Chapter 9 Little Sister 4

  "Dad, where's my sister?" Zhang Tong's first thought was that her sister had gone somewhere. But there was no sign of her sister by their father's side. "Is she asleep?"

  Zhang Tong didn't understand why his father's face looked like he was about to cry: "Dad, what's wrong?"

  "Dad is no good. Useless. Can't find your sister." His father's words were filled with unspoken apology.

  "Dad."

  "Alright, go to sleep. Your father is tired. We'll talk about it tomorrow." The mother absent-mindedly pulled away Zhang Tong who still had many questions that he hadn't had a chance to ask.

  She never dreamed that this would be her last time seeing her living father. The next afternoon, the news of her father jumping off a building to kill himself arrived.

  All these years, Zhang Tong could not accept the fact that his father committed suicide due to excessive guilt over losing his sister. There was a moment when Zhang Tong thought his father was selfish. His sister had gone missing, but wasn't he still there? Also a daughter, why couldn't he keep his father's footsteps?

  Thinking of this, she let out a deep sigh and wiped away the tears that had seeped from the corners of her eyes.

  At this moment, the computer made a crisp "ding-dong" sound like a doorbell. Zhang Tong's heart couldn't help but move. She looked up at the clock and saw that it was already 2 am. Who would be sending her an email at this time? She got out of bed and went to her desk, opening her mailbox. On the screen, there was an email from the United States. Zhang Tong then remembered that she had left her email address on a express delivery package sent a few days ago.

  The letter was sent out by a nursing home administrator in South Carolina, USA.

  Dear Ms. Zhang, hello.

  Your letter has been received. I heard about what happened to you. I'm very sorry.

  According to the envelope you sent, I inquired with relevant personnel and confirmed that it was sent by a deceased Chinese lady from Building B, Block 4 of our hospital's A district. According to her will, we forwarded a letter she had written earlier to you on her behalf. The lady's full name is Angela Chen.

  If you wish to know more about Ms. Chen's situation, we suggest that you contact her lawyer. We have already forwarded your letter to her lawyer.

  ……

  Zhang Tong repeatedly read the email several times, finally leaning back in her chair and falling into deep thought. The name Angela was very common abroad, to the point where it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that two or three out of ten girls would have this name. But...the surname "Chen" made her heart skip a beat. It reminded her of Mr. Chen's sudden visit the other day. Zhang Tong couldn't help but feel a little surprised at her own strange thoughts. She thought for a moment, then resolutely dialed the phone number of the American lawyer mentioned in the email.

  The other party will speak Chinese, so communication becomes much more convenient. After verifying the specific identity, the lawyer told Zhang Tong that Angela Chen's Chinese name is Chen Dongmei, and the reason for her hospitalization was the deterioration of an eye tumor.

  "Does she have any registered relatives? Was there anyone who visited her during her time in the nursing home? I'd like to get in touch with her family."

  The sound of typing on the keyboard came from the other end of the phone. Not long after, the lawyer returned to the phone: "Ms. Zhang, I'm sorry. Ms. Chen didn't register an emergency contact person. During her hospitalization, no one visited her either. Her estate was all donated to a local charity."

  "You're sure."

  "Yes. Sorry."

  "Do you have a backup of that letter on your end?" When asking this question, Zhang Tong was almost in despair.

  "Of course, Ms. Zhang. Because Ms. Chen was already in the late stages of cancer at that time. Her eyes were completely blind. So her last few private legal documents were handled by me personally. After she dictated this letter, she asked to make a backup copy, saying just in case you didn't receive it. I'm sending it to you now."

  "Thank you. Just send it to my email."

  "Alright. That's right. And one last thing. I think it's necessary for you to know. Although Ms. Chen was seriously ill, she ultimately ended her own life by suicide."

  "Thank you." Zhang Tong's heart sank to a low point.

  After hanging up the phone, the waiting time seemed to have solidified. Zhang Tong nervously stared at the computer screen. Finally, she saw the long-awaited information. But just at that moment, Zhang Tong felt an invisible hand tightly grasping her throat, almost stopping her breath.

  Xiao Tong. Hello:

  After all these years, please forgive me for only contacting you now. By the time you receive this letter, I will probably have left this world forever. But I don't want to take the secret that has tormented me my whole life to see God. Because if I do, I won't be able to get God's forgiveness and my soul won't be able to enter heaven.

  Do you know, Xiaotong? My father is the only family I have in this world. I couldn't live without him. So from young to old, I never did anything against his will. Even if those things were extremely cruel and brought harm to you and many others. But I thought that as long as my father was happy and smiled, I would do it too. However, when my loving father finally became a terrifying demon, I regretted my obedience and silence back then. I even became a despicable accomplice. I also thought about whether if I hadn't lured those girls to play with me that year, the tragedy wouldn't have happened. Maybe we would be the best of friends. You will always be my sister. I still remember when I followed my father to your house to play, you gave me your favorite toys and candies. This made Qiūqiū very angry and said you were biased towards me and wanted to break off relations with you. Xiaotong, can I still call you "sister" like before? Can you forgive me? My greatest wish in this lifetime is to get your forgiveness.

