Chapter 231
"Thank you, Jessica."
Coco was wearing a fluffy princess dress today, with a little crown perched on her head.
She first gave Jessica a hug, then greeted us.
At kids’ birthday parties, it’s usually best to just let them play on their own.
Jason and I sat down on the sofa to eat.
Midway through, Casey came over to chat with Jason for a while.
Given Jason's status, even though he was just here accompanying his child to a birthday party, quite a few guests still came over to talk with Jason.
I shook my head and quietly shifted to the side, continuing to eat my dessert.
Besides Jessica, Coco had also invited some other children.
The little ones played happily together.
In the evening, after cutting the birthday cake and having dinner, we were getting ready to leave.
"Jessica?"
I frowned and turned my head to look around.
Strange, I saw her a moment ago. How could she disappear the second I turned my head?
"Jessica!"
I raised my voice and called out again.
Still no sign of her.
A bad feeling rose in my heart. I bit my lip and quickly called Jessica's kids' watch.
While waiting for the call to connect, my heart jumped into my throat.
The call automatically disconnected, and Jessica didn't pick up.
"Jessica."
My face instantly went pale.
Jessica was such a good girl. She had never not answered her phone before.
"Honey, what's wrong? You look terrible."
Jason strode over and wrapped my cold, trembling hands in his palms.
"Jessica, Jessica is missing."
My voice was shaking. I looked helplessly at Jason, "Honey, she's gone. She was just here a moment ago, but the second I turned my head, she disappeared."
Jason frowned but still comforted me gently, "Don't worry, she'll be fine. Let's go look for her now."
"Okay!"
I nodded hard.
The bodyguards stationed outside the hotel were called in by Jason.
Casey’s family grew anxious when they heard Jessica was missing.
Coco's eyes even reddened, and she couldn't stop sobbing, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't wanted a birthday party, Jessica wouldn't have disappeared."
My mind was in chaos, but I could only force myself to stay calm.
"It's not like that, Coco. This isn't your fault."
"Let's go find the child first."
Jason squeezed my hand, silently comforting me.
I nodded frantically and walked quickly through the hotel looking for her.
"Jessica! Jessica, where are you? Please answer Mommy, okay? Jessica—"
The lobby—no.
The restroom—not there either.
The lounge—still nothing!
The more I searched, the colder my heart grew.
Casey had reserved this entire floor for Coco's birthday party. We had carefully searched the whole floor and hadn't seen any trace of Jessica.
I took a deep breath, even my breathing was trembling uncontrollably.
Jessica, my Jessica.
This was my own daughter, my baby. If something really happened to her, what would I do?
Tears spilled uncontrollably from my eyes.
I shook my head and roughly wiped away the tears.
No, Jessica hadn't been found yet. I couldn't break down.
"Honey, let's search the surrounding area."
Jason's face didn't look too good either.
He held his phone and made a call, "Keep searching, as soon as possible!"
My heart was burning with anxiety when a figure suddenly flashed through my mind.
It was her!
I grabbed Jason's arm hard, my face pale, "It's Victoria, it must be Victoria! She took Jessica, didn't she?"
I thought for a long time. Besides Victoria, I couldn't even think of anyone else who would hurt Jessica.
Jason's face was grim, "We've already called the police. Jessica will definitely be fine."
She wasn't in the hotel, so we continued searching toward the parking lot.
Looking around, the entire parking lot was eerily quiet, so quiet it made my heart panic.
"Honey, Jessica will be okay, right? If something happens to Jessica, I—"
"Honey."
Jason suddenly interrupted me.
His gaze was deep as he looked at me seriously, "Jessica will be fine. Trust me, okay?"
Somehow, my incredibly panicked heart calmed down quite a bit at that moment.
He reached out and wiped the tears from my face.
"Let's not waste time. We'll keep looking."
"Okay."
Time passed second by second, and my heart grew colder and colder.
Just when I was about to despair, my eyes caught sight of a small figure lying on the ground in the distance.
"Jessica!"
I screamed out and rushed over like a madwoman.
Jessica lay on the ground with her eyes tightly closed, her normally rosy little face now deathly pale.
The light blue dress I had specially picked out for her before we left was stained with dirt and covered in blood spots.
My eyes were bloodshot. I reached out with trembling hands but didn't dare touch her.
Jason called for an ambulance with a dark expression.
The ambulance arrived quickly. Watching the medical staff carefully lift Jessica onto the stretcher, my heart was breaking!
I got into the ambulance, my eyes fixed on Jessica, unwilling to look away for even a second.
Jason didn't get in. He was making calls with a face like thunder, gesturing to me through the glass.
He meant for Jessica and me to go ahead first.
I nodded at him, gripping Jessica's cool little hand tightly.
Although I knew Jessica couldn't hear me now, I couldn't help but whisper, "Jessica, be good. Don't be scared. Everything will be fine, it definitely will be fine."
After the ambulance arrived at the hospital, they immediately pushed Jessica to the emergency room.
A nurse brought me warm water, "Don't worry, your daughter will be fine."
I took it absentmindedly but couldn't drink it.
That was my daughter.
She was being treated in the emergency room right now. How could I not worry?
The moment I found Jessica, I felt like my own heart had stopped.
I paced anxiously back and forth in the corridor.
The bright red light kept provoking my uneasy nerves.
A series of hurried footsteps approached.
Thinking it was Jason, I didn't turn around, just said, "Honey, Jessica she..."
"So worried about this little bitch? Then go down and keep her company!"
A shrill female voice rang out, and sharp pain shot through my abdomen.
I turned around in shock and came face to face with a woman's almost crazed eyes.
It was Victoria.
Her hair was dry and disheveled, making her almost unrecognizable.
Only those eyes, filled with hatred so intense it was almost tangible, like a blade ready to cut my throat.
Looking down, I saw the dagger Victoria was clutching had been plunged deep into my abdomen.
Blood gushed out in waves, staining my clothes red and Victoria's hands as well.
The intense pain made me dizzy, but I didn't retreat or feel afraid. Instead, I used all my strength to grab Victoria's hand and shouted, "Someone! There's a killer!"
I didn't know how she had managed to evade the police search for the past two weeks.
But now the person who hurt my daughter was right in front of me, and I absolutely couldn't let her escape.
Victoria hadn't expected me to still have the strength to grab her.
"Let go!"
Victoria screamed.
She frantically twisted the dagger.
The sharp pain felt like it was tearing my whole body apart, making me tremble all over!
Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed someone rushing over.
I gave Victoria a smile.
"I won't let go. Save whatever you have to say for the police!"