Astrid turned toward the door and locked eyes with Isaiah.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

Isaiah did not say anything but motioned to his assistant, Mike Lancaster, to approach.

“Coco, I got you a new music box. I hope you like it.”

Coco rubbed her eyes and took a moment to register what was happening, “Mommy, am I dreaming?

“Uncle Isaiah got me a new music box!”

“It's not a dream.”

Astrid took the music box and handed it to Coco. “Go on, play it.”

Coco danced to the rhythm of the melodic tune churning out of the music box, then her eyes began to tear up. “Thank you, Uncle Isaiah. I will cherish it.”

Isaiah noted Coco’s excitement and the tears in her eyes.

He hesitated for a few seconds before remarking in a somber voice, “Coco, Emmie wants to be the lead dancer during the performance today.

“Your face is cut anyway, so it wouldn’t be wise for you to dance. Why don’t you let Emmie take your spot instead?”

Astrid’s smile stiffened in an instant. Coco’s eyes began to fray with red as well.

So the reason he came to visit was not because he was concerned for Coco; he was only here to negotiate for Emmie.

What an insult!

“Alright, Uncle Isaiah,” Coco answered icily.

She gently caressed the white tassel ornament on the music box and felt her heart break.

The way she said it made Isaiah instinctively frown. Just as he was about to say something, the phone in his pocket rang.

It was Juno.

“Emmie has a nosebleed, we need you right now!”

His expression changed in an instant, and he left immediately.

The moment he walked out of the room, Astrid called out after him, “I mailed you something, make sure you open it tomorrow morning…”

Isaiah cut her off impatiently, “Don’t bother buying anything for me in the future, I don’t need it!”

Astrid lowered her eyes to sheathe the icy look within them and did not speak.

It was not a gift or anything like that.

It was a signed divorce agreement!

…

Later, Astrid took Coco back to the performance venue, then went to her seat.

The teacher led the children backstage to prepare for the performance.

Emmie was positioned at the front of the group.

She cheerily waved to Isaiah and Juno in the audience and smiled proudly, “Thank you, Daddy, for making my dream come true!”

As soon as she said that, Astrid noticed Coco, who was assigned to the back of the group, nearly slip and fall.

Her heart nearly broke at the sight.

She got up and waved at her to encourage her, “You can do it, Coco! You’re the best!”

Coco's eyes brightened, and she responded with a bright smile.

Soon, the performance officially began. Astrid sat among the audience and flipped through the program sheet.

She realized Coco was scheduled for the last performance of the day, the dance of the Four Little Swans.

After patiently waiting an hour, it was finally time for the Four Little Swans to get on stage.

She reached for her phone and started recording, only to find that Coco was nowhere to be seen!

She was gone!

Astrid felt herself getting dizzy and quickly went to the headmaster to ask for an explanation.

The headmaster answered solemnly, “Ms. Payne, I was just about to speak to you.

“We just found out that Coco is missing. I spoke to the security guards and had them pull the surveillance camera footage. They are looking into it as we speak.

“Could you tell me where your daughter usually likes to hang out?”

“She loves to dance!" Astrid said anxiously, “Take me to the dance studio, please!”

When they got to the dance studio, it was empty. Coco was nowhere to be seen.

Astrid ran around the kindergarten in search of Coco to no avail.

Soon, the other parents heard about what happened and started to help as well, but it was no use.

One hour passed. Then two hours came and went.

It had been three hours since Coco’s mysterious disappearance, but still, there were no leads!

Astrid was sweating anxiously when she spotted Emmie, who was playing on a swing in the playground. She was toying with a white tassel pendant.

Astrid approached her and asked anxiously, “That’s an ornament from my daughter’s music box! Have you seen Coco anywhere?”

“Astrid, what are you trying to say?” Juno ran over out of nowhere and wrapped her arms protectively around Emmie, who had started bawling her eyes out.

