Leonardo felt a sense of defeat; it was his fault for allowing her to go on this graduation trip without bodyguards.

Just then, the suite door was pushed open, and a woman hurried in. 

She had long, silky black hair and pale skin that showed few signs of age, yet she looked haggard and weary without a trace of makeup.

Vivienne Sinclair had arrived.

"Brother!"

Leonardo offered a forced smile and crushed his cigarette. "I told you not to come." "What happened? Your eyes are swollen. Did Sebastian bully you?"

Vivienne couldn't even manage a smile. Upon learning Bella was missing, she had cried for three days. Her husband, Sebastian Xie, had promised he would find their niece, which was the only thing keeping her sane.

"If I had known you would act this way, I wouldn't have told you."

"Lin doesn't know yet, does she?" Vivienne asked.

"I didn't dare tell her," Leonardo admitted. "She'd probably cry herself to death".

As they spoke, a phone on the table lit up. The screen saver was a photo of Bella at the Sissi Crown Palace with a pet water buffalo. Leonardo's expression darkened as he mimicked his daughter's tone to reply to his wife:

【Mommy, I'm out cycling with friends!】

【Video Call Declined】

【I'll take a picture of my lunch when I get to the restaurant!】

"Is this how you've been deceiving her?" Vivienne's heart ached, and tears immediately spilled down her cheeks. "This is Bella's phone."

Leonardo had been forced to resort to this desperate measure to keep the truth from his wife, Lin Sinclair. Over the past few days, every photo and video sent to her had been meticulously fabricated by specialists using AI.

His voice was low and raspy. "The German police found it. I had them return it to me."

"Sebastian has also sent out search parties—all people he trusts implicitly," Vivienne added, trying to steady herself. "Rest assured, not a word of this will leak out. Julian has also mobilized his friends in Germany to gather information." At the mention of her younger son, Vivienne sighed.

The two cousins had always been closer than the others; with Arabella missing, Jia Ying had been so sick with worry that he couldn't eat or sleep, losing over six pounds in just a few days.

Vivienne embraced her brother, the man who had protected her since childhood. In her eyes, Leonardo was omnipotent and unbreakable. Uncertain of how to offer comfort, she could only pledge her full support in the search.

"Brother, you must take care of yourself too. Bella has been blessed with incredible luck since she was small; she will surely return home safely. Besides, her physical resilience is remarkable—you trained her yourself! We have to believe in her."

Leonardo offered a thin smile but remained silent, merely patting his sister's hand before walking to the floor-to-ceiling window to light a cigarette.

Outside, the night was brilliant. A drone show was unfolding over the fountain plaza of the Sissi Crown Palace, and many guests were busy capturing the spectacle on their phones.

As a parent, his concern for his child was beyond measure. He worried about everything: Bella's safety, whether she was being mistreated or suffering, whether she was eating or sleeping well—and most of all, he worried about her head.

When she was fifteen, Bella had accidentally suffered a blow to the head, causing her to lose a full month of memories and leaving her with a recurring chronic pain. The family had been terrified. Since then, her neurological health had been their utmost priority. Beyond continuous therapy, acupuncture, and supplements, she underwent rigorous annual check-ups.

He prayed that everything would be alright—that this was merely a close call and not a man-made tragedy.

Leonardo's expression hardened, his lethal aura as sharp as it had been in his youth. "Whoever dared to touch my daughter," he murmured, "I will make them pay a hundredfold."

-----

Arabella Sinclair, who had fallen into the depths of the forest after hitting her head while trying to catch a stray cat, was completely oblivious to the chaos in the outside world.

She had no idea that a professionally altered photo of her had been posted on the dark web, with a bounty for her recovery reaching six million dollars and rising.

Arabella had settled into life at the Herheid Estate, eating and sleeping well, though she occasionally felt a profound sense of homesickness for the parents she couldn't remember.

Her new quarter was a grander, more luxurious suite featuring a terrace, a private bath, and a massive walk-in closet filled with clothes and shoes Frederick had prepared for her.

