âMr. Dillon, Elie.â Julia and Samuel rushed over.
Unable to catch her breath, Julia quickly grabbed the two. âWhat happened to Bria? How did she suddenly disappear?â
Before they could even respond, she turned around and noticed Leo. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she sounded hostile as she snarled, âWhat are you doing here, Leo? Is Briaâs disappearance connected to you in any way? Elie has already divorced you. What more do you want? Give Bria back to her!â
*
With that, Amelie was on the verge of physically attacking Leo, but Samuel quickly stepped in, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back.
At this point, Julia was fuming so hard that she kicked her feet in frustration. âWhy canât I teach him a lesson? Whatâs your relationship with him? This scâmbag keeps hurting Elie, so I must fight him to death. You must be in cahoots with him since youâre stopping me!â
Julia was so angry that she spoke recklessly. Samuel also knew that she was emotional and could only try to persuade her by saying. âThe most important thing right now is finding Bria. We can talk about everything else later, okay?â
After hearing those words, Julia finally calmed down and looked at Amelie. Her eyes were filled with deep worry as tears welled up. âWhat exactly happened to Bria?â
Amelie explained the situation again.
While furrowing his brows, Samuel asked, âYouâre saying that she was sent to the hospital because of a mild case of food poisoning?â
Amelie nodded her head silently. His lips were pressed into a thin line as a wave of self-blame filled her heart.
âItâs my fault for not taking good care of her,â Steven said regretfully as well. âIf I had been more careful, this wouldnât have happened.â
âThis is not the time for self-blame,â Samuel chimed in. âWhy donât we think carefully about what happened before she felt unwell? Donât overlook any small details, no matter how insignificant they may seem.â
He was a detective by trade and had a vast network of highly skilled detectives at his disposal. In the city, he was well-known for being the best in this industry.
At Samuelâs words, Leo, who was standing nearby, perked up his ears. At the same time, he began to recall every detail of his encounter with Bria.
Amelie looked at Steven again. âDad, what were you about to say earlier?â
Steven finally spoke. âWell, there was a courier who came by the house last night. Bria thought it was you and went to answer the door. However, she quickly came back saying that the courier had the wrong address and already left.â
âIâve thought about it, and I think itâs just a coincidence.â He hunched his back and rubbed the back of his head as he continued.
Samuelâs eyes flickered. âEven if itâs a coincidence, we should look into this courier.â
Coincidentally, there were surveillance cameras just outside their home. As such, Amelie pushed Steven toward Julia and instructed, âPlease watch over my dad. Iâm going with Samuel to get the surveillance footage now.â
âSure thing,â Julia had nothing else to say as she walked over to support Steven. âMr. Dillon, letâs go inside and sit down. With Samuelâs abilities, Iâm sure weâll find Bria soon, so donât worry.
Steven yearned to join them but was hesitant as he feared his slow movements might impede their progress. Keeping his thoughts to himself, he set off with Julia into the distance.
Meanwhile, Amelie and Samuel exchanged glances and quickly departed from the hospital.
Leo looked at their retreating figures with his darkened eyes and trailed behind them.
Samuel raced all the way home, and in no time, he and Amelie arrived at the doorstep.
Immediately, Amelie pulled up the surveillance footage on her computer. She looked up and noticed Leo following behind Samuel, causing a warm flicker in her heart.
Without a word, the two bent their heads together, studying the footage with utmost concentration. The suspect was an expert, having taken great care to cover themselves entirely and even using a large box to obscure the cameraâs view.
However, the more they tried to hide, the more suspicious it appeared.
Samuel suddenly clicked on the mouse and froze the image on a specific frame. Then, he pointed at the screen, Amelie realized something amiss and leaned in to take a closer look. In the dim and unclear image, the courierâs hand was clutching a small bottle, which was precisely aimed at Bria.
Samuel magnified the image. After a moment of recognition, he slammed his hand down and declared, âWhatever was in that bottle caused Briaâs mild poisoning!â
Amelie took a sharp breath. She couldnât believe the audacity of the courier to carry out such an As Leo issued his command, Samuel also activated his information platform and sent out the courierâs picture.
Next, it was time to wait.
The combined power of the two men was not to be underestimated. In less than half an hour, the courier was caught. The three of them rushed down the stairs and saw Samuelâs subordinate dragging the courier out while Leoâs men followed close behind.
Without waiting for anybody to speak, Leo charged forward at an almost imperceptible speed and booted the courier to the ground with just one foot.
Following that, he stepped on the manâs back with his polished leather shoes. The veins on his neck bulged while his eyes were pitch-black and sharp, making him a fearsome sight.
âSpeak. Where is the child?!â
The courier was kicked until he gasped for air. âI swear, I donât know! I donât know!â He coughed out.
Leo kicked him again with a force that sent the man flying backward like a weightless object. He finally crashed into a pole and curled up on the ground like a shrimp, unable to regain his composure for some time.
Leo stepped on his chest forcefully again. âIf you donât tell the truth, Iâll break your ribs one by one!â
The courier was frightened. His hands were stuck on his chest, and he trembled while shouting, âI donât know. The other party only told me to spray some medicine on the child, but I have no idea what it does or what itâs for.â
âAh!â Just as he finished speaking, a scream escaped his lips.
Amelie turned to look at Leo. She had known him for a long time, but this was her first time seeing him acting so mercilessly.
The sound of bones breaking echoed in her ears, making her shiver uncontrollably.
Fearing Leoâs wrath, the courier dropped to his knees and begged for mercy.
Samuel stood by, watching the scene unfold. âHe might be telling the truth,â Samuel finally said, his voice calm and collected.
Only then did Leo stop.
Samuel approached the courier and began to ask more questions, trying to uncover the truth.
200,000. Someone called me and asked me to do this in exchange for clearing my debt. I was desperate to get rid of the debt and didnât dare question the personâs motives. The drugs were left in a dumpster outside the city for me to pick up, and the address was on the bottle. I donât know who they are.â
Samuel looked at Leo and told him to send him to the police station, which was silently agreed upon by Leo.
Before the police arrived, the two of them made arrangements on the phone. Meanwhile, Amelie stood there calmly, unable to resist glancing at Leo.
She watched his serious expression and the deep furrows in his brow. Then, she looked at the half-
dead courier and felt an inexplicable warmth in her heart. This was the first time she had seen him lose control and also the first time she felt his presence as Briaâs father.
Just as she was pondering, she noticed Leoâs eyebrows tightening all of a sudden. Moreover, his temples were tensed to the point of breaking! Then, he abruptly hung up the phone and strode outside.
Amelie realized he must have learned something new and instinctively stepped forward to pull him, but she heard Samuel saying, âThereâs new information!â
She turned to look at Samuel as he ran toward the car. She followed suit and ran after him, getting into the vehicle as well.