Chapter 572

Oscar flicked his lighter to life, sparking a flame near his eyes and hair, his voice laced with defiance, "Let go of me!

"No matter who you are, don't even think about taking me away.

"Bad man!

"Soren! Leo! Come and take me away," he sobbed...

The child's cries and his words clashed, shattering the facade of calm on Lawrence's face, his heart struck as if by a bludgeon.

Seeing Oscar like this, Lawrence felt an immense heartache.

He had finally found his child, yet the child refused to be rescued by him. He wondered what in the world had happened.

Oscar's mind seemed to have been washed clean; he was treating a kidnapper like a parent, completely transforming into someone unrecognizable.

Winnie would be terribly heartbroken if she knew.

Lawrence couldn't bear to think further, his deep eyes cold as a mountain stream, as if wanting to see through Oscar's unfamiliar gaze...

Fearing his son would hurt himself, Lawrence cleared his throat, hands raised as he declared, "I won't touch you.

"I'm not a bad man...

"Can you just listen to me, please?

"You're in danger right now, Oscar, you've been kidnapped and held captive for over a month..."

Oscar shouted, "You're lying!

"I won't believe anyone.

"I only trust Ms. Blanchet!

"Stay away from me!" Oscar screamed, holding the lighter as he backed away. Lawrence remained on one knee, motionless.

Oscar dashed toward one of the bodyguards. "Soren, come on, take me home," he urged urgently.

Leo's complexion paled, confusion etched on his features, wondering what game was Oscar playing at.

It was hard for Leo to discern whether Oscar was acting or if a genuine transformation had occurred. "Oscar! What are you..."

"Let him be. I can't risk him getting hurt," Lawrence interjected, his voice strained with both scrutiny and worry, his gaze piercing.

Jeremy hurried over, witnessing the unfolding scene.

Not only did Oscar fail to recognize Mr. Harrington, but he also resisted returning home with him, opting instead to follow Ishara's henchmen.

The boy branded Mr. Harrington as malevolent, displaying a lack of decorum, and allowed Ishara's bodyguard to escort him "home."

It was unfathomable!

If it weren't for the fact that he had the same face as Sidney, Jeremy would never have recognized this boy as Oscar- the Oscar he'd come to know so well from Sidney's descriptions over the past month.

"Mr. Harrington, something's amiss with Oscar. Why doesn't he recognize anyone and behave as if Ishara is the hero?" Jeremy rushed to Lawrence's side.

Lawrence, watching his son being escorted away by Ishara's bodyguard, felt his breath grow labored. As he stood there, his imposing silhouette against the night seemed defeated.

"This isn't a small problem," his icy tone alerted Jeremy to the gravity of the situation.

Jeremy, filled with anxiety, asked, "You're not really going to let him go, are you?"

"He wouldn't leave with me, even under the threat of death," Lawrence said in a serious tone. "He wants to go where he thinks it's safe." He turned to the bewildered Leo, "Jeremy, the only one we need to worry about now is that bodyguard who kidnap Oscar. We'll chase after Oscar by car to see where he's headed."

Facing Leo, he demanded, "How did it come to this?"

Leo's face was livid with shock, and his heart seized with fear under Lawrence's gaze. Trembling, he protested, "I... I don't know! I didn't do anything!" He knew the truth; the surgery Ishara had ordered was not actually performed by him.

Seeing Leo's speechlessness, Lawrence refrained from further interrogation, swiftly joining the pursuit of Oscar.

Following Ishara's orders, the bodyguard, Soren, carried Oscar down the slope to their waiting Jeep, speeding off toward the highway with Lawrence and Jeremy trailing behind in four vehicles.

Soren, mindful of Ishara's plans, transported Oscar to a secluded nursing home nestled in the mountains.

At four in the morning, with a hint of dawn lighting up the sky but darkness still all around, Soren carried Oscar and tucked him into a room in the senior care facility.

Disappointment flickered in Oscar's eyes. He had hoped Ishara would transfer him to her mysterious laboratory this time!

From Leo's scarce remarks, Oscar had gleaned that Ishara possessed a lab where Leo was a prominent doctor. He yearned to uncover its secrets, to outmaneuver the malevolent woman.

He was well aware something nefarious had been done to Winnie's body by Ishara and Leo.

"Soren, I'm so glad. Did Leo come?" Oscar feigned contentment. "Ask him to make me some milk, and you prepare the bed. I want to sleep! If I behave, can you tell Ishara? Maybe then she won't hurt me and might even come to visit!"

Through the window, Lawrence observed Oscar's foolish grin, resembling a docile pup curled up on the bed, his gaze vacant and dull, mistakenly viewing those around him as allies, confusing villains for support.

Lawrence's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, his eyes betraying a mixture of heartache and helplessness.

This wasn't the Oscar he knew.

Yet it was unmistakably Oscar.

The boy had been completely changed, or rather, brainwashed.

He no longer discerned right from wrong.

Jeremy shared Lawrence's distress. "How could Oscar consider this rundown place home? And he's smiling... Mr. Harrington, do you think he's been brainwashed?

"It seems he's endured unimaginable suffering during this month he was held captive in Trento City.

"Ishara hiding him in this mountain retirement home is cunning, yet another place we overlooked!

"He cannot remain here, continuing to be manipulated by these people... Ishara's actions are unforgivable."

Jeremy gritted his teeth. "Mr. Harrington, we must get him out of here. This place reeks of despair. How can Oscar endure such torment?"

Lawrence pushed open the wooden door and stepped into the room.

Oscar recoiled, hiding behind Soren like a frightened cat. "Why won't you leave, you villain! I told you to go away. Why do you keep bothering me? I don't know you, and I swear, I won't go with you!"

Lawrence watched as Oscar flung the blanket from the bed to the floor, his resistance fueled by intense emotions.

Near his pale feet lay the fragments of a shattered cup.

Tension hung heavy in the air.

Lawrence turned to Leo, his voice laced with cold resignation. "Go in there and calm him down. Find a way to bring him out, to stay with you."

Dawn broke, the horizon tinged with a faint glow.

Jeremy grabbed Soren, pulling him from the house to make way for Leo, the "negotiator," and closed the wooden door behind him.

Inside the room, Leo stared at Oscar's tranquil face for a long moment, a surge of frustration rising in his throat as he moved toward the window.

Outside, Lawrence and his associate stood in the yard, their silhouettes weighed down by worry.

Unsure on what to do, Leo approached Oscar, his voice icy with resentment, "Alright now. Your dad's gone far away; he can't hear us. Just tell me, what in the world is going on?"