Chapter 399 The Little Swan

“Dora, is that you?”

Sierra glanced at Johnathan and quickly put the phone on speaker. Johnathan immediately called Mateo, getting his words in before Mateo could even start swearing: "Track a number for me. 13…"

"Yes, right now. It's Dora!"

Sierra was trembling with emotion, but she didn’t forget to remind her, “Dora, I don’t know where you are or how you got the phone. But right now, you have to protect yourself. Don’t let anyone find out, okay?”

“Okay!”

Came Dora’s soft, weak reply on the other end: “Ms. Sierra, I miss you so much… It hurts…”

Maybe it was because she knew her ‘mom’ had completely fallen out with Johnathan, but Dora didn’t hold back anymore. The pain was unbearable, and all she wanted was to hear Sierra tell her a story.

Only Sierra and Johnathan had ever told her stories. She didn’t like the ones Johnathan told—his were boring, and he was too scary. She liked Sierra’s stories the most.

Sierra’s heart ached.

“Dora, where does it hurt?”

“Everywhere…”

“Mommy made me take medicine. A lot of medicine. It always hurts after I take it.”

Her voice was so small and so fragile. Even Johnathan, listening from the side, felt a pang in his chest.

Johnathan kept speaking to Mateo on the other line. Mateo’s fingers were flying across the keyboard, and his mouth didn’t stop moving either.

“Quinn is a fucking monster.”

“Faster,” Johnathan urged.

“Relax. Got it. Location locked. I’m heading out with the team right now. Leave it to me. You and Sierra just hang tight.”

He hung up.

Sierra noticed Johnathan’s hand signal and immediately whispered into the phone: “Dora, don’t be scared. We’ve sent someone to come get you. Just hold on, okay? Whatever you do, don’t let them find you.”

“Mhm…”

Came Dora’s barely audible voice: “Ms. Sierra, can you tell me a story? It hurts so bad…”

“Of course. I’ll tell you a story. Listen closely and you won’t feel the pain. Let’s see… how about The Ugly Duckling?”

Sierra kept talking and talking, telling the story as gently as she could. Every now and then, she’d ask Dora to respond—just a little—because her voice was getting fainter by the second, and Sierra didn’t know how much longer the girl could hold on.

She had no idea what kind of drugs Quinn had forced into that little body. Dora wasn’t even four years old. How could Quinn be so heartless?

Sierra’s mind was a mess, but her voice stayed steady for Dora. Meanwhile, her hands were shaking—partly from rage, partly from fear. She was terrified Quinn would discover Dora had made the call.

Johnathan gently took her hand, silently offering support.

Dora had been replying at first, but her voice grew weaker and weaker—until it disappeared completely.

But the call hadn’t disconnected.

Sierra’s tears spilled over. Johnathan pulled her into a hug.

“Mateo and the others are almost there. There’s still time.”

Sierra didn’t answer. She just clung to Johnathan’s shirt with all her strength.

Even though Dora had fallen silent, neither of them hung up. They stayed on the line, listening, waiting—until they heard the sound of a door being kicked open, followed by the familiar voices of Stone and the others. Only then did Sierra end the call.

Knowing how worried they must be, Mateo called back right away: “It’s done. We’ve got both of them. Dora’s in bad shape—we’re taking her to the closest hospital.”

Sierra couldn’t rest easy. She wanted to go see Dora with her own eyes. Johnathan understood how she was. He immediately called the best doctor he could and told Sierra to bring over his wheelchair.

He was going too.

Sierra gave him a disapproving look, but before she could say a word, Johnathan said: “You know I’m not letting you go out alone.”

For all he knew, this could still be part of Quinn’s plan. He couldn’t risk it.

In the end, the two of them left together, escorted by their bodyguards, and arrived at the hospital where Dora had been taken.

Mateo was standing guard outside. When he saw them, he quickly walked over.

“Stone took Quinn and the other guy to the military base. I brought Dora here myself. Sierra, you need to prepare yourself. Dora’s not doing well.”

Mateo hesitated, clearly struggling with the words.

They’d gotten there as fast as they could, but even that wasn’t fast enough. When they found her, Dora was curled under the covers. When they pulled the blanket back, she wasn’t moving at all.

Mateo hadn’t dared check for a pulse. He just rushed her to the hospital.

“She’s in there now. The doctors are doing everything they can.”