188 The Search

Su Linyu touched a porcelain urn with hand-painted design. She was staring at it for almost an hour.

Her eyes blinked. She was still not convinced that it was her son whom she cremated that day.

Indeed, three days after Verdan Zhou went missing, the private investigators, with the help of the police, recovered his barely-resembling-a-car Peugeot 508, with an unrecognizable burnt body inside.

Thus, the investigators believed that it was her son and the search ceased. Their cover up included making the police treat the case as highly classified.

Despite all these, Su Linyu had doubts in the investigation. She might just be in denial, but she can feel that Verdan is still alive.

"Madam." A young man in a suit greeted.

Su Linyu jerked her finger off the urn and blinked multiple times, as if she just woke up from her trance.

She maintained a stern face. "Any news?"

"We haven't found him...but now, we have a lead." he was hesitant with his answer.

"What?! What did you say?" Su Linyu bolted from her chair with wide eyes.

"A fisherman whom we asked said that he saw someone resembling the young master. Our men are on their way to confirm this."

"Be certain about this." Her voice was stern, but her face had hope and happy tears. "Go now."

"Yes, Madam." He bowed and left the study, gently shutting the door behind him.

As the young man turned along a corridor, his collar was yanked off and he was pushed and pressed hard against a wall.

He was shocked to see his Young Mistress glaring at him, her face only an inch away from his.

"What did you tell my mother?" she demandingly asked.

The young man hesitated. He pondered briefly on whether he could divulge the information to the Young Mistress. He remembered that the order was to keep their search unknown to the public.

"Young Mistress..." he was sweating buckets. "Our men may have found your brother." He decided that the Young Mistress is not an outsider, so he answered when asked.

"What?!" Her grip on him loosened and her voice cracked. "He's really still alive?!" Tears were brimming from her eyes.

"We...we still need to confirm his identity."

"When are you going to where he is?"

"Our men will be heading to the island now...for the initial search."

Vanessa Zhou had a stern face, resembling her mother's. "When are YOU heading there?" She inched closer to his face again.

"Tomorow...early morning...we will be at the pier at 0500H." He was getting flustered by the distance.

"Oh...then we'll be coming along." She swiftly let go of him and pivoted away with her clicking heels.

Vanessa Zhou drove her Porsche Panamera directly to the airport.

When she arrived, Monty was waving at her with a big smile.

"Hello, Miss Zhou! Why are you suddenly going to City T?"

"I need to talk to my sister-in-law." She had a gentle smile.

"Oh...then buckle up, Miss." He went into the cockpit.

_______________

"Open your mouth now." Takagi Ryuuji coaxed as he held a spoonful of porridge towards Midori's lips.

Like a lifeless mechanical doll, she followed the instruction, but her expression did not change. She continued to stare blankly straight ahead.

Takagi Ryuuji was just thankful that she was at least willing to eat. At least, it will save them the trouble of providing nutrition for her through tubes.

He continued to coax her until she finished the bowl. He carefully held a glass of water for her to drink.

As he was about to walk out of the room with the food tray, the door burst open.

The flustered face of Vanessa Zhou came into view.

Aoi Xiu came in after her.

"Midori! My brother is still alive!"

For the first time, after a long time, they had elicited an expression from Midori Zhou, proving that she is still alive.