Chapter 3

Using the excuse of going downstairs to buy something, I left the house.

Evelyn had a best friend named Charlotte.

She had visited our home a few times.

Right now, I could only contact her.

After all, the Evelyn at home had my daughter's phone and all her personal belongings.

Fortunately, Charlotte's phone number was saved in my phone.

I anxiously waited for her to answer.

After a ring, a male voice came through.

"Hello, what do you need?"

This was Charlotte's phone---why was a man answering?

I didn't immediately ask about Evelyn.

"Hello, is this Charlotte? I'm Lisa, Evelyn's mother."

The person on the other end had a bad attitude, with clear hostility in his tone.

"Charlotte went abroad. Stop calling her."

The call was abruptly disconnected before I could ask more.

But why wouldn't she take her phone abroad?

Besides, Charlotte's family was just average, and her grades weren't outstanding either.

Going abroad suddenly didn't make sense.

Could Charlotte and my daughter both be missing?

Evelyn's school wasn't far away, but it was after hours now, and the school gates had long been closed.

After much hesitation, I called Evelyn's advisor, Professor Watson.

"Professor Watson, I wanted to ask about Evelyn Parker's recent situation at school."

"Evelyn Parker? She took half a month's leave, saying she had an experiment to do. She hasn't been back to class in a long time."

Professor Watson's voice was somewhat hoarse, sounding like he'd just woken up.

I immediately gripped my phone tighter.

How come I didn't know about Evelyn taking leave?

I continued questioning.

"Professor Watson, do you know which laboratory they went to?"

There was a long silence before he slowly spoke again.

"I heard it was the Singularity Laboratory halfway up the northern mountain."

After hanging up, I looked up at Evelyn's room window upstairs.

The light was dim, but there seemed to be a figure standing behind the curtain.

Just as I stood up to look again, the figure had disappeared.

Was she monitoring me?

When I got home, I packed my things that very night.

Opening Evelyn's room, I found she was already asleep.

Worried she might suddenly wake up, I placed a bottle of sleep-inducing aromatherapy by her bedside.

I also left a note on the table.

"Emergency at work. Mom has to travel for a week. Handle your own meals."

The car started, and I began navigating to the address on my phone.

It would take three hours to drive to the Singularity Laboratory.

During those three hours, I imagined countless scenarios of Evelyn's current situation---was she alive, or had she already...

If she was just doing experiments in the laboratory, then how could the one at home be explained?

Was it just to torment me?