The Legend of Cinderella's Counterattack

"Prison break?! How could this happen!" I grabbed Lawrence Lu's phone and shouted into the receiver, "How could she escape! Where is she now? Did you find her?"

"Ms. Lin, please calm down. We are doing our best to track her down." Officer Zhang sounded tired. It was obvious that they had been busy for a long time. "But we still have no clues. It seems that Ms. Lin has disappeared from the face of the earth."

"Impossible! Someone must be helping her! She has that organization behind her!" I felt my voice trembling, my vision went black, and I could barely stand. Lawrence Lu pulled me into his arms, gently patting my back and whispering comforting words.

"Calm down, Luo Luo, calm down..." He soothed me while speaking icily to Officer Zhang on the other end of the line, "Officer Zhang, we will do our best to cooperate with your investigation. However, if you police make any progress, please inform us immediately."

After hanging up the phone, I calmed down a bit, but the unease within me only grew stronger. My stepmother's disappearance was definitely not accidental. Someone must be behind this. And this person is most likely the leader of that mysterious organization.

“We can’t wait any longer,” I raised my head suddenly and looked at Lawrence Lu with a firm look in my eyes, “We can’t put our hopes on others, we have to go find her ourselves!”

Lawrence Lu was silent for a moment, and finally nodded: “Okay, let’s go find it together. But you have to promise me that you must be careful in everything and not put yourself in danger again.”

We began to sort out all the clues about our stepmother and the mysterious organization, trying to find her whereabouts. However, in the process of our investigation, we found ourselves drawn into a bigger vortex.

First, someone left a bouquet of black roses on our doorstep with a card warning us to "mind your own business." Then, someone tampered with our car, nearly causing a highway accident. Even more terrifying, we discovered that no matter where we went, we seemed to be followed and watched.

They are like ghosts, omnipresent and yet untraceable. This feeling of being secretly watched gives me chills, as if an invisible hand is slowly dragging us into the abyss...

I began to suffer from insomnia and nightmares. My stepmother's distorted face and the cold eyes of those men in black kept appearing in my dreams. For my safety, Lawrence Lu stayed with me almost every step of the way, but he couldn't hide the anxiety and fatigue in his eyes.

"This won't work," I said one night, waking up from the bed and looking out the window at the dark night sky. "We can't just sit there and wait for death. We have to take the initiative!"

Lawrence Lu was also awakened by me. He sat up, hugged me in his arms, and asked softly, “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare again?”

"We can't passively hide any longer," I grabbed his hand, my tone firm, "We have to find a way to find their lair. Only then can we solve this problem once and for all!"

Lawrence Lu was silent for a moment. He knew what I said was right. We are now like prey being targeted by a hunter. Only by finding the hunter's hiding place can we have a chance to turn defeat into victory.

We began analyzing all the clues, trying to find any trace of the mysterious organization. Our efforts paid off, and we eventually found a suspicious warehouse address under the name of an obscure logistics company.

"This is it!" I pointed to the address on the computer screen and said to Lawrence Lu, "I have a hunch that my stepmother and that mysterious organization must be here!"

We decided to take a chance and find out. On a dark and windy night, we disguised ourselves and sneaked into the heavily guarded warehouse. The warehouse was pitch black, with only a few dim lights, and the air was filled with a damp and moldy smell.

We were groping our way forward cautiously when suddenly a faint voice came from deep within the warehouse. We exchanged glances, then stepped lightly in the direction of the sound.

"The target person hasn't appeared yet?" asked a deep male voice.

"Not yet, but I have sent people to keep an eye on them. Report as soon as they appear!" another voice replied.

"Very good. Remember, this mission must succeed, failure is not allowed! If you let them ruin our plans, you will have to endure my wrath!"

Hearing this, my heart sank. It seemed we were right. My stepmother was indeed here! And judging by their tone, they seemed to be plotting something!

We were just about to continue eavesdropping when suddenly, there was a crisp sound under our feet and the sound of a wooden board breaking was particularly harsh in the silent warehouse.

"Who?!" two voices shouted alertly at the same time.

Oh no, we've been discovered! I was shocked, and before I could react, the lights in the warehouse suddenly lit up, and dozens of men in black rushed out from all directions, surrounding us.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into our territory!" A burly man in black stared at us viciously, the shining dagger in his hand reflecting a cold light under the light.

“It seems we’ve come to the right place today,” Lawrence Lu protected me behind him, his eyes fiercely scanning the surrounding men in black, “Tell me, where did you hide Ms. Lin?!”

"Humph, if you don't accept my toast, you'll have to drink for it!" The man in black sneered and waved his hand, "Come on, catch them!"

