The moment I opened the door back home and saw Olivia, the weight in my chest finally settled. Olivia's eyes lit up instantly. She trotted toward me and wrapped her arms around mine.

"Mommy, what brings you home so early?"

I wrapped my arms around Olivia, stroking her soft hair. According to the Dezarae from three years in the future, Olivia would fall from a building in three hours' time.

Just to be safe, I had to bring Olivia around with me the whole time. "Liv, come to work with me today, okay? I'll buy a strawberry cake for you."

Olivia squealed with joy. She went to the entrance to change into her shoes right away, as if she was afraid that I'd go back on my words. It was a smooth journey to my workplace—absolutely nothing happened.

My secretary came and reported that the business partner who was meant to attend the meeting was absent without notice, which was just as I expected.

Deep down, I was secretly shocked that yet another matter came to pass just as predicted. At the same time, the tension within me intensified. I held onto Olivia's hand, too afraid to let go.

This time, I took the initiative to call that unknown number, and it actually went through.

"Liv is safe now. Since you said that she fell off a building, what exactly was the reason? There's no way that the accident happened for no reason."

However, the person on the other end of the call said no leads were found.

"I've investigated this for three whole years, running through everything that happened on this day countless times. I can even recite everything with my eyes closed. But there was absolutely nothing amiss, even from the post-mortem or the police investigation.

"It was almost as if Liv genuinely thought of going up to the rooftop out of curiosity and fell off the building accidentally in the end.

"That said, you and I both know that she is an obedient girl despite her age. There is no way that she'd go up to the rooftop on her own."

I couldn't help but frown. I could not feel at ease until I knew who the culprit was. Even if we managed to prevent the accident today, it might happen another day.

While I was at my wits' end, Norman called.

"Darling, I heard that you brought Olivia to work with you. Why did you do so out of the blue? She's not getting in the way of your work, is she?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, ultimately deciding against sharing the strange story in full. I answered, "I was worried about her being at home alone. It's safer to have her with me."

Norman chuckled. "Oh, you. You're just too much of a worrywart."

I let out a silent sigh. He would not have said such a thing if he knew what I just went through.

Suddenly, I had an idea. I asked, "Do you have any enemies? Or, have you had any serious conflicts with anyone lately?"

Confused, Norman denied it. I came to my senses at the same time. He was well-known among his friends for being gentle and good-tempered. How could he have any conflicts with anyone when he never even locked horns with anyone?

Nevertheless, I could not find peace until this threat was fully exposed. As I looked into each and every one of my connections, my secretary barged in frantically.

"I have bad news, Ms. Lisbon. I brought Liv to the washroom earlier, and she never came back out. When I went in to check on her, she was gone!"

Alarm bells rang out in my head, washing out all other sounds around me. I leapt to my feet and rushed to the washroom.

The washroom was filled with silence. No one was in there.

My secretary said to me with a serious look on her face, "I'm certain that everything happened in less than ten minutes. There is no way that anyone could hide a five-year-old child without anyone noticing.

"I have informed the security team to look into the surveillance footage from the entire building. We will be able to find her soon."

I attempted to call Olivia on her smartwatch, but it just showed that her phone was switched off the entire time. I managed to locate her smartwatch's GPS coordinates. It was less than 300 feet away.

I followed the signal, only to find the watch lying on the floor in a corner with no one in sight. I clenched my hands into tight fists, fighting to calm myself down.

"Ask around with the people around here and see if they have seen Liv."

Soon enough, an employee recalled, "I remember Liv heading out through here earlier, but she moved so naturally that I did not pay any particular attention."

A few minutes later, the security team knocked on my door, bringing surveillance footage with them. Much to my disbelief, I saw that Olivia actually walked out of the office building on her own!

"This is impossible."

A security guard pointed at the surveillance footage and said in a firm tone, "This girl walked out on her own accord, exactly like you see on the surveillance footage. I remember seeing this, too."

The footage showed Olivia exiting the main entrance with absolutely no sign that she was being forced in any way. She would never wander so far without telling me. Why did she walk out of the office building?

I could not wrap my head around it. I wanted to know where Olivia went after leaving the office building.

The security guard, however, said helplessly, "Once she left the office building, she was out of the range of our surveillance. We can't find where she went either."

Left with no other choice, I called the cops immediately. The officers reviewed the surveillance footage, their expressions grim.

"Ms. Lisbon, your daughter entered a blind spot after she left the premises of this building. We have not found any new leads for now.

