Page 2 of For my daughter, I kidnapped the entire kindergarten
"Absolutely impossible!" The words burst out almost involuntarily.
Eric quickly said, "We've already tried contacting Anna's father, Joseph Weber, but we haven't heard anything from him so far. Ms. Lawson, we will find your daughter. Please release the children in the classroom first, okay? I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to find Anna. Everyone is working hard on this. The way you're acting now, even if we find Anna, how could you face her? Do you want her to know that both her parents are criminals?"
My heart lurched, and I actually felt a moment of wavering.
Just then, a small red ball rolled to my feet. A little girl stood not far away, looking up with bright, sparkling eyes: "Ms. Lawson, could you kick the ball back to me?"
I struggled to suppress my churning emotions, bent down to gently pick up the ball, and tossed it back tenderly.
The children remained innocent and carefree, completely unaware that this classroom had been shrouded in fear and confrontation. But could my Anna still play games so happily? I didn't dare think further.
I glanced at the watch on my wrist and called out coldly toward the door: "Eighteen minutes left. Have you found any leads?"
The negotiation had broken down.
Eric sighed, his brow furrowed with anxiety. The police had already taken their positions, and negotiation specialists sent by the state had arrived on scene, rapidly deploying tactical plans.
This incident had already caused a citywide sensation. Reporters and social media crews swarmed in, cameras focused on the kindergarten's entrance.
The orders from above were clear: absolutely no child could be harmed. If necessary, the suspect could be shot and killed.
But Eric still didn't want it to come to thathe believed things hadn't reached that point yet. Based on his years of experience handling cases, he felt that woman didn't seem like a criminal, but more like a desperate mother.
He asked, "How's the surveillance recovery going? Did Anna actually leave the kindergarten or not?"
A colleague from the tech unit quickly responded: "We've restored the deleted video segments. From the existing records, Anna never appeared in any exit surveillance footage, and there's no indication she left the building."
Eric frowned deeply: "If Anna really didn't leave, then where is she? But the entire campus has been searched three times. We've checked the classrooms, offices, principal's office, kitchen, storage rooms, and activity rooms."
The police searched inside and out again, but found absolutely nothing.
"Did she just vanish into thin air? There's no other explanation!" Colin Barnes slammed his fist against the wall, his voice full of frustration. "Every corner here has cameras! There are no surveillance blind spots!"
"Wait!" A flash of inspiration struck Eric. "Are there cameras installed in the restrooms? Search the bathrooms!"
The kindergarten's restrooms were indoors, and Anna had last disappeared from her classroom. But that was exactly where Elise was holding the hostages.
The loudspeaker inside crackled to life again, Elise's voice cold and mocking: "Fifteen minutes left. You police are truly uselessyou can't even find one child."