“Daisy, mommy’s going to the restroom. You stay right here and wait for me, okay?” I looked at the young Janine Brooks, barely in her twenties, and felt a moment of confusion. Seeing me remain silent, she let out an awkward laugh. “My little Daisy isn’t much of a talker,” she explained to the people around us before disappearing into the crowd. It all came rushing back to me. She didn’t dare sell me outright, so she found an excuse to leave me here. In reality, she was calling the traffickers. In my previous life, I didn’t know this. I believed she had really gone to the restroom and waited obediently like a fool. Soon after, a woman dressed similarly to her came and took me away. I was terrified and cried desperately, but the woman insisted that I was just throwing a tantrum after waiting too long. No one around us thought anything was strange. That’s how I ended up shoved into a car, taken to the traffickers’ hideout. They blinded me and threw me onto the streets to beg. At the time, I truly believed it was just bad luck. I kept hoping she would come back to save me. I waited for five years. During the freezing winter, I knelt in the snow with thin clothes, my hands and feet blistered from the cold. The summer was worse. Sweat would trickle into my open wounds, the sharp sting making me cry out in pain. That’s when I realized that crying could make people feel sorry for me. A little blind girl, as skinny as a stick, crying nonstop — it tugged at people’s hearts. I became good at it, and the money I begged for gradually increased. Slowly, I was able to eat, and the beatings went from daily to every three days. But the darkness around me wasn’t just physical. It consumed my entire life. I had nothing left to hope for. My entire being became numb, like the walking dead. I got very sick, a sickness that went deep into my bones. When the traffickers were about to sell me to a gang in rural Mexico, a group of police officers stormed in. That’s when I found out that the little boy who had been following me around, limping, was Ryan Pierce, the youngest son of the Pierce family. For five years, Michael and Linda Pierce never gave up looking for him, and they took down a number of human trafficking rings in the process. This time, they finally found Ryan — and they saved me too. Ryan told them that without me, he wouldn’t have survived. To thank me, Michael Pierce gave me the name Ellie Pierce and adopted me. Ellie, like the first light of dawn. Linda Pierce felt sorry for me and hired the world’s best doctors to perform surgery, restoring my sight. But Ryan’s leg could never be fixed. I snapped back to reality and glanced at the clock hanging in the mall, breaking out in a cold sweat. Five minutes had passed. The traffickers Janine Brooks contacted would be here any moment! I turned and ran. This time, I would never fall into their hands again! “Hey? Where are you going? Didn’t your mom tell you to wait for her?” People around me tried to stop me. But I knew if I didn’t run, I’d be doomed to the same tragic fate as before. I had forgotten, though — I was only four years old! My legs were short, and my stamina was weak. A man easily grabbed me. “Daisy, where do you think you’re going?” My scalp tingled with fear. That voice — it was the same man who had blinded me! I wanted to scream for help, but my throat felt like it was blocked. Years of terror made me instinctively start trembling. Tears rolled down my cheeks in big, silent drops. The man smiled and pulled me into his arms. “Daddy’s here, Daisy. Be good, don’t cry.” He sounded like a kind, loving father. No one around us doubted his words. Because I had run, the woman from my previous life didn’t show up. Instead, they sent a man, stronger and more determined. They were sure they would get me this time. Was I really out of options? Would I have to live through that nightmare again? Despair engulfed me, making me cry even harder. Suddenly, I spotted the newly opened KFC in the mall. I forced myself to stop crying and yelled out, “Daddy! I want French fries!” The man hesitated for a moment, clearly not expecting me to call him ‘daddy.’ His brow furrowed, and he started walking faster. When he ignored me, I screamed even louder. “I want French fries! Bad daddy! You bought some for my brother, but not for me!” “I have my own money! Let me go, I’ll buy them myself!” I started thrashing, reaching out to pull a nearby woman’s hair. “Auntie! Buy me some fries! I’ve got money! My dad is being unfair!” The woman yelped in pain. “Let go of me!” She glared at the man. “What kind of father are you? It’s just fries. How could you deny your own daughter something so small?” She tried to pry my hands out of her hair. The man got angry. “Mind your own business!” He yanked me up, squeezing my waist hard. His other hand reached for my flailing arm. I screamed, let go of the woman, and clung to the man’s head, blocking his face with my body as I thrashed around. “If you don’t give me fries, we’ll die together!” The fries were just an