Ariana and her teammates were overjoyed. They had initially planned to play just for fun, but they had unexpectedly advanced to the top fifteen.

They chose to celebrate at an upscale restaurant, buzzing with excitement and discussing the details of the game on the way to the restaurant.

During their celebration, Ariana's phone rang.

She picked up to find a worried voice on the other end. "Is this Melon's mom? It's the kindergarten teacher. Please come to the kindergarten immediately; Melon and Adele are missing."

"What?" Ariana's face went pale. "I'll be there right away!" she said, her voice shaking.

After Ariana ended the call, Sonia shot her a worried look. "What's wrong? Did something bad happen?"

Ariana turned to look at Holden. "Melon and Adele are missing."

Everyone froze upon hearing that. Sonia didn't waste a second. She grabbed Ariana's arm, ready to dash for the car. “We have to get to the kindergarten now!"

"I'll go with Holden. You guys can wait for my updates," Ariana said.

She jumped into the car with Holden, not wanting the group to go with her. Having everyone rush over wasn't ideal; Tyler's and Cole's identities were sensitive, and too many people would just complicate the situation.

On the drive over, Ariana's nerves were on edge. Adele had gone to kindergarten with Melon in the morning. Adele always followed Melon, never leaving his side. So if they were both missing, they must have been taken by someone. Melon was smart; he wouldn't wander off.

Fear gripped Ariana. Memories of past trauma flooded her mind. What if something terrible had happened to the kids? She felt chills creeping up her spine.

Holden remained calm and called Devin to deal with the kindergarten first.

He grabbed Ariana's icy hands, rubbing them gently to warm her up.

“Maybe they just stepped out for a bit. Don't worry. Besides, the Fredrick family's got connections on the dark web. Finding two kids won't be hard," he said, trying to soothe her.

They soon arrived at the kindergarten, and the staff there showed them the surveillance footage.

"The kids went missing during recess, but the cameras didn't show how they vanished. And the security said that there was no child running out alone," one of the staff members said.

Ariana's heart sank. This reminded her of the time Zayden had snatched Melon from kindergarten without permission. Could it be him again?

The memories of Zayden's past actions sent shivers down her spine.

She tugged at Holden's sleeve and said, “Zayden took Melon without permission and went to the amusement park last time. Could he be behind this now?"