A fierce fight broke out instantly. Lu Yuxuan and I stood back to back, struggling to resist the attacks of the men in black. However, two fists were no match for four hands, and we were soon knocked to the ground and were about to be captured.

At this critical moment, the door of the warehouse was suddenly kicked open, dazzling lights shone in, and a group of uniformed policemen rushed in.

"Police! Don't move!"

The leader was none other than Officer Zhang. He spotted us surrounded by men in black and immediately drew his pistol, shouting, "Stop! You're surrounded!"

Seeing this, the men in black dropped their weapons and fled. Officer Zhang led the police in a pursuit, and the scene was immediately in chaos… I breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, my whole body aching and weak. Lu Yuxuan's condition was not much better. There was blood at the corner of his mouth, and his clothes were torn in several places.

"Mr. Lu, Ms. Lin, are you okay?" Police Officer Zhang walked up to us and asked with concern.

I shook my head, suppressing my physical discomfort, and anxiously asked, "Officer Zhang, where's my stepmother? Have you found her?"

Officer Zhang's expression was somewhat serious. "I'm sorry, Ms. Lin is not in the warehouse. We have arrested all the suspects in the warehouse, but they all refuse to reveal Ms. Lin's whereabouts."

My heart sank again, and a deep sense of powerlessness washed over me. After all this effort, risking my life, I still got nothing.

"Where are those men in black? Who are they?" Lu Yuxuan asked, with a hint of fatigue in his tone.

"According to preliminary interrogations, they are members of a transnational criminal group specializing in smuggling, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities." Officer Zhang's face grew increasingly grim. "We suspect Ms. Lin may have been transferred abroad by them."

"Overseas?" I suddenly felt desperate. If my stepmother was really transferred abroad, wouldn't it be extremely difficult for us to find her?

"Mr. Lu, Ms. Lin, don't worry. Our police will do our best to track down Ms. Lin's whereabouts and will never let any criminal go!" Police Officer Zhang said in a firm tone.

I forced a smile and nodded: "Thank you, you've worked hard."

Although Officer Zhang said so, I knew in my heart that it was not easy to find someone in such a huge crowd. Moreover, the other party was a criminal group with a huge power.

The warehouse search continued until dawn, during which the police found a large amount of smuggled goods and drugs and rescued several hostages. However, the most important clue for us—the whereabouts of my stepmother—remained unsuccessful.

It was already noon when I left the police station. The warm sunlight shone down on me, but I felt no warmth at all, only a chill. My stepmother's disappearance weighed on my heart like a heavy stone, suffocating me.

“Don’t worry, Lolo, we will definitely find her.” Lawrence Lu held my hand, his hand was warm and strong, as if giving me unlimited strength.

I raised my head and looked at Lawrence Lu’s determined eyes, and a glimmer of hope ignited in my heart. Yes, I can’t give up, I must find my stepmother and make her pay for what she did!

After hanging up the phone, I tried to calm myself. If my stepmother had escaped, it meant someone behind her must be secretly helping her. Our situation was more dangerous than I'd imagined.

"We have to take the initiative and not sit and wait for death." I looked at Lawrence Lu with a firm look in my eyes.

Lawrence Lu nodded, pulled up a map on his phone, and pointed to a remote warehouse address on it: “I checked my stepmother’s recent call records and found a suspicious number that appeared frequently. I traced the source of the number and located it here.”

My heart tightened. Could this be the base of that mysterious organization? We decided to take a risk and find out.

As night fell, we disguised ourselves and drove to the address on the map. It was an abandoned industrial park, overgrown with weeds and desolate. The warehouse doors were closed, and from the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Are we going in like this?" I asked in a low voice, feeling a little uneasy.

Lu Yuxuan didn't say anything. He pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and motioned for me to follow him. Under the cover of darkness, we walked around to the side of the warehouse and found a small door ajar.

Lawrence Lu gently pushed open the door, and a damp, moldy smell hit us. The warehouse was pitch black, with only a faint light from afar. We held our breath and walked in carefully in the dim light.

The warehouse was filled with all kinds of debris, and the air was filled with a nauseating smell. We groped our way forward when suddenly we heard the sound of fighting and men cursing in front of us.

Lu Yuxuan and I exchanged a glance, then tacitly lowered our footsteps and headed towards the sound. Through the gaps between the shelves, we saw several men in black beating up a man, with documents and photos scattered on the ground.

"Tell me! Where is the thing?!" A fierce voice sounded.

The man who was knocked to the ground had blood all over his face, but he still glared at the other man with gritted teeth: "Don't even think about it!"

"If you don't accept my toast, you'll have to drink for it!" The man in black raised the iron rod in his hand and hit the man hard.

“Stop!” Lawrence Lu couldn’t bear it anymore, shouted, and rushed out.