excuse. What I really wanted was to end it all with him. I’d rather die than live through that endless darkness again! Fueled by sheer willpower, I found strength beyond my small body. I yanked his hair, pinched his ears, and covered his nose. “Why can my brother have KFC, but not me? I haven’t eaten in two days!” The man stumbled, struggling to keep his balance. “You little brat, let go of me!” I cried even harder, grabbing his head with both hands. “Daddy doesn’t love me!” A crowd had gathered, all pointing at the man. “How can people still act like this in this day and age?” “This isn’t just favoring boys over girls, this is abuse!” The man was enraged and in pain. As he finally began to fall, he reached out to grab me. “You little—” I screamed and thrashed, “Daddy, don’t kill me!” I kicked him hard in the eyes. “My eyes!” he yelled. I almost laughed. How much damage could a four-year-old really do? Unfortunately, I couldn’t blind him for real. But I kept up my terrified act, scrambling away. Finally, some bystanders intervened, holding back the furious man. “It’s just a kid, and all she did was kick you! No need to go overboard!” “Yeah, don’t take your anger out on a child. Your eyes aren’t even injured.” “Relax, this mall is super safe. No one’s getting kidnapped here.” I zigzagged through the crowd and hid in a small storage room. The painful memories of my previous life flooded back. No. I wouldn’t go through that again. I still had to save Ryan, and my adoptive parents. Back then, when I was thrown into that van, there were already several other children inside. One of them was Ryan, and his legs were still intact. By the time we were brought back to the hideout that night, there were over ten of us, and none left unharmed.
At the time, I fought desperately, but it was useless. A sharp pain hit me, and my eyes closed. I passed out. When I woke up, a small child was leaning against my back. When I moved, he woke up and started crying softly. I was used to soothing my baby brother, so I instinctively patted his back and asked, “Baby, are you hungry?” The baby was Lucas Brooks, my little brother. He was the family’s treasure, while I was the extra baggage. Whenever he cried, I got scared. If I didn’t calm him down quickly, I would get beaten for no reason. But this child was easier to soothe than my brother. He immediately stopped crying and touched my eyelids. “Does it hurt?” Did it hurt? No one had ever asked me that before. Tears started pouring down my face. “Yes.” I hadn’t realized it before, but being cared for made me feel weak. I didn’t even know you could cry without having eyes. Panicking, the boy wiped away my tears with his small hands. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Your wounds will get infected.” “Don’t worry, I can still see.” “Are you hungry?” He spoke softly, and then he put something in my mouth. It was sweet and delicious, something I had never tasted before. “What is this?” I asked. “Chocolate. I have lots at home. When we get out of here, I’ll give it all to you.” I smiled through my sniffles. “You should keep it.” I had a feeling we might never make it out, and worse, we might not survive at all. That night, two children didn’t make it. I overheard them talking about selling our organs. Hearts, lungs… everything had a price. I trembled in fear. People were just like pigs to them, sold off in pieces. “Check if there are any more who won’t make it. We’ll send them all off together.” Someone began checking each of us. The boy next to me was burning up. I knew he had a fever. I kept putting my hands on the cold floor and then pressing them to his forehead. Soon, the men reached us. “This girl is well-behaved and pretty. She could be useful in a few years.” “Heh, even the little ones now?” They grabbed my chin, discussing me with disgusting smiles. When they’d had enough of their jokes, they pushed me aside. I held onto his hand tightly. I was afraid that if I let go, I wouldn’t be able to find him again. Sure enough, one of the men said, “This boy’s got a fever.” “Of course he does, you broke his leg!” “It’s not too bad. Let’s keep him a couple more days.” Their voices faded as they walked away. I breathed a sigh of relief and loosened the boy’s shirt. “Are you okay? Loosen your clothes a bit, and the fever will go down.” He seemed to still be conscious, turning over to cooperate. “You know how to cool someone down?” he asked weakly. “I’ve done it for my brother.” I looked after him for three days. We were ‘lucky’ enough to survive. We watched out for each other and made it through five years. I searched my memory. We had been taken away in a white van. If I could find that van, I could save Ryan! But with my small body, I’d be caught the moment they saw me. Not to mention Janine Brooks was still out there. If I escaped, would the traffickers send her to get me? She was my legal guardian. No one would question her if she took me. But what if I wasn’t me anymore? An idea flashed through my mind, and I started searching the