Chapter 149 Acting Ahead
Cressida had seen Alison snap at people before, so she awkwardly agreed, "You're right."
"Children purchased from orphanages around the country are only part of the academy's student sources. Principal Arthur travels year-round, scouting for exceptional children. He has some special channels for buying kids." Cressida emphasized the words "special channels."
"Only buying?" Alison asked suspiciously.
"Selling too." Cressida paused. "Arthur is Santos's right-hand man. He runs the child trafficking business, and the profits are quite substantial! After Santos fell ill, Dorian, Freya, and Marshall wanted to take this cash cow for themselves. But Arthur keeps the supply and client sources firmly in his own hands—Dorian, Freya, and Marshall can't get involved at all. They settled for asking for a cut, but Arthur refused that too, which really pissed them off."
Alison clicked her tongue. "They've got plenty of other profitable businesses, right? Talk about greedy."
Cressida nodded. "Dorian, Freya, and Marshall divided up Santos's underground smuggling operations. Dorian makes good money trafficking women, but he only picks attractive, educated women as merchandise, so it's hard to scale up the business. No matter how high the profit margin, there's still a ceiling. So Dorian got talked into partnering with a friend to deal hallucinogenic drugs, and ended up losing a lot of money. He got hooked on the stuff himself too."
"Blue Butterfly?" Alison remembered Chloe mentioning it.
"Yes." Cressida nodded. "The name Blue Butterfly is misleading—the drug's main ingredient is actually extracted from a type of mushroom."
"Mushroom." Alison frowned, remembering how Gerald had once used a hallucinogen extracted from mushrooms to make her weak and knock her out for several hours.
Cressida continued, "These mushrooms are expensive to cultivate artificially. Dorian has no choice but to traffic more women to make money and cover his losses, but the risk is too high. He's been wanting to grab Arthur's client and supply sources."
Cressida sneered. "That's what he thinks, and Freya and Marshall think the same way."
Oliver looked thoughtful.
Alison looked at him and asked quietly, "What are you thinking?"
Oliver replied, "I'm thinking about why the Thomas Special Program students were suddenly brought back to school."
"Have you figured it out?" Alison blinked.
Oliver responded in a low voice, "After Santos was disappointed with the Thomas Special Program, Arthur didn't shut it down. He probably wanted to train them well and sell them at a high price. But because of Gerald's interference, the current batch of Thomas Special Program students probably doesn't meet expectations in terms of 'quality.' Keeping them at Light of Hope Hospital must cost a lot. Bringing them back to school reduces expenses, and if he sells them, he can at least recoup some of his investment."
Alison's face turned cold. "Arthur's selling the kids at a time like this? He's got some nerve!"
"If he doesn't act now, it'll be even harder later." Oliver sighed softly.
Because of Alison and Oliver's relationship, Arthur probably sensed that the police were already watching St. Thomas Academy, so he wanted to squeeze out a few more deals while he could.
Alison frowned deeply. "Those kids may have high IQs, but their personalities are terrible. Whoever buys them is in for trouble."
Oliver shook his head. "If they can't be sold, they'll end up even worse."
Alison remembered what Abel had said—"Testing weird drugs and poisons, having blood drawn, bone marrow extracted, organs removed and sold."
If Oliver was right, if buyers were interested, the children could at least stay alive and intact. Otherwise, they'd just be torn apart piece by piece.
Alison took a deep breath. "We have to act early this Friday!"
Friday.
In the early morning, as the clock hand passed the number "8," Alison yawned and asked, "Is everyone's luggage packed?"
The children answered unevenly, "All packed."
"Go back to your rooms and check carefully one more time. Don't leave anything behind—we're not coming back!" Alison was unusually verbose.
Chris muttered, "You make it sound like we're never coming back. Winter break is coming up soon, and we'll have to come back here then anyway."
Bucky was silent for a few seconds. "I wonder if Alison will still be our teacher during winter break."
Chris thought of Steve, and his mood dropped.
Catching sight of Abel, he couldn't help saying jealously, "Abel looks so carefree now. When Alison stops coming one day, he'll probably cry for three days and nights!"
Abel dragged his suitcase over to Alison's side, sat on it, and casually played with a Rubik's cube in his hands.
He heard what Chris and Bucky said. After they walked away, he asked while turning the cube, "Are we really coming back?"
"No." Alison answered.
Abel looked up at her in shock, asking uncertainly in a small voice, "Are you going to do something?"
Alison smiled slightly, took the cube from his hands, completed the final steps in a few moves, and tossed it casually. "You'll find out soon enough."
8:30 a.m.
The school bus arrived on time at the back entrance of Light of Hope Hospital.
The windows had dark tinting—you couldn't see inside from outside, and from inside, the view outside was blurry too.
When the door opened, Alison noticed the driver in the driver's seat was completely unfamiliar.
"Are you new?" Alison asked. "I don't think I've seen you before."
After Manuel discovered that Alaric had once disguised himself as a worker to infiltrate the academy, she had Taylor get her photos and names of all staff members, which she spent half a day memorizing.
Alison was certain this driver wasn't an academy employee.
The driver was about forty, with an honest, simple appearance. Nervous at Alison's question, he pulled out his employee ID. "I just started last week."
Alison took the ID and looked it over. Though very new, it was genuine, with watermarks and the secretary department's stamp.
Alison returned the ID to him, asking somewhat puzzled, "You're the only one here to pick up the students? No other teachers to help me?"
"Short-staffed. Just me." The driver answered honestly.
"Alright then. Please get out and help with the luggage, thanks."
Alison turned back to call to the students, "Carry your own light luggage. Leave the heavy stuff where it is. Line up and get on the bus one by one, no cutting."
The driver put the ID back in his pocket, grateful he'd taken Charlie's advice.
He'd originally thought an employee ID was completely unnecessary, but Charlie said Alison was very alert, and to fool her, they needed thorough preparation.
Seeing for himself was more reliable than hearsay—she really was hard to deceive. He'd almost been exposed.
The driver diligently moved luggage while Alison observed him discreetly.
After boarding, she sat in the passenger seat. The driver called to her, "Ms. Gray, logistics prepared juice and bread since we're leaving pretty early, to tide the kids over."
Alison was somewhat surprised. While complaining about the early departure time, she distributed the food.
"Nothing for you?" After handing out everything, Alison had one portion left. She offered it to the driver. "You have it."
The driver shook his head repeatedly. "I already ate breakfast! Ms. Gray, that's yours. Everything was prepared according to headcount."
"Alright." Alison accepted the juice and bread without suspicion.
The engine started, and the vehicle slowly pulled away from Light of Hope Hospital.