Legendary FBI Detective

"This is the investigation details of that black Buick sedan, and a little something I found on Madeline's computer while you were interrogating the suspect."

Without looking up, Mona tapped away at her own computer keyboard and replied:

"I haven't looked in detail yet, but at a glance, it's mostly photos and videos."

"OK."

Luo An nodded and began intently reviewing the surveillance footage near Allen's house, trying to spot traces of the suspicious black Buick.

Unfortunately, after some time, Luo An came up empty-handed.

"It seems the kidnappers know the surveillance near Madeline's house quite well."

Luo An muttered quietly to himself, pondered for a few seconds, and began to look into the photos and videos mentioned by Mona.

The photos and videos were quite chaotic, featuring not only daily life and travel photos of Kara and Madeline, playful videos, but also surveillance records of the nanny taking care of Kara.

Luo An reasoned that these were secretly recorded by Madeline when assessing the nanny, to ensure the nanny's proper conduct.

As he continued scrolling, John began to appear in the photos and videos. Considering Farhad's group's actual target was John, Luo An started to look closely, trying to find useful clues from the videos.

The content of most of these photos and videos featured the life and travel of Madeline and John, showing they had a good relationship, with even several quite intimate videos of the couple.

With a frown, Luo An prepared to close the videos, when suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed - he spotted some discrepancies.

"Luo An, from the Federal Customs..."

At that moment, Reesi approached with a folder, saw the scenes on Luo An's computer and smirked:

"Snooping into the complainant's private life isn't very nice."

"Don't joke around, you know that's not what I meant."

He glanced sharply at Reesi and then asked her seriously:

"One question, when was Kara born?"

"July 23rd, 1999."

Reesi always remembered the details of the missing persons clearly, and after answering Luo An's inquiry, she asked with confusion:

"What's up?"

"But the date in this video is March 1999."

Luo An pointed at the recorded date at the corner of the video, crossed his arms, and spoke softly:

"Indeed, a pregnant woman can have close encounters with her husband during pregnancy, but in these videos, Ms. Madeline's belly is very flat."

"Wow."

Reesi hurried back to her seat to double-check Kara's details, confirming she was right; Luo An had Mona check the videos for any signs of tampering.

With both clues proving genuine, Mona and Michelle were shocked:

"So, Kara isn't actually John and Madeline's child?"

Reesi spread her hands:

"Physiologically speaking, it's impossible for a pregnant woman to be thin and even have slight abs before giving birth."

"This isn't physiology, this is common sense."

Luo An drank the tea in his cup, stood up from his chair, and walked into the interrogation room with Reesi where John was held.

————

"We've already checked; there are no adoption records for Kara, meaning she isn't an orphan."

Luo An showed the video screenshot to John, and Reesi asked:

"Can you explain this?

Because, whether from a physiological or any other perspective, Kara can't possibly be your biological daughter."

"…Kara is my biological daughter!"

John glared fiercely at Reesi and, seeing the look in Luo An's eyes, remained silent for a long while before saying:

"At that time, I needed to leave the federation to carry out a mission, so I told Madeline that I wanted a child.

Madeline loved me deeply, and she agreed, but despite trying many methods, we were unsuccessful. Eventually, the doctor told us that Madeline's eggs had congenital issues, and she would never be able to conceive in her lifetime."

After listening to John's narration, Reesi stayed silent, and Luo An continued to ask:

"So how did Kara come into this?"

"Surrogate."

John sighed and continued:

"After knowing about her own body's issue, Madeline was very emotionally distressed. She loved me deeply, so she suggested this option."

Surrogacy is illegal in many countries around the world, after all, it involves many ethical issues.

However, the federation is far ahead of other countries in the world, and surrogacy is legal and regulated in many states within it, with specific legal provisions and rationale set up to protect the interests of both parties.

Reesi thought for a moment and asked:

"Was it through physical contact or an IVF procedure?"

"Of course, it was IVF!"

John's eyes widened immediately:

"I love Madeline! I have never betrayed her!"

"OK."

Luo An patted Reesi's arm, and finally asked:

"Who was the woman who provided the eggs and uterus? What is her name?"

"She was called Beerva, a university student."

John did not hesitate and directly revealed her name and the reason she did it:

"She agreed to the surrogacy primarily to earn money for her university tuition."

"…"

Luo An was somewhat speechless; the tuition fees of federal universities are indeed a perpetual pain for ordinary citizens.

Regarding ordinary public universities in the federation, children from ordinary families only have two choices: either manage to pay 30-50 thousand US Dollars per semester for tuition or apply for university student loans.

Federal university student loans are world-renowned, and if nothing goes wrong, once approved, it will take a lifetime to repay.

The most famous instance is a President who only managed to pay off his student loans 21 years later, upon becoming the official President.

Many university students, in order to resolve these loans, have resorted to all sorts of methods, including unique ones.

"However, Beerva is already dead."

Just as Luo An wrote down the name and planned to look into it later, John added:

"When Kara was one and a half years old, Madeline and I received news from the agency that Beerva had died in a car accident on her way home from the university."

"That's very unfortunate news."

Upon hearing this, Reesi frowned while Luo An's writing hesitated slightly, and he momentarily set aside certain thoughts swirling in his mind.

After continuing to interrogate John for a while, Luo An and Reesi just stepped out of the interrogation room when their supervisor Potante Byrne and John's boss Wan De walked into the Special Investigation Team's office area one after the other.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Potante Byrne nodded towards the busy Mona and Michelle, then approached Luo An and asked:

"How is John Rodriguez doing?"

Luo An gave Reesi a look, who, seeing this, immediately took the interrogation records to join Mona in investigating Beerva's case. Luo An glanced at Wan De standing behind Potante Byrne and smiled asking:

"We haven't finished the investigation yet; after all, John is the missing Kara's father, and we still need his assistance with many matters."

Potante Byrne's eyebrows twitched but he said nothing, while Wan De quickly stepped forward, just about to speak when Mona and Reesi suddenly raised their hands and called out loudly:

"Luo An! We've found something!"