Chapter 557: The End of an Era
Eric and Yu Jiayang had a lot fewer topics to talk about. Yu Jiayang looked like he had had a very bad time these past two years, which was also understandable. After all, his own daughter had gone missing. No one would feel good in his heart. He was still looking for his own missing daughter and was not willing to give up.
“How have you been lately?”
Eric asked.
Yu Jiayang smiled wryly.
“You already know. Don’t make fun of me.”
Too many things had changed in these two years. Yu Jiayang had successfully entered the ranks of the Fortune 500 through his own efforts in these two years. Then he had continued to exert his strength, becoming more and more fierce, and had gotten an important place among the world’s top enterprises. He had been praised by countless people, and was looked upon favorably by countless people. He had even gotten the title of the world’s number one designer. Everyone had said that he was young and promising, a heaven-sent genius of the era.
But his family was not very happy.
No matter how successful he was at work, he could not cover up his own family. Ever since his youngest daughter had gone missing, he had been very depressed and had not been able to get any release.
And his wife was living in self-blame every day, always going to the police station to ask about the situation, but there had never been any clues. She had reduced the number of films she was in. The workaholic of the past had also gradually faded away. The number of times the former Hollywood queen had appeared on the screen was also decreasing. Later, there were also more newcomers who had emerged. She had also begun to be questioned if she had been eliminated by the times.
At this time, her daughter, Yu Xiayue, had entered Hollywood by a twist of fate, had started to film movies, and had debuted as a child star. She wanted to take over her mother’s mantle and work hard to shine in Hollywood.
Eric didn’t say anything more. He was leaving America. After a few brief words, he said it was about time to go.
“What kind of work have you been doing these two years, Eric? I hear you had borrowed a lot of high-interest loans when you had gone bankrupt two years ago.”
Yu Jiayang asked casually.
Eric was stunned for a moment, but he quickly calmed down.
“I was just doing some small business with a friend, had saved up some money and had paid it back. I’m going to another place to start over. I don’t know if there will be a chance to meet in the future.”
“Then I wish you a smooth journey.”
“Thank you.”
“Seeing that you’re living so well now, I’m also relieved. Two years ago, seeing you so miserable, I was originally thinking of helping you out, but thinking that you don’t like to be pitied, I gave up. After that, I had proposed to the company to have you come in, to join our team. Many people had been against it, saying that you were our rival after all. It had not been easy to persuade everyone, but then I couldn’t find you. And then my daughter’s matter had happened, and then it had been delayed all along. Eric, I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier.”
Yu Jiayang had said a lot in one breath. Many of the things were things that Eric did not know.
“Now you’re leaving. I wish you good luck. I hope you will do better. By the way, if there are any clues about my daughter, please be sure to tell me. I have always lived in San Francisco. You can surely find me.”
“…”
Eric’s face was full of disbelief. He widened his eyes.
“You, you had thought of having me work with you? Why? We are rivals.”
“It’s not as if there are only eternal rivals in this world. At that time, I felt that you had this talent, that you could do things with me. I didn’t mind that you were my rival. I couldn’t possibly care about this kind of thing. But it’s useless for me to say these things now. They are all past thoughts. Eric, you have to do well in other places in the future. I also look forward to the day when I can see you again.”
“…Kevin.”
“Mmm?”
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing to me for? You’re just leaving. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”
“…”
Eric didn’t even know how he had left.
He returned to his own residence, looked at his own hands, and suddenly felt that he was a bastard. He himself knew that he was a bad person and had never expected anyone’s understanding. He was just for the money. But today, his old rival’s words had made it hard for his mood to calm down.
He picked up the phone and dialed the number he had not dialed in a long time.
“Eric? Why are you looking for me? Do you have some business to take care of me?”
“I want to ask you something. Two years ago, we sold Catherine’s daughter. Do you know where she has been sold to now?”
“How would I know? I have so many buyers I’ve dealt with. How can I remember so clearly? As for her, she should have been sold to another country. You know, we do international business. And on the sea, on a ship, with such a large group of children squeezed together, those who are sick get sick, and those who die die. I don’t even know if she’s still alive.”
“So you’re saying she’s already dead?”
“The possibility of her being alive is not great. I’ll just assume she’s still alive. Then I also don’t know where she’s been sold to. What, why are you asking this?”
Eric sat in his chair, his whole person as if he had lost his strength. He became very dejected.
That’s right. What was he still thinking? After doing this, there was no turning back. What on earth was he thinking? To still be thinking of being a good person? He was no longer a good person.
Yes, when he had been doing human trafficking, he was already a bad person. He had no turning back long ago.
Now, he had another thought.
“I’m thinking, aren’t Kevin and his wife always looking for their child? The police station has also been looking for us. Now there are also reports that Catherine is mobilizing her acquaintances and even movie fans to look for their child. Can we make them give up this idea?”
“What you said does have a bit of a point. Then you tell me how to do it.”
“The reason we weren’t found out by the people from the California police department back then was because we had our people inside. If we want to close the case this time, we still need an inside man.”
“A fake certificate? You really have the guts. To make Yu Jiayang completely give up, is it necessary to do so? You have to think it through. This is no joke.”
“I’m also very serious. If they continue to investigate, they might also investigate us. This matter involves a big shot. The police don’t dare to be careless. But if the case is closed, and the person is also gone, then won’t there be no worries?”
