Chapter 20

Samuel's rationality had long been washed away by his overwhelming despair. He only ended the call with a bitter laugh when the caller mumbled out a random address within the country. Unsurprisingly, the caller had lied to him, but he didn't have the energy or the motivation to pursue the matter. From that day onward, he received numerous other calls just like that one. Everyone claimed to have seen Emily somewhere and demanded varying amounts of money from him. Despite knowing that most of these were con artists, he gave them the money anyway just for the sake of clinging onto the tiniest possibility of hope. All of the money went down the drain without ever bringing anything in return. Still, Samuel didn't care. He was relying on that bit of hope to keep himself going. Even if the caller asked to meet him in person, he would do it. Some women approached him this way, but they were all dressed sultrily and obviously had ulterior motives. They came right out and offered, "I've got