"The perpetrators might be an experienced group of traffickers. We have dispatched manpower to search for her." If this were human trafficking, how did she end up falling off a building in the end?

I thought of the warning that came from three years into the future. There was only an hour left until the incident. My heart sank uncontrollably.

I rang my future self up to plead with her, asking, "Why did this still happen to Liv when I brought her to the office?"

I heard a heavy thud through the call. "I saw it… Even when Olivia disappeared from the office, she was still found to have jumped from the 20th floor."

My head spun. I grabbed my car keys and rushed back home. It was only on my way back that I thought of telling Norman about this. He freaked out instantly.

"Don't worry. I will be home right away to search for her alongside you. I'm sure Liv will be fine."

As I listened to Norman's voice, I almost couldn't hold back my tears. Everything was clearly going fine. How did the situation end up like this?

I sped all the way back to our residential area. The security guard at the entrance also said he never saw Olivia or any strangers pass through.

I dashed up to the rooftop. For safety reasons, the rooftop door was always locked. At this moment, it was also shut tight with no signs of anyone entering. However, there was not much time left.

Right at this moment, my phone rang. The future "me" exclaimed in an urgent voice, "No, we were all deceived. Liv didn't fall from the rooftop at all!"

I was stunned. Just as I wanted to press on to ask why, the phone call started buzzing, as if its signal was disrupted. Following that, the call abruptly ended.

Immense terror crashed over me instantly. I called back desperately, but could not get through no matter how I tried.

I heard a series of footsteps approaching. Norman showed up around the corner with a worried expression on his face.

He exhaled in relief when he saw me, then he hurried up to me. He reassured, "Dezzy, the authorities are already looking for her. Don't worry too much."

I bit my lip, barely able to hold myself together as my mind filled with self-reproach and regret. "If only I were more careful, Liv would not have been taken away."

Norman held me in a tight embrace, his tone sorrowful. "Don't say that…"

At this moment, my phone rang. I lifted my phone immediately, only to see that it was Sarah calling.

"Are you alright, Dezzy? Norman mentioned that Liv went missing. Why did you keep something like that from me?

"I'm still overseas. Flights are put on hold because of the weather. Wait for me. I'll find a way to get back!"

I shook my head in despair. Not only would traveling require time and energy, but Sarah would also have no choice but to worry alongside us when she returned.

After ending the call, I tried calling the future me from three years later. Alas, I still could not get through.

Slightly perplexed, Norman asked, "Whose number is this? Is it the wrong number, Dezzy?"

While I was taken aback, not knowing what to say, the police called once again.

"Ms. Lisbon, we just discovered a van with a young girl in it passing by suspiciously at the time of the incident. We have arrested the driver, so please come down to the station."

I shot to my feet, then rushed to the police station together with Norman.

The driver was in the interrogation room, crying his eyes out as he confessed to everything in fear. He was indeed from a trafficking ring, working with his partners to have a young girl trafficked to the mountains.

In a rage, I charged toward him to smack him in the face, but I was stopped by a police officer.

The driver then said, "I only abducted an abandoned beggar at random. She really wasn't the daughter of some CEO!"

I froze. When an officer led me to identify the victim, I only saw a haggard-looking girl curled up on a chair. Her hair was disheveled, and her skin was sallow. It was true—she really wasn't Olivia.

In a soft voice, the officer said to me, "We have confirmed that this child has been part of a group of beggars for some time. She definitely isn't the same girl—"

I grabbed onto the officer's arm forcefully, mumbling, "Officer, my daughter must have been kidnapped. She's in danger. You people have to find her, I beg you!"

Shock came across the officer's face. She patted my hand and reassured, "A situation like this is typically a child trafficking case. We will do our best to search for her. Her life will not be in danger."

I shook my head; hopelessness filled my heart. I was about to respond when my phone rang out. It was a call from the unknown number from three years in the future.

I answered it immediately, but the sound from the other end of the call was choppy, and the person's voice was muffled.

"Hurry up and check the surveillance footage… The culprit is… Document—"

"Dezarae? Dezarae?" I called out loudly, but the call cut off once again. Those who were present appeared to be in dismay when they heard me shouting my own name.

Norman took me by the hand. Concerned, he asked, "Are you okay, Dezzy? Are you worried sick about Liv? Do you want to head home and get some rest…"

While he hesitated to continue, I couldn't be bothered to explain. I shoved him away and went to look at the surveillance footage again.

At the same time, a dozen text messages flooded in all at once, as if my cellphone had just caught a signal once again. I read the messages, holding my breath, and I had a revelation. I finally had a way to save Olivia's life!