The area outside Michel Town had been rebuilt. The fertile land was covered with farmland and gardens. It looked very vibrant—as if nothing had ever happened here before.
Suddenly, someone came up to Russell. Turning around, he saw a man standing behind him.
The man had a slender figure and his eyes were cold and sharp. He had a pair of mysterious blue eyes. Although he looked about the same age as Russell, his eyes were so deep and mysterious that they looked like an impenetrable mountain.
“Are you Mr. Simmons? I’m Fass.”
Russell did not expect the person in front of him to be the legendary Fass Michel, the head of the Michel Family, though he looked exactly like what he imagined him to look like.
Without waiting for Russell to answer, Cooper continued, “Please come with me, Mr. Simmons. There’s someone you might want to meet.”
Not knowing the meaning behind Fass’ sudden appearance and who the person he was going to meet was, Russell followed suit.
Leading Russell down the twisting road in Michel Town, both of them came to the corner of the company’s garden. There was a girl inside trimming the branches of the plants. Her hands were rough and there were centipede-like scars snaking around her exposed arm.
Russell didn’t know why Cooper brought him here, but he heard Cooper call the girl, “Emily.”
Emily turned around upon hearing Cooper’s voice. Her disfigured face unfolded before them. Half of her face was covered with scars. Her appearance was deformed to the point that no one would be able to recognize her, although one would still be able to see that she was Asian judging from her black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin.
The girl froze at the sight of Russell. Her eyes hidden under the scars widened, and tears streamed down her cheeks. However, within seconds, she turned around and darted away, fleeing into the depths of the garden and vanishing.
The moment Russell saw the girl, he was also dumbstruck. His muscles stopped moving for a second and he could not say anything. All he did was watch the girl escape before his eyes.
After a long time, he finally came back to his senses.
“Chloe! That’s my daughter, Chloe!”
Tugging Cooper’s sleeve frantically, Russell asked in disbelief, “Is that… my daughter? Am I right? My daughter; my daughter isn’t dead… She’s not dead…”
He was so excited that he could not speak coherently.
Yet, Cooper’s expression remained indifferent as he said, “When I decided to disclose the formula of the cure to Virs-18, I took in the infected people around the town who had not been attended to the hospital for treatment. According to the file, when the child was found, she was amongst a group of seven people. But, only her life was saved. They came to explore Africa with her as their leader. She felt responsible for the death of the other six who ended up being buried in a foreign land. She was ashamed of facing her family and friends, so she refused to disclose any of her personal information and refused to be deported. Because we couldn’t find her passport and any information about her, we could only let her stay in the town. All these years, she has been working in the landscaping department to support herself. Since she’s your daughter, you should bring her away with you.”
After listening to what Cooper said, Russell was dumbfounded.
That was his daughter; his Chloe…
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much!”
Russell thanked Cooper repeatedly. Patting his shoulder, Cooper comforted him, “There’s no enmity between father and daughter. Go ahead and talk to her.”
Wiping away his tears, Russell went after his daughter.
Chloe, Dad finally found you.
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