Crucially, her room was adjacent to Frederick's study, connected by a sliding door. If he left it unlocked, she could sneak in whenever she liked.

The study was adorned with numerous taxidermy heads—trophies from his hunts including elk, wolves, kudu, hyenas, wild boars, foxes, and a pair of brown bears. While they were undeniably beautiful as specimens, they were imbued with a violence that Arabella felt clashed with Frederick's elegant and noble demeanor; she found them unsettling and rarely visited.

Having decided to keep her, Frederick had to attend to various practicalities. It wasn't as simple as raising a bird. His immediate priorities were giving her a new name and securing an ID for her; in his subconscious, the idea of searching for her original identity or family had been entirely discarded.

On a day when the sun was unusually warm and the breeze gentle, the estate's great lawn looked like a sheet of shimmering green silk, perfect for outdoor activities.

After lunch, Arabella couldn't wait to take her new friends—Black, Peach, and Kiki—out to play frisbee.

She performed all sorts of tricks with a simple plastic frisbee, leaving the surrounding servants dazzled. The leopard, Kiki, was as fast as lightning, always the first to snatch the disc before "cheating" by pinning Arabella to the ground and licking her face.

"Stop! Kiki! I'm covered in your spit!". "Ow! Don't nudge my waist! It tickles, hahahaha!".

Frederick, having finished his business, stepped onto the terrace for a cigarette and caught sight of the girl playing boisterously with his pets. 

Frederick smiled, the ember of his cigarette glowing between his fingers, though he didn't smoke as he focused his gaze intently on his "Birdie". The sunlight gilded her pale skin, and her long hair appeared as a rich chestnut—a chocolate waterfall—under the intense light.

She was playing so wildly that her hair flew everywhere. Noting how she tugged at her high-collared lace dress, Frederick considered removing all the high-collared items from her wardrobe in favor of more comfortable silk scarves or fur wraps.

Suddenly, the glossy leopard pounced on her again, placing its heavy paws on her shoulders and licking her face with abandon. Frederick frowned and crushed out his cigarette.

"Come here, Birdie," he called out, raising his voice to ensure she could see him. His voice was magnetic and deep, carrying a natural authority and pressure when he emphasized his tone.

The two dogs were the first to sense the change in their master's mood. They stopped their chase, barked at Arabella, and teamed up to drive Kiki away. Rescued at last, Arabella wiped her face with her sleeve and patted Peach on the head. "Thank you, girl!". Peach barked back in acknowledgment.

Arabella sat cross-legged on the grass, looking up at the man on the terrace and waving her arms. "Can you wait a minute? I still want to play with them!".

Frederick looked down at her and spoke gently, "Why don't we finalize your name first? Then you can play. I've had the servants prepare an afternoon tea with all your favorites". 

At the mention of food, Arabella scrambled up happily. "I'm coming now!". She handed the frisbee to Peach, quickly put on her shoes, and ran into the building. She navigated her way to the third floor, arriving at Frederick's study.

Inside, Frederick meticulously wiped the dirt from her face with a handkerchief and produced a new pair of cashmere socks for her.

Arabella looked up in confusion, her toes already curling inside her leather shoes. Feeling guilty, she blurted out, "My socks aren't dirty! They're clean".

Her attempt at lying was clumsy, and Frederick didn't call her out on it. "Of course, you're a good, clean girl. But these are warmer. The weather is turning cold, and you don't like wearing shoes".

Arabella shyly mumbled a protest, and Frederick ruffled her hair. "Sit down. I'll help you put them on".

Arabella snatched the socks, sat on the sofa, and while Frederick's back was turned, she swiftly pulled off her dirty socks and stuffed them into the crevices of the sofa. She put on the new ones with practiced ease, a "thievish" stealth that Frederick ignored.

He picked up a thick piece of cardstock from his desk and sat beside her. "See which one you like?". The card featured several names written in beautiful, flourishing English calligraphy: Elowen, Aerona, and Elara.