Chapter 476: Why Didn’t You Show Up When We Were Being Bullied?

Chapter 476: Chapter 476: Why Didn’t You Show Up When We Were Being Bullied?

After confirming the approximate number of people, Zoe Sawyer and Evan Keller didn’t waste any time.

They positioned the door on the outskirts of the village, found a hidden corner, and sent out the team members who were already on standby.

Just as Evan Keller was preparing to lead his team over to capture the women, Sean Hughes came running from the other direction. His steps were frantic, his voice laced with shock and uncertainty. "I’ve found out their identities!

In the system, they’re all listed as deceased. Their official records have been destroyed!"

Evan Keller, who had just been about to move out, froze mid-step. He turned his head in disbelief, staring at the approaching Sean Hughes. "What did you say? They’re already dead?"

Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale also turned to Sean Hughes, their eyes filled with questions.

Sean Hughes came to a stop and handed the four files he was holding to Zoe Sawyer and the others.

Zoe Sawyer took the files and read the first one. It was for the woman they called Mrs. Ford. Her real name was Victoria Ford, forty-one years old. She had disappeared fifteen years ago on her way to work. Her family filed a police report and searched for three years, but found nothing.

In the following years, Mrs. Ford’s parents exhausted their family fortune searching for her. Five years after her disappearance, their health rapidly deteriorated.

In the tenth year of Victoria Ford’s disappearance, her younger sister could no longer stand their parents’ obsessive search. She took Victoria’s household registration and ID card and had her officially declared dead.

"The two sisters had always been very close," Sean Hughes explained, looking at the file. "But after Victoria Ford disappeared, their parents couldn’t accept it. Their health failed, and they were in the hospital for a long time. All the while, it was the younger sister, Molly, who cared for them, while also bearing the burden of searching for Victoria.

But Molly had her own family. Her daughter almost drowned in a river at one point because she was so distracted. Her husband worked construction, so their income was unstable. Add in the high cost of the search, and her family was struggling to get by.

Victoria’s parents grew almost manic in their search. They’d drag Molly along to chase down even the flimsiest of rumors. If she refused, they’d go to her workplace the next day to cause a scene, screaming that she was unfilial. They ended up costing her several jobs.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Molly petitioned the court, and it was approved," Sean Hughes concluded, looking down at the file.

’There was nothing wrong with searching for one’s child, of course, but it was unreasonable to expect the younger daughter to sacrifice her own life and career to accommodate her parents’ obsession.’

Molly’s resistance was understandable.

"What’s the Ford Family’s situation now? Should we notify them?" Zoe Sawyer asked, her expression conflicted as she studied the file.

’Victoria Ford had done nothing wrong. Neither had her parents or Molly. The only ones at fault were the human traffickers who had abducted her.’

"Not yet," Heath Hale said after a moment’s thought, rejecting Zoe’s suggestion. "We still don’t have all the facts of the case. It won’t be too late to inform them after we’ve captured everyone and sorted out the situation."

’They would definitely be notified,’ he thought. ’But with the situation still so murky, it was better to wait until everything was resolved before telling these families that their daughters were alive.’

Once they confirmed there were no other immediate issues, Evan Keller led one of the teams through the door to the outskirts of the village.

The scene was gruesome, and with only Mrs. Ford and Aunt Melody left in the village, Evan Keller decided against a stealthy approach. His team went straight in, forced the two women to the ground, and gagged them with a strip of cloth.

This was to keep them from screaming or injuring themselves in a panic.

Meanwhile, Rivers and Mila, who were digging pits elsewhere, had no idea what was happening back in the village. Zoe Sawyer moved the door to a nearby forest, and Sean Hughes led another team through.

They then sprinted towards the pits and quickly subdued the two women.

Considering Rivers’s pregnancy, Sean Hughes signaled his team members to be gentle while restraining her to avoid any harm.

"Alright, you two," Sean Hughes said, crouching down to look at Mila and Rivers. "Now, we’ll need you to take us down to the village."

Mila looked indignant, glaring at Sean Hughes and his team. "Pah! Where were you cops when we were being abused and beaten? Now that we’ve finally managed to get our own revenge, you decide to show up!"

She struggled violently as she spoke.

Rivers was less agitated. She simply stared intently at Sean Hughes, her eyes holding a glint of something he couldn’t quite understand.

’This woman, Rivers, looks incredibly familiar,’ Sean Hughes thought, unsettled, ’but for the life of me, I can’t place her.’

"Sean Hughes, do you remember me? I’m Naomi Rivers," Rivers said, tilting her head with a small smile as she stared at him.

’Naomi Rivers?’

Sean Hughes shook his head in disbelief. "Naomi Rivers? But didn’t you go abroad? I remember you specifically told everyone in our group chat."

He’d gotten busy with work after that and hadn’t kept in touch with his old classmates.

Still, he’d never heard anything about Naomi Rivers going missing or dying.

’No, that’s not right,’ Sean Hughes thought, tapping his own cheek. ’The file I pulled up said this woman’s name was Caitlin Rivers. Besides, the photo in the file looked nothing like the Naomi Rivers I remember.’

Naomi Rivers didn’t speak again. After dropping that bombshell, she simply lowered her head and fell silent.

Sensing something was off, Mila leaned closer to her. "Rivers, you know this cop?" she asked.

Naomi Rivers gave a slight nod but didn’t speak. Inwardly, though, she was starting to panic.

’The police are already here... Does that mean Mrs. Ford and Aunt Melody have been caught back at the village?’

’Or maybe not. If I can just stall for a bit longer, I might be able to buy them enough time to get away.’

Mila clearly had the same idea. She mimicked Naomi and lowered her head, refusing to say a word no matter how Sean Hughes questioned them.

Since both women refused to cooperate, Sean Hughes had no choice but to use his comms device to contact Evan Keller in the village and update him on the situation.

He then led his team down the only path, stopping when they reached a fork in the road.

Before Sean Hughes could decide which way to go, they ran into another agent who had come to find them. The agent led them back to the village.

By the time they returned to the village, Evan Keller had Victoria Ford and Aunt Melody detained in an open area. Some of the team were collecting the bodies and arranging them in neat rows, while two others had followed the path Zoe Sawyer took earlier and were now carrying the unconscious woman out from the cellar.

There were twenty-seven bodies in the village. Only Naomi Rivers and the other four women were left alive.

When Mila saw the other two women handcuffed to a large tree, she began to struggle violently, trying to break free from the agent holding her back.

"Mrs. Ford! Aunt Melody!"