She quickly composed herself and said to Susu, "You're not just inquiring about my granddaughter's whereabouts; I'm going to tell you exactly where she is. Go and get her. No matter how much I hate and detest you, I know that you and Xiao Anjing truly care for her. I can no longer look after her, so I'm entrusting her to you. Let her grow up properly."
"No matter what mistakes adults make, children are innocent. Don't worry, we will take good care of her. But where is she now? Didn't you keep her with you?"
Jia Nanfang smiled eerily and said, "She's still on that island."
"But the police searched the entire island, and there was no one there," Susu said, a chill running down her spine at the smile. But at least she knew now that Xiaoxiao was alive.
"I put her in an underground secret chamber on the island, along with enough water and food. Hurry and have the police look for her. I've calculated the days, and she shouldn't have starved to death yet."
Susu said in disbelief, "You left a child only a few years old alone in a secret chamber? Can she take care of herself? Even with food and water, will she eat it herself?"
"Of course, she will. People have an instinct for survival, whether they are adults or children." Jia Nanfang felt there was nothing wrong with it. "Children need to be trained from a young age to be strong when they grow up..."
"You shouldn't have applied for her custody. You're not worthy of being her grandmother!" Susu stood up in anger. What was the difference between Jia Nanfang's actions and child abuse?
She could no longer sit still and immediately asked the prison guard for permission to leave.
The guard opened the meeting room door for her. She walked out and immediately said to Su Kangxi, who was waiting outside, "Xiaoxiao is alive. We must notify the police in the island area immediately to go to the island again to rescue her."
"What did she tell you? What's the situation?" Su Kangxi asked.
Susu told him that Jia Nanfang said Xiaoxiao was still in a secret chamber on the island and that they needed to send people quickly, fearing the child might not be able to endure it alone.
"Okay, Sister Susu, then I won't see you off. I'll go find Jia Nanfang now to ask for the specific location of the secret chamber and contact the police there." Su Kangxi asked, "Is it okay for you to go back alone?"
"It's fine. You go ahead and do your work. Save the child as soon as possible."
After speaking, Susu walked out of the detention center and got into the car she had driven. She didn't start the engine immediately.
She couldn't help but wonder who Jia Nanfang truly loved.
Jia Nanfang had always been allied with Lü Yuanhong, but now, in this situation, her primary concern was Shu Zhongze, and she was unwilling to believe that Shu Zhongze was dead.
Shu Zhongze had given her the most glamorous life, but he had never truly loved her. He had merely let her bear the title of Mrs. Shu, making her a mere decoration or a puppet.
She and Lü Yuanhong had shared genuine feelings, but they also calculated against each other. In Lü Yuanhong's eyes, romantic love was not important; only revenge mattered most.
Susu sighed, thinking that even hateful people have their pitiable aspects. She stopped thinking and was about to start the car when she inadvertently saw Xiao Anjing getting out of a car and speaking to the guard at the entrance of the detention center.
From a distance, she could tell the guard's expression was one of stern refusal. She saw him dejectedly unwilling to leave the entrance of the detention center, standing there trying to figure something out.
Susu got out of her car again and walked towards him, calling out, "Anjing, why are you here?"
"Susu." Xiao Anjing looked at her when he heard her voice and also found it a coincidence, asking, "Then why are you here?"
"I just went in to see Jia Nanfang and am about to leave."
"You saw Jia Nanfang? Did she tell you if Xiaoxiao is alright and where she's placed her?" Xiao Anjing had also come to see Jia Nanfang and inquire about Xiaoxiao's whereabouts.
But the fully armed guard at the entrance simply wouldn't let him in, saying he couldn't enter or leave freely without proof or authorization from above.
No matter how nicely he pleaded, it was useless. He couldn't even take half a step inside. Just as he was worrying, he didn't expect Susu to be here too, and to have seen Jia Nanfang.
Susu sighed and said, "This woman has gone mad. She looks truly terrifying now. Fortunately, she still has a shred of humanity towards Xiaoxiao and told me where Xiaoxiao is."
"Where? I can go look for her too." Xiao Anjing was truly anxious. They had worked so hard to cure Xiaoxiao's leukemia, and they had even considered raising her themselves. But when Jia Nanfang, a blood relative, took her away, he had felt uneasy for quite some time.
"You don't need to go. Kangxi is already notifying the police there. We'll apply for her custody after she's brought back."
Xiao Anjing asked again, "She's not in the country? Not in Lancheng? Where abroad did she place Xiaoxiao?"
"She's still on the small island where she was arrested." Susu didn't want to hide it from him. She told him, "She locked the child in a secret chamber on the island, saying there was food and water inside. She's definitely still alive. It's just... it's just..."
Xiao Anjing's heart ached as he listened. "Just what? Hurry and tell me."
"Her subordinates said she had mental problems before she was arrested and would often fly into inexplicable rages and physically punish Xiaoxiao." Susu looked at Xiao Anjing's expression and didn't continue to talk about how much the child had suffered. She comforted him, "I think Jia Nanfang locked Xiaoxiao in the secret chamber for her own good, perhaps fearing she would truly harm Xiaoxiao. It's okay, Xiaoxiao will be fine."
Xiao Anjing clenched his fists tightly and said, "We should have fought her for Xiaoxiao's custody back then. Her grandmother didn't like Xiaoxiao from the moment she was born."
"Don't blame yourself. No one saw that she was this kind of person before," Susu said. "Let's go, we should go back and wait for news from the police."
"Okay, I'll give you a ride."
"No, I'm driving myself." Susu originally wanted to say goodbye to him but hesitated and then asked, "Tianyi, is he, is he doing alright at the group recently?"
It was better if Susu didn't mention it. As soon as she did, Xiao Anjing had a lot to say.
"Did you two fight again? He's been treating his office and the hotels near the company as his home lately. This kind of frantic work ethic, it's like he's gone back to when he and I first started the business. My goodness, is he going to work himself into sickness?"
Susu immediately frowned, her face filled with worry. "You've started working at the group, right? Why don't you try to persuade him more? Nothing is more important than good health."
"My dear aunt, is he the type of person who listens to advice?" Xiao Anjing said helplessly. "I can never persuade him. Once he forces himself into workaholic mode, we all suffer. You should know that I'm also working overtime every day, and when I get home, my Lan Yu complains about everything. Just do me a favor and go to the group to persuade him quickly."
Susu felt distressed and lowered her head, saying, "If he doesn't listen to you, why would he listen to me?"