Chapter 237: There are no records

After learning that Dianna had died, Adrian refused to end his search there. Instead, he continued looking for her daughter.

After months of digging through old records and following countless dead ends, Logan finally found a clue.

Adrian still had no idea what the girl looked like. He didn’t even know where she had ended up after all these years. But somehow, he believed there was still a chance of finding her.

There were countless stories surrounding Dianna’s life, but very few people were still alive who knew what had truly happened to her after Adrian left.

Dianna and Adrian had been close friends, but Adrian had secretly fallen in love with her.

Back then, he had never found the courage to confess his feelings.

When Adrian’s father decided to expand the family business overseas, Adrian had no choice but to leave the country.

Before leaving, he had made himself a promise.

He would become the man Dianna had always believed he could be. Then he would return, ask her parents for her hand, and finally tell her how he felt.

In his mind, he had already imagined their future.

They would get married, build a home together, and have children.

But those dreams shattered when Adrian returned years later and discovered that Dianna had left the town they once lived in.

He soon learned that she had moved to another city.

Then came the news that broke his heart.

Dianna had gotten married.

And the reason she had left the town in the first place was even more painful.

Adrian blamed himself for everything.

If only he had confessed his feelings sooner. If only he had told her how much she meant to him, perhaps things would have been different.

But it was too late.

Dianna was gone, and Adrian had no choice but to let her go.

Years passed and eventually, when his parents began pressuring him to get married, Adrian found himself thinking about only one woman.

Dianna.

No matter how much time had passed, she was still the first person his heart remembered. And perhaps that was why he had never been able to give anyone else a place in his life.

Adrian knew he had hurt his parents by refusing to marry, but his heart had never been ready to let Dianna go. Even after all these years, he had continued searching for her, only to discover that she was gone forever.

Now, the only thing he wanted was to find her daughter and make sure she was living a good life.

"Do you know her name?" Clara asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

She wanted to know because perhaps there was something she could do to help. After all, she had also been one of the children kidnapped by the same trafficking group.

Adrian looked up and nodded.

"Logan said the girl goes by the name Nana."

Clara’s brows furrowed.

Adrian immediately noticed the change in her expression.

"What happened?"

"I don’t remember any girl named Nana," Clara admitted.

Adrian’s confusion deepened.

Clara had never told him that she had been one of the children kidnapped by the same gang. After the group was eventually caught, all the children they had held captive were rescued.

"I was actually one of the girls they tried to sell," Clara revealed quietly. "Fortunately, we were rescued before anything happened to us."

Adrian stared at her in disbelief.

"You were one of them?"

Clara nodded.

"Are you alright?"

A small chuckle escaped her.

"I was lucky. Someone stayed by my side throughout everything. If it weren’t for him, I don’t think I would have been able to help the authorities catch those people."

Her eyes softened as she remembered the mysterious boy who still appeared in her dreams from time to time.

Adrian noticed the gratitude in her expression.

"I’m glad you made it out safely," he said sincerely.

Clara smiled.

Adrian lowered his gaze back to the file.

"But perhaps you remember some of the other children by their faces, even if you don’t remember their names. Maybe you could help us find Nana."

Clara nodded slowly.

"Maybe I can."

After the children were rescued, most of them were reunited with their families. However, some had no one to return to and were eventually placed in childcare facilities.

If Nana was one of them, there was still a chance they could find her.

"Or perhaps we could ask your husband," Adrian suggested. "Logan mentioned that Dominic might have been held captive by the same group. However, there’s no official record confirming it."

Clara froze.

"Dominic?" she repeated, staring at Adrian.

"Yes."

"He was?" she murmured, still struggling to process what she had just heard.

She had known Dominic for so long, yet he had never mentioned anything like this. She had always assumed she knew most things about his past, but apparently, there were still parts of his life he had kept hidden.

Adrian noticed the shock on her face.

"It’s only a rumor," he quickly clarified. "As I said, there’s no record of Dominic ever being among those children. Logan only came across the information while going through some old reports."

Clara barely heard him. Her mind was already racing.

If Dominic had really been one of the children taken by that group, then perhaps he might remember something about Nana.

Or maybe even the people who had been with them.

"Why would there be no record?" Clara asked quietly.

"That’s what makes it difficult," Adrian replied. "The records from that time were incomplete. Some children were reunited with their families, while others were sent to different childcare facilities. A few records were never properly documented."

Clara lowered her gaze.

She suddenly remembered fragments of her own childhood—the fear, the unfamiliar faces, and the boy who had stayed beside her when she had been terrified.

Could Dominic have been that boy?

The thought sent a strange shiver through her.

Adrian closed the file.

"If Dominic really was one of those children, he might remember something that could help us."

Clara nodded absentmindedly.

"I’ll ask him."

Adrian studied her for a moment.

"Are you alright?"

Clara forced a small smile.

"Yes. I’m just... surprised."

She couldn’t tell Adrian what was going through her mind. However, she still wanted to confirm a few things and also help him find the person he was looking for.