“You are a thoroughgoing scumbag. I admire you. Coincidentally, I have a little girl here who has just died of illness. I was just worrying. Now I can just contact that inside man, and we can make a fake certificate. By the way, what can you provide?”
“I have his daughter’s personal belongings in my hands. They are all from two years ago, a hairpin and an amulet, and so on. I’ll just take them all over.”
“You’ve got it.”
To do this kind of thing, if it were to be found out, it would not be as simple as just going to jail. But would a person who was in the triads care about these things? With so many lives on their hands, how could they care about this kind of thing?
Because Eric wanted Yu Jiayang to completely give up this idea. He didn’t want Yu Jiayang to continue to look.
But the children who had been abducted and sold in their hands, many of them had been in one place, or a basement, or had boarded a smuggling ship again. To survive in that kind of environment, even if you weren’t sick, you would get sick. Many children’s resistance was already poor. Not many of them could survive. For Yu Linna to be able to survive in that kind of environment was actually a very difficult thing. At least that’s what Eric thought.
And then not long after, the inside man at the California police department had worked with the people outside to make a fake, had forged the bones, and had also found the amulet and hairpin that Yu Linna had once been wearing. The California police department had issued a certificate, and through identification, had “confirmed” that this was the daughter that Yu Jiayang had been looking for for two years, and then had handed the death certificate to Catherine.
Catherine had taken this certificate. She had looked at it for half a day, and then she had held her head and had shouted, and had fainted.
At that time, although Yu Jiayang had not said anything, his heart was already on the verge of collapse. In any case, to lose a child who had not yet been raised, for a parent, was an extremely cruel thing.
The case was thus closed. The California police had caught this group of criminals, wanting to get some useful clues from their mouths. But these human traffickers had just said that they had bought them from other buyers. They also didn’t know much. Then the people from the California police department had spent a very long time investigating, but had never been able to find the original buyer of Yu Linna. And these human traffickers, they themselves also didn’t know that they had been schemed against by Eric and the others.
The person had been defined as dead, but the mastermind had not been found. The case had entered a file bag and had been pressed down. This one press was for more than ten years.
…
Catherine was gloomy all day, her whole person without any life. She was at home, holding a teddy bear, and had been holding it all along.
“Nana, here, it’s time to eat. Look, the cake you like the most. Here, open your mouth and eat.”
“Nana, after we’re done eating, let’s go and play. Mom will go with you.”
“Nana, you’re four this year. It’s time to go to kindergarten. But Mom is reluctant to let you go. You can just stay at home with Mom. We won’t go anywhere, okay?”
“Nana, we’ll always be together. Mom won’t abandon you. I swear, okay?”
Yu Jiayang, seeing his wife like this every day, couldn’t bear it anymore. He had directly snatched the tattered, dirty teddy bear from his wife’s hands. With nothing in her hands, Catherine had suddenly become flustered. She had grabbed her husband, wanting to snatch it back.
“Give it back to me! Give it back to me! My Nana! Give it back to me!”
“You’ve had enough, Kate!!!”
Yu Jiayang had pushed his wife away and had roared.
“Is there any meaning in you holding this doll every day? If you talk to it every day, will it become Nana? How long are you going to deceive yourself! That’s not your daughter, you understand!”
“Shut up!! Shut up! Don’t say any more!”
Catherine held her own head and screamed in pain, throwing a tantrum like a child. Her tears couldn’t be stopped.
“That is my Nana! The Nana I didn’t look after well! I’m not wrong!”
“Like this, if Nana is watching in heaven, will she be happy?”
“Don’t tell me these things anymore! I know, I know everything! I just can’t forgive myself! If I had been a little more careful back then, a little more cautious, this kind of thing would not have happened! That is my child! I haven’t raised her! She’s not here anymore before I’ve even accompanied her to grow up! That’s my fault! It’s my problem! I have no right to be a mother! A person who can’t even look after her own child, what right does she have to be a mother! I’m not worthy!”
“Kate, don’t be like this. I’m begging you…”
“No! This is my fault! It’s my fault! Can’t you just come at me if there’s anything? You can kill me. Why did you have to go for my child? My child is innocent! She was not wrong to be born into this world! She did not grow up! Why did you have to snatch my child away? I’m begging you! Take my life away! Bring her back…”
Catherine was kneeling on the ground, crying her heart out. For these two years, she had been crying all along, and had never stopped. The originally cheerful her was now gloomy all day.
To herself, what was the use of having so much fame, of winning so many awards? She couldn’t even protect her own child. What was the meaning of her having these things? She just wanted the child she had not been able to accompany to grow up. She didn’t want anything else.
But she also knew very well that she couldn’t get anything.
Yes, this person, Yu Linna, was already registered as dead in the police records.
How she had died, how she had been abducted and sold, the police had not been able to find out, but Catherine had already collapsed.
Later, Catherine had hired a psychologist, had taken a lot of medicine, and had seen many doctors, but there was still no improvement. Later, her body had gotten worse and worse. After intermittently taking on a few films, she had finally had no more energy to face the camera. And so she had attended a press conference and had announced her retirement from the circle, and would no longer appear in Hollywood film and television works. And then she had chosen to recuperate her body. For a period of time, she had even returned to China to use Chinese medicine to regulate her body, and had seen many famous doctors.
And Catherine’s retirement from the circle was even more so the end of an era in Hollywood. Although there were many controversies, Catherine would surely not be returning to that place. This one departure was for many years.
