Chapter 2: Disappearances in Sanlitun
1126 Words
The streets of Sanlitun were a dizzying mix of modern glamour and hidden danger—neon lights, trendy boutiques, food stalls, and a pulse that never truly slowed. Yet beneath the surface, something darker was stirring. The third missing person in two weeks had vanished from this very neighborhood.
Detective Chen Yuyan pulled the squad car into a tight alleyway behind a café, where a young woman in her early twenties had last been seen. Li Zihan, sitting in the passenger seat, was unusually quiet. No sarcastic comments. No smirking.
“Something wrong, Mr. Li?” Yuyan asked, glancing sideways.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding toward the crime scene tape. “I actually know her.”
Yuyan frowned. “The victim?”
“Li Minghua,” Zihan said. “She’s a model. We were at the same gala last month. She left early.”
“Was there anything unusual about her behavior then?”
Zihan shook his head. “No. She was happy. Talked about her upcoming trip to Hangzhou. Nothing seemed off.”
Yuyan stepped out of the car. “Then you’re not just observing this time. You’re a potential lead.”
---
Inside the café, the air smelled of over-brewed coffee and stale pastries. A uniformed officer briefed them quickly.
“Security footage shows Minghua entering the alley around 10:34 PM. She never came back out. No sign of forced entry. No witnesses.”
Yuyan reviewed the footage on a tablet. The image was grainy but clear enough—Minghua, wearing a beige coat and high heels, walking calmly, phone to her ear. Then—nothing.
“No one followed her?” Yuyan asked.
The officer shook his head. “Not that we can see. It’s like she just vanished.”
Zihan leaned closer to the screen. “Can you zoom in on her hand?”
Yuyan shot him a curious look but did as asked. “Why?”
“There,” Zihan pointed. “She’s wearing a bracelet I gave her. It’s got a GPS charm embedded in the clasp. It was a limited release from a tech brand I invested in.”
Yuyan blinked. “You gave her GPS jewelry?”
“Don’t look at me like that. It was a trend.”
“That could actually help.” She turned to the officer. “We need a warrant to access her GPS data.”
“I’ll get on it,” he said, already dialing.
Zihan smirked. “See? I’m useful.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
---
Back in the precinct, the GPS data came through two hours later. It showed Minghua’s path stopping abruptly behind the café—then, thirty minutes later, a signal pinged again in a different district, over twelve kilometers away.
“Someone removed the bracelet and relocated it,” Yuyan said, tapping the screen. “They’re trying to throw us off.”
“But why leave it active?” Zihan asked. “Wouldn’t they just destroy it?”
“Maybe they didn’t know it had a tracker,” Yuyan replied. “Or maybe they want us to think she’s still alive.”
The room grew quiet.
“What if she is?” Zihan asked softly.
Yuyan didn’t answer right away. She’d worked enough disappearances to know that after forty-eight hours, the odds dropped fast. But something about this case—it felt deliberate. Calculated.
She turned to him. “You said she talked about a trip to Hangzhou. Did she mention who she was going with?”
“No. She just said she was going for a photoshoot.” Zihan paused. “Actually… she said someone was helping her with new connections. A 'friend of a friend.' That’s all she said.”
Yuyan’s brow furrowed. “We need to track down her agency. See who booked that shoot.”
---
The modeling agency sat on the 19th floor of a glass tower in Chaoyang District. Inside, everything was sleek, minimalistic—too clean.
Zihan flashed a charming smile at the receptionist. “Hi, I’m here to talk about Minghua. We’re close friends.”
The woman’s face darkened. “She’s missing. We already gave our statements to the police.”
“We’re from the task force following up,” Yuyan added, flashing her badge. “We’d like to see the shoot schedule for the last month.”
The receptionist hesitated, then finally nodded. “I’ll get the manager.”
They were ushered into a glass-walled office, where a man in his forties greeted them with a smooth, practiced smile.
“Detective Chen, Mr. Li. What can I help you with?”
“We need the contact information for whoever booked Minghua’s last job,” Yuyan said.
The manager’s eyes flicked toward Zihan. “She mentioned you. Said you were helping her rebrand.”
Zihan looked confused. “I didn’t help her book anything.”
“Strange,” the manager said, flipping through a tablet. “She listed you as a reference for the Hangzhou job.”
Yuyan stiffened. “Who contacted you about that shoot?”
He turned the screen. “This name—‘Luo Wei.’ No portfolio, no agency name. Said he was starting a boutique studio and paid in cash.”
“That’s shady as hell,” Zihan muttered.
Yuyan’s jaw tightened. “We need CCTV footage from your building. Entrance logs. Anything you’ve got.”
The manager nodded. “Of course.”
---
By the time night fell, they were back in the squad car, tension hanging thick in the air.
“You think this Luo Wei guy is kidnapping models?” Zihan asked.
“Maybe. Or trafficking. Or worse.” Yuyan stared out the window. “This is bigger than one case. Minghua isn’t the first. And if we don’t move fast, she won’t be the last.”
Zihan didn’t reply, for once understanding the gravity in her tone.
After a moment, he said, “She really didn’t deserve this. She was always kind. Never used people, even though she was famous.”
Yuyan glanced at him. His voice was raw, unfiltered.
“First time I’ve seen you serious,” she said.
He smiled faintly. “First time I’ve felt serious in a long time.”
Their eyes met—briefly, but something passed between them. A flicker of understanding.
Then her phone buzzed.
She read the message and sat up straighter. “They found a warehouse in Haidian that matches the GPS relocation ping. It’s abandoned. No utilities. But we’ve got a heat signature inside.”
Zihan tensed. “You think she’s there?”
“I don’t know. But we’re going now.”
He nodded, already buckling his seatbelt. “Then let’s go get her.”
- Writer
