(From Ashes to Hope) Chapter 35
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I discreetly scanned the faces around me, my gaze darting through the crowd.
My eyes met a pair of sharp eyes, belonging to the woman who had been
harassed by the scarred guard earlier.
Her
gaze was probing and scrutinizing, as if seeing through everything, her
eyes like two icy blades, sending a shiver down my spine.
Startled, I quickly averted my gaze and looked down at the young beggar in
my arms. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach, a wave of despair washing
over me.
Seeing our silence, the guard roared in frustration, “You sent that brat out to
call the police, didn’t you? I’m telling you, this whole area for miles around is my
turf, you can’t escape. Hand over the phone, or I’ll kill him right now!”
He stormed towards me, his rough hand reaching out, grabbing the young beggar’s small body and lifting him up like a helpless chick.
My heart ached as I watched the lifeless child dangling in his grasp.
My suspicions were confirmed, they knew about the phone.
I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, and stepped forward resolutely.
< «From Ashes to Hope…
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I stared at the leader of the traffickers.“I just pitied the child, I wanted him to
live freely, that’s why I risked letting him escape,” I said, my voice steady and firm.
“We don’t have a phone,” I continued, raising my voice slightly.“You’ve
searched us thoroughly multiple times. Even if we did have one, after all these
days without charging, it must be dead by now. Think about it, is it worth killing
this child for something that might not even exist?”
The scarred guard frowned, his sharp eyes scrutinizing me. He stroked his
chin thoughtfully, as if weighing my words.
He then gestured, and two guards quickly grabbed me, one on each side, and
searched my body thoroughly, but found nothing.
He waved his hand impatiently, and the young beggar was thrown to the
ground like discarded trash.
The scarred guard stepped towards me, his hand raised high, and slapped me
hard across the face.
My ears rang, my head spun, and a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of
my mouth.
I stared at him, dazed. He spat at me, muttering something I couldn’t hear.
Then, he waved at the guards, who released me.
< «From Ashes to Hope…
They left in a huff, locking the door behind them with a loud clang.
We all sighed with relief.
I ignored my own pain and rushed to check on the young beggar.
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His small body lay limp on the ground, his face contorted in pain, his body
covered in horrifying wounds.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I crouched down, quickly tore off a piece of my
sleeve, and gently bandaged his wounds, whispering words of comfort. “Don’t be
afraid, don’t be afraid, it’ll be alright.”
As I bandaged his wounds, I realized to my surprise that the child was a girl.
I instantly understood why she had been sold alongside us. My pity and
compassion for her grew, my movements becoming even more gentle and
careful, as if she were the most precious treasure in the world, needing my
utmost care.
As dawn broke, a commotion erupted outside, followed by the roar of
engines.
Soon, the guards rushed in and flung open the door. They were moving us.
Panic swept through the warehouse, girls screaming and crying, refusing to
get into the ominous van.
< «From Ashes to Hope…
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One girl, her eyes filled with a desperate courage, broke free from the person
holding her back and ran towards the side, like a startled rabbit.
hope.
Her hair flew wildly as she ran, her face contorted with a mix of fear and
The guard roared in anger, his face twisted with rage, as if wanting to tear
her apart.
He charged after her, throwing a metal pipe towards her leg with a fierce
swing.
A sickening crack echoed through the air as the girl’s leg bent at an unnatural
angle. Her face turned pale as a sheet, her eyes widened in horror, and a
bloodcurdling scream escaped her lips. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
The other girls, witnessing this brutality, trembled in fear, no one daring to
move.
Just as the tension reached a suffocating peak, rapid footsteps approached,
accompanied by loud shouts.
A group of heavily armed SWAT officers appeared, surrounding the
warehouse.
To everyone’s surprise, two undercover police officers had been embedded
within the trafficking ring, hiding in the shadows of evil for a long time.
< (From Ashes to Hope…
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Seizing the opportunity amidst the chaos, they emerged from the crowd of
traffickers.
They quickly raised their weapons, shielding us from the criminals. Freeze!
Drop your weapons! they shouted, their voices booming through the
commotion
The officers moved with agility and precision, their eyes sharp as hawks.
“Drop your weapons, surrender, and you won’t be harmed!” a voice boomed
through a loudspeaker.
The leader of the traffickers tried to resist, but a bullet whizzed through the
air, hitting his wrist with a sharp crack. His arrogant demeanor vanished instantly.
The two undercover officers pointed their guns at their former comrades“,
carefully observing their every move.
Some of the traffickers, their faces pale with fear and despair, slowly
dropped their weapons to the ground, raising their hands in surrender.
Others, seeing a gap in the police cordon, ran frantically towards it, firing
wildly behind them, trying to hold back the advancing officers.
But with several sharp gunshots, they fell to the ground, their criminal lives
ending abruptly.