She was furious. “This is just a common tassel pendant, you can find it anywhere! How dare you accuse my daughter of withholding information about Coco?”

“What’s going on, Juno?” Isaiah had appeared, too.

He noticed the dark look in Astrid’s eyes and noted her strange demeanor.

“Astrid showed up and accused Emmie of hiding information about where Coco is, even though she does not have any proof.”

Juno was upset.

“She was the one who didn’t know how to look after her daughter, how dare she pin the blame on someone else! It’s ridiculous!”

“Mr. Lear, the white tassel pendant Emmie is holding comes from Coco's music box!” Astrid announced sternly.

“Emmie must have seen Coco before she disappeared!

“Coco has been missing for three hours. Do you know what this means?

“We can’t afford to waste any time, her life might be in danger!”

Isaiah's expression shifted slightly at her words.

He bent low and gently took Emmie's hand. “Emmie, you can tell Daddy the truth. Have you seen Coco? ”

“No!” Emmie's eyes looked away shiftily. “The white tassel pendant… I picked it up off the floor.”

“You are clearly lying!” Astrid insisted angrily. “I made sure to tighten it around Coco's music box, so it wouldn’t just fall off! Where did you see Coco? Answer me, now!”

“Ms. Payne, my daughter says she picked it up off the floor, which part of it don’t you understand?

“If you keep accusing her, I will have the headmaster come over and settle this for us!”

Astrid was in no mood to bicker over this. She needed to find her daughter. She made up her mind to call the police.

When the police arrived, Emmie ducked behind Isaiah and whimpered timidly, “Daddy, I'm scared, please tell them to go away!”

Isaiah frowned.

“Emmie, I’m going to ask you one more time. Have you seen Coco?” he asked solemnly.

“I haven’t seen her, I promise!” Emmie said with tears in her eyes.

“Honey, please give us the tassel pendant.”

The chief officer came up to them and spoke sternly, “Coco has been missing for three hours. This is a very urgent situation. We have to find her as soon as possible.”

Emmie tossed the tassel pendant away as if she were playing hot potato. Then she demanded that Isaiah take her home.

Isaiah obliged and took her away. Before he left, he stopped and turned to Mike. “Bring more manpower over and find the girl."

Juno was taken aback by the gesture while Emmie looked upset.

Astrid was in no mood to care about how they felt. She followed the police officers and their patrol dogs to the back of the school building.

Suddenly, the police dog started barking at the innermost closet in the dressing room!

“Coco!”

Astrid charged at the closet and pounded at the door as hard as she could while crying out, “Are you in there? Say something, it’s Mommy!

"Someone, pry this door open, hurry up!”

As soon as the closet door opened, Astrid was shocked by what she saw.

Coco was in a curled-up position inside the closet. Her breathing was very weak, and her face was a faint purple.

The back of the closet door was covered with scratches. She had been clawing at it with her nails!

Astrid carried the distressed Coco in her arms and was in complete shock by this point.

After they got into the ambulance waiting by the entrance, she cried out frantically, “Hang in there, Coco! We’ll get you to the hospital!”

Moments before the door closed, Isaiah gripped the door and entered the ambulance as well and declared, “I’m coming with you.”

“What are you doing here?” Astrid was equally surprised and slightly disgusted by his sudden appearance. “I don’t need you here, quit acting like you care! Scram!”

Isaiah was surprised by the way the usually docile and timid Astrid was lashing out at him. He paused briefly before turning to the driver, “Go on, drive!”

The ambulance took off. The pair was stuck in the cramped space, facing each other.

“Uncle Isaiah…”

Isaiah got up and held Coco’s hand firmly.

“Coco, who locked you in the closet?” he asked gravely.

“It was Emmie.”

Coco’s voice was frail as she spoke.

“She saw the picture of you that I kept inside my pencil case and found out that you were my father. She said she would keep it a secret if I would stay inside the cabinet for two hours…”

“I… did I last two hours?”

