“Daddy… most of the men who appear here are not good people.”
Callie sighed silently. The child looked so young; how could any adult feel comfortable letting her out alone?
Worried about her safety, Callie softened her gaze. “Where’s your daddy? I’ll help you find him.”
The little girl thought for a long time, then tiptoed to press the button for the basement floor. “Daddy is here. Thank you, sister, for taking me!”
“Such a sweet talker.”
The narrow elevator lacked a sense of security. The girl seemed a bit scared and instinctively clung to Callie’s clothes, remaining very quiet.
Callie’s heart softened as she thought of the child she had lost. She crouched down. “Where’s your mommy? Did you sneak out from home alone?”
The little girl tightened her grip on Callie’s fingers and nodded earnestly. She spoke well for her age: “They all say Daddy is very busy. I sneaked out. I want to take Daddy home so he won’t be so busy.”
Callie listened with a growing sense of dread, frowning deeply. “You shouldn’t sneak out alone next time. If you meet bad people, your daddy will be very sad.”
The girl was clever. “I have a phone, and if I’m in danger, someone will come to save me.”
Callie frowned in confusion.
She patted the girl’s round cheek. “Don’t do this again.”
The girl nodded but looked very forlorn.
The elevator soon arrived. Callie held her hand and looked around. It was very quiet here. “Do you know where your daddy is?”
The little girl held her hand and led her in one direction.
Though quiet, the place was very bright. Everywhere they passed was filled with antiques, like a museum, expensive enough to support an ordinary family in this city for a lifetime.
Callie’s heart raced.
The little girl finally stopped and struggled to push open a door. She shouted at the tall, burly man standing by the large floor-to-ceiling window, holding a phone and making an overseas call, “Daddy!”
Callie looked over. It was a middle-aged man wearing a mask, his face obscured.
A moment earlier, she had heard the man’s voice through a voice changer: “Sell immediately if the market hits the limit tomorrow.”
Then the little girl shouted excitedly and happily, “Daddy!”
However, at that moment, Callie saw Sullivan standing next to the man!
She immediately found cover and hid before they could see her.
Why was Sullivan here? Who was the masked man? Was he the girl’s father and… Owen?
Callie’s heart pounded with her suspicions.
Sullivan looked over and saw clearly. The stack of documents in his hand fell to the ground with a “thud.”
“Miss?”
The masked man slowly turned around, his expression unreadable beneath the mask.
Sullivan picked up the scattered documents from the floor and bowed to the masked man. “I’ll check on the situation at the mansion immediately.”
The masked man didn’t respond, waving him off with a dark expression.
The little girl ran to his side. “I missed you, Daddy!”
The man didn’t move.
The girl sat beside him, holding his hand and calling him Daddy repeatedly, sharing many things she thought were interesting.
However, he didn’t say a word, seemingly indifferent to his daughter.
The girl seemed used to it. Though sad, she didn’t show it.
Soon, a group of well-trained bodyguards rushed in.
The man walked among them with his hands behind his back. “Who was responsible for Miss’s safety today? Step forward.”