Elias’ Crimes and Punishments of Romance
Chapter 526 The First Encounter

Chapter 526 The First Encounter 

The little girl wandered on the street, unsure where to replace her daddy.

She sat on a bench by the roadside, waiting for her daddy for what felt like an eternity, but he didn’tshow up.

Suddenly, her stomach rumbled with hunger. Dulcie swallowed hard and spotted a beautiful womanpassing by. Upon gathering her courage, she approached her.

“Excuse me, Miss…”

The woman stopped and bent down to meet the gaze of the adorable little girl before her. “What’s thematter?”

“I’m hungry. Can you help me replace my daddy?”

Little did Dulcie know that the beautiful woman in front of her was her biological mother, Casey.

Casey looked around but didn’t see anyone who resembled the little girl’s parents. Could she be lost?

Parents nowadays were really careless. How could they allow such a young child to wander alone onthe street?

Casey slowly squatted down and spoke gently, “Do you know where your home is or perhaps yourdad’s phone number? I can help you make a call.”

“I don’t know…”

“What should we do then? How about I take you to get something to eat first and then take you to thepolice station? The police officers can help you replace your parents. How does that sound?” This was thebest solution Casey could think of.

Dulcie’s eyes widened as she nodded. “Okay, I’m really hungry. I want to eat.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Casey stood up and reached out her hand to the little girl. Dulcie placed her smallhand in Casey’s palm.

The moment she held this little hand, Casey’s body involuntarily stiffened as if she had been electrified.

It was strange…

It felt almost like fate, as if it was destined for her to meet this little girl.

Casey shook her head with a smile, thinking that her maternal instincts were overflowing. She did noteven have a boyfriend, so where was all this motherly love coming from?

Without dwelling on it further, she led Dulcie by the hand, walking ahead, ready to replace a restaurant withchild-friendly food.

The originally scheduled two-hour meeting had dragged on inside the company for three hours due toconstant arguments.

Simon was ready to return to the office as soon as he left the meeting room. He glanced at hiswristwatch and noticed it was already noon. That little one must be hungry; it was time to take her outfor lunch.

As Simon passed by the secretary’s office, he looked at the secretary, who was getting up, and asked,“Has Dulcie come out?”

“No, I’ve been here the whole time and haven’t seen her come out,” the secretary replied.

Simon nodded and proceeded toward the office. The little girl seemed relatively well- behaved today. Atleast she listened.

The man pushed open the office door, ready to show his fatherly tenderness. However, het wassurprised to replace it empty.

Had she hidden somewhere?

Simon scoured the office but couldn’t replace the small figure anywhere. He even checked the lounge areain the back, but no one was there either.

Could this be what the secretary meant by not coming out? Did she jump out of the window?

Jump out of the window!

The man’s face instantly showed shock. He quickly walked to the window and found it tightly closed.He was immediately relieved.

What was he thinking?

He must be going crazy.

Ever since this little one came into his life, he had felt a bit more anxious, something he had neverexperienced before.

With anger, Simon left the office and headed toward the secretary area.

Upon seeing the president’s unpleasant expression, the secretary stood up in fear and asked, “Mr.Lawrence, w-what’s wrong?”

“Where is she? I can’t even see a trace of her. Are you sure she never went out? Are you sure you’vebeen here the whole time?” Simon questioned.

“How is that possible? I have been here the whole time. I didn’t leave…” The secretary felt wronged.She had been here the whole time, except for a brief bathroom break that took less. than five minutes.

Could it be that things went awry during that short period?

Simon sternly demanded, “Tell me the truth!”

“I really…”

Before the secretary could finish her sentence, the man roared, “How can the child disappear without atrace? Did she vanish into thin air?”

“I… Mr. Symeon, I only went to the restroom for a few minutes. I don’t know if she left. during that time,”the secretary explained.

Simon’s anger flared up instantly. He picked up his phone and dialed the bodyguard’s number,ordering, “Check the surveillance. Dulcie is missing.”

After Casey finished lunch with Dulcie, she took her to the police station.

Initially, she planned to leave, but the moment she turned around and saw tears streaming down theporcelain doll-like face, it was so pitiful that she couldn’t bear it..

When faced with the police’s questions, the poor little girl stuttered and didn’t know how to answer,feeling helpless and desperate.

Casey empathized with her deeply. She recalled her own childhood when she had gone missing, too.She was scared of the kind strangers who tried to help her, so she couldn’t help. but cry endlessly. Shewished she had someone to hold her back then, but she could only hide in the corner and cry alone.

Eventually, unable to resist her compassion, she decided to stay, waiting until Dulcie’s dad could befound.

The police tried to coax her with many snacks, asking for her home address, parents’ names, andphone numbers, but they couldn’t get any information from her.

The police eventually gave up and decided to seek help online, asking the public to assist in locatingthe child’s father.

“Don’t cry anymore, okay?” Casey consoled.

“Miss, I’m scared.” Dulcie whimpered, her lower lip quivering, her big, watery eyes brimming withinnocence, making her utterly adorable.

Casey gently wiped away her tears and said, “Don’t be afraid. Everything will be fine once we replace yourdad. What about your mom?”

Dulcie lowered her head and confessed, “Daddy said that Mommy is a bad shouldn’t want Mommyanymore. He said he would help me replace a new mom and that we can meet her soon.”

With just a few simple sentences, Casey imagined a dramatic story of infidelity, divorce, and a fathertaking away custody of the child, not allowing the child to see their mother. It was so heart-wrenching.

Casey looked at Dulcie with deep sympathy and hugged her, saying, “Dulcie, you’ve been through somuch.”

These thoughts also led Casey to reminisce about her own biological family, where her father hadcountless mistresses outside, and her stepmother took over, driving her mother to commit suicide byjumping off a building.

These years, she had lived a miserable life under the oppression of her stepmother.

Now, she only hoped to replace a job quickly, move out, and escape the family controlled by herstepmother.

However, she was also unwilling to give in. Why should she simply surrender the family her mothersingle-handedly built to the stepmother who replaced her?

The mere idea of Dulcie having a stepmother who would take her mother’s place and endure awretched existence like hers brought tears streaming uncontrollably down Casey’s face.

“Miss, are you lost too? Why are you crying?” Dulcie asked with concern.

She remained silent, overwhelmed by the immense pity she felt for Dulcie, who had no clue of the lifethat awaited her in the future.