Chapter 304

The car window rolled up, and it slowly drove away, leaving Athena's figure receding into the distance until she gradually vanished from sight.

Isabella withdrew her gaze and grabbed Sebastian's hand. "How much did you give her?"

Sebastian was taken aback and made a gesture.

Angela asked, "Eighty thousand dollars?"

Sebastian nodded. "Yes."

Seeing Isabella's furrowed brow, Sebastian pulled her into his arms. "No one in this world is more important than you and Sweetie. Eighty thousand dollars is nothing."

Isabella nodded. Indeed, compared to Sweetie's whereabouts, money was nothing. Athena's greedy expression flashed in her mind. "How did you think of bringing Vanessa's mother over?"

Sebastian said, "When she returned to Emerald Isle City, instead of seeking the refuge of her family, she chose to hastily marry a stranger. Don't you find that peculiar? I had Jack look into it and found some clues."

Jack and his team arrived at Riverside Park first and had already found Sweetie under the bridge in the park.

When Isabella and Sebastian arrived, a crowd had already gathered. Even though a police line had been set up, it couldn't stop the curious onlookers.

"Mr. Landon, the child is under the bridge. But..." Jack's expression was grave.

Isabella's legs went weak, nearly causing her to stumble.

"But what?" Sebastian's voice grew heavy, his clenched fingers tightening so fiercely that his knuckles turned pale.

Jack quickly said, "The child is fine; she just cried a couple of times. But..."

Sebastian said, "Jack, if you say 'but' one more time, I'll throw you into the river," Sebastian snapped. He hated it most when people beat around the bush, especially at such a critical moment. Jack was driving him and Isabella to the brink.

Without waiting for Jack to continue, Sebastian took Isabella's hand and walked towards the bridge.

As they neared the bridge, the sound of several dog barks cut through the murmuring crowd.

The surrounding onlookers were chattering.

"Who would leave a baby under a bridge like this?"

"Poor little thing, it's freezing out here. How could anyone do this? It's just cruel!"

"What is that big black dog trying to do?"

Suddenly, the crowd gasped in unison, and some even covered their eyes, not daring to look.

A gunshot rang out. When Isabella and Sebastian pushed through the crowd, they saw the scene under the bridge. Isabella nearly fainted.

In the corner under the bridge, a tiny bundle lay nestled amongst the shadows, its little hands waving feebly. The baby's cries were faint, carried away by the wind.

Next to the bundle lay a skinny black dog, with a bloody wound on its body, blood gushing out. Nearby were five or six other stray dogs, all emaciated, tails erect, making huffing sounds, all facing the bundle.

It seemed that the stray dogs had found the hidden child and wanted to feast.

"Sweetie," Isabella called out, trying to rush over, but Sebastian held her back.

He handed Isabella to Jack. "Take care of her. I'll go."

Isabella instinctively reached out, but Sebastian moved too quickly, and she grabbed nothing.

Sebastian approached the police and had a brief conversation.

The police explained that these were stray dogs, and to protect the child, they could be shot. However, the dogs were still tense. The death of the black dog had not deterred them but made them more aggressive.

Some dogs were even hiding in blind spots, making it impossible to aim.

A policeman said, "Stray dogs can be very dangerous. We're worried that shooting might provoke other dogs, causing them to attack the child."

At this moment, a police officer brought over a basket of raw meat. "There are generally two reasons why stray dogs attack people: extreme hunger or territorial instinct. We plan to use some meat to distract them and safely rescue the child first, before proceeding with containment."

A young policeman took the meat basket and was about to go down.

Sebastian took off his suit jacket and threw it aside. "I'll go!" he said.

Without another word, Sebastian took the meat basket, glanced at the bridge, and said with determination, "That's my daughter. I've already missed her birth and let her suffer too much. I can't miss this again, and I can't leave her there alone."

With that, Sebastian walked down with the meat basket.

Isabella leaned over the railing, watching Sebastian's determined steps towards the bridge. The crowd held their breath, craning their necks, eyes wide open, afraid to miss anything.

The police had their guns trained on the stray dogs under the bridge, ready to shoot at the slightest sign of trouble.

The light under the bridge was dim, and the cold wind blew through.

Sebastian's appearance immediately caught the dogs' attention. Two of the closest dogs turned towards him, baring their teeth, growling, ferociously.

Sebastian glanced at the bundle not far away, then took a piece of meat from the basket and threw it in the opposite direction.

After a few seconds, one dog turned to get the meat, tearing it apart with its sharp teeth. In no time, the meat was gone, but the dog was still hungry, licking its teeth and eyeing Sebastian's basket more fiercely.

The other dogs, drawn by the commotion, turned and slowly surrounded Sebastian.

Isabella watched, her heart pounding in her chest.

As the dogs closed in, Sebastian remained calm, taking another piece of meat and throwing it further away.

As soon as he threw it, two dogs leaped into the air, fighting over the meat before it even hit the ground.

The other dogs quickly approached Sebastian, some already in attack positions. If he didn't drop the basket soon, he would be bitten.

After a few seconds, a black and white dog suddenly leaped.

The crowd gasped, and Isabella instinctively covered her mouth.

At the critical moment, Sebastian sidestepped and threw the basket at the dog.