Chapter 6: Justice, At Last

This time, they brought two little girls.

They looked only three or four years old, faces dirty, eyes dull.

Each held a lollipop, moving timidly, looking just like June and me back then.

It seemed Jolene and Dale had gone to the city, not only reconciled but resumed their old business.

Watching them coax and threaten the two little girls home, June and I exchanged a look, our hatred clear in our eyes.

I immediately went home, took out the punishment notebook, and quickly wrote a line:

I scrawled, "Jolene Haskins and Dale must plow every inch of their ten acres by sundown." I pressed hard, wishing it would burn through the page.

Once they went to the fields with their hoes, June and I sneaked into their house and searched every room.

Finally, in the corner of the woodshed, we heard faint whimpering.

Sure enough, the two little girls were tied up, their mouths stuffed, hidden behind the firewood pile.

Their pale faces were streaked with tears, and when they saw us, they instinctively shrank away in fear.

Their bodies trembled, and I saw bruises and stick marks on their arms.

Such small children, and yet they were beaten so viciously.

I was both angry and heartbroken, wishing I could burn their house down.

But I knew it wasn’t time yet.

June and I quickly untied them and gave them some water.

"Little sisters, don’t be scared. Big sister will take you home."

"Do you know your names? Where’s your home?"

Maybe my gentle voice reassured them, and the two girls relaxed a little.

Unfortunately, they were too young and traumatized to remember their family information. Only one girl mumbled softly, "Ellie."

Just as June and I were worrying what to do, Jolene and Dale came back.

The two of them were exhausted, barely able to speak.

But seeing their door wide open, they were instantly on alert.

"Who went in?"

Dale’s voice rang out, footsteps quickening.

I’d issued the instruction at dusk.

Ten acres, even if Jolene and Dale used all their strength, they couldn’t finish it.

Realizing they couldn’t complete it, they just gave up and came home.

But how could June let them off so easily?

June said softly, "It’s punishment time."

As soon as she spoke, Jolene and Dale were forced back to the beginning, dragging their hoes back to the fields.

June and I didn’t dare delay, so we put the two girls in a wheelbarrow, covered them with straw, and as it got dark, pushed them to the edge of town.

We didn’t know the way out and hesitated.

Just then, Mrs. Carter’s son appeared.

That boy, Billy Carter, was the only one in town who got into high school in the city, coming home once a week.

He rarely spoke to the town’s mean women, and when he did, it was only polite hellos.

A kid who’s studied, even growing up in this dark place, can still know right from wrong.

Billy’s parents were honest folks, never involved in any dirty business.

June and I saw hope, hurriedly pushed the wheelbarrow, and called out to Billy with the two children.

Time was short, so I explained quickly, begging Billy to take the two girls to the sheriff’s office in the next town.

Billy looked at me, then at the two girls, hesitating.

He was like his parents, unable to stand such things, but also believed in "the less trouble the better," and didn’t dare get involved.

"I can’t go out, and I don’t know the way to town."

"But I don’t want to see these two girls go through hell. You know, that’s hell."

"Please save them, I won’t say a word about you."

I spoke anxiously, full of worry.

This was the only chance.

The two girls poked their heads out of the wheelbarrow, curiously looking at Billy’s glasses, softly calling "brother."

Maybe because they were so cute and pitiful, and thinking of the fate of kidnapped girls in town, Billy finally made up his mind, stroking their hair.

"Be good, brother will take you to find your mom."

Watching Billy quickly push the wheelbarrow out of town, June and I both breathed a sigh of relief.

The little girls had a slip of paper in their pockets, simply describing the situation and the name of the town.

The police should notice.

This hellhole—let as many escape as possible.

June and I died tragically here in our previous life; we couldn’t let the two little girls repeat our fate.

This, for us, was a kind of fulfillment in our hearts.

When Jolene and Dale finished work and returned home, it was already early morning.

They had paid townsfolk to help, or it would have been impossible to finish in a day.

By then, I was already asleep, woken up by Dale’s furious voice.

"Who did it?"

"Who let them go?"

"Who stole my children?"

"Hand them over! Don’t make me come find them myself!"

Listen, how ridiculous.

A rotten child trafficker, screaming about his stolen children.

Why don’t people like this just drop dead!

I cursed angrily in my heart. But at that time, I didn’t know their deaths were near.

Billy successfully took the two girls to the sheriff’s office in the next town.

The slip of paper in their pocket drew the police’s attention.

It had the town’s information and Dale’s family name.

Later, I learned the police questioned Billy for a long time, trying to get useful information.

Growing up in town, Billy knew all the dark secrets, but because everyone was related, he hesitated and didn’t dare tell the truth.

But his behavior was obviously suspicious.

Recently, a string of child disappearances in the city had drawn high-level attention.

Billy delivering the two girls to the police also exposed the town to the authorities.

When word came that the county commissioner would come to inspect, the town council panicked.

Early that morning, the town board went door to door warning people, and you can imagine what the warnings were about.

All the kids in town were said to be born to their parents.

No one had ever adopted a child, let alone bought or sold kids.

No one abused children.

The kidnapped kids were all given candy and told gently that if anyone asked, they should say they loved their parents very much.

