?Chapter 1659:


    Jones family estate.


    The little girl refused to stay with anyone except Christina, and no one could persuade her otherwise. Since her parents still hadn’t been located, Christina had no choice but to keep the child with her at all times.


    “Bonnie, why don’t you take her to the hospital for a checkup?” Florrie suggested.


    The thought had already crossed Christina’s mind. “Alright, I’ll take her soon,” she replied.


    Gazing at the child with gentle concern, Florrie spoke softly. “Who knows what’s happened to her parents — they still haven’te forward.” Notices about the missing child had been circted widely, yet there had been no response. Florrie worried the parents might have abandoned her, perhaps seeing her as a burden. Without any identification, tracing the family would be nearly impossible.


    “Grandma, don’t worry. I’ll help her find her family,” Christina reassured her. If public notices failed, she would use her ownwork to search.


    “Alright,” Florrie said. She reached out to pat the girl’s head, but the child immediately shrank back. Rather than taking offense, Florrie sighed gently. “Poor little thing.”


    “Grandma, I’m taking her to the hospital now. I’ll be back soon,” Christina said with a reassuring smile.


    “Okay,” Florrie replied warmly.


    At the hospital, Henrik moved briskly down the corridor, leaning on his cane. Suddenly, a small figure darted around the corner and nearly collided with him. He steadied himself and looked down to find a little girl standing rigidly before him, her vivid green eyes strikingly intense. The child seemed frozen in ce.


    Before Henrik could speak, an anxious voice called out from behind her. “I’m so sorry! She ran off before I could stop her — she can’t speak, so please ept my apology on her behalf.” Christina hurried over and scooped the girl up.


    She had only looked away for a moment before the child slipped off. The girl had been clinging to her constantly, unwilling to leave her side, which made it all the stranger that she had suddenly bolted. Had she seen someone familiar? Had some instinct drawn her toward them? Christina studied the elderly man more carefully. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if he might be connected to the child — but that thought dissolved the instant she recognized him.


    From her research into the Martel family, she knew this was Henrik Martel. The Martels produced only one heir per generation, and if this girl were rted to them, she would never be left unattended. Even if she were ill, the family’s wealth could secure the finest medical care in the world.


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    “It’s quite all right — I should apologize. I must have startled her,” Henrik said politely. His gaze lingered on them, unsettled by a vague sense of familiarity, as though they belonged to some half-remembered moment.


    “No, it’s not your fault. She suffered a head injury some time ago,” Christina exined, deliberately omitting how the girl hade into her care. The injury had left the child confused and nonverbal, though a delicate surgical procedure could eventually restore her. The surgery was extraordinarilyplex — in fact, Christina was one of the few surgeons in the world capable of performing it sessfully.


    She wondered if this was why the girl’s family had struggled to care for her, or perhaps they had simply never seen the missing-person notices. Worse yet, had something happened to them? For now, Christina had no answers. The first step was still finding the girl’s family.


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