She Outshines Them All (Athena and Matthew) novel Chapter 125

Chapter 125*
After pauxing for over a minute. Wesley’s ho***se voice finally came from hit copped hands On New Year’s Day that ye your grandparents took Zilvia to the pedestrian street to play. In front of the department store, there was a commercial square with an acrobatics performance, and the three of them gathered there to watch They hadn’t been watching for long when Zalvia said she wanted a candied hawthorn skewer, so your grandpa went to buy one
Wesley continued. “Before he could retom. Zilvia sw some kids nearly playing with balloons and said she wanted one too The balloon vendor was only about ten meters away, so your grandma thought it would just take a few minute and back. She told Zilvia to stay put and wait while she went to get the balloon
Basically, the direction of this kind of story was always predictaldr
The sad and i
atmosphere gradually spread.
Athena closed her eyes, her heart slowly sinking as she silently prayed, hoping it wasnt as she feared.
Wesley’s voice had already choked up, filled with endless pain: When your grandpa came back with the candied hawthorn Zilvia was nowhere to be seen…”
He was holding back, trying not to cry or break down
Athena’s nails dug deeply into her palms, the pain piercing sharply
After another two to three minutes, Wesley continued, “Your grandpa and grandma were nearly driven mad With their bodies over sisty, they stumbled around searching everywhere, asking everyone, even kneeling on the ground and to people, begging for help to find their grandchild”
He sighed. There were surveillance cameras in the mall, but they weren’t as widespread as they are now. There were blind spots. The cameras showed that after your grandma walked away, Zilvia seemed to notice something and worked toward the side of the mall on her own. Her figure disappeared into a blind spot in the surveillance cameras. We tried every possible way—posting missing person ads everywhere, crying on TV and websites, asking relatives and friends for brip. The media, police, and citizens of Kitmore City also joined the search, but Zilvia… seemed to have vanished into thin air and was
never seen again.
Athena closed her eyes, not knowing what to say.
For any family that loved their child, losing a child was a devastating blow
“Your mom, grandpa, and grandma cried every day because of this, falling ill one after another Your grandma eyesight, which was already pour, nearly deteriorated from all the crying. The worst part is. Wesley’s voice trepbled. The matter was very big at that time. With the entire city searching for Zilvia but finding no leads, many people started saying that your grandpa and grandma were biased towards boys and intentionally took their granddaughter to a crowded, complicated place during the holiday, deliberately abandoning her.”
He went on, “Some even said that your grandpa and grandma sold their granddaughter and had arranged for human traffickers to be on-site, suggesting that the investigation should start with them. When your grandpa and grandma beand these rumors, they were deeply traumatized. One had a stroke and collapsed on the spot, while the other fell down the and broke a leg. Although they received prompt medical attention, your grandpa was left with delayed reactions and molality issues, and your grandma not only had her eyesight severely impaired but also had to use a wheelchair for daily mobility
Winley looted regretful. “This disaster also drained all the family’s savings. We sold our original three-story hoe and moved to a worker’s dormitory area, renting an apartment in the same building, so the family had so spht mu two separate unuts. Your grandma and grandpa dahn’t want to be a burden to us and insisted on moving to the countsyair planning to grów some vegetables and raise chickens to help support the family. Of courie, we
thempol Žilvia mel countryside, but living here would only remind them od Zalvia and cause them to companilyary, feet gully and be worrind So, your mum decided to go with them to the countryside to tal
Chapter 123
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At that time, Athena’s older brother, Jaden, was fifteen years old and had just six months left before his high school entrance
exams.
Unable to bear the thought of his parents being separated and his younger brothers being away from their mother for extended periods, Jaden suggested that he go to the countryside to look after his grandparents. He transferred to a middle school in the county and later to a high school there. During the day, he attended classes, and in the evening, he returned to stay with his grandparents.
After Jaden was accepted into college, he transferred his younger brother, Joshua, to the county high school to take over the responsibility of caring for their grandparents.
After Joshua was admitted to college, lus younger brother, Zayn, was transferred to the county high school to take over the responsibility of me for their grandparents.
Thus, the brothers wook turns going to the countryside to care for their grandparents, managing to hold on until now.
Wesley recalled the most tragic period: “Six months after the incident, Catherine returned to her hometown with Maria. After that, Maria was sold by her biological father to be a child bride, and we went to adopt Maria.
At this point, Wesley seemed to calm down a bit. He finally lifted his face from his hands, picked up a glass of water, and sipped it slowly.
After finishing his drink, he said softly, “For thirteen years, we never gave up searching for Zilvia Every year, we regularly paid a sum to professional missing person agencies to help with the search.”
Athena nodded silently, understanding why the Donovan family’s financial situation was so strained
Wesley continued. Two years ago, during the summer vacation, the reason we decided so quickly to adopt Josie was because she reminded us of Zilvia. Having Josie with us helps somewhat to ease the pain of losing Zilvia
Athena poured a glass of water for her father and asked softly. “Dad, what kind of girl was Zilvia?”
When talking about their missing beloved daughter, Wesley’s gaze was both sorrowful and gentle. Zilvia… she was very cute and incredibly smart. Everyone who met her said she would be something extraordinary when she grew up
He continued. ‘She was only two years into kindergarten, and we didn’t pressure her to study at home, yet she could correctly write over a thousand characters, communicate in a simple foreign language with foreign teachers, and master two-digit multiplication and division. She learned anything she was shown just by seeing it a few times. The teachers all said she was a prodigy, the smartest child they had ever seen. She had once undergone an IQ test in kindergarten, and her score was 150. The testing teacher said she might have been deliberately controlling her score, or it could have been even higher.”
Athena’s eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this. As twins, Zilvia’s intelligence was probably quite similar to hers
Wesley murmured, “Zilvia was so smart, she never caused us any worry. We were always careful to teach her how to protect herself. For example, when she was outside, if no adults were around to watch her, she was taught not to leave her original spot. She had to be aware of the surveillance cameras around her and make sure she stayed in a place where the cameras could see her. She knows all that.”
He looked despondent, shaking his head repeatedly. “We can’t understand how such a smartgid like Zilvia could have left the place where her grandparents told her to wait that day, and why she would walk towards a place without any surveillance cameras on her own.
His voice was filled with regret. “We even suspect that maybe Zilvia’s exceptional cuteness and intelligence made her a target. The perpetrators might have been a group who observed her in secret for a long time, waiting for the opportunity to take her away..