Chapter 77
I didn't go back to the company. Instead, I had the driver take me to another location.
Opening the factory door and walking through a row of rooms, a hidden door opened, revealing a long staircase leading underground. As my heels touched the steps, motion-sensor lights along the sides lit up.
After the long staircase, the space opened up around a corner. Under the dim yellow lighting, I could see two people tied up. One of them was unmistakably Paul from the coffee shop this morning.
Seeing me enter, James was the first to speak: "Ms. Wilson, I just slacked off and took a nap at work. There's no need to have us kidnapped and brought here, right? I was wrong, Ms. Wilson. I'll accept any fine—can you please let me go?"
Paul was obviously smarter, his voice calmer: "What does Ms. Wilson want with us? If it's about this morning, like I said, I was just doing a job for money. The mastermind was Sophia. Did you grab the wrong people?"
James looked confused: "Paul, what's going on? What mastermind?"
I slowly sat down on a stool nearby, looking at them with a faint smile: "Just following orders? You're really trying to wash your hands clean, aren't you, Paul? And James, you two have been running a human trafficking operation for years. You don't seriously think having a legitimate job is going to cover that up, do you?"
Panic flashed across James's face: "How did you... don't make things up. We're just club security guards. What human trafficking? Don't talk nonsense."
Paul didn't know how much I'd uncovered, so he also denied it vigorously: "That was all Sophia's doing. I don't understand what you're talking about."
I looked at him with contempt, my tone turning cold: "You really think you've been so discreet? Don't forget—I came back from Solstice. You should be familiar with Jeffrey, right? He's been locked up for a while now. The person running your operation now should be Ben. Do you need me to call and verify the list of people you've sold?"
James instinctively asked again: "How do you know all this?"
Paul's lips turned pale, his voice trembling: "Who exactly are you?"
I glanced at him coolly: "Want to know who I am? Take a guess."
He looked carefully at my face, then hung his head in defeat: "Ms. Wilson, if we've disrespected you, that's on us. You're a major player—don't waste your time on small fry like us. We're just hired muscle. We're all part of the same game here... you don't really need to wipe us off the streets."
I adjusted my sitting position: "But what if I'm the type to hold grudges?"
Paul quickly said, "We apologize for what happened at the club. However, you want to vent, that's fine. Even if you want to beat us up right now, we'll take it."
I laughed: "I wouldn't bother holding a grudge over something that small. Why don't you guess why I ended up at Solstice?"
Hearing this, Paul's face turned pale instantly. He looked at me, stammering: "If I remember correctly, you came back from Solstice. I checked the records—you grew up there. It shouldn't have been us who..."
I raised an eyebrow at him, saying nothing.
He looked at my face again, still confused. James couldn't take it anymore: "You mean we sold you to Solstice? That can't be right. You're so beautiful—why don't I remember you at all?"
Paul asked, "If you just needed an excuse, we're already tied up here. You shouldn't need to waste time on this. Ms. Wilson, just tell us straight—what do you really want?"
I looked at him. He was the smarter one—talking to him wouldn't be so exhausting. I smoothed back my hair and spoke slowly: "This wasn't just you two. It should be a whole operation, right? I need to know who your leader is."
Paul denied it quickly: "We don't have a leader. We did it ourselves. When we needed money, we'd pull a random job. Ms. Wilson, if you don't mind, our lives are yours from now on. You can take them whenever you want. Whatever you need, just say the word—we'll help you with anything, even murder or arson."
I laughed lightly: "I don't lack thugs like you. And do you really think I know nothing about you? Anyone can find out what Zach built his fortune on. Not everyone can clean up their past so easily."
Paul's eyes flickered: "Zach just gave us a job."
"Doesn't matter. If you won't talk, that's fine. I have plenty of evidence without your testimony."
"If you have a grudge against Zach, you can go after him directly. We're really just security guards. We've barely even seen him a few times." Paul quickly cut in before James could speak.
Playing these tricks in front of me was a blatant provocation.
I slowly walked forward and casually picked up a knife from the table nearby: "Do you two even know where you are? All you know is that in Solstice, people can reach their full potential… but I'm guessing you've got no idea the tech here is just as refined. I'm currently researching something that requires plenty of fresh, healthy blood. Your health checks came back fine."
My words made James's voice shake with fear: "Ms. Wilson, we're not in Solstice now. This is illegal."
I looked at him indifferently: "And then what?"
My words clearly frightened them. After all, they'd dealt with people from there before—to them, the people they captured were just merchandise.
James started crying: "Ms. Wilson, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Our leader isn't Zach—it's Zach's cousin, Benjamin White. Zach just handles the business deals. We supply the goods from below, and Mr. White divides up the profits. Whatever else you want to know, I'll tell you everything. Please spare my life—I have a family to support."
Paul kicked him hard: "Do you have a death wish?"
I drove the knife deep into his leg without my hand even shaking. Agonized screams immediately echoed through the basement. Paul curled up, his whole body trembling in pain as he gritted his teeth.
I didn't pull the knife out right away. Instead, I slowly wiped the blood that had splattered on my hands: "This is less than an inch from your main artery. You'd better not move around. Your blood has other uses."
Paul's little schemes and clever tricks were completely useless now. He gritted his teeth and looked up at me: "Ms. Wilson, I'll tell you everything. Please, just let me go."
I stepped back, pleased: "Do you want to live?"
They both nodded. I pointed them toward a way out: "If you want to live, turn yourselves in. I don't care what you did before, but I want you to tell the police clearly about Sophia bribing you to kidnap Emma. If you're lucky, you'll be released in a few years."
I stepped forward and yanked the knife from his leg: "Of course, if you're unlucky, at least you'll still be alive. It's almost the end of the year—you can use your company benefits to send your family on vacation abroad. No need to thank me too much."
I waved my hand. From the darkness beyond the light, two bodyguards walked over: "Stop his bleeding first. In three days, dump them at the police station."