Chapter 122: Sandwiches and Tears

With their arrival, the entire oppressive atmosphere of the police station seemed to lighten, as if by unspoken consensus, everyone collectively forced away the stagnant, heavy air.

They simply wanted to make it appear as though the Chief was not in such mortal danger. Every officer present knew how deeply devoted Helen was to their Chief, and it was precisely for this reason that they spontaneously tried to act more relaxed, hoping to ease even a fraction of the fear and sorrow in her heart.

Holding little Gwen’s hand, Helen had barely entered the station when a female Asian officer guided them toward the Chief’s office on the second floor.

Pushing the door open, they found the Deputy Chief sitting inside, temporarily overseeing all police operations.

"I am so sorry about what happened to Chief George, Mrs. Helen." The Deputy Chief had been waiting for some time. As Helen entered, he hurried forward, bowed his head, and spoke with a solemn expression.

Helen glanced at little Gwen, then forced another smile for the Deputy Chief. "Thank you for your concern. May I ask, is there something else you needed to see me about?"

As a woman who felt powerless in this situation, Helen understood that even after her husband’s kidnapping, she would not be the police department’s first priority. They usually kept such matters hidden—waiting until the person was found, until they were dead, or until the time elapsed made it impossible to conceal any longer before notifying the family. It was a mercy meant to spare the relatives unnecessary worry.

Therefore, since the police had called her in, and at such a late hour, there had to be a hidden reason.

Seeing that Helen understood the situation so clearly, the Deputy Chief stopped beating around the bush. He stepped aside, revealing a dusty sandwich sitting on his desk.

He explained, "After Chief George was kidnapped, we found this at the scene. We suspect it is a message he was trying to convey to us, but despite racking our brains, we cannot decipher it. That is why we finally decided to trouble you to come and see if you could interpret the information... Do you know what significance this might hold?"

Little Gwen looked at the familiar sandwich on the desk and immediately pointed at it, saying, "Mom, isn't that the sandwi—"

Before she could finish, her voice trailed off and faded into silence.

She had seen the fresh tears spilling down her mother’s face once more.

Those tiny tears seemed to stir a thousand threads of sorrow in the world. As they fell, the room was plunged into silence. Seeing this, the Deputy Chief sighed softly and moved aside again to ensure he wasn't obstructing the view of the sandwich. He turned his body away, no longer staring directly at the grieving Mrs. Helen, giving her the private space to let out her emotions.

But Mrs. Helen was clearly stronger than he had imagined.

Before long, she reached out to wipe away her tears, looked down with reddened eyes to offer a gentle gaze at Gwen, and then looked back up.

"George loved the sandwiches I made. Every time he went on duty, he would take one or two with him, and during his brief spare moments, he would take them out to fill his stomach. Sometimes I would tease him, asking if he ever got tired of eating sandwiches every single day. He would laugh and say he would never get tired of them for the rest of his life. I would jokingly snap at him, saying he might have secretly thrown them away on his way to work because he was tired of them but afraid to upset me—"

"But back then, he suddenly became very serious and said with great conviction: 'In this life, even if I were to die, I would never throw away a sandwich you made for me with your own hands...'"

At this point, tears spilled from Helen’s eyes once again, uncontrollably. Little Gwen’s large eyes were fixed once more on that dust-covered sandwich.

The Deputy Chief remained silent. Through this story, he roughly understood the message Chief George intended to convey. It was not a clue he had hoped for, nor was it a tactical directive. It was simply an admission that his fate was sealed.

A sandwich he would not throw away even in death... why was it discarded at that moment? The meaning was all too clear.

The Deputy Chief sighed, then immediately lifted his head and said earnestly to Helen, "Ma’am, I promise you that I will deploy every available resource to search for Chief George’s whereabouts. I will bring him back to you safe and sound!"

Listening to the Deputy Chief’s sincere vow, Helen nodded, "Thank you very much."

Yet, she seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Because her eyes remained intently fixed on the dusty, packaged sandwich on the desk.

***

October 6th.

Early in the morning, when Zhong Shenxiu opened the clinic door, his guest, who had been missing for several days, was already standing there.

It was none other than Tony Stark, still looking dashing despite his severed hand and abdominal wounds. His beard was uncharacteristically messy, with tiny new stubble growing around its signature shape; it was clear he hadn't groomed it for several days. His dark circles were alarmingly deep, and paired with his still-pale complexion, Zhong Shenxiu almost thought he was seeing Tony from *Avengers: Endgame*, drifting through space for days on end.

"How many days has it been since you last slept?" Zhong Shenxiu asked curiously after looking him over.

"Just two or three... Xiu, you truly are a miracle doctor. You can even tell that." Tony smiled, offering a rare compliment to Zhong Shenxiu.

*Even a three-year-old could tell with those dark circles...* Zhong Shenxiu then asked in surprise, "With such heavy injuries, you're staying up all night? Do you not value your life?"

"Exactly! Dr. Zhong, you really must persuade him to get more rest. I've told him countless times, but he stays in the garage every single night without sleeping... I had to go to such great lengths just to get this 'shut-in' out of the house to come here for treatment." Pepper Potts appeared from nowhere, glaring at Tony as she poured out her grievances to Zhong Shenxiu.

For once, Tony didn't retort. Instead, he whispered, "But I have Xiu, don't I? With a miracle doctor like him, what are you worried about?"

Hearing this, Zhong Shenxiu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

He was puzzled... was this really the sharp-tongued Stark standing in front of him? He had complimented him twice in just a few sentences. Before this, no matter how impressive the abilities Zhong Shenxiu displayed, the prideful Tony had never once lowered his head to offer a word of praise.

Today was truly abnormal!

*There’s something wrong here. Something is definitely fishy. This guy probably doesn't have good intentions...* Zhong Shenxiu grew wary in his heart.