Chapter 481: A Tragic Past

Chapter 481: Chapter 481: A Tragic Past

At the time, she figured it was just some hush-hush job offer. They mentioned daily pay, so she guessed it was for some small, private factory operating without a business license.

Mila knew it might be dangerous, but she was just too desperate for money. After hesitating for a day, she gritted her teeth and decided to go with her classmate.

But as soon as she arrived, before she even had a chance to get a clear look at her surroundings, someone covered her mouth from behind, and she passed out.

The last thing she saw before she fainted was a man walking over to her classmate, patting him on the shoulder, and handing him a stack of cash.

When she woke up again, Mila was already in Brellwood.

By then, there were already three other women in Brellwood who had suffered the same fate.

Besides Mrs. Ford and Aunt Melody, there was a sickly, frail woman who looked like she didn’t have much longer to live.

Sure enough, less than a month after Mila was brought there, the sickly woman suddenly died.

The men of Brellwood, cursing and grumbling, just found a random patch of ground and buried her. That was when Mila learned that the woman who had just died had given birth to two children in three years, on top of several miscarriages.

You could say she was kept constantly pregnant.

Because of this, the woman’s health rapidly deteriorated until one day, she finally couldn’t hold on any longer and drew her last breath.

But the cruel irony was, on the night of the burial, Mrs. Ford told Mila the woman had actually been three months pregnant. She was so thin and malnourished that it was impossible to tell.

"Soon, it was just the three of us women again. Those old hags were always watching us. If we slowed down even a little while working, they’d beat us.

We thought about escaping, but our hands and feet were shackled. The chains made noise with every move, so it was impossible." At this, Mila lifted her pant leg and held out her hands, revealing the marks left by the heavy iron chains she’d worn for so long.

The marks on her wrists were much better than the ring of bruised, purple-black abrasions on her ankles, which looked like a tattoo that could never be washed away.

The only reason they were better, however, was because Victoria Ford had found some cloth to wrap around Mila’s wrists, preventing the chains from chafing them further.

From the second day she was brought there, Mila began living a life worse than death.

She was forced to labor during the day and endure being assaulted by different men at night.

And you couldn’t fight back. If you dared to resist, you’d be publicly whipped the next day, then forced to work through the pain of your injuries.

Mila thought about ending it all. If she were dead, she wouldn’t have to feel this pain anymore.

But Victoria Ford saw what she was planning and managed to talk her out of it.

Sometime after that, Naomi Rivers was brought to the village.

Since Victoria Ford and Aunt Melody were getting older, the men turned their attention to Mila and Naomi Rivers. For a long time, the two of them were used relentlessly.

Over those seven years, Mila was also forced to bear children. She gave birth to three, all girls. As soon as they were born, they were taken away and drowned.

Until yesterday. The plan they had rehearsed countless times was finally put into action, and they successfully avenged themselves!

"You found the body of an old woman in the pit, didn’t you? That was the hag who drowned our children.

So, we made sure she died, too." As Mila spoke, her eyes flashed with a fanatical light. "At first, we wanted to drown her, but that would have been too risky and chaotic. It was simpler just to poison everyone.

I’ve hardly seen any outsiders in Brellwood. I thought that once we got rid of them, we could finally have a good life. I never expected the police to find out and arrest us."

As she finished, a look of bitter resentment crossed Mila’s face.

She had finally escaped that hellhole, yet before she could even find the classmate who sold her, the police had discovered everything and arrested her.

If she had known, she wouldn’t have bothered with the bodies. They should have just taken Mrs. Ford and the others and left. Then, perhaps, none of this would have happened.

Hearing this, Evan Keller tapped the table, pulling Mila’s attention back to him. "Do all the people in Brellwood normally eat together?"

’If that was the case, why did they wait until now to make their move?’

’I’ve already said this much,’ she thought. ’There’s no point in hiding the rest.’

Mila shook her head. "No. The village chief—the fat bastard buried with that old hag—his son came back. He brought the woman who sold Rivers with him, claiming she was his girlfriend and wanted to meet the family. He also wanted to discuss ways to traffic more people to the village. The fat bastard was so happy he declared everyone would have a big meal together.

An opportunity like that? We weren’t going to miss it. We poured the rat poison we’d been hiding into the food. We’d been on our best behavior for a while, so they thought we were truly broken and had given up on escaping. They let their guard down completely and ate it all."

At this, Mila’s expression turned eerily excited. "They always said we were livestock, unworthy of eating at the same table. So when the poison kicked in, the looks of disbelief on their faces... it was a beautiful sight.

Selene Rivers was cautious and didn’t eat, but she was no match for the four of us. We held her down and forced a bunch of sleeping pills down her throat. We wanted to let Rivers get some of her anger out."

’So that’s how it was,’ he thought. ’They played the part of docile victims, earned their captors’ trust, and then, when their guard was down, delivered a single, fatal blow.’

Evan Keller nodded, lost in thought, before asking another question. "What about the children? And why kill the village dogs?"

At this question, Mila just shrugged, her tone casual. "Even though they came from the wombs of Mrs. Ford and Aunt Melody, they were the spitting image of those men, always spouting the same filth. Keeping them around would have been a constant reminder of what they all suffered.

Besides, Aunt Melody told us they used to think that since the boys were their own children, maybe they’d have a soft spot for their mothers.

They once tentatively asked the boys if they knew a path down the mountain, or if they could just glance at a cell phone to see the time. The boys immediately went and told on them. Mrs. Ford and Aunt Melody suffered countless beatings because of it. This time, they weren’t going to leave them alive."

As she spoke, Mila’s fingers traced the side of the paper cup, feeling its warmth in her palm. "The first year she was here, Mrs. Ford managed to escape. She almost made it.

She was just about to get away when the mother of those dogs we killed led the men right to her.

They dragged Mrs. Ford back and broke her leg. She still has the scars. The young pay for the mother’s debts. It’s what those puppies deserved."

"So you tell me. Did we go too far?"