Even I, for the first time, was not made to sleep in the woodshed.

Sharing June’s bed, I quietly put the candy aside, hiding my hatred and satisfaction, and under the quilt, held my sister’s hand tightly.

The county commissioner soon arrived, and the town looked like a happy place.

But I knew, where the commissioner couldn’t see, undercurrents were raging and cries rose and fell.

That was the storm cellar at Jolene’s house.

Also the place June and I hated and feared most in our previous life.

Back then, because we refused to give in and smashed a man’s head with a chair, June and I were dragged to the storm cellar and locked up for three days and nights.

Water up to our necks, our bodies swollen from soaking.

We were exhausted, nearly dead.

Especially June, who was on her period then.

She fainted in the cellar and only recovered after lying down for a long time.

That storm cellar was big, enough for seven or eight girls.

Ever since the news of the commissioner’s inspection, the girls used as "town whores" by Jolene disappeared.

They must have been locked in the storm cellar.

The commissioner, led by the mayor, toured the town.

When they came to my house, I was doing laundry, and my hands caught their attention.

"Your hands have frostbite—why are you still doing laundry?"

"Who made you do it?"

Hearing this, Marlene’s face changed. She hurriedly stepped forward, smiling and explaining to the commissioner.

"This girl is so sweet, doesn’t want me to get tired, won’t listen no matter what I say."

"Good girl, stop washing—look at your poor hands…"

Marlene snatched the clothes from my hands, her tone gentle, but her eyes, out of the commissioner’s sight, glared at me fiercely, full of warning.

"I want to wash clothes for my brother. Mom is tired."

"Sister should take care of brother."

"Aunt Jolene’s girls are the same."

I looked innocently at the commissioner.

The well-dressed commissioner patted my head kindly, asking me to take him to see the girls at Aunt Jolene’s house.

Marlene seemed very pleased with my answer, even a bit eager to watch the drama.

After all, now she and Jolene were mortal enemies.

If Jolene’s dirty secrets were exposed, Marlene would be delighted.

But she didn’t realize, they were all in the same boat.

When I took the commissioner to Jolene’s house, she was cuddling the kidnapped son, looking like a loving mother.

But when the commissioner asked to see her famously sweet and well-behaved daughter, both Jolene and Dale’s faces changed.

Those young girls had suffered so much—if they met the commissioner, they’d surely expose everything.

Besides, they couldn’t bring someone out of the storm cellar in front of the commissioner.

So Jolene stammered, saying her daughter was working in the fields.

Dale volunteered to take the commissioner to the fields.

Anyone could see he was just giving Jolene a chance to fetch an obedient girl as a stand-in.

I stood at the door watching all this, smiling.

One is not enough.

If they’re to be released, let them all out.

After the commissioner left, Jolene took the storm cellar key from her waist.

Carrying the punishment notebook, I naturally wouldn’t miss this perfect chance.

A few words, and those girls saw the light of day again.

They didn’t know what was happening, all looking confused and afraid.

After completing the instruction, Jolene quickly realized what she was doing.

"Go back, get in there!"

"Am I crazy, why did I let them all out…"

The girls, soaking wet and shivering, instinctively tried to escape.

"Run! The commissioner is here—hurry and beg for help!"

"Go to the fields, find the commissioner and beg for help!"

"Whether you escape depends on this chance!"

I couldn’t care about anything else, shouting at them at the top of my lungs.

Jolene, furious, whipped at me.

Hearing my words, the girls, whose spirits had nearly been crushed, saw a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

They rushed out, ignoring Jolene’s threats and whip.

Fortunately, the commissioner hadn’t gone far.

The girls’ shrill cries for help soon reached the commissioner.

I chased after them, watching as they knelt before the commissioner.

Dale’s face turned pale.

It’s hard to imagine—in the freezing winter, a group of haggard, thin girls, all in ragged clothes, soaking wet, kneeling on the dirt road, begging for their lives.

The commissioner was first shocked, then furious.

Dale, trembling, tried to escape, but the commissioner’s entourage quickly pinned him down.

His face was pressed into the mud, unable to struggle, finally resigning himself to fate.

Just like June and me in the dark room in our previous life.

Dale and Jolene were taken away by the commissioner.

Three days later, a group of police arrived, bringing warrants and arresting Marlene, Roy, and everyone in town involved in child trafficking.

The case was handled smoothly, and they all confessed to their crimes.

Of course, this was thanks to the punishment notebook.

These monsters had done all sorts of evil, and to make them pay, we didn’t need any tricks—just let them tell the truth.

Jolene and Dale, because of their particularly heinous crimes, were sentenced to death.

Marlene and Roy, for child trafficking and abuse, would spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Other families involved in trafficking were sentenced according to their crimes.

Those men who abused June and me also got what was coming to them.

The kidnapped kids in town were taken by the police to find their families.

Those who couldn’t be found were sent to the county foster home, where they’d be cared for and could go to school.

June and I became students.

Later, we both applied to the police academy.

After graduation, we joined the local police force, specializing in child trafficking cases.

Because we know what it’s like to be left out in the cold, we want to help others.

We know what it’s like to be forgotten, to be hurt and left behind. That’s why we fight for every kid we can save.

Fortunately, we succeeded.

—The End—