Chapter 8
With the Truth–telling Talisman, the interrogation progressed much faster. Not only did the police uncover the entire hurnant trafficking network, but they also managed to get the information on who sold Amanda, and caught the culprit.
The
guy’s name was Omar Perkins. According to his confession, he was hired by his nephew’s classmate, with the promise of payment once the job was done.
Billy was livid upon hearing that. He thought, Amanda wasn’t lying. It was really her own family who sold her
Furious, Billy immediately ordered someone to grab Maddox. Billy couldn’t understand why anyone would sell their own
sister.
games at
Maddox was playing home. When he heard that Amanda had been taken away, lie smirked, thinking. Hah, let’s see you get beaten up this time. Maybe after a good thrashing, you’ll learn not to be so cocky
But before he could enjoy the thought, a group of police officers walked in, Billy coldly said, “Maddox, you’re under arrest for human trafficking. Come with us,”
Hearing that everyone in the house was shocked, and they turned to look at Maddox.
Maddox, equally confused, asked, “What are you talking about? Who did I traffick? Does my family look like we need money? Why would I do that?”
Billy’s look grew even more disgusted. ‘Not needing money but selling your own sister, you’re pure evil:
He coldly replied. “Did you contact Omar to sell Amanda?”
Maddox was dumbfounded. He knew Omar, who was Clark’s uncle, but he never said anything about selling Amanda.
Seeing Maddox’s reaction, Billy knew he wasn’t wrong. He immediately cuffed Maddox, preparing to take him away
Liliana rushed over, her face full of concern. “Is there some kind of misunderstanding? Amanda is my daughter. How could my son be involved in selling her? Maddox, what’s going on?
Maddox was still confused. He furrowed his brows and mumbled, “I only told Clark’s uncle to give her a good beating. Nothing
more.”
“A good beating? is this what a brother should do to his sister? Billy scoffed in his mind.
With a dark face, Billy asked. “You don’t know how brutal Omar is? Amanda’s lucky this time. If he’d gotten his hands on her today, she might not have made it out alive?
After all, Omar admitted to having killed people in the past.
It wasn’t a surprise, anyway. Human traffickers were known to be heartless. If someone tried to escape or resist, they’d beat them into submission, not caring if they’d kill them in the process,
When Maddox heard this, he was totally stunned.
Billy was tired of talking, and he grabbed Maddox to leave.
Just then, Ben walked up with his phone in his hand. He handed it to Billy, signaling for him to take the call.
Billy was annoyed. He didn’t want to take the call right now.
But Ben said coolly, “You’d better take it!
Billy frowned, reluctantly accepting the phone. The moment he heard the voice on the other end, he stood up straight.
A minute later, he handed the phone back to Ben and looked at Maddox, his expression bitter. He then unlocked his handcuffs and motioned for his team to leave.
With Amanda’s talisman, the police officers treated her like a treasure. They all gathered around her, curious to see what other talismans she could create..
Amanda showed them one by one, and when she noticed Billy coming back empty–handed, her eyes flashed with
understanding.
Billy met her gaze, guilt flickering in his eyes. T’m sorry, but we can’t arrest Maddox.”
“Why not?” Before Amanda could speak, one of Billy’s colleagues spoke up.
Billy gritted his teeth and mumbled. They pulled the strings.”
Someone exclaimed, “What? They can’t challenge the law.”
Billy fell silent for a moment. He then leaned in and quietly whispered a name to them.
Hearing the name, everyone went silent. They exchanged looks of sympathy for Amanda. How could they not feel for her after everything she’d been through?
Anton was also furious. He snapped, This is outrageous. How can they indulge him like this? This isn’t what family is supposed to be.”
Seeing the sympathy in their eyes, Amanda shrugged and said. “It’s fine, guys. I expected it. It’s not like I’m in any danger. They won’t care even if something happens to me. If anything, they might even reward Maddox for getting rid of me. This happened before.”
She added with a smile, “Anyway, I’ll just keep drawing talismans for you guys. How about a Wall–through Talisman?” She paused for a moment and then turned to Billy, studying his face carefully. “Officer, you’d better call your wife. Tell her not to open the door for anyone today.”
