Chapter 206 - 205: Human Traffickers Caught, I Was the Bait

Chapter 206: Chapter 205: Human Traffickers Caught, I Was the Bait

I glared at him viciously.

"So... people like you... you all deserve to die."

He squeezed my neck, and I began to struggle for air.

His accomplice was already taking off his pants, and despair flooded my heart.

’I knew no one was coming to save me...’

Victor Quinn was far too meticulous. Since he had ordered Howard Finch to bring me here, it would be nearly impossible for the police and Asher to find me.

The man’s grip on my legs was agonizing, and his cold touch sent a wave of hopelessness through me.

The despair and terror from my past life, of being tormented by Julian Fletcher and his pack of cronies, slowly resurfaced. I felt like I was suffocating.

"I’ll... kill you..." I sobbed in despair. The moment he touched me, I was so disgusted I felt sick.

’Don’t touch me.’

In that instant, I had only one thought.

That thought was: ’Don’t touch me. You’re filthy.’

’Asher...’

I cried out Asher’s name, praying desperately for someone to save me.

BANG! The iron door was thrown open.

Howard Finch and his accomplice jumped. With their pants down, they stared warily at the doorway.

I fell from the wooden bed in despair, my hands still tied to the frame.

’I thought it was someone coming to save me.’

But it wasn’t.

It was one of their own.

A man got out of the car, wearing sunglasses, with tattoos that reached his neck.

The man looked fierce. He had a lip ring, was tall, and his hair was tied back.

He got out of the car. His baggy shirt was fastened by only a single button, revealing a muscular body covered in tattoos.

"I’m here to pick up the goods," the man said, his voice deep.

Howard Finch and his accomplice breathed a sigh of relief, then cursed. "If you’re here to pick up the goods, then pick up the goods. Can’t you fucking knock?"

The man’s gaze fell on me.

Trembling, I cowered on the floor. My pants had been ripped off and thrown aside, leaving only my bare, startlingly pale legs.

"Howard sent me to inspect the goods." The man strode over, yanked my hair, and looked at my face.

My whole body trembled as I stared at him in panic.

’This man... why does he feel somewhat familiar?’

He stared at me for a long moment, then laughed. "This is the merchandise?"

Howard Finch scowled, displeased. "Is your taste just bad? This is what the hottest young starlets in the country look like."

’Silvia Lynch is genuinely beautiful. At least by my standards, she’s definitely a stunner.’

’I wondered if this man was deliberately mocking me.’

’But this was no time to think about such things. I trembled with fear, wondering if I could possibly escape.’

"Ah!" Suddenly, the man used a knife to cut the ropes on my wrists. He then lifted me bodily, pinned me to the bed, and forced my legs apart into a suggestive, physically repulsive position.

I watched him warily, my body trembling uncontrollably.

My gaze fell on the knife he had placed to the side.

"I need to inspect the merchandise. Is she a virgin?" the man asked.

Howard Finch and his accomplice spat. "Take her or leave her. If you’re looking for a virgin these days, you might as well go to a goddamn kindergarten."

The man raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smirk. His black-gloved hand gripped my thigh and moved slowly upward.

My breathing grew shallow. I clenched my fists, waiting to see what he was going to do.

"She won’t fetch a good price." Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing and turned to light a cigarette, but he seemed to have deliberately placed the knife beside me.

I stared warily at the man’s back. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Howard Finch’s accomplice started cursing. "Fuck, are you jerking us around? You took those last few ugly ones, and you’re turning down merchandise like this?"

Howard Finch watched the man warily and reached out to stop his partner. "Something’s not right..."

Howard Finch narrowed his eyes and pulled out his phone. "He said he’d be here in half an hour. He’s a little early."

Just as Howard Finch unlocked his phone to make a call, I snatched the nearby knife and plunged it violently into his shoulder.

"Agh!" he shrieked in pain.

As I yanked the knife out, blood splattered into my eyes.

I knew I couldn’t let Howard Finch die that easily. If he died, I would be so incriminated with the police that I could jump into the Flavis River and still not come out clean.