storage room. I found a pair of clippers. I shaved off all my hair and turned my clothes inside out. I looked like a scrappy little boy now. I stuffed a sharp tool into my pocket and quietly slipped out, heading for the mall’s back entrance. The traffickers wouldn’t park at the main entrance. If I was lucky, I’d find the van soon, memorize the license plate, and call the police. Not just Ryan — all the kids could be saved! But luck wasn’t on my side. I’d barely taken a few steps when Janine Brooks spotted me. She grabbed me by the collar and yanked me up. “You little brat, think you can run away?” In the air, I grabbed onto the leg of the woman I’d pulled hair from earlier. “Help me! I don’t know her!” I looked up and realized it was the same woman. She blinked at me in surprise. Then she pulled me into her arms. “You’re not her mother! She came here with her dad!” I clung to her like she was my lifeline. “Sister, help me! My mom is the wife of Michael Pierce! Can I borrow your phone?” “She’s a trafficker! She wants to sell me!” Janine Brooks’ face turned pale. “What nonsense are you spouting? I’m your mother!” I quickly spoke up. “Sister, she shaved my head to make me look like a boy! Help me, my mom is rich. She’ll thank you!” The woman took pity on me. “I’ll call your mom right away.” She believed me and pulled out her phone. “Do you know her number?” I nodded vigorously. In my past life, after Ryan disappeared, my parents never changed their numbers, hoping for any call with news. Janine Brooks stared at me in disbelief and called my name again, “Daisy?” I ignored her and clung to my savior, crying. “Sister, the traffickers parked a white van by the back door! There are lots of kids inside. Please help them!” I was so specific that everyone thought I’d just escaped from there. In a flash, they all rushed to the back door, and sure enough, there was a white van. Even the security guards gathered, and after hearing what was going on, they pried the van open. But it was empty. Everyone looked at each other in confusion, and I froze. Did they leave early because I escaped? Panic washed over me, my palms clammy with cold sweat. Janine Brooks, who had been terrified just moments ago, regained her composure. She rushed forward, trying to grab me again. “I told you she was making it all up! You’ve all been tricked by a little kid! There were never any traffickers!”
The woman holding me took a few steps back, avoiding any confrontation. “Don’t lay a hand on me. Even if the van is empty, this still isn’t your kid!” Having seen me with my ‘dad’ and hearing my phone call, she had no doubts about the identity I had created. I clung to her, full of gratitude. “Thank you so much! My mom is on her way!” Involving Ryan meant I knew Linda Pierce was already en route. Janine Brooks rolled her eyes at me. “You little brat, I just went to the restroom, and now you’re running around calling random people ‘Mom’? You’ve really lost it!” She flashed a photo from her phone. It was one she had accidentally taken of me while trying to capture a picture of her precious son. “Look at this! I took this at home!” she said, showing the picture. In the photo, four-year-old me was kneeling on the floor, scrubbing it clean, while a little boy lounged on the couch, stuffing strawberries into his mouth with one hand and tossing the strawberry tops at me with the other. A few people around us couldn’t help but look uncomfortable at the sight. “Even if she’s your kid, isn’t it a bit much to have someone this young doing that kind of work?” “Yeah, that looks like child abuse.” Someone pieced things together from the earlier incident with the man. “So you are her mom, and you’re just like her dad!” Janine didn’t bother defending herself anymore. She lunged toward me, trying to grab me back. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re trying to steal my kid?” Seeing the woman holding me hesitate, I decided to shout, “You took money from the traffickers! You want to sell me! This is child trafficking, and you’re going to jail for it!” “Shut your mouth!” Janine’s face turned red as her scheme was exposed. “You tricked me into going to the restroom, but you were actually calling the traffickers! Deleting the call logs won’t help — the cops will find out!” As everyone gasped, I threw in another bombshell. This was something Janine had once boasted about to me in my past life, just before drugging me. By then, the Pierce Corporation had been divided, and everything had fallen under the control of Michael Pierce’s brother. Janine had revealed all her deceit to me while I was slipping into unconsciousness. It was then I realized how foolish I’d been to wait five whole years, expecting the person who had orchestrated it all to come and save me. But now, before Linda arrived, news came that the entire mall had been locked down. Not just this one — the entire shopping district was sealed off temporarily. I couldn’t help but feel a rush of warmth in my chest. The Pierce family had already made their