Chapter 472
472
“Could she have been taken by mistake?”
Faith made a guess. After all, the scene earlier was complete chaos–parents and kids alt jumbled together.
“ That’s possible. Keep looking!”
Caitlin forced herself to stay calm, but inside, she was spiraling into panic.
She had gone through hell to get her daughter back. If she lost her again, how could she go on living?
“Search every corner. Leave nothing unchecked!”
Sebastian issued the order, directing his people to widen the search perimeter. He also sent James and Quincy to the park’s security office to check surveillance footage at the entrance–maybe someone had mistakenly taken Patricia.
James and Quincy ran off at full speed.
Apart from Caitlin’s group, all the other families had accounted for their kids. Police and park management were still on site.
When word got out that a child was missing, the police relayed the news over their radios, and the park staff used the loudspeakers to make a missing child announcement.
Patricia’s name echoed throughout the entire park, but as more time passed, the tension mounted.
“Wait–we can track Patricia’s location!”
Caitlin nearly smacked herself for forgetting the most important detail.
She quickly opened her phone and pulled up the GPS tracker linked to her daughter.
The signal was still showing inside the park.
“She’s still here! Patricia is still in the park!”
Hope sparked again. Caitlin and Sebastian followed the signal immediately.
“She should be right here… but there’s no one.”
Caitlin’s hands were clammy with sweat. Her heart felt like it was made of ice. She followed the signal, but there was no sign of her daughter .
“Patricia! Patricia! Where are you?!”
She called out, struggling to keep it together.
Sebastian suddenly spotted something in the bushes a small object with a panda cartoon on it.
“Caitlin! Look at this!”
“ That’s Patricia’s!”
“It was tossed in the bushes!”
Sebastian’s expression darkened. He already knew what this meant.
“Someone clearly used the chaos as cover to take Patricia. They ditched her tracker here to throw us off. I’d bet anything she’s already been taken out of the park.”
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Xavi – clearly not reading the room –blurted out , “ Could it be traffickers ? ”
Sebastian shot him a look that could freeze fire. Xavi instinctively shrank back. Had he said something wrong again ?
Right now, the last thing anyone wanted to hear was that. No one wanted to even consider their child might have been abducted.
“ No … no , no! What do we do? What if we can’t find her?!”
Caitlin was breaking down, her chest tight with fear, her eyes burning.
“We’ll find her! We will! Don’t panic–we’ll get her back!”
Sebastian gripped her arm, trying to calm her.
Just then, James and Quincy came running back.
“We found Patricia on the footage!”
Everyone’s spirits lifted at once. But Quincy’s next words hit like
a
bucket of ice water.
“She was taken by an older woman–looked like she was in her sixties or seventies. Judging from the footage, this wasn’t a mistake. It looks like a deliberate abduction.”
Sebastian and Caitlin stared at the video footage. On the screen, a white–haired old woman was seen sneaking Patricia away while everyone was
distracted.
Another camera angle showed her removing the tracker from Patricia’s wrist, tossing it into the bushes, and exiting through a different gate – vanishing completely from view.
There was no doubt now: Patricia had been abducted.
Caitlin’s heart sank. Her daughter was so trusting, so innocent–it wouldn’t be hard to lure her away. The thought made her blood run cold.
Sebastian immediately sprang into action.
“Get the kids home first. Everyone else–move out!”
“Yes, sir!”
Sebastian led the team toward the gate where the woman had exited.
If this really was a trafficking case, the woman would be trying to move Patricia fast. They needed to check every major road , surveillance feed, and suspicious vehicle immediately.
Finding the child was now the highest priority. Police forces mobilized across the city.
At headquarters, Felix had just received word of the incident and The Vanderbilt Family’s missing daughter. He took a team of officers out personally and ordered traffic surveillance rooms to begin combing through footage.
The massive indoor amusement park incident was already making headlines, drawing widespread attention.
When news reached The Vanderbilt Family that Patricia had been taken, the entire household was on the verge of collapse.
Patricia was the family’s little princess, adored by everyone. After so much effort to reunite with her, this was the last thing anyone expected.
Beatrice was nearly shouting. “Eliza, Raymond! Go! Go find her now! You must bring Patricia back to me!”
“Don’t worry , Mom. We’re on it!”
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Raymond and Eliza rushed out the door, Meanwhile, Simon got wind of the news and immediately contacted Molly . The moment she bora za missing, she headed straight to the scene.
The Vanderbilt family launched a full–scale search.
At a hospital room …
Ximena was peeling an apple for her son when Zora walked in.
Though Zeke had never acknowledged her as his sister, it didn’t change the fact that she was.
Zeke’s face darkened when he saw her.
“I heard you went to the land auction today?”
Though he hadn’t been discharged, his sources kept him well–informed.
“Didn’t I tell you not to mess with Caitlin?”
“You picked a fight with Caitlin again?” Ximena frowned at Zora.
“Mom! I just went to the auction. It had nothing to do with her.”
Zora, in a good mood, changed the subject with a smirk.
“Oh, right. You guys probably haven’t seen the news yet? There was an accident at the New York amusement park. A lot of kids were hurt. I heard Caitlin’s kids were caught up in it–and one of them is still missing.”
“What?!”
Zeke’s heart tightened instantly. He threw off the covers and sat up in one swift motion.
“Zeke! What are you doing? You’re still injured-” Ximena tried to stop him.
“Don’t stop me!”
Ignoring his pain, Zeke grabbed his phone and stormed out of the room.
“He’s insane! Absolutely insane! It’s not even his kid–why’s he freaking out?” Zora sneered.
“Shut up!”
Ximena snapped and ran after him.
The police continued reviewing traffic feeds , but based on the direction the suspect left the park , they hadn’t yet found any trace of the woman.
Officers were dispatched to the surrounding streets to find witnesses, but leads dried up quickly. The woman and child seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Caitlin played the surveillance video over and over again , until suddenly, her expression changed.
She gasped.
“Wait–something’s wrong with this video!”
“What is it?” Zinnia leaned in.