His accomplice tried to rush me, but I stabbed him with the knife.

Terrified, I scrambled to hide behind the bed, my legs giving out as I collapsed to the floor.

The heavily tattooed man leaned against the car, just watching me.

It was as if he was deliberately watching me fight back.

Suddenly, police sirens wailed, and the entire abandoned ironworks was surrounded.

Howard Finch’s face went white. The two men paid me no mind, scrambling to their feet to run, but the police slammed them to the ground.

I cowered on the ground, hugging my legs. ’I’m not wearing any pants...’

As the police stormed in, the man took off his sunglasses and wig. He walked over to me and draped his jacket over my shoulders. "Useless."

I trembled as I looked at the man before me. The tattoos were all fake, and his skin was smeared with dark foundation, but I could still tell... it was Felix Foster, the high school kid.

’Dressed like this, he really looked like a young triad member.’

I looked up at Felix Foster and, for some reason, was overcome with a feeling of being wronged. I sniffled, holding back a sob, and cried out, "Where’s Asher...?"

’Why didn’t Asher come?’

Felix Foster frowned. "Lady, if you keep being this stupid, you’re going to get him killed sooner or later."

I lowered my head, my tears splashing onto the ground.

"To clear your name, he had me tailing Mrs. Fletcher. He knew she would team up with Victor Quinn. He told you to stay home, but you just had to go see her..."

Felix Foster threw his cigarette butt to the ground and stomped it out. "I mean, it’s nice that you’re a little dumb, but you can’t be this dumb. It’s such a huge change from before..."

Felix Foster stopped mid-sentence, his gaze turning suspicious. "Sometimes I really wonder... are you really Cecilia Caldwell?"

My heart skipped a beat. I looked at Felix Foster nervously. "What’s wrong with Asher?"

"It took a lot of effort for you to fall into their hands. If I didn’t let them capture you, how could I help the police catch these rats, lure out the traffickers, and expose the entire human trafficking ring behind them?" Felix Foster said dismissively.

’Clearly, he used me as bait.’

"Did Asher... know too?" I clenched my fists. A wave of relief washed over me, but my heart ached fiercely at the same time.

’Did Asher know I’d been taken? Did he cooperate with the police, using me to draw out Howard Finch and his accomplice, and the trafficking ring behind them?’

’Although... it was a brilliant move. Catching these people might finally lead to a break in the case of the missing boys from all those years ago.’

’But why did it still hurt?’

"You need to get back, now. If you’re late, he might actually kill himself," Felix Foster said with a frown.

"What are you talking about...?" I grabbed Felix Foster’s arm.

"How could he possibly let you fall into danger? If he had seen what just happened, not a single person here would have made it out alive! You know he loses control whenever it involves you, yet you keep putting him in these situations. If I’d let him come, he’d spend the rest of his life in a mental institution!" Felix Foster was getting agitated.

"I tricked him and locked him in the basement..." Felix Foster lowered his voice. "You have to come back with me right now. If you don’t, he’ll go berserk in there."

’I knew what Felix Foster was worried about. Howard Finch and his accomplice were crucial. They couldn’t die now, but if Asher had found them first, they surely would have...’

’Asher would have killed Howard Finch and his partner, so Felix Foster did the right thing.’

’But if Asher was locked up while knowing I was in danger, he would really hurt himself!’

Ignoring the pain in my legs, I scrambled to my feet and ran outside.

Since I was barefoot, I stepped on a nail, and the sudden pain made me collapse.

’I couldn’t worry about that now.’

’Asher...’

’If he can’t find me, he’ll keep punishing himself.’

"The traffickers have been caught, and these two are in custody. Thank you for the lead."

Zeke Shaw was there too. He had been outside, intercepting the traffickers who were on their way.

Zeke Shaw shook hands with another officer, then looked at me nervously. "Silvia, are you all right?"

I looked at Zeke Shaw, my eyes welling up. "Take me home. Asher’s at home... Please, take me back."

’Felix Foster was right. If I was too late getting back, Asher really would kill himself.’