Novel Palace
Chapter 1564
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Chapter 1564 More Than One Behind the Scene
"You've misunderstood. We meant no harm and were just following orders to take her to complete some paperwork.
"Ms. Linden here is an outstanding student, and her school recommended her for an overseas exchange program. If you don't believe me, you can ask her."
Colby shifted the focus onto Eliana, fully expecting that a kid like her wouldn't be able to say much.
Indeed, Eliana wasn't good at lying. Under Wynter's gaze, she nodded slightly and added, " But I kept feeling that something was off. Maybe I was just overthinking it, which is why I asked for your help, miss."
She couldn't exactly tell Wynter that her gut feeling alone had driven her to seek help. Being around these people gave her chills. Although they hadn't done anything wrong, something just didn't feel right to her, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.
While Eliana couldn't articulate it, Wynter, being a professional, had no such problem. Why do you need eight or nine grown men to take one young girl to handle study abroad paperwork?
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"Can't the school teachers or relevant departments do it for her? This whole setup doesn't look like paperwork processing-it looks more like kidnapping and trafficking."
Wynter's words made everyone present visibly react. The men on the ground exchanged glances with Colby.
They knew they couldn't stay there much longer. If the police came, it would be trouble. Even if it was just traffic cops, they'd have to go through the paperwork. They couldn't afford to get caught up in this.
Meanwhile, Eliana, who was receiving financial support from these people, suddenly felt enlightened by Wynter's sharp words. Indeed, that was exactly what was strange!
She clutched the hem of her clothes as she remembered Penelope, who never returned home. Fear flickered in her eyes. "Miss, I don't want the scholarship anymore. I'm going to tell the principal to give it to someone else!"
The principal? Eliana had mentioned a key figure.
In fact, even if Eliana hadn't brought it up, Wynter would still have secretly investigated the school. These people had taken a student right from the school gates, while the security guard and the principal just stood by and watched. There was definitely something fishy going on.
Although Wynter didn't know the situation's full scope yet, she could already guess the gist of it.
The school and the Wray family's "scholarship committee" were part of a scheme to funnel
interests. These selected students were essentially goods purchased by the Wray family. Under the guise of a scholarship committee, they smoothed over any objections.
Where the students ended up wasn't clear yet, but it was certain they didn't stay with the Wray family.
Wynter suspected that the Wray family was trading these girls for something else. The more Wynter uncovered about this shady operation, the colder her gaze became.
This scheme greatly benefited Kenton, helping him go from having nothing to becoming even more powerful than the Whitman family in just a decade. He even nearly became the Chamber of Commerce's chairman.
Whoever was behind this wasn't just rich-they had to be powerful, too. Wynter also believed that more than one party was involved.
However, Colby, who was clearly the ringleader, was clever. Hearing what Eliana said, he immediately responded, "Ms. Linden, we were just taking you to verify your documents for eligibility. It's a rare opportunity, and many students are eager for it.
"If you didn't want to go, you should have spoken up earlier to avoid this misunderstanding. You see, we adults tend to be overly cautious. We didn't mean to scare you by bringing too many people."
Colby remained polite throughout.
Eliana couldn't really accuse him of anything, so she leaned a little closer to Wynter for comfort.
Wynter looked up, her voice soft and casual. "Of course she was scared. You should at least compensate her for the mental distress.
"Otherwise, people might think you're trafficking young girls, especially with how you got physical earlier. That's not how law-abiding citizens behave, now, is it?"