'She'll sell you': Father hides daughter from ex-wife for 7yrs
What's the story
A father in China reportedly hid his daughter from her mother for seven years. The case came to light when the daughter, Chen Jiayuan, now 22, spoke to Kankan News about her ordeal. According to the report, Chen's parents divorced when she was six, and custody was given to her mother along with their apartment.
Deception
Father told daughter he was protecting her
In a shocking twist, Chen's father took her away, falsely claiming to others that she had been abandoned. He allegedly told Chen that if her mother found her, she would sell her. To keep his ex-wife from finding their daughter, he also lied to her about Chen's health. He claimed that their daughter was suffering from cancer and was hospitalized, which is why she couldn't be visited.
On the move
Continuously changing places
To remain hidden, he frequently moved, enrolling Chen in various boarding schools each year and even changing her name. During the seven years spent avoiding his ex-wife, the father remarried, and her stepmother sometimes treated Chen with coldness. Chen recalled, "The experience left me anxious and unable to trust anyone." Chen said that her father robbed both her and her mother of their time together, equating his actions to "child trafficking."
Property dispute
Father on the run for 7 years
Chen's mother only found her at 13 with the help of a friend, and they secretly reconnected outside the school gate. "My mum told me she had tried everything to find me over the years, including involving the police, private investigators, and lawyers. She spent nearly all her savings," she recalled. After another argument with her father about her mother, Chen stole the property deed and household registration documents before fleeing.
Reunion
80,000 children abducted and hidden every year
She found safety in a supermarket and called her mother to tell her she was returning. To reunite with her daughter, Chen's mother gave the flat to her ex-husband. But Chen later revealed that her father had sold the apartment and cut off all ties with them. According to Today's Women News, approximately 80,000 children are abducted and hidden in a manner similar to Chen's story in China each year.