I snatched the phone from the man’s hand and roared at Lakeisha on the other end of the phone.
“Lakeisha..."
But before the word had even finished echoing, the call was hung up again.
I was like a raging beast, the anger in my heart could no longer be suppressed.
I took out the phone and started frantically calling Lakeisha, but the call wouldn’t go through anymore.
“Father Elton, don't be angry with me. As long as you take me to find my father, you can ask me to do whatever you want..."
“Kneel down and kowtow! We won’t leave until you’ve done a hundred kowtows!”
The man pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, leaned against the car door and coldly watched my daughter kneeling before him.
My daughter was sobbing as she prepared to kowtow, so I stepped forward and wanted to pick up my daughter.
But as I did that, my daughter broke free and looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Uncle, it's okay. I want to see my father, so a hundred times kowtow is nothing for me.”
In the chaos, I hadn't noticed her head was covered in scars, some hadn't even healed yet.
My heart ached like it was being pierced by needles. I held her hand and held back my tears as I asked, “Do you often kowtow at home?”
“They only let me see Dad if I do that."
“What are you waiting for? Don't you want to see your dead father anymore?! Kneel and bow!”
The man stepped forward and dragged my daughter to his feet, forcing her head down onto the ground with all his strength, then charged toward me, glaring at me with wide eyes and shouting, “You bastard, mind your own business!”
Before the man could finish, I slapped his hand away, glared at him with bloodshot eyes and shouted, “I’m going to handle this today because I’m her father! Today, I’m going to teach you a lesson for my daughter!”
After saying that, I pushed the man in front of me away.
Then, I quickly stepped forward and held my daughter in my arms.
My daughter seemed to have been scared out of her wits, repeatedly whispering “Daddy” in my arms.
The man paused for a moment, before bursting into a thunderous laugh.
He smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt that I had just crumpled, lit a cigarette and walked toward me as he sneered, “Oh, you're this little brat's dead father? I was just having a private conversation with Lakeisha and you overheard it. Sorry about that!"
“Since you're already here, it saves me the trouble. Let's get this over with. After we're done, I'm taking this little brat back. Lakeisha said on the phone that she'd reward me tonight.”
When my daughter heard the man was taking her back, she trembled uncontrollably in my arms, clinging tightly to my clothes and whispering in my ear, “Dad, I don't want to go back. Please, save me..."
Seeing those scenes, I naturally couldn’t let my daughter go back with him. But I had to make him account for the humiliation he had caused my daughter that day.
I hugged my daughter tightly, stepped forward and looked down at the man holding a cigarette, saying coldly, “I don't care what you and Lakeisha do, but you’re not taking Elena back today. Not only that, but you have to apologise to her!”
The man sneered and raised his eyebrows in disbelief, “Apologize? How?”
“Kneel the way she did just now, do it exactly the same way and bow back!”
The man immediately lost his smile, picked up the burning cigarette butt in his hand and pressed it against my daughter's calf.
I quickly sidestepped and the cigarette butt ‘sizzled’ as it pressed against my shoulder.
Instantly, the smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
