Section I

In the hospital office, a young male doctor rests in a chair. On the desk in front of me is a picture frame, in which a middle-aged couple and a boy are smiling happily.

The doctor stared at the picture a little distractedly, and unconsciously, a trace of moisture appeared in his eyes.

As he wished as a child, he became a good doctor, just like his parents.

In the hospital, he was accustomed to seeing life and death, and his heart gradually became indifferent. He knew that he was just a doctor and couldn't save everyone. He had gone through so much that he thought he could face life and death in peace, both for himself and for others—until he saw her again, facing her beautiful but pale face.

She was in a car accident with multiple traumatic injuries and internal bleeding, and when he saw her, she was lying on the operating table in the emergency room. Everyone tried their best, but there was nothing they could do, and life was constantly draining from her body with scarlet blood. Still unwilling to give up, he tried in vain to keep her.

"Don't be stupid...... she said weakly, and she seemed awake at this time, she was in shock, "I know, I'm leaving!" ”

"Don't think about it, it's going to be fine......" He took her cold hand and tried to comfort her, but the panic in his voice was hard to hide, "I won't let you have an accident......"

"You're so stupid...... You know what, you've never ...... They're not good at lying. She smiled, staring into his eyes, "You said you didn't care about me, but I know...... You just don't dare admit to loving me, do you......"

He choked up and put her hand on his face, "I love you, I've always loved you......"

"I love you too...... her voice faded into weakness, "promise me, with my love, and be happy...... Stay alive ......"

That day, he held her hand and refused to let go for a long time, but unfortunately, the woman who smiled like a flower could no longer feel his tenderness.

…………

Chris and Claire meet Joanna outside the church in the center of town, the poor mother is on the verge of collapse, her daughter is her only relative and sustenance, no matter how strong she looks, she will be terrified in the face of such an accident.

"Don't worry, don't worry." Chris comforted her, "Tell me what happened." ”

Joanna tries to calm herself down and recounts the details of what happened to Chris, and she takes Shirley to church when she hears the siren of her car outside the door, so she leaves her daughter in the church and goes out to check her car, only to find that Shirley is missing when she returns to church.

"I asked the priest and the rest of the people in the church, but they said he didn't notice my daughter." Joanna said anxiously.

"Did you call the police?" "We have to notify the police. ”

Joanna's face showed a hint of unnaturalness, but after a moment's hesitation, she still said, "The police station is not far from here, let's go now." ”

Chris noticed Joanna's reaction, but didn't think much of it, and told Claire to continue looking around. He and Joanna drove to the police station a block away. In front of the police station, Joanna was a little hesitant and looked a little nervous.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Chris said next to him, hesitated, took Joanna's hand, and pushed open the door to the police station.

Soon, Chris understood why Joanna was reluctant to come here, there were not many people in the police station, unlike the busyness in the big city police department, there was hardly anyone in sight here except for a few police officers who sat lazily behind their desks, and when I saw Joanna, there were a few rude-looking guys who even whistled.

Chris frowned, he felt Joanna next to him tremble a little, he couldn't help but tighten his hands, and stood closer to her.

"We're going to report it." Chris walked straight to the help desk, "The child is missing. ”

The male policeman behind the desk swept the two of them very impolitely, and then said casually: "Please show your ID and fill out these forms according to the regulations......"

With a "snap", Chris slapped his police ID card on the desk, and he forced down the idea of beating this person violently, and said coldly: "I want to report the crime." ”

The male policeman was stunned for a moment, he looked at Chris's police officer card, and then at his angry face, his attitude was a lot more correct, Chris is a member of the US SWAT team, both in terms of rank and force value are higher than these local police officers, and the most important thing is that obviously his temper is not very good at this time.

After reporting the case, the police asked Joanna about the situation and promised to deal with the matter as much as possible, but this did not make Joanna worry much less. Coming out of the police station, Chris and the two found Claire, the three of them searched aimlessly in the city, as time went on, Joanna's anxiety deepened, the town was not particularly large, and there was no news of Shirley for such a long time, Joanna was worried that her daughter was likely to be in danger.

The three spent half a day in worry, until in the afternoon, they received a call from the hospital: Shirley had been found and was now in the hospital.

Joanna felt a deep dread, and Chris tried to comfort her, telling her that Shirley was okay and that it was just a routine check-up in the hospital, even though he didn't know what to expect.

"Where's my daughter, where's my daughter?" In the hospital, Joanna nervously asked the doctor, "Is she okay?" ”

The doctor looked at Joanna, then at the Chris siblings, and shook his head slightly, "She's not doing well, and she's in the ICU ward right now." ”

Joanna covered her mouth in disbelief and stayed where she was, while Chris frowned tightly, "Take us over." ”

The doctor led the three to the intensive care area, to the glass window of a sterile room, and motioned for Shirley to be inside.

"Oh God, no!" Joanna cried out in pain, then went limp, collapsed, and Chris hurriedly held her up and let her lean into his arms.

