Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 57: An Urgent Mission

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes."

Nancy pondered this for a moment. "Don't worry," she said firmly. "I'll handle it."

She led the five bats and the squirrels back to the staff dormitory area. It was daytime, so the bats were already fast asleep, settling into their natural rest cycle. Nancy planned to wait until evening to officially brief them on the rules and expectations of working at the zoo.

The Squirrel Bros, meanwhile, were far from tired. They were busy counting their "spoils of war" from Critters Villa—a literal mountain of pine cones.

Once Nancy had settled her luggage, her eyes fell on the canvas bag Star had given her. She opened it out of curiosity and was instantly blinded by the contents.

A solid gold dog tag, a collar encrusted with diamonds, and even a sterling silver spoon inlaid with emeralds...

The value of this bag alone had to be over a million dollars. And Barry called this "worthless junk"? Nancy’s lip twitched. The world of the ultra-rich was truly nonsensical.

However, as she pulled out a phoenix-patterned ring, Nancy froze in place.

It was a ring carved from pure red gold, every feather of the phoenix detailed with surgical precision. Two rubies were set as the phoenix's eyes, shimmering with a deep, blood-red luster under the light—the fabled "pigeon’s blood" variety. The phoenix’s beak held a South Sea pearl the size of a thumb. It looked like a priceless heirloom, the kind of regalia an empress would wear.

Oh no. Why does this look so familiar?

Nancy was stunned. This was the Goodman family’s engagement token given to the Summers family!

How did this end up in a dog’s "slush fund"? She was speechless. Had Star hidden it away? If Barry found out she had this, would he think she was refusing to break the engagement and had stolen the token to force his hand?

The thought made her head spin—her blood sugar was crashing again. She needed to eat.

Nancy decided to fill her stomach first before contacting Barry to return the ring. She went to a small stir-fry shop near the zoo to pick up a meal. But before she could even reach the main gate, she saw a police car parked out front.

Not again. Has there been another murder at my zoo? She wondered if this place was truly cursed.

Just then, her phone rang. it was Sam, the head of the criminal investigation team.

"What happened?" Nancy asked immediately.

Sam’s voice was heavier than she had ever heard it. "Nancy, we have a critical situation and need your help. We’ve received a missing person report. The victim has been gone for fifteen hours."

Nancy was confused. Usually, you can't file a report until twenty-four hours have passed, unless the police believe the person is in immediate, life-threatening danger.

"Was he kidnapped? Is his life at risk?" Nancy pressed.

"That’s the problem," Sam sighed. "There’s no evidence of a kidnapping or immediate danger; he’s just vanished. Ordinarily, we couldn't launch a full-scale search yet, but given his identity, I have to turn to our 'Animal Detective.' The officer on the scene is waiting at the zoo gates to give you the details."

Nancy hung up and tapped on the police car window.

A uniformed officer and a burly, frantic-looking middle-aged man stepped out.

"Miss Nancy!" The officer saluted and got straight to the point. "The missing person is a member of the National Swimming Team. In three days, he is scheduled to fly overseas for the World Championships."

The burly man spoke next, his voice cracking. "Hello, I’m Ryan, the swimming coach. This is Jonas, our missing butterfly specialist."

He handed her a photo of a handsome, sunny young man with a bright smile.

"Please, you have to help me find him!" Ryan was nearly in tears. "The competition is in three days. The team cannot function without Jonas! He’s not just our gold-medal seed for the butterfly; he’s the anchor for the medley relay!"

In the history of the country, no one had ever won a gold medal in the men’s butterfly. Jonas was the nation's hope. Furthermore, the anchor leg of a relay is the most critical position, where the race is often won or lost. It requires the most explosive swimmer on the team.

Finding Jonas was now a matter of national urgency.

Being entrusted with such a massive responsibility made Nancy feel the weight of the task. This wasn't just about one person’s safety; it was about the country's sporting honor.

Nancy narrowed her eyes and spoke decisively. "Mr. Ryan, take me to the last place Jonas was seen. Right now."