move! With no one able to leave, the crowd settled in to watch the drama unfold. It didn’t take long for the security guards to detain Janine. “Until Mrs. Pierce arrives, you’re not going anywhere,” one of them said. Janine didn’t believe I actually knew anyone important, but there was a flicker of doubt in her eyes. “Why are you restricting my freedom?” Suddenly, the sound of screeching tires pierced through the noise. A deep purple Rolls-Royce Cullinan roared into view, stopping with a dramatic spin right in front of everyone. The door flew open, and Linda Pierce jumped out of the driver’s seat. “Who made the call?” she demanded. She was as bold as ever, but her flawless makeup had started to smudge, revealing a hint of exhaustion beneath her strong demeanor. In my previous life, she hadn’t crumbled when Ryan went missing. Instead, she encouraged her husband to continue the search, and together, they combed the entire country. It was her perseverance that eventually saved us. Could someone like her really have suffered from depression and taken her own life? Doubts began creeping into my mind, but I shoved them aside for now. I scrambled over to her. “Mom! I know where Ryan is! He was taken in a white van, and if we don’t hurry, they’ll break his leg!” A flash of panic crossed Linda’s face, and she quickly pulled out her phone. “Contact Chief Thompson immediately! Block every white van that left Midtown Shopping Center in the past hour.” After giving the orders, she turned to the crowd. “Thank you all for helping us find a lead. Each of you will receive a $10,000 reward. Please wait a moment while I speak with…” She looked at me. I straightened up and replied, “My name is Ellie!” I much preferred Ellie over the name Daisy. She nodded, picking me up and placing me in the car. “I need to have a word with Ellie.” The promise of money sent the crowd into a cheer, and some even nudged Janine toward the security guards. I quickly added, “Mom, she’s working with the traffickers! She just called them!” Linda didn’t even have to respond. The security guards jumped in eagerly, taking Janine into custody. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Pierce. We’ve got her.” Linda nodded, then closed the car door and turned to me, her face full of concern. “You’ve seen Ryan? He gave you my number? Did you escape from the van? Why didn’t he come with you?” The questions came fast and hard. But seeing my mom alive and well for the first time again made me choke up. I threw myself into her arms, tears flowing uncontrollably. After a long moment, I finally managed to speak through my sobs. “Mom… I missed you so much!” Linda froze for a moment as she held me. “What did you just call me?” she asked, her voice soft but surprised. “N-Nothing.” I quickly pulled away from her embrace, stumbling over my words. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Pierce. I just really like you.” Linda chuckled softly. “Well, even though it’s our first time meeting, I like you too.” She handed me a bottle of water and said kindly, “Take a drink. When you’re feeling better, tell me everything that happened, okay?” “Okay!” Her warmth soothed my nerves, and I slowly recounted how Janine had tricked me and how I had escaped from the man. I also told her about Ryan, pretending that I had overheard everything while being held by the man. “How did you know my phone number?” she asked. I smiled. “I saw it on TV.” As the vice president of Pierce Corporation, she naturally had a public contact number. Linda pulled me into another hug. “Ellie, you’re amazing!” Her praise was genuine. After all, who would expect a four-year-old to remember a phone number from a brief TV appearance? Once she had reassured me, Linda made a few more phone calls. It didn’t take long before the police arrived and joined the security guards in the mall’s surveillance room. Within minutes, Janine Brooks was handcuffed. She hurled insults at me as they dragged her away. “You ungrateful brat! I raised you, and this is how you repay me?” “You should’ve gone with them willingly — at least you’d be of some use!” “She’s my daughter! If I want to sell her, I can! What right do you have to arrest me?” Every word stabbed deep, revealing her cruelty and stupidity. And every word was evidence. Linda covered my ears. “Don’t worry, Ellie. Your mom’s here now.” I hugged her back, my heart aching and filled with gratitude. Mom, this time, I won’t let you suffer from depression! As much as Janine hated it, the police took her away. The crowd cheered and looked at me with sympathetic eyes. Linda carried me to the car, ready to offer me some words of comfort, but then her phone rang. The good news was that there had been only one white van leaving Midtown Shopping Center in that time frame. The bad news was that the van had already left the city limits, and they’d lost it on surveillance.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294965”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance #惊悚Thriller #励志Inspiring
Leave a Reply