Chapter 174: Explain Clearly, and You Might Avoid the Death Penalty!

An old man suddenly burst onto the scene. As he did, he barked, "You'd better answer their questions honestly! Maybe then you'll avoid the death penalty!" Mag didn’t even take a good look at who it was. The moment she heard that she might be facing the death penalty, she panicked and started cursing, "Who are you, you old fool? You’re practically at death's door yourself! Get lost!" But Klan quickly pulled Mag back, glaring suspiciously at the old leader. "What do you mean by this? Why are you helping these outsiders?" The old leader ignored him, stepping aside to create a path wide enough for one person. He respectfully said, "Young Master Norman, Miss Irene, Mr. Stefan, this way, please." Finally, Mag recognized who it was. She and Klan clung to each other, trembling on the ground like frightened quails, looking utterly pitiful. The old leader, however, had no sympathy for the couple. He smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Ask your questions." Klan was on the verge of wetting his pants from fear. Who on earth were these people? They knew who this old man was. He had served as the mayor of the town over a decade ago, wielding the police force—a symbol of state power. Back then, he was at the peak of his career. Even the most brazen troublemakers didn’t dare cross him. Klan remembered the old leader vividly from his youth when he had served as the mayor. The memory was deeply ingrained. While they were still in shock, Irene handed the soldiers two pills, instructing them to give them to Mag and Klan. Mag broke down, crying hysterically, "Irene! How can you treat your mother like this? I’m your real mother! What did you make me swallow?" Irene responded coolly, "Really? You’re truly my mother?" Mag’s wailing stopped abruptly, as if someone had pressed a pause button. Her face was still streaked with tears, making her expression look particularly ridiculous. After a few seconds of silence, Mag resumed crying, "Of course! Of course, I’m your real mother!" Irene chuckled softly. Stefan took over, saying, "Answer our questions truthfully, and I'll give you half of the antidote. Once I verify your answers, you’ll get the other half." "However, if your answers don’t match, don’t expect to see that antidote." Klan, who had been nervously shifting his eyes around, suddenly widened them upon hearing this. The soldiers grabbed Mag and Klan, separating them for questioning. In reality, the pills were nothing more than throat lozenges that Ada had given Irene to use during her live broadcasts. But the couple didn’t know that. With the old leader’s intimidation, the threat of poison, and the presence of armed soldiers, Klan and Mag finally realized they had no way out. Now, their only chance to survive was to tell the truth. They had accumulated a lot of money over the years, along with a large piece of land. They couldn’t just hand it all over to the government! If they ended up in prison, at least they could still hold on to their property. Human trafficking didn’t come with fines. During the questioning, Assistant Barton didn’t appear in front of them. Since he had previously met with them, they already knew who he was. Barton worried that his presence might trigger Mag’s defiance, causing her to withhold the truth forever. Mag was indeed craftier than Klan. When asked if she had participated in human trafficking, she rolled her eyes and said, "What are you talking about? We were just introducing people—some folks needed children, some needed wives. If we found a match, we made the introduction." "Human trafficking? We know nothing about that." Itha, hearing this, coldly remarked, "It seems you don’t care much for your life." Then, with a chuckle, he looked at the old leader. "It seems you’re not much help after all." The old leader turned pale, his whole body trembling. He grabbed Mag’s collar tightly and shouted, "Are you trying to die? Your family has only one son who hasn’t been implicated! Do you want him to be left with nothing?" Meanwhile, Klan had already spilled everything. He had a clear understanding of the situation. There was no way to turn things around. Mag, on the other hand, was still trying to play tricks. But at that moment, Klan, who had spotted her intentions from a distance, yelled, "Just confess already! If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you! You wretched woman, confess!" Mag gritted her teeth and retorted, "You were happy counting the money, but now that we’re in trouble, you want to absolve yourself of all responsibility! If it weren’t for your family forcing me to bear a son, I wouldn’t have been driven to steal other people’s children!" Klan couldn’t hold back any longer. He charged at Mag, but was restrained by several soldiers. "You wretched woman! What nonsense are you spouting? You did all of this! From the planning to the kidnapping! I was only tricked by you into transporting them!" Irene had no interest in watching them blame each other. She calmly took a gun from Stefan’s back, lightly tapping it on the ground in front of Mag, and instructed the soldiers to take Klan away, farther from the scene. The sound of the gun hitting the pavement was so loud that Mag flinched. Irene then asked coolly, "When you kidnapped children from the capital, did you keep any specific records or lists of transactions?" Mag, trembling, replied, "The capital? The capital is too far away. We didn’t operate there. We mainly targeted students touring the nearby mountains. We didn’t keep detailed records, just headcounts." Irene asked indifferently, "What was the youngest age of the children you sold?" Mag, still shaking, said, "Around two babies under a year old. That was our last deal that year." Itha’s emotions began to surge. Although the location didn’t match, the age did! With a trembling voice, Itha asked again, "What month was this?" Mag responded, "I can’t remember exactly. I just remember after that deal, we went to a bar near the village to celebrate. The owner was getting married, so our tab was on the house." Immediately, Ada, standing behind Irene, began frantically searching on her laptop. "I found it! There’s only one bar near the village that’s been open for over thirty years! The owner got married in March!" Itha’s breathing grew rapid. March! Yes! The timing matched perfectly! But which of those two children was his sister? Itha struggled to control his breathing and his anxious thoughts, asking, "Did those two children have any distinguishing features?" Itha hadn’t forgotten that these two were scum. If they sensed his desperation, they might use it to blackmail him!