The butler and servants hurried into the living room, their faces anxious. "Master, the young lady drove away."
Madam Wan's face instantly darkened, her voice sharp with frustration. "What? You didn't catch her?"
Her voice echoed sharply in the spacious yet oppressive room, filled with unwillingness and anger.
Then she turned to Mr. Shen, her eyes full of worry and urgency.
"Master, what should we do now? If Katherine doesn't marry, we won't get that money. Then the company won't be able to keep running."
She spoke quickly, as if trying to dump all the heavy pressure onto Mr. Shen.
Mr. Shen's face was also unpleasant. His chest rose and fell slightly with anger over Katherine's leaving.
He frowned deeply, his eyes showing tiredness and irritation. "Stop talking. Let me think carefully."
Suddenly, a light flashed in Madam Wan's eyes. She said, "Master, I heard she bought a house near the hospital. We can go find her at her place."
After saying this, she looked at Vivi with a hopeful gaze. "Vivi, do you know where your sister lives?"
Vivi shook her head. "Mom, I don't know. She never let me go there."
Mr. Shen waved his hand in annoyance. "Hold off on this. If we push her too hard, who knows what she might do. Wait a while."
Madam Wan's eyes showed a cold flash. It was a feeling of suppressed dissatisfaction and resentment.
She thought to herself that Mr. Shen still could not be heartless toward Katherine.
For now, she had to swallow her unhappiness and obey him. "Master knows. We'll listen to you."
After this commotion, Mr. Shen was very tired. He slowly stood up. "You keep talking. I'll go upstairs to rest."
When Mr. Shen disappeared around the stairs, Madam Wan suddenly grabbed Vivi, her eyes fierce and determined.
"Vivi, listen to Mom. Find someone to investigate that little bitch's address. When you find it, give it to that man. Let him bring people to her. Once it's done, Katherine won't be able to run away."
A knowing smile appeared on Vivi's face. She nodded lightly. "Okay, Mom. I'll have someone look into it soon."
That smile looked especially sharp in the dim living room.
Katherine drove back home and locked the door behind her.
Leaning against the door, her body slowly slid down as she gasped for breath, but her heart felt like it had fallen into an icy pit.
She could not believe her own father would send people to kidnap her.
All the past disappointments with that family flooded her like a tide, but deep inside, the small hope for family was cruelly torn apart.
The pain was clear and sharp, like a knife cutting.
Jing City, this busy but cold city, suddenly became her place of sorrow.
There was no place left for her here.
Katherine dragged her heavy steps upstairs to the study. Each step felt like stepping on broken pieces of memories, painful to the core.
She turned on the computer, the screen's light shining on her pale but determined face.
Quickly, she contacted a real estate agency and firmly put the house up for sale.
She knew Madam Wan would never let her go easily. That woman's obsession and cruelty were like a hidden poisonous snake, ready to strike deadly at any moment.
To be safe, she specifically stated the house would only be sold to male buyers, trying to build a fragile defense for herself in the limited time.
Even though the property price had gone up, she lowered it on purpose, just hoping to sell it quickly and escape from this corner that was about to be swallowed by darkness.
After handling the property matters, Katherine began packing her belongings.
Her hands gently brushed over each item, her thoughts drifting away.
For the things she couldn't take, if Nurse Sana needed them, she would give them to her—the one person who had given warmth in her life.
After packing everything, she went into the bathroom. Hot water poured down, trying to wash away her physical and emotional exhaustion, but the deep sadness in her bones was not something so easy to erase.
She lay on the bed, eyes blankly staring at the ceiling. Exhausted in body and mind, she soon fell into a deep sleep overwhelmed by fatigue.
The next morning, sunlight poured through the curtains and touched her face. Katherine slowly woke up.
She reached for her phone nearby. The screen lit up, showing several unread messages.
When she saw Joshua's name, her eyes instantly focused. A small flame of hope quietly lit in her heart.
She hurriedly opened WeChat. Joshua's invitation was like a beam of light breaking through the gloom in her heart: Meet at the café at nine. The surveillance footage has been copied.
Katherine glanced at the time. It was only twenty minutes to nine.
She jumped out of bed like a spring, quickly washed up, dressed as fast as she could, and rushed out the door.
When Katherine arrived at the café, she saw Joshua from afar.
She quickly sat down across from him. "Sorry, I'm late."
Joshua smiled. "Not late. Dr. Katherine, I just got here too."
Then Joshua took out a USB drive and put it on the table. "Dr. Katherine, all the footage you wanted is here. I checked the time you mentioned. Someone tampered with it."
"But I had learned how to restore surveillance footage before, so this has been completely fixed."
Katherine's eyes filled with gratitude hearing this. "Joshua, thank you. This footage means a lot to me."
"I don't even know how to thank you. You haven't had breakfast, right? I'll treat you."
Joshua waved his hand. "Dr. Katherine, it's nothing. I have something to do later, so I might have to leave first."
Hearing that, Katherine stood and saw him out. "Joshua, when you have time, I'll treat you to a meal. Thank you so much this time."
After Joshua left, Katherine took the USB drive and went back to her car. She opened the laptop on the passenger seat, then plugged in the USB drive.