being torn apart, but when I thought of Cameron, I gritted my teeth and called Patrick.
With the unconscious Yasmin and the box of cash, I rode in Patrick’s car towards the warehouse in the suburbs.
From preparation to completion, these things took less than six hours. But for me, every minute felt like an agonizing torment.
The police quietly surrounded the warehouse.
I covered Yasmin’s face and placed her on a trolley, pulling her along with the box, appearing in front of Jacob Campbell.
“Dad,” I called him softly, placing the box on the ground, “I’ve brought everything you asked for.”
“The box contains five million, you can open it and check. And…”
“Who’s behind you?” Jacob Campbell sobered up a bit, his eyes regaining their usual coldness.
“It’s… my mom,” I said softly, my palms sweaty with nervousness. “Didn’t you ask me to bring my mom?”
“Is it really your mom?” He was full of disbelief, “Well, darling daughter… don’t try to fool your old man! You said you hadn’t seen that woman for over twenty years, how did you manage to find her so quickly?”
“Dad…” My heart was in my throat.
Were all the conditions he mentioned just a test for me?
What was his true intention?
“Dad, what do you want to do?” I couldn’t control the trembling of my body.
Cameron was still lying on the ground, looking very pale.
“Dad,” I forced myself to calm down and lied, “It’s like this… I only recently reunited with my mom. It was Cameron who helped me find her.”
“Cameron?” Jacob Campbell’s gaze darkened. “Him?”
“Um…” I nervously broke out in a cold sweat, holding back tears. “Cameron is very good to me. He loves me, and he does everything he can for me… I just mentioned once that I wanted to meet my biological mother, and he went to great lengths to find out where she was, finally locating her…”
“Oh, so this guy does care about you.”
“Yes.”
“Laura, are you going to stick with him? He’ll never marry you in the future, you’ll be a disgrace!”
I looked up at him, feeling puzzled.
Why did he suddenly say such things?
Wasn’t he the one who never cared about me? He never fulfilled his responsibilities, when did he start considering my future?
Jacob Campbell sighed lightly, closed his eyes, then opened them, furrowed. It seemed like he was contemplating something, as if he had made a difficult decision. He kicked Cameron beside him. Cameron sat up straight, his face expressionless. Jacob Campbell bent down, carefully examining the wounds on his body, patting his shoulder. “It’s just a minor flesh wound, don’t worry!”
“I’ve already stopped the bleeding for you, don’t worry, you won’t die!”
Cameron glared at him.
Just as I was about to step forward, Jacob Campbell motioned for me to stay back. He looked at me warily, then slowly dragged the box over.
“Five million?”
“Yes,” I said, “not a penny less.”
He narrowed his eyes and looked behind me. “Your mom… What’s wrong with her?”
I continued to lie, “I was afraid she wouldn’t want to see you, so I drugged her drink and brought her here after she passed out.”
“Heh, heh…” His laughter was sinister. “Truly my daughter! Heh, you’re quite the little trickster, just like me!”
“Dad,” I almost begged him, “take the money and leave quickly!”
“Of course I’ll leave, don’t rush me!” He glared at me, then lowered his head, holding the box to his chest, sighing lightly as if speaking to himself.
“Laura, this time when I take your mom away, I’ll treat her well. Don’t worry! Heh, actually, I also want to take you with me. I really want our family to live happily together, to have enough money to spend, have a house to live in, to travel whenever we want, like those rich people… You’ll be a good daughter to me, marry into a good family, and in the future, give me a few grandchildren!”
I froze.
Perhaps it was due to the tears welling up in my eyes, but I felt that he softened somewhat.
For a moment, I had the illusion that in that instant, he became an ordinary father for the first time.