Chapter 155: The Cellar Hiding the Trafficked Victims

Irene chuckled softly, her tone nonchalant, "It’s just that your drug was too weak. Faking being unconscious all the way here was really tiring." Seeing the drastic change in everyone's expressions, Irene felt bored, "Stop pretending. The women you’ve hidden are all in the cellar, right? Hand over the keys, don’t make me search for them myself." Mag had already collapsed in Klan’s arms, looking as if she was barely clinging to life. The village chief stared coldly at Irene, remaining silent. Edward, furious, leapt up, cursing Irene as he charged at her, only to be slapped into the wall by her, knocking him out cold. Sol wasn’t as ruthless as the village chief. He too glared at Irene without saying a word, though his expression clearly showed he was cursing her in his mind. With a glance, Irene knew who was in charge here. She immediately grabbed the village chief, pulling him in front of her, and clasped her hand around his neck. The village chief saw a blur before his eyes, and the next second, he felt a hand like a vice grip around his throat. Every time he tried to speak, a fiery pain shot through his throat. Sol, like a madman, rushed towards Irene but stopped in his tracks when he saw the village chief’s pained expression. "You despicable, shameless woman! How dare you lay hands on an old man!" Sol roared, his eyes bloodshot with rage. Irene smiled faintly, "This isn’t an old man I see, but a demon wearing human skin. And you all are his proudest creations! He trafficks women and children, even having dogs eat people alive. He’s going straight to hell." "I can’t see what happens after death, but I can make sure he faces justice in this life!" Whether it was from rage or lack of air, the village chief’s face turned blue, but he still struggled to curse, "You bitch!" Irene’s lips curled into a smile, and she tightened her grip. The next second, the village chief’s throat emitted a choking sound as he weakly scratched at Irene’s hand, but he was horrified to find he couldn’t match her strength! Irene’s sweet voice, like a witch’s spell, whispered in the village chief’s ear as darkness began to creep into his vision, "You’d better hand over the keys and take me to where you’re hiding the people, or your grandson’s poison will spread. Even with an antidote, it’ll be too late." The village chief’s wife was overcome with panic and terror. In that moment, she had heard mockery and malice in Irene’s tone, and Irene didn’t seem like a simple schoolgirl at all. She seemed more like a hardened criminal, worse than the thugs Sol employed! The village chief’s wife couldn’t describe the feeling, but a powerful urge to run away surged through her. It felt like Irene would kill her any second. And then Irene mentioned her son was poisoned. "Which son? Which one?" The village chief’s wife was on the verge of madness! She frantically shook the unconscious Edward, but when he didn’t respond, she rushed to Sol, her hair disheveled, looking like a madwoman, "Are you in pain? Are you in pain?" Sol sneered, "Mom, don’t listen to her. I never let my drink out of my sight. There’s no way she could have..." Before he could finish his sentence, dizziness overwhelmed him, and he collapsed to the ground. The village chief’s wife turned pale with fright. The village chief, his eyes bulging, watched this unfold in horror. His son, his carefully groomed successor, his college-educated second son—how could he be poisoned like this! Without waiting for the village chief to speak, his wife frantically pulled a large ring of keys from inside her bra, crying, "Here! Here! I’ll take you there! Just let go of my husband! Give me the antidote!" Irene watched as the village chief’s wife pulled out the keys, her figure noticeably slimmer after doing so, and slowly released her grip. The village chief gasped for air. Irene smiled, "Be honest. You don’t want your family to be wiped out, do you?" Irene glanced at the wife Edward had purchased. Her belly was heavily swollen, but blood was pooling beneath her, and she had a maniacal grin on her face. It was clear she had done this to herself. Irene sighed softly. It seemed things needed to be resolved quickly; otherwise, lives would be in danger. Holding onto the village chief, Irene turned to Margot, "Can you take care of her? You’ve seen her before, haven’t you?" Margot, her face pale from the sight of blood, nodded. She had indeed seen her. Back then, the woman hadn’t been so thin or covered in scars. She had been gentle, nothing like the crazed, eerie figure she was now. Margot let go of Saryon and, with tears in her eyes, cradled the woman in her arms. The village chief didn’t stop Irene from speaking to Margot. He was still holding onto the hope that he could stall for time, waiting for the villagers to realize something was wrong and come to help. They had always been good at keeping secrets in the village. Authorities and undercover officers had visited countless times, but each time, the village chief had been quick to act, devising plans to avoid detection. The village chief’s household had even been named one of the town’s top ten outstanding farming families for inventing a new farming method—though in reality, Sol had stolen the idea from his college and had the village chief patent it. The person whose research was stolen had initially thought it was someone from their school, but after investigating and finding it was just a rural landowner, they dismissed it as a coincidence. But the village chief had no idea that no one from the village would come to help them this time. If you had to ask why, it was because nothing had ever gone wrong in all these years. The village chief loved taking his two sons out to eat at other people’s homes and then selecting "prime goods" from those families to enjoy later. Usually, they wouldn’t return until after 10 a.m. the next day. The village chief was deeply unwilling to accept this. Now that the village chief’s wife had handed over the keys, their entire operation was exposed! It was all over, completely over. The village chief didn’t share Sol’s naive belief that things could turn around once they reached the town. He had long understood that a woman like Irene wasn’t someone from an ordinary family. The village chief had always known that Joanna wasn’t the biological child of Mag’s family. But that woman was vain and weak. If he had kept her here back then, none of this would have happened today! The village chief sighed at Sol’s naive hope, feeling helpless. But Sol also thought the village chief was old and had foolishly given up everything. However, Sol had an automatic setting on his phone. If he didn’t send a text to his subordinates by 9 p.m., it would mean he was in danger. His subordinates would then drive over to help him. This godforsaken place had no signal at all! It was almost 9 p.m.! Sol’s eyes lit up with excitement.