Chapter 370
Salma caught on quickly. âDid Pennyâs son go missing?â
Penny had been in jail for abusing her daughter, Pattie, and had only been out for a couple of days.
The woman said, âYes, he went missing in the morning. Itâs been about two hours, and they still havenât found him.â
Tavon, always eager to join a conversation, leaned in, âWhose kid went missing?â
Salma glanced at Pattie, who was playing on the slide about fifteen feet away, and said, âThe child of the family who used to foster
Pattie.â
News of a missing child in the neighborhood naturally sparked discussions.
The neighborhoodâs helpful old lady came over and said, âItâs all the motherâs fault. The kidâs still so young, but she took him to the poker house. She was so engrossed in her game, she didnât notice when the child went missing.â
More people gathered around. âThat woman is no good. I feel sorry for the kid. Who will bring a child to a poker game?â
âExactly, itâs such a pity.â
âAnd itâs a boy. What a shame!â
âItâs been two hours. Iâm afraid heâs not coming back.â
âI saw the kidâs father searching frantically around the neighborhood.â
Leo was devastated by his sonâs disappearance. His son was his lifeâs purpose. Now he was missing, and Leo felt his world collapsing. The police came to take statements, asking about the circumstances when the child went missing.
Leo wasnât home when the child went missing. He was out doing partâtime jobs, as he hadnât been able to work in a long time and the family was struggling.
Penny had just come out of jail and he was already doing partâtime jobs. He had left the child with Penny. In just two days, the child had gone missing.
When the police questioned Penny, all she could do was cry. She couldnât explain what had happened. She just kept repeating, âI donât know. I was playing poker. I asked the poker house owner to watch him. I donât know when he disappeared.â
The thought that his wifeâs poker game caused their sonâs disappearance enraged Leo. He grabbed a chair and hurled it at Penny. âPenny, whereâs my son? I told you to take care of him. Canât you stop playing poker? Thatâs our bloodline youâve lost! Find my son!â
Leo was usually quiet and rarely lost his temper. His sudden outburst scared Penny. The police quickly intervened, promising to find their son as soon as possible.
No sooner had the police left than Leo dragged Penny into the bedroom and began to beat her.
⬠2 9
Leo lost his mind with the loss of his son. He punched and kicked Penny. Pennyâs screams echoed through the building, but no one intervened.
People felt that Penny deserved it, because she had abused Pattie in the past.
Leoâs rage wasnât sated. He stormed into the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen knife. Penny ran for the door, screaming, âMurder! Help!â
She ran through the neighborhood with Leo chasing her. Her screams were echoing through the streets.
Adults hurriedly ushered their children home. Salma quickly took Pattie home, and Tavon followed.
Leo shouted after Penny, âIâll show you, you bitch! Iâll chop off your pokerâplaying hands!â
In the end, Penny couldnât outrun him. Leo caught up to her and slashed her arm with the knife.
Penny sat on the ground, clutching her bleeding arm and crying. She yelled at Leo, âGo after that Anastasia, not me, Leo! Our sonâs disappearance isnât my fault, Itâs because Anastasia took Pattie away!â
Leo remembered the fortune tellerâs words his sonâs fate was tied to Pattieâs Anastasia had adopted Patile, and soon his son disappeared
Leo was extremely agitated. His chest was heaving, and his eyes were bloodshot and frightening as he held the knife.