Unfortunately, Kelvin guessed wrong again. These men who looked to be in their forties or fifties were not the old bachelors he had imagined. The reasons behind this, he would slowly discover later.
Currently, the three of them were following the village chief, heading to Camren’s house to find someone. Why look for Camren? Because he was the one who had sold Juan. Thinking of this, Kelvin was somewhat eager to meet him.
The discomfort he had felt in the car just now had eased considerably due to the shift in focus. The village was so underdeveloped that there were no streetlights installed yet. Walking in the dark on the mountain path, they could only rely on an old-fashioned flashlight.
Unfortunately, the flashlight could only illuminate what was in front of them and not behind them. Kelvin and the others had to take out their phones and use the flashlight function for illumination. The village chief walked in front, chatting with Uriel about the current situation in the village. Kelvin, walking behind, listened attentively while Alisha was the last.
“If it wasn’t so late now, during the day, you would definitely be able to see the scenery of the village. I saw the terraced fields here are very beautiful as I drove over, the villagers must be hardworking, and you, Village Chief, manage it well.”
Everyone likes to hear flattering words, and the village chief was no exception.
“Terraced fields, we have them all over this city. But I can guarantee that the terraced fields in Mountmend are the most beautiful! Unfortunately, it’s almost November now, not much to see.”
“Wait until next year, when the canola flowers on the mountain bloom in February, it will be even more beautiful with the golden fields everywhere!”
The village chief hummed for a few lines, obviously in a good mood, rarely finding a young man he could chat with so well.
At this moment, Kelvin, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his question, “By the way, Village Chief, I don’t seem to have seen any young people in the village.”
At the mention of this question, the village chief sighed deeply, his weary voice faintly echoing in the dimness.
“It’s because they are too poor and stuck digging at home, so the young people don’t want to stay at home, they all go out to work hard.”
“In the coastal area… most of the migrant workers come from our place, they will only come back during Christmas.”
“If that’s the case, then the old and young children should stay at home, but it seems…”
As he had just walked in, he hadn’t seen many children. Maybe… only three or five?
The numbers were clearly off! The village chief did not respond further to this topic and digressed, “We’ve arrived at Camren’s house. Since you are his relatives, I don’t need to lead you to knock on the door, right?”
They were at the foot of a mountain. Several small wooden houses were built along the mountainside, similar to the ones they had seen in the village, just varying in size.
Alisha suddenly felt something was amiss. The village chief had brought them here. Why didn’t he just take them straight to see Camren? There were at least five or six households living at the foothill. If they knocked on the wrong door, wouldn’t it be awkward, and worse… expose their identities?
Alisha had no experience in such situations and could only instinctively turn to Kelvin for help.
Fortunately, Uriel quickly spoke up, “Thank you, Village Chief. We’re fine here. I’ve chatted with Camren on Line before, so I know where his house is.”
“Alright then, it’s getting late and I need to go back home for housework. I won’t keep you from your reunion any longer,” the village chief said before turning back along the path he came.
Leaving behind the three of them deep in thought.
Despite Uriel being the one talking all the way, the true backbone of the group was Kelvin.
At this moment, the other two unconsciously focused their gaze on the man.
“Mr. Foley, what do we do now?”
“Yeah, Mr. Foley, there are too many households. We can’t go door to door.”
This was Kelvin’s first time here, and he didn’t even know who Camren was. Everything he said earlier was just to deceive the village chief.
Now, they had to make a choice.
“There’s no other way, we’ll have to rely on luck and pick one of the houses in the middle!” Kelvin decided.
Uriel thought, “Is it really okay to decide so hastily?”
Alisha thought, “I trust Mr. Foley’s judgment, I have to believe in it!”
What Kelvin didn’t tell them was that the reason he chose the house in the middle was because their stilt house was built particularly tall and grand here.
It seemed like they had spent a lot of money.
Since Camren was in the business of human trafficking, he must have other abducted children and plenty of money in hand. For fugitives like them, once they had money, the most likely thing was to spend it, never save it.
They might end up in jail someday.
If they ended up in prison but hadn’t spent all the money, it would be even more miserable than a death sentence.
In other words, Kelvin was not betting on luck, but on human nature!
He was betting that Camren was someone who enjoyed a good life.
Having made the decision, they had no choice but to knock on the door.
Of course, Uriel was the one to scout ahead and knock the door.
In case there was any danger the moment the door opened, he would be able to handle it.
As Uriel walked towards the tallest stilt house in the middle, the village chief who had said he was going back home hadn’t actually left.
He hid behind a tall walnut tree, turned off his flashlight, and stared ahead at the three with dark, wary eyes.
“So, they really are relatives of the Whitehead family.”
The village chief finally felt relieved and left.
It wasn’t surprising that he wanted to keep an eye out, because Kelvin gave him an indefinable sense of danger.
Although Uriel said Kelvin was his brother-in-law, a man with congenital heart disease, he could tell Kelvin wasn’t ordinary from his dressing.
Now that they had found the location of Camren’s house, the village chief believed their identity.
On the other side, just as Uriel was about to knock on the door, a scream came from inside the house.
“Ahhhh… Help, help me…”
“Bastard, stay away from me. Help me.”
The sharp cries for help rang out in the dark night, like a shooting star streaking across the sky.
The three felt a chill down their spines, their hearts pounding.
There was someone inside!
And it was a woman!
Following was the sound of a man scolding.
“You wench, it’s your good fortune that I sleep with you; stop pretending!”
“Let’s go in!” Kelvin ordered.
“Got it.”
And so, they barged in, only to find a mess inside the house.