  The time left for me by God is not much. Pandora's box was opened in the autumn of more than 20 years ago. Forgive me, I had no way to stop the devil. I couldn't stand up and accuse my father who raised me. All I can do is punish myself.

  Xiao Tong, I will see Qiuqiu soon. I will also beg for her forgiveness.

  Plum Blossom

  Meng Meng. In Zhang Tong's mind, a weak girl's figure flashed quickly. A short hair that reached her ears. On her thin face, she always wore a large black-framed glasses that didn't match her face shape. However, despite this, many things in her eyes were still blurry. She was Chen Bo Bo's only daughter. Every time she came to the Zhang's house to play, she would follow behind her father timidly and never took the initiative to talk to others. Due to their similar ages and being girls, it didn't take long for Zhang Tong and Meng Meng to become close friends who shared everything with each other. However, Zhang Qiu was not on good terms with Meng Meng, thinking that Zhang Tong favored Meng Meng, and would often bully her. But this didn't last long. Not long after his sister went missing, Chen Bo Bo took Meng Meng away from Tian Chang City. They even didn't attend the father's funeral. As time passed, Zhang Tong gradually forgot about Meng Meng's figure in her memory.

  But now, Mei Mei has appeared in Zhang Tong's life once again, and it's in such a special way. For a moment, she couldn't accept it. The last time she met with Uncle Chen, he clearly said that Mei Mei had died in a car accident. So how could Mei Mei appear in the nursing home? Why did she write herself such a strange letter? What was Uncle Chen hiding? Could her sister's disappearance really be related to him? Why did Mei Mei call her own father a devil in the letter? One question after another poured in like a tidal wave, and Zhang Tong's heart became a tangled mess.

  Wang Yan stood dejectedly at the bottom of a dilapidated residential building. The place was about to be demolished, so there wasn't even a basic asphalt road. A torrential downpour had just passed, and the muddy road surface, littered with bricks, tiles, and stones, quickly turned into a sticky mess. It was just mud, but after taking only a few steps, both feet sank into the mud and couldn't be pulled out.

  Assistant Xiao Zheng started complaining: "Captain Wang, is there really no other way? If we keep going like this, we'll end up barefoot."

  Wang Yanan shook her head helplessly, took off her shoes and put them in a plastic bag, and continued walking forward while asking the local police officer who was leading the way: "It's so hard to walk here. Are you sure Guo Guixia's home is still over there?"

  The young police officer at the police station looked like he had just been transferred from a lower level and hadn't been there for long. His nose was covered in acne, and he wore a bitter smile: "When the old captain handed over the case, he said that this was the only household that refused to move no matter what conditions were offered. It's even been reported in the newspapers. The living conditions are extremely harsh, with frequent water and electricity outages. But they still refuse to move. Look at the other households around here, they're all just trying to get more compensation and relocation fees by dragging their feet. But the Guo family is different, they won't budge, not even to discuss conditions. Our police station has tried to mediate several times, but it's no use. Their reason is always the same: they say they need to wait for their daughter to come home. Luckily, there are now relocation laws in place, so the relocation office can't touch them. Otherwise, that land would have been flattened a long time ago."

  After listening to Xiaomin's words, Wang Yanan's nose was slightly sour. She could understand why the Guo family refused to move out of their house. Zhang Tong was a living example. The reason she chose to run all the way here today instead of simply notifying the other party over the phone was that in public, she wanted to ask the parents who were still holding on about their memories of when the case happened. And in private, Wang Yanan really couldn't bear to inform them through the cold telephone line that they had found their treasure, but it was just a pile of cold white bones.

  The reason why Wang Yan did this is only one, that is, no matter which policeman, when he faces the cold body of an innocent child who has been deprived of his life, their hearts are all the softest, and Wang Yan is just one of them.

  Looking at the police standing at the door, the middle-aged couple in front of them was somewhat surprised. After listening to Wang Yan's self-introduction and statement of purpose, they finally invited Yan and her assistant into the house. The house was not big, and there were not many pieces of furniture. The bookcase and wardrobe had some peeling paint. Although it was simple, but very clean. After confirming that the male and female owners in front of them were indeed the parents of the missing girl Guo Guixia, Wang Yan did not directly tell them the news of their child's death, but instead asked about the situation when the child went missing.

  "It's all my fault. If I hadn't worked overtime that day and accompanied Xiaxia, this wouldn't have happened. It's all my fault. For the sake of some overtime pay...". Although it has been so many years since then, every time he brings up this sad matter again, it still feels like it happened yesterday. The master's face immediately fills with sorrow.

  "Calm down, Mr. Guo. You said your daughter went missing in a very short time. How long was it? Do you have any rough idea? There is no clear record of that in the police report at that time."