Chapter 1492: It never was, was it?
"One of the kids who disappeared a long time ago—he’s dead. He was one of the casualties during that bar raid a while back. Remember the raid on the Information Center?"
A moment of silence fell between Penny and Mint as they stared at each other. Penny’s brows furrowed while Mint gave her a solemn nod.
"It was late when I found out about it. He was one of the guys who tried to get away and ended up in a gunfight. It was a mess," Mint sighed heavily. "There goes our one chance at saving those kids. All we can do now is hope that the other kids who escaped years ago are still out there—and not dead."
Another heavy silence settled over them. Penny didn’t know what to say.
"He was part of the Information Center?" she asked, already knowing the answer, but Mint still nodded. "Have you confirmed if there were others in there?"
"Yes. He was the only one arrested."
"I see..." Penny pressed her lips into a thin line and exhaled deeply.
In that moment, she wondered what the right reaction should be—what the right thing to say was. Innocent children were in danger, and they both knew it. But the orphanage’s records were almost spotless, and the theory they believed in wasn’t enough to open a case.
"The law..." she whispered, running her tongue along the inside of her cheek. "Mint, is there no other way to save those children sooner?"
"Believe it or not, I feel the same impatience and anger as you do," Mint replied. "That’s why... I’ve been working on it."
The case wasn’t within Mint’s jurisdiction. Still, she had gotten herself involved, trying to help her friend build a case to shut down the orphanage. But time was running out. In just a few weeks, another child would be sent off to their "new home"—and they both knew that home was the beginning of a nightmare.
"Mint..." Penny breathed. "Sometimes, I wonder if the law is really meant to protect the innocent... or if it’s just there to help the guilty get away."