Billy’s expression turned serious, and he asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Amanda didn’t explain. She glanced at the clock on the wall and said. “You’ve got two minutes.”
Billy felt a chill run through him. Something about it gave him an ominous feeling.
While he hesitated, one of his colleagues said, “Chief, you better call Claudia. This girl’s predictions are on point.”
Another girl added, “Yeah, she just predicted what my blind date looked like.”
Someone else chimed in. “She even predicted I won 300 dollars on the lottery yesterday, Chief. Trust me, better safe than
sorry.”
Hearing this, Billy gritted his teeth and made the call to his wife.
Amanda reminded him, “Remember, anyone. Don’t open the door even a crack. Best to pretend no one’s home.”
Billy shot her an odd look but repeated her exact words to his wife Claudia.
Claudia was confused, but before she could say anything, there was a knock on the door.
Billy instinctively checked the time. Exactly two minutes had passed. His heart skipped a beat as he exclaimed, “Don’t open the door:
Claudia paused her steps and held her breath. The knocking went on for nearly ten minutes before the person finally left.
Billy turned to Amanda, who was studying his face. She gave him a slight nod and said, “It’s over now. You can check the security footage.”
Billy immediately contacted the building management. But the response sent a cold sweat down his spine. His colleagues crowded around to look at the footage, where they saw someone standing outside his door, all bundled up.
Another figure was near the electrical box, clearly the one responsible for the power outage. It was obvious that the two guys
were a leam.
Claudia was at home alone. If she had opened the door, things could’ve gone terribly wrong
Billy’s legs felt weak. He turned to Amanda and asked, “How did you know all this?”
Amanda blinked and replied, “I read faces.
Billy was stunned. He could hardly believe it, but the proof was right in front of him.
Amanda didn’t say much more but just stared at Billy.
Unnerved by her gaze, Billy asked, “Anything else you wanna say?”
“Oh, no,” she replied, watching him for a few more seconds. When she saw he had nothing else to say, Amanda sighed. “Alright, I’ll get going. Don’t forget my reward when it’s ready.”
Amanda started to leave but took her time. Seeing that, Billy suddenly called out, “Wait”
Amanda’s eyes lit up, and she turned to look at Billy with a look of quiet expectation. Billy said, “Leave a number. If you need anything, just let me know.”
After all, Amanda had saved his wife.
Amanda’s face immediately dropped, her disappointment clear. She didn’t even bother replying. After exchanging numbers, she stormed off.
After she left, she went to buy some cinnabar and yellow paper since talismans drawn with these materials worked better.
On the way, she turned to Anton, who had been following her, and asked, “Why are you following me?”
Anton shrugged, hands behind his back. “Can’t leave you alone out here. I’m not taking chances.”
Amanda thought, “What’s he worried about? He must be up to no good!
She studied him for a few seconds but couldn’t figure out what he was thinking Deciding to let it go, she focused on her own plans.
The bounty for catching the traffickers wouldn’t be processed for a few more days, and she’d spent all the money she had from staying at the hotel last night. So, Amanda found a park and started her live stream.
She said with a grin to her viewers, “Guys, long time no see. Do you guys miss me??
Viewer A: [Yes, definitely! I miss you so much. Now I get What a day without you feels like years” means.]
Viewer B: [Same here. It’s only been 24 hours, but it feels like forever.]
Viewer C: [Please, please give me a chance today]
Viewer D: [I want to get a chance, but also scared to.]
Viewer E: I get you, man]
As soon as the live stream started, thousands of viewers flooded in, and the dumbers kept rising.
But not all of the comments were friendly.
Viewer F: 1Oh, isn’t this the crazy fangirl who said Nathan was her brother? Bet she got slapped in the face, huh? Now she’s trying to scam us again?]
Viewer G: I watched that live stream yesterday. Definitely fake, only fools would fall for it.]
Viewer H: [Amanda should just disappear.]
Ignoring the negative comments, Amanda clicked to connect the video call with someone. The first person to join was Gina Lawrence, the one who had just called her fangirl
Gin:
3/8
