Chapter 23 The Traitor

Suddenly looking back, where the lanterns are dim.
--------------------
That damned old man.
Lu Huaining could not help cursing silently in his heart.

Facing the awkwardness before her, Xue Zuining half-crouched down and gently gathered her daughter into her arms, lovingly parting her bangs. "Pong Pong, every little child has a daddy. Haven't you asked mommy why other little children hold their mother's hand with their right hand and their daddy's hand with their left hand? Because that's something every child has."

The little girl blinked her fan-like eyes, her watery gaze so sweet it could melt anyone's heart. Supporting her little chin, she asked in wonder, "So Pong Pong not only has Grandpa and Mommy, but a Daddy too?"

"Yes, are you happy, Pong Pong?" Xue Zuining stroked the bridge of her daughter's nose with doting affection.

Yet just as the little girl let out a carefree, silvery laugh, and just as Lu Huaining moved to gather the warm, tender figures of mother and child into his embrace, the little one abruptly shrank back behind Xue Zuining, her big eyes still filled with absolute wariness.

Xue Zuining instinctively sheltered her daughter behind her, but seeing the flash of pain in Lu Huaining's eyes, she raised her gaze and comforted him, "Give her some time to adapt."

After a simple and nutritious breakfast, Xue Zuining was in the kitchen washing the dishes while the little girl was having a wonderful time playing with a pile of toys on the living room rug. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, and the warm breath against her neck made her smile instantly.

"Why aren't you keeping your little darling company? Or did you get snubbed by the little princess again?" Xue Zuining looked at the man, who rarely shook his head in helpless frustration over the beloved daughter he had yearned for so long. She knew he must have been frustrated by the little girl again and had come to her for comfort.

Lu Huaining felt like a deflated balloon; the little girl was like a tiny hedgehog with all its quills raised, pricking him until he felt completely drained. Although he knew these things required time to smooth out, a lingering ache remained deep in his heart. Holding the small woman in his arms, he asked with a trace of gloom, "Cat, was the little one this distant when you first met her? You have no idea, she treasures a stuffed toy far more than she values me."

"Children are all afraid of strangers; it's only natural." Xue Zuining recalled that her own first real encounter with the little girl had been at her first birthday party. That day, even her desire to hold the little one and blow out the candles together had been met with the child's instinctive resistance. Looking at the current situation between father and daughter, she patted the back of his hand reassuringly with soapy, foam-covered fingers. "Smile at her more, cater to her preferences, and naturally she'll grow close to you."

"Mm." The man buried his face in the crook of her neck, responding in a muffled voice.

"Be a good boy and go keep our daughter company." Xue Zuining kissed his cheek and gently pushed him out of the kitchen.

When she finished cleaning up and stepped out of the kitchen, she heard the bubbly laughter of the little girl echoing through the air. Sure enough, glancing into the living room, she saw the two figures—one large, one small—tumbled together on the rug.

It was a mischievous and peculiar sight, yet inexplicably harmonious. Perhaps, this was happiness.

A week later, Xue Zuining was taking the little girl through the children's clothing section of a shopping mall to pick out summer clothes when the phone in her bag suddenly rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she was surprised to see it was Si Yang.

She took the little girl by the hand to the resting area and handed her an ice cream cone. There was a children's play area set up nearby, and watching her daughter cheer and leap toward the trampoline with her treat, she answered the call with peace of mind.

"Hello, this is Xue Zuining..."

"Don't speak yet." She was abruptly interrupted by the other end of the line, and she heard the man asking with a hint of anxiety, "Where are you right now?"

"I'm at the mall, what's wrong?"

"Stay right where you are and don't move. I'm coming to pick you up right now."

Without waiting for her reply, the phone was hung up. Xue Zuining turned with a slight frown, but when her gaze swept across the trampoline area, her daughter was nowhere to be seen.

"Pong Pong..." Her bag slipped from her hand. Xue Zuining ran in anxious footsteps around the trampoline, searching every corner with careful eyes until she had scoured the entire play facility without finding a trace of her daughter.

She forced herself to stay calm, refusing to believe that her daughter could vanish in less than a minute after leaving her sight. Connecting this with the recent phone call, an ominous premonition slowly rose from the depths of her heart. When she tried to call Si Yang back, she was informed that the number was out of the service area.

Xue Zuining rushed frantically toward the exit of the mall, stumbling and nearly tripping over her own feet. The moment she heard the call connect, tears welling up, she was on the verge of sobbing, "Huaining, our daughter... our daughter is gone. I can't find her, I can't find her..."

Lu Huaining, who had been presiding over a meeting, stood up abruptly at the sound of her choked voice, rushing out of the conference room without a word of explanation and leaving a room of senior executives staring at one another in bewilderment.

When he arrived by car, he found her sitting dazed and desolate on the wide stone steps, clutching her phone. Passersby cast curious glances from time to time, yet none could recall the focus to her eyes.

