Pain Like Having One's Heart Dug Out

Sam Evans swayed a little, rubbing his eyes with his arm. When he saw it was Lily Evans who had come, his face lit up with joy. "Ah, Lily, you're here. That's wonderful..."

Seeing his expression, Lily Evans felt a wave of sadness.

A perfectly fine third uncle, yet just to find Lana Evans, he’s turned himself into this mess.

"Uncle Sam, sit down quickly," Lily urged, pulling Sam Evans to a seat.

Sam Evans sat down, his eyes never leaving Lily Evans. He gave a bitter smile. "Lily, is there... still no news about Lana?"

Lily sighed and nodded with difficulty. "Still nothing, but our people haven’t given up. We’re still searching, and as soon as there’s news, I’ll let you know, Uncle Sam."

Sam Evans nodded, murmuring, "I just don’t believe my daughter could be lost like this... We’ll find her, we will!"

Lily sighed and patted the back of Sam Evans’s hand. "Uncle Sam, I believe we’ll get Lana back too. But you can’t keep wearing yourself down like this. Look at you now—seeing you like this breaks my heart as your niece."

Sam Evans wiped his face, clutching his chest as he looked at Lily Evans. "Lily, you don’t know. Every day I think about my girl, Lana, not knowing what hardships she’s suffering out there. My heart feels like it’s being stabbed by a knife! Maybe right now Lana is thinking about her dad too, hoping I’ll come rescue her and bring her home. How could I ever give up looking for her?"

Lily looked at Sam Evans, seeing that his whole being was consumed by the desire to find Lana Evans. It was heartbreaking to witness.

For parents, losing a child is truly a pain that feels like having your heart ripped out.

Lily could only urge Sam Evans to take care of himself—don’t wear yourself out before we even find Lana.

Sam Evans nodded mechanically in agreement. Lily sighed and turned to Linda Wang. "Aunt Linda, I’ll have to trouble you to look after Uncle Sam a bit more."

Linda Wang quickly nodded. "Lily, what are you saying? Uncle Sam is family, of course we’ll look after him."

"That’s good." Lily nodded, seeing how exhausted Sam Evans looked. She couldn’t bear to keep him any longer, so she sent him off to rest.

Once Sam Evans had left, Lily patted Emily 'Yaya' Wang on the head. "Yaya, go play in the yard for a bit. Auntie needs to talk to your dad and grandparents."

Emily 'Yaya' Wang obediently nodded, her twin braids bouncing as she ran out to the yard.

David Wang saw Lily sending Yaya away and knew she had something important to discuss. He quickly told the maids to guard the door and windows, then joined Lily with the rest of the family.

Lily glanced at her uncle’s family and sighed.

She had originally chosen two families to manage the plantation.

One was Uncle Sam’s family, the other was her uncle David Wang’s family.

Both families were farmers by birth, skilled at growing crops, trustworthy, honest, and able to endure loneliness—perfect for working at a secluded plantation.

But seeing Sam Evans just now, it was clear he couldn’t recover from the pain of losing Lana Evans. He only wanted to search for her himself, so he wasn’t suited for the plantation work.

That left only her uncle’s family.

"Lily, is there something you want us to do? Just say the word. Your uncle, your cousin—we’ll listen to you." Linda Wang was already in awe of Lily and followed her lead without question.