Tim had given his report, and there was progress in the case.

Luke was in a good mood today, having bought a pizza and a bucket of fried chicken to take home to mom and his little brother.

Upon seeing the pizza and fried chicken, Linda couldn't help but sigh, "Do you think he's not fat enough? He's practically turning into a ball."

"Just this once, eating a little less won't hurt." Luke waved his hand, beckoning his little brother over to eat.

The little chubster had been drooling in anticipation, promptly opening the lid, grabbing a chicken leg, biting off a big chunk, and relishing the taste with an expression of infinite satisfaction on his face.

Linda took a slice of pizza for herself, glad to be spared from cooking dinner.

Luke popped open a cool beer, took a bite of fried chicken followed by a sip of beer, and it was absolute heaven.

Linda glanced at her eldest son, "Where were you last night?"

"On a mission."

"Come on, do you think I'm that easy to fool?"

"I'm telling the truth, I'm on a witness protection assignment, I can't say much about it. I came back to grab a few clothes; I have to leave again soon."

"You moving out?"

"Nah, I'm just carrying out a task. Once this case is wrapped up, I'll be back to stay."

Linda shrugged, "I don't care whether you stay or go, as long as your stuff is here, you've got to pay rent."

"Mom, you're missing out not being in business."

"I wish I could go out and do business, but who would raise you two screwballs then?" Linda had just finished scolding her eldest when she turned to the chubby youngster, "Hey, you've already had two chicken legs, you can only have one more."

With his mouth full of meat, the youngster mumbled unclearly, "Mom, chicken is protein, it won't make you fat."

"You're talking about boiled chicken, but what you're eating now are fried chicken legs, don't confuse the two. If you dare eat a fourth one, this month..."

"I know... there goes my pocket money." The little guy cut Linda off, asking with some discontent, "Can I have some pizza then?"

"Only one piece."

The little guy rolled his eyes, "You really are a compassionate mother."

"Mm-hmm, thanks for the compliment."

Luke put down his beer glass and glanced at his little brother, noting the bruise on his face, "Jack, what happened to your face?"

The little brother rubbed his cheek nonchalantly, "Got into a fight with someone yesterday and accidentally got hurt."

Luke expressed concern, "Did someone beat you up?"

"No, it was a fair fight, one on one. I beat him up even more." The little brother waved his fist, "His eyes swelled up from my punches, he cried worse than a girl."

Luke clinked glasses with his brother, "Nicely done."

Linda interjected, "Is that how you teach your brother? Fighting's not something to be proud of."

"Mom, boys can't be too honest; they get bullied easily." Luke patted his brother's shoulder, "If anyone ever bothers you, remember to tell me."

The little one boasted, "Come on, I'm the Bruce Lee of the new century."

Luke laughed, "Bruce Lee wasn't as chubby as you."

The three of them ate and talked, Luke really loved this atmosphere.

It felt like 'home.'

For a transmigrator, this feeling was precious.

...

"Ding-a-ling-ling..."

Early morning, the ring of a cellphone woke Luke up.

Luke reached for the cellphone beside his pillow, squinting at the caller ID; it was just past seven in the morning.

"Hello?"

"Luke, don't tell me you're still in bed," David's voice came through the phone.

Yawning, Luke asked, "What's up?"

"Just got a call from Ome Hospital, Lorne's gone missing."

"Missing? Wasn't he still unconscious? How did he suddenly go missing?"

"Unclear if it's a disappearance or a kidnapping yet. Let's meet at Ome Hospital in half an hour."

"Fuck, this case is just one thing after another." Luke hung up the phone, throwing it aside.

He stayed in bed for another three minutes before getting up.

After washing up, he said a quick goodbye to Daisy and rode his Harley straight to the hospital.

Luke met David downstairs, and they both hurried to Lorne's hospital room.

A black patrol officer sat there full of anxiety, looking honest and considerably more reliable than Marcus.

Luke flashed his badge, "I'm Detective Luke, in charge of investigating Lorne's case, how may I address you?"

"My name is Roland, I was on night duty yesterday when the nurses discovered Lorne was missing this morning."

"Did you leave the front of the ward last night?"

"Yes, around 3 a.m., I faintly heard what sounded like gunshots, so I went to check along the stairs, but I found nothing unusual. I was gone for about ten minutes."

"Did you see Lorne during that time?"

"I looked through the glass, and he was still asleep.

But this morning, the nurse checked and found a dummy in the sickbed.

Sorry, I screwed up," Roland said, looking remorseful.

"Who has visited Lorne these past two days?"

"His two daughters, Sofia and Emma."

"Who was the last one to come?"

"The elder daughter, Sofia, she comes back every day and stays for quite a while."

"What about the stepson, Brooke?"

"He hasn't been here these past two days."

Luke nodded and entered Lorne's ward.

The ward hadn't changed much since last time, except that the bed now held a dummy head.

Luke went over to check the window, which was locked from the inside. If someone escaped through the window, it would have been impossible to lock it afterward.

David examined the dummy on the bed, "The hair color is the same as Lorne's. It must have been planned in advance. Lorne didn't escape alone.

He was either assisted, or he was abducted."

"Creak..." The door was pushed open from outside.

Dr. Cook walked in, "Detective Chief David, Detective Luke, have you found Lorne?"

"You've arrived just in time, we were about to ask you for some details." Luke didn't waste time and went straight to the point, "How is Lorne's condition now? Is there danger if he leaves the hospital?"

"He has basically stabilized. His main issues are with his brain, and it won't have much effect if he's off medication for a short period, but it could affect his recovery if it's for an extended time."

"Has he regained consciousness?"

"No."

"Did the duty nurse notice anything unusual last night?"

"No."

"When was Lorne last seen?"

"The nurse did rounds at ten o'clock last night."

Unable to extract any valuable clues, Luke changed tactics, "We need to check the surveillance footage."

"No problem, I'll take you to the surveillance room," Cook agreed readily.

An unconscious patient abducted from the hospital?

The hospital is definitely responsible.

If anything happens to Lorne, the hospital is sure to pay a hefty compensation, and his job as the director would be over.

Soon, Luke and David arrived at the surveillance room.

Luke checked the corridor surveillance while David looked at the elevator footage.

Luke focused on the time between 2:30 and 3:30 in the morning.

The corridor surveillance footage showed Roland, the black patrol officer, leaving at 3:10.

Afterward, a nurse pushed a wheelchair into Lorne's ward, and when she came out, Lorne was on the wheelchair.

Lorne's head hung low, and he seemed to be unconscious.

The suspect in the blue nurse uniform wore a mask and cap, concealing her face, and from the body shape, it was likely a female.

The female suspect pushed the wheelchair into the elevator.

Luke and David reviewed the surveillance footage together, this video was closer and clearer, showing the exposed skin to be Caucasian.

The female suspect pushed the wheelchair out of the elevator.

Luke and David switched to other surveillance videos.

The video switched to the hospital courtyard, where the female suspect removed the nurse uniform and covered Lorne, who was in his patient gown, with a man's coat. She then pushed the wheelchair out of the hospital and disappeared into the night...