Ashton nodded. “It hasn’t been raining for very long. You can try to continue tracking the footprints.”
The policeman shook his head and sighed. “That’s what we thought at first. However, after we found the footprints, we noticed a lot of stray dogs around the area, and it also started to rain. The tracks have basically been washed off. There are mostly farms around here, so it’s not that easy to check thoroughly.”
When we entered the factory, the policeman turned to Louis and said, “Look, it’s here. Take a look and see if it’s something that was with the child when she got lost.”
Naturally, Louis did not recognize Snowfluff. He looked at me and said, “Letty, come over and see.”
I was feeling a little weak in the legs and had been trembling ever since I entered.
Looking at Snowfluff lying lifelessly on the ground, I instantly lost strength in my legs and started to fall to the ground.
Luckily, Ashton acted fast enough and caught me in time, hugging me tightly to himself. He stared at Snowfluff and frowned. “It’s Summer’s dog.”
When he was done speaking, he placed me on a chair and patted me on the arm. He said comfortingly, “Don’t worry. No news is good news. They have found Snowfluff, so they’ll be able to find Summer soon.”
I pressed my lips together as tears constantly flowed down my face. With a choked voice, I asked, “Will they harm Summer?”
He shook his head and looked at me with determination in his eyes. “Trust me, I won’t let anyone hurt Summer.”
He then walked over to look at Snowfluff’s corpse.
The forensic pathologist beside him said, “The dog was poisoned. The time of death was less than twelve hours.”
John glanced at the surroundings, then turned to the policeman who led us in. “Is there any surveillance footage around here?”
“This place has been abandoned for a very long time. It’s impossible that there’s any.”
I looked at Snowfluff and could not help but shut my eyes. Then, I turned to look at Jared.
There was a strange, cold feeling in my heart.
After listening to them discuss the situation for a while, I got up, glanced at Ashton who had been silent the whole time, and left the building.
I sat in the car for a while before John and Louis returned to find me in a daze.
John thought that I was worried about Summer and tried to comfort me. “Don’t worry too much. If the police can find Snowfluff, they’ll find Summer soon enough.”
I pressed my lips together and lifted my head to look at him, then asked, “What if we’re looking in the wrong direction?”
He froze for a while before looking me in the eye. His voice was full of suspicion as he asked, “What do you mean?”
“Snowfluff’s been through training. Although it wasn’t aggressive, it’s very vigilant. When I found out that Summer had gotten lost while in Crest Residence, I initially thought that Snowfluff could have been poisoned while in their house. But now it looks like someone had brought them both out of Crest Residence. There’re so many cameras around the house. How is it possible that nothing was captured at all?”
John raised his eyebrows as if he had realized something. He hesitated for a moment before he asked, “Are you saying that someone from the Crest family, did it?”
I nodded. “Also, that person should have quite a good relationship with Summer. Otherwise, she would never have followed them out of Crest Residence so easily.”
He paused for a while, then frowned. “Do you suspect Jared?”
“Don’t you think that’s possible?” I turned to him and continued, “Back then, Macy didn’t want Summer to stay with the Crest family and didn’t want Jared to know of Summer’s existence. At first, I thought that since he had blood relations with Summer, it was a good thing for her to have one more person who loves her. But now, it seems like Jared just wants to keep Summer in the Crest family. He doesn’t want her to stay with me!”
John looked at me with a hint of disagreement, “Jared’s been doing business for many years. He won’t do such a thing. He might be able to keep Summer for himself temporarily, but she’s bound to grow up. As a granddaughter of the Crest family, she would have to attend many banquets in the future. There’re only so many people in this circle. Sooner or later, Ashton and you are going to find out about this.”
I lowered my eyes and picked at my fingers. Slightly annoyed, I replied, “What if he and Ashton are in on it together?”
Louis looked at me with a slight frown on his face. “Scarlett, let’s go back first.”
They clearly disagreed with my statement. I was getting even more irritated.
I did not speak throughout the ride back.
Back at the hotel, John and Louis were busy with something else, leaving me to stay in the room alone feeling uneasy and irritated.
Ever since we found Snowfluff, I was even more certain that Summer had been taken away by the Crest family.
Once the signs pointed me in a certain direction, it was hard to stop thinking that way.
In the end, I had made up my mind that Jared was the one who was hiding Summer.
I then immediately left the hotel and took a taxi to where Jared was staying.
He did not stay at Crest Residence. Instead, he stayed in a commercial-residential building in the city centre.
The people there said that I required an appointment to enter the building. Thus, I gave Jared a call at the door.
Although he was surprised, he soon got the security guards to let me in.
His door was left unlocked, so I pushed it open to reveal his very tidy house. Jared had heard me enter.
