Chapter 9 — My Daughter's Iron Box

A heavy, suffocating silence descended upon the vast hall. The short-haired woman's face turned completely ashen. Shen Zhiqiang clutched his phone, his voice dropping to a terrifying, glacial whisper.

"Tang Meiqin."

The line on the other end fell abruptly silent. A few seconds later, a wave of panic seeped through the speaker.

"Shen Zhiqiang?"

"Listen to me, let me explain."

Shen Zhiqiang stared hard at the woman currently pinned down by the police officers.

"I am at the hospital."

"Your older sister is standing right in front of me."

"What else do you have to say for yourself?"

Tang Meiqin's breathing grew frantic and shallow.

"I had no idea what she was doing."

"I only asked her to help look for Anan."

Shen Zhiqiang bit out each word with venomous precision.

"Just a moment ago, you explicitly told her not to let the child come home."

Total chaos erupted on the other end of the connection.

"I only said that out of anger!"

"The girl has always hated me; if she comes back, she will undoubtedly drive a wedge between us."

"Shen Zhiqiang, Jiahao is still so young; you cannot ruin this family because of her."

Shen Zhiqiang closed his eyes tightly.

"This family was destroyed by my own two hands."

"But it was not destroyed by Anan."

With that, he ended the call and handed the phone over to Officer Lu. The short-haired woman was swiftly escorted away to the hospital security office, while Officer Lu immediately deployed personnel to secure the emergency ward. Shen Zhiqiang turned and walked heavily toward the emergency room. Every single step felt as though he were treading upon the sharp edge of a blade. He was terrified of laying eyes on Shen Anan. Yet he was even more terrified of not being able to see her at all. Outside the emergency doors, a nurse blocked his path.

"Are you the child's father?"

Shen Zhiqiang nodded mechanically.

"I am."

There was not a single trace of warmth in the nurse's gaze.

"The doctor wants to see you."

The doctor stepped out from the inner room, pulling off his surgical mask.

"The patient has suffered from prolonged, chronic internal bleeding."

"She is suffering from severe anemia."

"She is also severely malnourished and battling an infection."

"Her condition is temporarily stabilized for now, but hospitalization is mandatory."

Shen Zhiqiang nodded repeatedly, like a machine obeying a command.

"Hospitalize her."

"Spare no expense, whatever it takes."

The doctor cast a cold glance at him.

"Money is not the issue here."

Upon waking up, the young girl displayed extreme psychological defense mechanisms.

"She kept repeating over and over, begging us not to notify her family."

"She even claimed that she does not have a home."

A sharp pain constricted Shen Zhiqiang's throat, as if he had swallowed glass. He asked in a trembling whisper: "May I just take a brief look at her?" The doctor hesitated for a moment.

Only a single glance.

"Do not agitate her."

The emergency room door cracked open just a sliver. Shen Zhiqiang stood paralyzed in the doorway. Inside, upon the narrow hospital bed, Shen Anan looked as frail and wispy as a shadow. Her complexion was so translucent it seemed almost ghostly, an IV needle was taped firmly to the back of her pale hand, and her lips completely lacked any trace of color. She was asleep, yet her brows remained deeply knitted together, as though even within her dreams she could find no Xiao Man. Shen Zhiqiang clutched the doorframe for support, tears streaming down his face in a torrential downpour. He longed to call out her name. But the doctor's warning acted like a ruthless hand, choking off his voice and pinning him to the spot. "Do not agitate her." He managed only one fleeting look before a nurse gently but firmly ushered him away. As the heavy door swung shut behind him, he caught the faint, rhythmic beeping of the bedside monitor. Each hollow chime struck his heart like a heavy hammer. Officer Lu hurried over to his side.

"The short-haired woman's name is Tang Meijuan."

"She is your wife's biological older sister."

"That small tailoring workshop in Linshui district was registered under someone else's name on paper."

"However, our investigation revealed that the rent payments were transferred directly by Tang Meijuan."

The whites of Shen Zhiqiang's eyes were completely bloodshot.

"She took Anan to that sweatshop?"

Officer Lu nodded solemnly.

During our preliminary interrogation, she refused to confess.

"However, we discovered several lists of minors inside her handbag."

"Among them was the name of Shen Anan."

"Right beside it, there were two handwritten words."

Shen Zhiqiang raised his head slowly.

"What words?"

Officer Lu paused for a fraction of a second.

"Frail and sickly."

A suffocating pressure crushed Shen Zhiqiang's chest. Tang Meijuan was well aware that Shen Anan was sick. She knew it all along. "That was precisely why the child was easier to control." That was why she had dared to keep moving the girl around even after she collapsed from exhaustion. Shen Zhiqiang spun around and slammed his fist violently against the concrete wall. Warm blood seeped from his scraped knuckles. Officer Lu did not try to stop him, speaking instead in a low, somber tone.

"You need to cooperate fully with us now."

"Tang Meiqin will also be subjected to a thorough investigation."

"If she is found to have been an accessory to the concealment or trafficking of a minor, she will not escape legal consequences."

Shen Zhiqiang lifted his head, his expression resolute.

"I will cooperate."

"Everything inside her room, I am ready to turn over as evidence."

At that exact moment, the frantic voice of a nurse echoed from within the emergency room.

"Doctor, the patient is waking up!"

Shen Zhiqiang whipped around instantly. The very next second, he heard Shen Anan's voice drifting out from the room--a voice so hoarse and fractured it sounded as though it were shattering into pieces.

"Please... don't tell my father."

"He will only find me to be a burden."

Hearing those words drift out from the emergency ward, Shen Zhiqiang stood frozen outside like a statue carved of stone. He had thought his capacity for pain had already numbed him completely. Yet, hearing Shen Anan's raspy voice expressing her desperate fear of being a burden shattered the very last remnants of fragile hope left within his soul. The doctor strode briskly back inside, and the nurse quickly pulled the door shut. Shen Zhiqiang remained planted in the hallway, utterly devoid of even the strength required to raise a hand and wipe away his tears. Officer Lu glanced at him sympathetically, lowering his voice.

"You cannot go in there right now."

"She is exhibiting severe symptoms of hostility and rejection toward her family."

"Your presence will only cause her emotional state to deteriorate further."