Chapter 19 — My Daughter's Iron Box

"You beat the poor child to that wretched condition, and you still want to move her?"

The man let out a cold, harsh scoff.

She simply would not obey.

Though she looked sickly and frail, her mind was far too sharp.

She kept hiding little notes, slipping them out one by one.

If not for her, we would not have suffered such heavy losses tonight.

Meiqin finally realized that she, too, had been reduced to a discarded pawn. She wept bitterly, her voice trembling.

Scarface, let me go.

"I will not call the police."

He was the one who led them here.

The man lowered his head to gaze down at her, a sinister smile twisting his lips.

"Did you truly believe that once I was caught, you could live in Xiao Man?"

Meiqin, you were the one who personally brought the relative's child here.

"You even claimed that her father only cared for his illegitimate son."

You said that even if she were to die, "it would simply be reported as a runaway child who got lost."

Shen Zhiqiang's eyes were completely bloodshot, burning with a furious blaze. Yet his voice remained remarkably steady.

"What do you want?"

Scarface stared at him.

A vehicle.

And money.

"Let me walk free."

Officer Lu spoke up, his tone cold and unyielding.

Out of the question.

Without a moment's hesitation, Scarface whipped out a cigarette lighter. A tiny flame danced in the chilly night wind. Meiqin let out a piercing shriek.

"You have lost your mind."

Scarface leaned down, whispering harshly into her ear.

"Do you honestly think that if I am arrested, you will be safe?"

"Do you believe you can wash your hands clean of this?"

"You made the transfers, you pointed out the targets, you used her as bait."

"Which of these sins do you think you can escape?"

Meiqin trembled uncontrollably from head to toe. Watching this scene, Shen Zhiqiang felt no sense of triumphant satisfaction whatsoever. He only found the entire spectacle absurd and pathetic. This very woman had once served soup to Jiahao right at his own dining table. She had smiled and spoken of how sensible Anan was. Yet behind his back, she had meticulously cataloged every single detail of Anan's age, health, and family background, handing them over to strangers piece by piece. And yet, he had allowed such a creature to remain by his daughter's side for all these years. Scarface dragged Meiqin backward. Inside the massive water tower, an old maintenance ladder led downward. Descending even further would likely connect to the abandoned drainage reservoir. Officer Lu had already led his men in a complete encirclement. Suddenly, flashlight beams stabbed through the darkness from two opposite directions.

Release the hostage.

"You cannot escape."

Scarface's expression shifted violently. He yanked Meiqin in front of him as a human shield, while his free hand groped into his pocket and pulled out a small glass vial. The cap came off, releasing a pungent, choking odor into the air. Officer Lu immediately barked an order.

Everyone fall back.

Scarface sneered malevolently.

If anyone takes another step forward, I will set this place ablaze.

Shen Zhiqiang noticed several old, rusted oil drums piled near the bottom of the tower. Viscous liquid was already leaking from the rims of some containers. If a fire truly broke out here, not a single soul trapped inside would survive. Meiqin's legs turned to jelly, and she let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Shen Zhiqiang, save me."

Shen Zhiqiang looked at her, his gaze dead and detached.

Now you know what fear feels like?

Tears streamed uncontrollably down Meiqin's face.

"I was wrong."

"I was truly wrong."

"I swear I will never lay a hand on Anan ever again."

Shen Zhiqiang remained completely unmoved by her tearful pleas. He simply asked one question.

On the day you took Anan away, did the child beg you for mercy?

Meiqin's face stiffened instantly. She remained silent. Scarface chuckled mockingly in her stead.

She certainly did.

That little girl was burning with a fever so high she could barely stand, and she kept crying that she wanted to return to school.

And your dear wife told her that her father would never come to pick her up.

Shen Zhiqiang closed his eyes tightly. Through his earpiece, Officer Lu's voice suddenly murmured softly.

Buy us another thirty seconds.

Shen Zhiqiang opened his eyes and slowly raised both hands.

"I will get you a car."

Scarface narrowed his eyes.

Throw the keys over here.

Shen Zhiqiang felt around in his pocket and retrieved the car keys. He did not toss them immediately.

Let her go first.

Scarface gave a harsh, derisive laugh.

"Do you really care that much about whether she lives or dies?"

Shen Zhiqiang looked at Meiqin, his voice devoid of even a shred of warmth.

She cannot die.

She has to live to face judgment.

Meiqin shuddered violently, the breath leaving her lungs. Scarface, too, was momentarily stunned. At that exact microsecond, a blinding beam of light crashed down from the top of the water tower. Instinctively, Scarface jerked his head upward. Officer Lu lunged forward from the side, kicking the lighter straight out of his grasp. Simultaneously, another officer hauled Meiqin out of the danger zone. Shen Zhiqiang charged ahead, swinging his leg to violently kick the nearest oil drum aside. Before Scarface could recover and fight back, Officer Lu had already pinned him ruthlessly to the ground. As the metallic click of handcuffs echoed sharply, Meiqin collapsed into the mud, her face ashen and lifeless as dead ashes. She raised her head to look at Shen Zhiqiang.

"Shen Zhiqiang, for the sake of our years as husband and wife..."

Shen Zhiqiang did not even deign to look at her. He merely picked up the phone lying in the dirt and handed it to Officer Lu.

"I want a complete record of all her call histories."

Meiqin burst into a fresh wave of sobbing. But at that very moment, Shen Zhiqiang's own phone began to ring. It was a call from the hospital. His heart clenched tight, and he answered without a second delay. The urgent voice of a nurse echoed from the other end of the line.

"Mr. Shen, Shen Anan's fever has suddenly spiked again."

She keeps crying out for her mother.

The doctor requests that the family return to the hospital immediately.

When Shen Zhiqiang rushed anxiously back to the hospital, the horizon was just beginning to streak with a pale, dreary gray. The pungent smell of chemical disinfectants hung thick and suffocating in the corridor.