Chapter 299 Doesn't Look Like This
"Give me back my child!" Mira snapped back to reality and charged forward desperately, trying to snatch her child back.
"Your child?" Seb spoke coldly, his stern face filled with icy disdain as his sharp gaze swept over Maximilian and Mira. "Is this your child?"
Mira was stunned, at a loss for words.
Maximilian gritted his teeth. "Even if Abby is really your child, you have to wait for the test results. You can't just lie and try to take the child away like this."
Seb snorted coldly. "Are you really waiting for the test results, or are you just stalling for time until you sell the house and disappear?"
With Jack blocking them, Maximilian and Mira couldn't do anything. They could only watch helplessly as Isabella held Abby.
During the commotion, Isabella remained silent. She kept her head down, looking at Abby in her arms.
Abby had woken up by now, her sleepy eyes looking at Isabella.
"Seb," she called out, her voice trembling.
Seb held her shoulders. "Bella, if you want to take our daughter back right now, I can handle it. Just say the word, and I'll take care of everything." He could either follow the rules meticulously or break them entirely; as long as Isabella desired, he would do anything. As for the consequences, he would bear them all alone.
Isabella shook her head. When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with tears. "This isn't right."
Seb and Jack were both taken aback. "What do you mean?"
Isabella said, "This child is not our daughter."
The room fell silent.
Seb frowned deeply and after a long pause, asked, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Isabella said, "I know my daughter. She doesn't look like this."
Jack hesitated and said, "A child changes every day. It's been so many days. Maybe she's changed a lot."
Isabella said nothing more. Indeed, Jack had a point. Even though Isabella was almost certain this wasn't her Sweetie, she couldn't rule out the remaining possibility until the test results came back.
Isabella handed the child back to Mira.
For the next three days, Seb had people watching the Montgomery residence and the hospital around the clock.
There was no way they would let them leave before the test results came out.
Three days later, the results were in. The child from the Montgomery family was indeed not Isabella and Seb's daughter, Sweetie.
"How could this be?" Jack frowned deeply. He couldn't believe it when he saw the results.
"Investigate," Seb said, clutching the test results. "Start with this girl. I can't believe we won't find anything!"
The investigation into the girl adopted by the Montgomery family led them to an orphanage.
According to the director, a woman had abandoned the child a few months ago. She'd left her at the orphanage's doorstep in the middle of the night and disappeared.
The surveillance footage at the orphanage was blurry, capturing only a blurry figure, and the trail went cold.
"Mr. Landon," Jack hesitated, "could it be that Emerald Isle City is just a red herring, and the child isn't here at all?"
Considering Emma's madness, it was a strong possibility.
Seb rubbed his temples, his voice hoarse. "Keep investigating."
Jack could only nod.
Isabella hadn't been sleeping well these past few days. She always felt depressive. Without finding Sweetie, she couldn't eat, and she was visibly wasting away.
At noon, Jack arranged for some local delicacies from Emerald Isle City, but Isabella still had no appetite.
Seb was heartbroken. "Bella, should I take you to see a doctor?"
Isabella refused. "I'm fine."
She pointed to her heart. "It feels so heavy, like I can't breathe."
"What's going on?" Seb sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist and placing his large hand gently on her chest, massaging softly. "I've never seen you like this before."
"Yeah, it started that day at the hospital," Isabella said.
She suddenly grabbed Seb's hand. "Seb, I think I heard Sweetie crying."
"Bella," Seb patted her back, "you're hallucinating."
They were in a hotel, staying in a luxury suite. There was no way they could hear any noise, let alone a child's cry.
Isabella shook her head vigorously. "I'm not talking about now. I mean that day, at the hospital, I think I heard Sweetie crying! Yes, it was Sweetie crying!"
She stood up abruptly, her chaotic thoughts suddenly snapping into focus. "I knew there was a reason why that cry made my chest feel so heavy. It was Sweetie. Sweetie must have been in that hospital! Seb, how could I have been so stupid? I should have realized it then!"
Seb got excited too. He gripped Isabella's hand tightly. "Let's go to the hospital right now. We still have time!"
The pediatric ward of the hospital was heavily guarded.
When they opened the room from that day, they found a completely unfamiliar child and their parents inside.
Jack went to the nurse's station to retrieve the admission records from three days ago. "Three days ago, a six-month-old baby girl named Penelope Prescott was in this room. Her guardian's name is Peter."
"Find this Peter!" Seb ordered, "Immediately!"
By evening, Peter was on his way home from work. As he reached his front door, several men in suits blocked his path.
Peter dropped the bag he was carrying. "Who are you?"
Jack stepped out from the shadows. "Peter, right?"
Peter nodded. "Yes."
Jack asked, "Is your daughter named Penelope?"
Peter replied, "Yes."
Jack asked, "Where is she now?"
Seeing Peter remain silent, Jack signaled his men, who searched Peter and found his keys, then opened his door.
"What are you doing?" Peter's eyes widened as he tried to stop them. "This is trespassing; I can press charges against you!"
Jack held him back, speaking calmly, "Trespassing is nothing compared to child trafficking."
Peter was stunned. "What child trafficking?"
At that moment, several police officers arrived. "Who's Peter? Come with us."
Isabella and Seb waited in the car downstairs. They watched as the police led Peter out of the building, but there was no sign of Sweetie.
After a while, Jack approached. "Mr. Landon, we searched the place. The child isn't there. There aren't even any photos of a child in the house. "
Jack paused and took out his phone, opening the photo gallery. "But I found this."
It was a recently taken wedding photo:a man and a woman in a suit and wedding dress. The man was Peter, and the woman was Vanessa.
When Isabella saw the face clearly, her expression changed dramatically. "Vanessa!"