Astrid was heartbroken and could not bear to listen anymore.

She felt a torrent of emotions inside her and shoved Isaiah away while howling at him, “Don't you feel any guilt?

“This happened because you are too lax with Emmie! You let her hurt Coco and let her get away with it!”

“Astrid, I want to apologize to Coco on behalf of Emmie for what happened.”

Isaiah continued solemnly, “She is young and doesn’t know better. She didn’t mean any harm by it.”

“She locked Coco inside a closet! You call that not meaning any harm?” Astrid snapped back.

Isaiah was about to say something when his phone rang.

He answered it and became more solemn as the dialogue went on.

At one point, he replied anxiously, “Juno, I promise I can explain. Don’t leave just yet, I’m coming to you right now!”

“Coco, I'll come back for you later!” So he ordered the driver to stop the car.

“Uncle Isaiah, won’t you stay?”

Isaiah fell silent for a moment but ended up opening the door anyway. “Something came up, I have to go.”

“Uncle Isaiah!” Coco called out after him, then she bid him farewell quietly.

Isaiah turned and stared into Coco’s reddened eyes. After a brief pause, he assured her again, “I’ll visit you at the hospital!”

After he closed the ambulance doors, silence descended again.

Astrid hugged Coco tightly in her arms as she burst into tears.

“Coco, don't cry. Mommy is here, I will always love you.”

After the doctors attended to Coco in the hospital, her condition stabilized, and she was no longer in danger.

Astrid hugged her again as Coco cried her heart out. It was as if she held the world in her hand.

Coco coughed while turning to look at the entrance of the ward.

She asked weakly, “How long is it going to take for Uncle Isaiah to come?”

Astrid felt her heart break again.

She did not have it in her to tell Coco that Isaiah was not coming.

“He said he was on the way when I called just now, let me call again.”

Astrid walked outside and called Isaiah.

When the call was connected, it was Emmie who answered instead. “Who is this?”

Astrid paused before asking, “Where is Isaiah?”

“He’s getting me some sauce now.”

Emmie put on an act, “I was telling him to go to the hospital to see Coco, but he refused and insisted on bringing me out to get some barbecue.

“He said he needed something nice to take my mind off of what happened today, I couldn’t say no.”

Just as Astrid was about to speak, she heard Juno's voice ringing through the speakers as well, “Astrid, Isaiah panicked when I told him I found out that you two are related to him. He promised he was going to divorce you tomorrow.

“You are nothing but a substitute! Did you think you could cement your place beside him just because you’ve had a baby with him? Quit dreaming! I am the only one he will ever love!”

“Mommy, stop it.”

Emmie kept up the charade, “Don’t worry, I’ll ask Daddy once he comes back. He loves me and will do anything I ask him to.”

Astrid could tell Emmie was only saying that to rub it in. The arrogance in Juno’s voice didn’t help either.

Even when Coco’s life was in danger, Isaiah chose to ignore her needs and elected to be with Emmie instead!

He even filed for divorce at such a time. The man was as cruel as they come!

She had completely given up on him. After the call, she immediately sorted Coco's discharge procedures.

Coco did not ask Astrid any questions.

She silently tore up the family portrait and tossed it into the bin along with the lion clay doll meant for Isaiah.

Before they left the hospital, Astrid went to the doctor and left explicit instructions with him.

“If Doctor Lear asks about Coco, tell him that she died of respiratory failure.”

The doctor was taken aback by the request and refused her.

“Please.” Astrid gave him a bank card. “I’d like to live a life with my daughter without being disturbed.”

“Alright.” The doctor finally obliged.

On the way to the airport, Astrid held Coco tenderly and applied medicine to the wound on her face.

They both had a silent agreement not to talk about Isaiah.

It was as if he had never existed.

After they boarded the plane, Astrid texted Isaiah: [Goodbye, Isaiah.]

Soon after, her phone started ringing.

She ignored Isaiah’s calls and changed her SIM card.