The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Jason had finally pieced together the situation and passed the information along to his colleagues at the precinct. Using the department's network, they managed to identify the man Daniel and Audrey had described.

The man was named David Gold, working for a debt collection agency.

Armed with this new information, Jason returned to the precinct, only to find that his colleagues had already brought David Gold in for questioning.

"Jason, do you want to take the lead on the interrogation, or should I?" asked Hank, one of his colleagues.

"I'll watch. You go ahead," Jason replied, opting to step back from the direct confrontation.

"You're really serious about quitting, huh?" Hank remarked, referring to the buzz around the precinct about Jason's impending resignation. No one could quite understand why he'd want to leave such a promising career.

"Let's not get into that right now," Jason said. "Let's concentrate on the interrogation. Isla's been missing for over eleven hours."

"Got it."

Inside the interrogation room, Hank began questioning David, while Jason listened from behind the one-way mirror.

David quickly admitted his connection to Alisa. He was simply a debt collector, hired by a loan company to recover $50,000 that Alisa owed. And that was just one of the loans there were others she hadn't paid back either.

Hearing this, Jason was taken aback. He hadn't realized Alisa was in so deep. Audrey's earlier comments suddenly made sense.

"I'm just doing my job, collecting debts legally," David explained. "I have nothing to do with any kidnapping. I have no idea what other collectors might be doing, though. She's been completely uncooperative-won't pay a dime or even answer calls, so we had no choice but to try and find her at home..."

After the interrogation, Hank walked out of the room and asked Jason, "Looks like he's not involved in anything illegal. Should we let him go?"

"You handle it," Jason said. "I'm going to head over to the Browns' again."

The sun was setting, and with every passing moment, Isla's safety seemed increasingly precarious.

When Jason arrived at the Browns' apartment complex, he lingered outside for a moment before heading up. Just as he reached their floor, he encountered another group of debt collectors at the door.

The apartment was in chaos. Even before stepping out of the elevator, he could hear Daniel's voice: "You can't just take or break things! I'm calling the police. This is outrageous..."

One of the collectors threatened, "Debts must be repaid. If you don't pay up soon, we'll be forced to take the house."

Alisa was hiding inside, too afraid to come out. Only Daniel and Malia were in the living room, helplessly watching as their belongings were being smashed.

Malia spotted Jason and her face lit up with relief. "Jason, arrest them! They're nothing but thugs. You're a cop, do something!"

Jason stepped in, flashing his badge. "Put everything back. Anything broken will be

compensated for. You have no right to handle their property like this.

Even as collectors, you must

operate within the law. Which company are you from?"

The sight of his badge took some of the wind out of the collectors' sails. The leader spoke up, "Officer, we're just trying to earn a living. Debts need to be settled. We haven't harmed anyone. We're just trying to peacefully encourage them to pay. We're from Sunshine Group, and Alisa owes us $20,000. She's been dodging us, and it's tough on us too."

First, it was $50,000, now another $20,000. Jason couldn't fathom how deep Alisa's financial troubles ran.

Just as he was about to ask about Isla, her voice came from the doorway.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Papa Jason, what happened to the house?"

There was Isla, standing timidly at the door with her backpack.noveldrama

Seeing her safe, Daniel and Malia were overwhelmed with relief. "Isla, where

have you been? We were worried sick..."

Alisa, who had been listening intently from behind the door, hesitated to come out, her hand frozen on the doorknob, wary of the collectors outside.