When Luna and Joshua arrived at the cherry blossom tree, it was already 2 a.m.
Lucas and his men used gigantic flashlights to illuminate the night for the two of them.
Initially, Joshua had wanted to use a shovel, but he suddenly recalled that the child they buried underneath the tree did not have a casket and that the shovel might accidentally destroy the child’s corpse. Therefore, in the end, he asked Lucas to find them a small spade instead.
It was in the middle of the night, so Lucas had no choice but to send the men out to search for a spade nearby.
However, after Lucas left, Joshua turned around to discover that Luna had already kneeled on the ground and started digging the grave with her bare hands.
A twinge of pain shot through Joshua’s eyes as he watched her scrawny figure as well as her hands that possessed only nine fingers digging in the dirt. He let out an exhale and quickly strode over to grab hold of her soiled hands.
Her hands were so soft that after only a few minutes of rubbing against the dirt, they became bloodied.
Joshua stared at her bloodstained hands and let out a deep sigh. “Let me.”
With that, he shoved her aside and started digging the soil himself.
Luna stared at him for a moment, then lowered her head to glance at her bloodstained hands. A split second later, she still reached out and started digging alongside him.
Seeing that she was joining him, Joshua knew that there was no way he could stop her. He let out a sigh and continued digging.
However…
Both Luna and Joshua recalled that they had not buried the child deep in the soil at all, but after digging for half an hour, there was still no sign of the corpse.
Joshua checked the signpost he had left again and confirmed that they had not been digging in the wrong place.
What was going on?
Joshua fell silent for a moment, then picked up the abandoned shovel and brought it down hard onto the soil—
His guesses were right.
There was nothing buried under the cherry blossom tree apart from layers and layers of soil.
Luna bit her lip.
The corpse could not possibly have rotted to nothing in just a month’s time, and even if it had decayed, there surely must have been something left behind.
Could their child’s body be…stolen? She glanced at Joshua.
Joshua’s face was etched with shock and confusion as well. However, a split second later, he reverted to his calm facade and said, “Maybe someone discovered a dead body here and didn’t think it was appropriate, so the city council took it away.”
He let out a sigh and gently patted Luna’s shoulder in reassurance. “It’s getting late now; you should go back to get some rest. Tomorrow, I’ll send my men to get the security footage over the past month and ask the city council what happened.”
Luna bit her lip and stared at the deep hole they had dug. After a moment, she lifted her head to glance at Joshua and said in a wavering voice, “Do you think…our child could still be alive?”
Joshua sighed. “If she is, then I’ll stop at no means to track her down.”
Luna fell silent once more, then finally nodded. “AIright.”
“Lucas, send her home.”
“Yes, Sir.” Lucas nodded, strode over to Luna, and escorted her back, reassuring her that they would be able to find the child.
Joshua remained motionless, watching Luna and Lucas leave intently.
After Luna’s figure disappeared from view, Joshua’s expression relaxed, and he tucked the bloodstained cloth that he had been clutching in his palm into his pocket.
“Where are we headed, Sir?” the driver asked as soon as he got into the car.
Joshua fell silent for a moment, then shifted into a more comfortable position on the backseat. “Find me the nearest DNA Diagnostic Center.”
When Luna returned from the cherry blossom tree, Gwen was the only one left in the yard. Her eyes were red- rimmed as though she had been crying. Seeing that Luna had returned, she quickly stood up and asked, “What happened?”
