"Ned, this has to be a scam. They're just trying to extort money from us—we can't fall for it! We should call the police first," Yui said urgently the moment she heard the enormous cash demand.
"Emily called me 'Daddy' on the phone. It was her voice." Ned swallowed the metallic taste in his throat, his voice hoarse and low. "You're her mother—don't you feel any pain for your child? All you care about is the money?"
"This person's hacking skills are terrifying—deleting surveillance, wiping call records so cleanly. It could all be synthesized. Maybe there's even a listening device in the house right now. The second you announced a million-dollar reward, a call comes in? It's obviously a setup!" Yui laid out the facts, trying to reason with him.
"You're not even anxious that Emily is missing?" Ned's icy gaze fixed on her. "Better to believe it's real than to risk it being true and do nothing."