"What am I doing wrong...... Punish me like this for what I did wrong! Joanna broke down, she lay on Chris's arms and cried bitterly, Chris wanted to say something, but felt his chest was so blocked that he could only pat her back comfortingly.

"Oh God." Claire was stunned by what she saw, and didn't know what to say.

In the sterile room, Shirley lay quietly, and from the outside, she couldn't recognize a cute girl like a doll—she was covered in gauze, and her exposed skin was charred, and in some places there were faint dark red wounds, which looked so hideous, it was obvious that it was caused by severe burns.

Claire helped a grief-stricken Joanna to sit aside, while Chrissy pulled the doctor around the corner of the hallway and whispered, "What's going on, doctor?" ”

The male doctor hesitated, "Are you a relative of that girl?" ”

"Yes." Chris said directly.

The male doctor Yan Sù said: "Her condition is very bad, she has severe burns all over her body, and there are even fourth-degree burns locally, which is simply miserable, to be honest, it is a cruel miracle that this little girl can survive, and ......" He hesitated for a moment and lowered his voice, "During the examination, we found that the girl was likely to have been sexually assaulted. ”

Chris was stunned, he thought he had misheard, the doctor shook his head, "You heard her right, the police found her in an abandoned warehouse, she was most likely sexually offender, and then ......"

The doctor didn't say any more, but Chris understood what he meant, and it was clear that the deranged criminals had taken Shirley hostage to that warehouse, poisoned her, and then tried to brutally burn her, and although Shirley survived, he knew that neither she nor her mother would live in endless pain in the future.

"This bastard!" Chris said with hatred that he would love to find the criminal right now and kill him in the most brutal way possible to make him pay for the crime he committed.

"My name is Chris, Chris? Rayfield. Chris said to the doctor, "Thank you for telling me this, this is my phone, please let me know if there is any news." ”

The doctor nodded, "My name is Calvin, and I'm the chief doctor here. He sighed, "I know this mother and daughter, and I sympathize with them, you know, the two of them are not doing well here, and when something like this happens, few people are willing to help them." ”

Chris heard that Dr. Calvin meant something else, and he asked tentatively, "You mean, is there something hidden here?" ”

The doctor pondered for a moment and said, "You know, in a town like this, there are always people who like to bully. He glanced at Chris, and then said, "Swan, the town's police chief, is very powerful in this town, and that rude fellow once tried to beat Mrs. Royce's idea but was refused, so he often troubled the mother and daughter after that." ”

"You're saying Shirley's affair has something to do with him?" Chris whispered.

"No, no, no." The doctor shook his head, "I don't have evidence to say that, but it is conceivable that the police department will definitely not help in this case." ”

After learning about the situation from the doctor, Chris felt a heavy heart, feeling angry on the one hand, and sad about what happened to Joanna's mother and daughter on the other. He calmed down and returned to the door of the custody unit, where Claire was still comforting Joanna, and the young mother looked bad, as if the great pain and sorrow had taken away her soul. Chris told her about Shirley's injuries, but hid about her sexual assault. Looking at the grief-stricken Joanna, Chris felt that some emotion in his heart was touched, and he made up his mind to find the murderer who hurt Shirley and make him pay......

Section II

He took a long leave and went to France.

Not long ago, she had just returned to him from there, but before she could celebrate the beautiful reunion, she left him forever.

He often wandered along the banks of the Seine, and in the photographs she sent him, the place where he appeared most often was the Seine. It's a big river, but it's very gentle and calm, just like the impression of her. In the letter, she said that she liked the river, liked to walk by the river, liked to watch the light of the setting sun shine on the water that flowed quietly, and the tranquility and faint happiness were like the feeling when she was with him.

Now, he came, and wandered where she had lingered, quietly searching for her traces. He stood by the river, watching the yellow light fade over the river, imagining her standing beside him.

The vacation soon ended, and he returned home. But, perhaps as fate would have it, when he stepped on the plane, he didn't expect that he would never be able to return to the ground again unharmed - he had been shipwrecked.

In the cabin, the shrill alarm and the frightened screams of the passengers rang out, but his heart gradually calmed down. He even had the heart to look out the window—the sun was shining from a strange angle, and below it was a patch of blue, and he couldn't tell whether it was the sky or the ocean.

He smiled helplessly, as if he was laughing at himself, and like relief.

"Are you going to die, it's really a little unwilling to think about it." He thought, "It would be nice if you could give me another chance." ”

…………

It's already evening, and the three of them haven't rested since morning, Claire is worried that Joanna's body will collapse, but Joanna refuses to leave the hospital, and she has to stay with her daughter all the time. Chris had no choice, so he ordered a meal at a restaurant outside, and opened a family escort room with Dr. Calvin so that the three of them could stay in the hospital at night and get the latest news at any time.

After dinner, Chris left Claire with Joanna, and he drove to the church, since the police station is unreliable, then he can only do it himself. He went from house to house to nearby residents and shops, trying to find clues, but to no avail.

"Excuse me, are you in the store around ten o'clock in the morning?" Chris asked the shopkeeper that it was a grocery store diagonally across the street from the church, and from the front of the store you could see the main entrance of the church and the parking lot on the other side.

