Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 447: The Northern Frontier

The terrain was notoriously difficult, a brutal mix of ancient coniferous forests and frozen winter marshes. Nancy stared out the plane window, watching the endless stretches of snow-capped peaks and white plains unfold beneath the wings.

Her heart was pounding. This was not just about her first trip to the country’s northernmost reaches; it was about the nature of the case itself. The incident involved a high-security national biological project.

Her mother, Tammy, was a biological researcher.

Tammy’s close friend Ingrid had once mentioned that Tammy was working on a top-secret state project and promised she would return to the family once it was finished. Her mother’s original post had been a research station in the southwestern wilderness. Now, Nancy and Simon were flying to the opposite end of the country.

A country is a massive place. Could a single project span such a vast distance? Nancy watched the blur of white outside, a faint, hopeful theory taking root in her mind.

The military transport plane landed at a small airfield near their destination. As the hatch opened, the northern chill hit them like a wall, carrying a flurry of fine snow. A police officer in a heavy coat and a fur-lined hat hurried toward them, his eyes bright with respect. He snapped a crisp salute.

"Welcome! I am the local head of investigations, Antonio Grant. We have been waiting for you!"

He addressed them as superiors without hesitation. These two were the Twin Stars of the force, and their reputation had preceded them. After a quick greeting, the siblings climbed into a waiting SUV and began the drive toward the hidden research site.

Antonio took the wheel, navigating the snow-covered mountain roads with practiced caution while he briefed them on the situation.

"The reagents were discovered missing yesterday morning at 6:37 AM during the shift change."

He paused, his expression turning grim. "Unlike our usual cases, we already have a primary suspect."

Nancy raised an eyebrow. Usually, they had to peel back layers of evidence to find a target. To have one identified so quickly was rare. "Did he flee already?" she asked.

The snow was falling harder now, turning the forest into a vast, gray void. Antonio nodded.

"Yes. Our lead suspect is Professor Langstrom Gaul, one of the original directors of the Elpis Project."

He pulled up a photo on a tablet. The man appeared to be in his fifties, wearing thin-rimmed glasses with a refined, scholarly look.

"Langstrom was officially removed from the project two months ago," Antonio explained. "He had a severe disagreement with the lead director over the research direction, and the ethics committee flagged some of his experiments as high-risk. He knows the location of every temporary station, the security rotations, and even the hidden access tunnels. In terms of motive and capability, he is the only one who fits."

Antonio gripped the steering wheel tighter. "The problem is that we have suspicion, but no evidence. And certainly no sign of him."

"The scene is unnervingly clean," Antonio continued. "No prints, no tracks, no DNA. Every security camera in a three-mile radius failed due to a line fault for three hours surrounding the theft. Langstrom has vanished. We have had teams scouring the surrounding forest and marshes all night. We even deployed thermal drones."

He shook his head, his voice trailing off. "Nothing. Not a single trace of human activity."

The interior of the car fell silent, filled only by the hum of the engine and the whistle of the wind. A high-IQ former director had committed a perfect theft in a high-security facility and then dissolved into the frozen wilderness. Nancy felt a familiar spark of interest. It was another locked-room mystery, but on a massive scale.

Beside her, Simon was already leafing through the case file. The photos of the lab showed a room so orderly it was eerie. There were no signs of a struggle or forced entry.

"The clock is ticking," Antonio added, his voice tight with urgency. "We have to recover those reagents within seven days."

He held up a hand to emphasize the deadline. "There are ten vials in total. They are the core samples for a strategic partnership between the Elpis Project and a top-tier private medical partner."