“Babe, I will find her. I’ll do everything to find Gabriella,” Arlo said, his voice breaking as he cried.
“She might be crying and scared. I’ll die if something bad happens to my child. Why didn’t they take me instead? Why did it have to be my innocent child?” I said, feeling my strength slipping away, but I pushed myself to stay upright.
“I promise I’ll find our daughter,” Arlo said, hugging me tightly and kissing the top of my head.
“Sir, we found a little girl’s sandal,” a police officer reported, showing it to us.
When I saw the sandal, I couldn’t speak or move. My body felt frozen.
“That’s my child’s sandal,” I said, my voice trembling. I took the sandal from the police officer’s hand.
“Where did you find it?” Arlo asked.
“There’s a hidden passage in the kitchen. I think that’s where they took the child out,” Leo answered.
My vision started spinning, and everything around me darkened. I couldn’t fully grasp what they were discussing before I lost consciousness.
**ARLO POV**
When I saw Lily faint, I quickly carried her. I instructed my staff to move the car where Grayson was seated. I didn’t want my son to witness what had happened to his mother, and I also asked them to prepare another car.
“Babe, wake up,” I said, gently stroking Lily’s face.
I ordered Gilbert to drive faster. When we arrived at the hospital, I carried my wife inside.
Two nurses and a doctor met us at the entrance, leading us to a room. I carried her all the way to the bed.
“Please wait outside, Mr. Bonde,” the doctor said to me.
As I stepped out, I was met by my mother, my friends’ wives, and others who had gathered. I couldn’t hold back my frustration and screamed loudly, not caring about the people around me.
“Why is my life like this? Why is it that whenever everything seems fine, something terrible always happens?”
I couldn’t hold it in anymore and punched the wall. I was overwhelmed, my blood boiling with rage, thinking about whoever was responsible for kidnapping my child. Whoever did this would pay dearly—I would kill them if they so much as touched a single strand of my daughter’s hair.
“Dude, you need to calm down. We need to think of a way to find out who’s behind your daughter’s kidnapping,” Charles said to me.
“How can I calm down, Charles? My wife is in there, and my child is missing. Tell me—how can I calm myself in this situation?!” I shouted, massaging my temples in frustration.
“Mr. Bonde,” the doctor called out, and we all turned toward them.
“Doctor, how’s my wife?” I asked. The doctor smiled at me.
“She’s fine and awake now. Her body was exhausted, and she’s experiencing anxiety. She just needs proper rest and should avoid thinking about negative things. You may go in and talk to her calmly,” the doctor explained.
“Thank you, Doctor,” I said, smiling back before the doctor excused themselves.
When I opened the door, I saw Lily crying. Tears streamed down my face as I saw her in that state. I sat beside her and held her hand, but she didn’t say a word. I wiped the tears that fell from her cheeks.
“Babe,” I called out softly and kissed her hand.
“Find my child, Arlo. I’m begging you, bring my child back to me,” Lily said in a hoarse voice from all her crying.
“I won’t stop until I find our daughter and bring Gabriella back to you. Babe, we need to stay strong and keep our spirits up,” I said gently.
“I wish we had just stayed at the mansion. I shouldn’t have brought them here. None of this would’ve happened to us if I had just protected Gabriella better. This is all my fault. I need to find my child. Nothing will happen if I just lie here,” Lily said, standing up. I couldn’t stop her as she was breaking down.
Mom entered after hearing the commotion. When she saw Lily in distress, she called for help. Shortly after, a doctor arrived with a sedative to calm Lily down. Slowly, she fell asleep.
“Mr. Anthony called me. They have footage of the vehicle that kidnapped the child. The two magicians are not involved. It’s better if we go and see it because there’s something more important you need to know,” Gilbert said.
I glanced at Lily. Even in her sleep, tears continued to flow from her closed eyes.
“Son, I’ll take care of Lily. Go now; your child needs you,” Mom said to me.
“She’s right, Arlo. We’ll stay here and look after Lily. Emma is with Lily’s mother to help take care of your wife,” Crystal added, standing beside Jasmine.
Moments later, we went to where dad and uncle David were waiting. When we arrived, Lily’s father met me, and I assured him that I would handle everything so he could go to the hospital and be with Lily.
We reviewed the CCTV footage. The black van had no visible license plate. The first thought that came to my mind was that Valerie was behind this. Both my private investigator and Lily’s had already linked her to the incident.
