Just A Transit Point
Hurrying downstairs to the hotel lobby, Shane saw Silas holding Connor’s hand and leading him into the
hotel.
As soon as Connor spotted Shane, the former shook off Silas’ hand and ran to Shane, choking out
through sobs, “Daddy!”
Shane crouched down and hugged him while gently patting his head. “There, there. Don’t cry.”
I know he’s like this because he’s worried about Natalie. I am too, but I have to remain calm.
Otherwise, it’ll only make it more difficult to find her.
After comforting Connor, Shane looked up at Silas. “Where’s Sharon?”
Silas quickly explained, “She didn’t come with us. Mrs. Wilson is looking after her. She kept begging to
come, but I didn’t let her, thinking it’d be slightly inconvenient for us since we’d have to have someone
stay with her all the time.”
Shane nodded. “That was the right decision. You did well.”
He’s right. If Sharon were here, she’d only be a distraction because we’d have to comfort her and take
care of her. That would take up much of our time and energy. Once we find Natalie, I’ll go back and make
it up to her.
“Let’s begin,” Shane said, handing Connor a laptop.
Connor nodded, then sat down on a couch in the lobby and began tapping away on the laptop.
Since they had been authorized to access the country’s satellite, Connor could use it to find Natalie.
Soon, Connor succeeded in retrieving the satellite’s security footage of the man kidnapping Natalie the
previous night.
They saw the man exit the stadium’s emergency stairwell while carrying Natalie, then get into a van
behind the stadium’s kitchen.
Connor tracked the van to the edge of Panorama River. Someone opened the van’s door and stuck an
arm out to toss a bag into the river. Then, the door closed, and the van drove off again.
Thus, they could confirm from the footage that the man had only dumped Natalie’s bag and cell phone
into the river, but not her.
All of them continued to watch the security footage closely.
The van headed toward the suburbs, driving for a long time and passing through increasingly remote
areas. Finally, it stopped in a forest.
“No wonder we couldn’t find out where they took her. There are no security cameras there!” Joyce
exclaimed.
If it were not for the help of the satellite’s security footage, they would never have guessed the kidnapper
had whisked Natalie away to a forest in the suburbs.
Sally turned to Shane and suggested, “Let’s send some men out to the forest to search for her.”
Shane’s expression darkened as he remained silent, his eyes fixed on the laptop’s screen.
Puzzled, Sally shook her head. “Don’t you agree with my suggestion?”
Silas gently tapped Sally’s head. “Silly. She’s not in the forest because that’s just a transit point. They
only brought her there so they could switch their mode of transport.”
Realization dawned on Sally. “I see. But how do you know that?”
“Through guesswork. Since the kidnapper went through all that trouble to kidnap her, he wouldn’t want
anyone to find her. He knows Mr. Shane is in the country and will launch a search. It’d only be a matter of
time before Mr. Shane found her. To avoid that, it’s highly likely that the kidnapper has taken her out of
the country,” Silas explained.
“Oh, I get it now.” Sally nodded.
Joyce and Lina also realized Silas’ explanation made sense.
Just then, Connor said in a low voice, “Here it comes.”
Shane narrowed his eyes, his gaze icy.
Everyone turned to watch the security footage and asked, “What do you mean?”
Connor gave no reply and merely stared at the security footage playing on the laptop. Suddenly, they
saw a helicopter rise through the trees up into the air. It slowly increased its altitude, then flew toward the
east.
Sally gasped in surprise. “Your guess was right on the mark. It was just a transit point!”
Clenching his fists tightly, Shane instructed, “Connor, follow that helicopter.”
“Got it.” Connor nodded, his plump little fingers flying over the laptop’s keyboard.
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