“At the time, the Yard Family should have all been killed, but the Fletchers showed mercy and let all the women go. Over the years, they have all passed away from old age. It would not be wise to seek out the Yard Family for help.”
Once Sophia became aware of the history of the previous dynasty, she also thought it was unreasonable and they were better off looking for the child on their own.
The next day, Michael and Quinton went out together to look for the child. Originally, Sophia planned to evaluate the market to prepare to work with the Yard Family, but after finding out the situation, she decided not to anymore and went along with Michael to search for the child.
The competition was high so it was not a loss even if she stepped out.
In the end, all their information pointed in the same direction—the black market.
The black market was a place where people were trafficked.
It was an illegal industry that the government had no control over. They had been in existence for centuries—ever since the maritime period. When colonizers trafficked Cethosian workers and Black slaves, it slowly gave form to the market and let it develop until it became this large-scale industry today. It even had a complete business chain. Behind closed doors, conglomerates and government officials continued to tacitly approve of them. Hence, they had never gotten banned.
Every day, people were delivered like goods in mass quantities to be sold off. There were men, women, and children—anyone that had a value.
Sophia and Michael drove for an hour before they arrived at their destination.
Getting out of the car, it looked like a regular shopping street. All they saw was famous international luxury brand retail stores, exclusive stores, and even the Michel Group’s high-end mobile phones. It was a woman’s paradise.
Michael turned to Sophia and said, “You can take a look around here. Hope and I will go down first. I’ll come and get you once I’m done.”
But, it was not an ordinary day and Sophia was unwilling to take a step away from him. Tugging on his hand tightly, she said, “I want to go with you.”
He squeezed her hand lightly. “You shouldn’t go there.”
Sophia bit her lip, and her face turned red. “I… I don’t want to leave you.”
Michael smiled. Holding her face in his hands, he gave her a peck and said, “That place is not suitable for you. You will regret it.”
She quickly shook her head. “I won’t talk later. I won’t get in the way.”
In the end, he brought her along with them. The black market was just within the area. Even though the place was filled with people from the underworld, no one dared to mess with the consumers. However, heinous criminals were crawling all around the place. Even if Sophia had bodyguards, Michael still did not feel at ease, so he decided to bring her along.
Quinton felt dejected as he silently watched them act lovey-dovey with each other, but he soon dismissed it from his mind.
Love did not work on a first come, first served basis. People did not get to call dibs on someone just because they saw them first.
The difference was only in whether love was present or not.
It was clear that Sophia had never loved him.
…
Over a dozen people entered the largest department store. Once they all shuffled into the elevator, they went two levels down to the basement. When the elevator doors opened, they were confronted with a big door that was guarded. The man asked coldly, “Did you make an appointment?”
Michael and Sophia were wearing masks. They kept themselves hidden among the large group of bodyguards and did not say a word. Quinton took the lead and said, “Yes. Number 29834. My boss and his wife are unable to bear children, so they have come to pick one.”
A person went to look up the appointment and found a match. It was a Cethosian married couple who were unable to have children, so they came to pick a child from this place.
Once their identities were verified, the door opened. Sophia followed the rest of them in.
Sophia looked at those ‘goods’ that had a numb expression on their faces that looked like they had gone through immeasurable torment. They were sitting in a daze by the display window waiting to be purchased. Feelings of desolation and anger grew within her, but she realized how powerless she was.
She could not change a thing.
Sophia’s eyes were fixed on one of the stores at the side. A child was up for sale by the display window. It was a little Cethosian girl. She was very beautiful and was dressed neatly. Her glistening eyes were filled with misery and fear.
She looked to be the same age as Carmen. She was supposed to be a little princess, spoiled and cherished by her parents, but she had been sold off to this place and turned into one of the ‘goods’ that were up for sale.
She was even wearing a wristband with a number on it. If people liked her, they could take her to the counter, pay the price, and carry her out of there. The people there could even provide legal identities and adoption procedures.
Sophia felt her heart ache and could not take another step. Breathing heavily, she only kept her eyes fixed on that child.
Michael knew that bringing Sophia in would cause trouble.
Anyone with a conscience who entered this place would burn with indignation. They would want more than anything for a huge fire to burn the whole place down. Unfortunately, the reality was that cruel. That place was not going to disappear and there was not much they could do about it.
Michael tugged at Sophia, pulling her back into reality. Her weary gaze moved away from the young girl as she slowly followed Michael forward. It did not keep her from feeling terrible. Lowering her head, her tears slowly soaked through her mask.
When they had just taken a couple of steps, however, she suddenly wrenched her hand out of Michael’s grip and ran back. Rushing into that store, she went and carried the child out, then stood before Michael with pleading eyes.
He almost expected that to happen.
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