The police dog was the first to enter the cave, followed by Theo and Ellinor.
The cave was pitch-black, and the tangy scent of wood smoke lingered in the air.
The officers turned on their high-powered flashlights, illuminating a dog cage and the remains of a fire pit in the cave.
Upon seeing the cage, Ellinorâs eyes filled with tears in an instant.
âThey must have kept Baber locked in this cage! Damn it! How could they do this to a child?!â
Theo also looked grimly at the cage.
The police dog was sniffing around, and when it caught a particular scent, it barked twice.
Byran, along with the officers, approached to inspect it, and they found a puddle of liquid on the ground.
Could it be a childâs urine?
Once Ellinor saw the puddle, she instantly understood. âThat must be Baberâs urine! Heâs leaving us a scent trail! Itâs still wet, so they canât be far away!â
Theo affirmed. âYes, they couldnât have gone far. Let all the dogs familiarize themselves with Baberâs scent and intensify the search!â
âUnderstood!â
On the other side of the mountain, a middle-aged man was struggling to carry Baber down the slope.
He was running out of steam.
They were oblivious to the approaching danger. They couldnât hear the commotion on the other side of the mountain.
The man didnât want to go on, so he stopped and let Baber down. âPatricia, I think youâre overthinking.
No one is going to find us in the middle of the night. I am totally exhausted; I canât go on!â
After seeing him stop, Patricia became anxious. âHow can you stop now?! Pick up the kid and letâs get moving!â
The man waved his hand dismissively. âI canât carry him anymore! If you want to, you carry him! I didnât even have dinner yet. Do you want me to carry him all night? This is too much! My back is not only covered in sweat, but also this kidâs pee. He peed all over me!â
Patriciaâs sense of foreboding was growing stronger. âSo what if he peed on you? I will buy you new clothes! Just pick him up and letâs go!â
âI canât move anymore! If I keep going, Iâll collapse.â
âDoâ¦do you even want the money anymore?â
The man lay sprawled on the ground, exhausted. âI canât go on; if you donât pay me because of this, Iâll report you to the police. Iâll tell them you made me kidnap someoneâs child. No one will get off easy!â
âYou!â Patricia ground her teeth. She had no choice but to pick up Baber herself. âIf youâre not moving, then I will! You just wait here to be caught. Donât blame me when youâre in jail!â
With that, Patricia picked up Baber and continued down the mountain.
She didnât realize until she picked him up that Baberâs pants were soaked.
He had peed himself.
Patricia wrinkled her nose in distaste. âUseless child, you canât even hold it in?!â, Baber was so tightly bound that he had cried himself out.
âIf you despise me so much, why did you kidnap me?â He asked in a weak, hoarse voice.