“If you’re someone who feels deeply, you might believe that your parents were lost here, and the only way to feel close to them is to remain in this ce,” said Li Yalin. “Then there’s another type of person…”


    “Eventually, they realize their situation is perilous. Following the idea that the most dangerous ce can sometimes feel the safest, they might decide to stay indefinitely,” he continued. As he spoke, Li Yalin added, “Oh, and there’s yet another scenario—when someone else is orchestrating things from behind the scenes, leaving the individual with no control over their own fate.”


    The elderlydy paused for a moment before asking, “Have you ever faced a simr situation? In the cases you’ve dealt with, if a child’s family has been killed and the child’s whereabouts are unknown, what are the chances of that child’s future?”


    Li Yalin took a moment to reflect before answering honestly, “Auntie, I’ve indeed handled many cases like this. Typically, the surviving children will hide for a time before reaching out to other rtives, like grandparents, uncles, or aunts. These family members usually don’t vanish for long.”


    “Unfortunately, there are homeless individuals who sleep in ruins or under bridges every night,cking a stable ce to stay. During the day, they might resort to stealing or scrounging for relief food. Some even be involved with gangs or fall into drug addiction. Many of them don’t even live past their twenties. When one of them dies, the police will collect DNA samples as per procedure and enter them into a database to trace family connections. It’s often then that they discover the deceased was the sole survivor of a tragic murder case.”<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">


    Olddy An seemed lost in thought, and after a while, she murmured, “Following the ident involving Lydia (Ava) and Bruce, Charlie hasn’t reached out to anyone—not the An family or the Wade family. Yet, Charlie has always been very intelligent. At eight years old, he would have remembered how to contact us, and if he wanted to reach out, he certainly could have found a way. But he hasn’t…” She sighed, speaking in a subdued tone, “I can’t help but think he might hold our families responsible for his parents’ deaths.”<fn4d74> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on FιndNovel</fn4d74>


    Li Yalin replied cautiously, “I can’t speak to that without knowing the full context.”


    The olddy added, “Charlie is exceptionally bright and was raised well. If he’s alive, he shouldn’t have ended up like those children you mentioned. This leads me to believe there are two main possibilities: either he’s hiding from us intentionally, or someone is keeping him hidden to prevent us from finding out. I lean towards thetter, considering so many have searched for him without sess. How could an eight-year-old manage to stay hidden from everyone?”


    Asher chimed in, “Mom, who would want to hide Charlie?”


    The olddy responded seriously, “I can’t say for sure, but there are two scenarios to consider. The positive possibility is that it might be Lydia (Ava) or Bruce’s associates; the negative possibility is that it could be their enemies or others with ill intentions.”


    Asher frowned, “But Mom, we’ve already searched for all my brother-inw’s associates in China. They have no idea where Charlie is and are just as worried as we are.”


    “That’s true,” the olddy acknowledged, “I sensed that back then as well, but now, reflecting on it after all these years, if any of them lied, we wouldn’t have a way to verify that.”


    Asher asked, “Should we consult them again?”


    “Yes,” the olddy replied resolutely. “This time, I’m determined to uncover Charlie’s whereabouts. If we can’t find him in Aurous Hill, I will search everywhere else in the world!”<h3 ss="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="chapter-list"><strong></strong>