"Are you a police officer?" The boss said that he was a tall, thin middle-aged man, and said impatiently.

"I'm a police officer." Chris took out his police officer card and shook it in front of his eyes, and said sternly, "I'm here to investigate a vicious injury incident, so I hope you cooperate with me." ”

The shopkeeper was frightened by Chris, apparently he didn't know that although Chris was a police officer, he didn't have the authority to enforce the law here, he hesitated, "I said, I didn't see anything." ”

Noticing his uneasiness and realizing that he probably knew something, Chris squinted at the shopkeeper and said in a threatening tone, "I don't think you're telling the truth, man, that's going to get you in trouble." He pointed to a chaise longue in the doorway, "Don't you think that chaise longue is too big in the room, I guess you should be used to lying on it and basking in the sun outside the door during the day." ”

"Oh no, I don't know anything...... the boss panicked a little, but still wouldn't let go.

Chris was about to say anything more when the door was suddenly pushed open, and a policeman walked in, he looked fat, with a thick beard on his round face, and looked like a wild boar walking upright. Seeing Chris, he was stunned for a moment, and then walked over.

Seeing the police come in, the grocery store owner looked even more nervous, "You, hello, Sheriff Swan. He looked at Chris, "Why are you here?" ”

"Well, I'll take care of your business and investigate the case by the way." The sheriff said in a gruff voice, "Who is this man, your friend?" ”

"Oh no, it's not." The grocery store owner hurriedly explained, "He's also a police officer, and he's here to investigate the case." ”

"Oh." He looked at Chris with small eyes and said unceremoniously, "I remember, you are the guy who has a leg with Widow Royce, I remember that you are not a police officer in this area." ”

"Then you'd better remember," Chris suppressed the urge to slap this stupid face, and said very unceremoniously, "As a member of the special elite unit under the federal security department, we have the right to intervene in the investigation of occasional evil cases, as for the more specific, you are not qualified to know." ”

Ten minutes later, Chris came out of the grocery store, and he watched with indignation as Sheriff Swan drove away in a police car, and since he saw this sheriff, the grocery store owner insisted that he didn't know anything, which made Chris helpless to take him. He was now certain that the grocery store owner must have known something, and that sheriff would not only not help, but might also put in the way of Shirley's case.

Chris hesitated for a moment and decided to go back to the hospital, it was already late, he felt that he should be with Joanna, Claire was smart, but she was just a girl who had just started college after all, and there were some things that Chris might still need to do. He walked towards his car, and around the corner, he saw a man standing next to his car. He frowned and walked over, guarding at the same time, and when he approached, he was somewhat surprised to find that it was a woman.

She was a middle-aged woman, dressed in a strange way, wearing a thick tweed coat, long pale brown hair curly, and several bells and whistles around her neck. She looked at Chris as if she had been waiting for him.

"Are you a relative of that girl?" The woman asked, her voice a little hoarse.

"May I ask who you are?" Chris was stunned for a moment, and immediately reacted, "Do you have something to tell me?" ”

The woman paused, her face showing horror, "I thought, can you take that girl out of here?" ”

Chris was stunned for a moment, then anger welled up from the bottom of his heart, and he said coldly, "What do you mean by that." ”

The woman looked even more frightened, and she trembled and said: "That girl will bring disaster, she will bring disaster, if ......"

"Shut up!" Chris's anger exploded, and he said viciously, "I'm fed up with you bastards, that innocent girl has suffered such a crime and misfortune, and you can still say such a thing." He stared at the woman, "Now, get out of here, or I'll shoot you with one shot." ”

"No, no, no...... I didn't mean that......" the woman took a few steps back, "I have no ill will towards that girl, I'm a psychic, and I can feel that girl is also spiritual." ”

"Huh?" Chris was confused, he looked at the woman in front of him, wondering if she had a mental problem, "Sorry, I don't quite understand what you said. ”

"I'm a psychic, that is, someone with certain supernatural abilities." The woman tightened her clothes, "That girl has a strong spirituality, which is why she is still not dead when she is injured like that." ”

"Oh, then I should be glad I did." Chris snorted, already thinking of this woman as mentally ill.

"No, that's the scariest thing - it's going to attract demons!" The woman's eyes widened in horror, and she said in a hoarse voice, "The devil will follow the pain and resentment in her heart, and then bring disaster into the world, and I can feel that the forces of evil are gathering ......"

"Maniac." Chris muttered helplessly, and he ignored the woman's crazy words, got into the car, and drove away. He is going back to the hospital and is with Claire by Joanna's side, and she needs care and support after such an unfortunate encounter.

Parking the car in the parking lot, Chris stepped out of the car. There was no one else in sight in the parking lot, and it was surprisingly quiet, and inexplicably, Chris felt a little uneasy. He couldn't help but scan around, but didn't find anything suspicious, he frowned, turned and walked towards the hospital gate.

Chris couldn't see that on the roof of the hospital, a bird was resting quietly, dragging its long tassel-like tail, its black feathers reflecting the pale moonlight, emitting an icy glow......