Xue Zuining blankly raised her gaze along the man's leather shoes. Only when she saw his face did awareness slowly return to her eyes. She practically threw herself into his embrace, though she dared not hold him too tightly, her tears bursting through the floodgates at last. "They took Pong Pong away, it was them..."

It felt as though thousands of tiny insects were gnawing at his heart, yet Lu Huaining knew he must not collapse at this moment. He was her pillar of support; if he lost control too, what would become of her in her helplessness?

Lu Huaining wiped his face, forcing himself to calm down. On his way over, he had already contacted his connections in this sphere; as long as the members of the von Herrmann family had not yet left Chinese territory, he still had a fifty percent chance of success.

"Hush, don't cry yet. Tell me, what is this all about? How could our daughter suddenly disappear?"

"That call wasn't from Si Yang, it was them... they deliberately distracted me. It's my fault, I was careless, it was me... I lost our daughter. Lu Huaining, hit me, go ahead..."

Xue Zuining grasped his fist and struck her own body with it. Heartbroken and helpless, Lu Huaining could only grip her self-harming hands, pulling her tightly and inextricably into his embrace as he endured the pain in his heart and comforted her over and over, "It's going to be alright, she will be fine..."

Yet every word of comfort floated emptily and powerlessly in the air, ultimately dissolving into nothingness.

Su Yi rushed with his men at top speed to the mall's security monitoring room, only to find that the security guards on duty had been collectively drugged and rendered unconscious, while all surveillance feeds of the children's area were completely disabled. He frowned involuntarily; the von Herrmann family operated with such meticulous precision that it must have been long-planned. Indeed, they had underestimated that old man, thus giving the enemy an opportunity to exploit.

In Italy, white-haired Dieter von Herrmann looked upon the dejected and sorrowful faces displayed on the communication screen. The coldness in the corners of his eyes melted into a slow smile curving at his lips, and with well-groomed hands, he dialed a number.

Sure enough, when the call connected, he smiled with satisfaction. "Do you remember me? Traitor."

Hearing that voice which seemed to rise from the depths of hell, Xue Zuining felt the blood in her veins freeze instantly from the soles of her feet. "Mr. Herrmann, I beg you, please don't harm my daughter. She is still so young, I'm begging you..."

"Shh..." A drawn-out sound emerged from the phone. "How could I harm her? After all, having raised her for so many years, even a kitten or a puppy evokes affection. Do you know how much your precious daughter trusts me? I merely had someone tell her that Grandpa missed her, and she followed my people without a shred of wariness. If only you could be so obedient, we wouldn't have this current trouble. I'm merely angry with you; I gave you a new life, and yet you choose to repay me in this manner. Do you know that someone who breaks a covenant has no right to negotiate terms with me? Tell me, how should I punish you?"

"I..."

"Don't rush, your punishment has only just begun. From this moment on, enjoy the rest of your life, my little slave."

Psychologists have said that death is not terrifying; what is terrifying is sitting and waiting for death.

The massive, ink-black wings of night blanketed the pale moonlight, and heavy clouds loomed ominously.

At the Sun Villa, the absence of the little girl left the home empty and desolate.

Yet, Xue Zuining had not been inside the bathroom for even three minutes before a terrified, piercing scream rang out.

The shrill cry shattered the tranquility of the villa, tightening everyone's heart in an instant.

Su Yi, who had accompanied them, was startled. He sprang from the sofa and ran all the way toward the bathroom.

Inside the oversized bathtub of the downstairs bathroom, a horrifying sight met their eyes, one utterly shocking to the core.

Swimming in the water that filled most of the bathtub were six or seven brightly colored snakes. Though no one knew their exact names, their vibrant hues resembled alluring venomous snakes from a movie, frogging cheerfully in the warm water to celebrate the enemy's opening victory.

Such a bizarre scene made every hair on everyone's body stand on end in an instant, accompanied by the chilling sensation of an invisible hand tightening around their necks.

Left reeling from the shock, they were rendered speechless.

"What is going on?" Lu Huaining, drawn downstairs by the sound, glanced briefly at the bathtub before gathering Xue Zuining, who had collapsed with weak legs to the floor, into his arms for comfort.

"When I was filling the warm water... everything was fine. I didn't see any snakes at all... I just went to grab a towel, and when I turned back, I saw these..." Xue Zuining felt chilled to the bone, her feet entirely numb, leaving her standing rigidly in a mechanical posture.

"Huaining, you take her out first. I'll handle this," Su Yi, with his military background, said with exceptional calm. His gaze then turned icy. "Call a few men and search the villa thoroughly from top to bottom."

After a meticulous, carpet-style search inside and out, the villa finally regained its quietude.

Now that the enemy was observing them from the shadows, the first rule was not to panic.

Dinner was prepared as lavishly as ever, as though everyone was using a facade of calm to mask the impending tempest.

Yet, deep in everyone's hearts, one truth was crystal clear: Old Herrmann had made his move.

The punishment awaiting them had arrived.