Chapter 75: Bond
"Do you have anything else to say? Anything I should know about?" Eira asked, looking down at the woman with a raised eyebrow.
The woman instantly shook her head but suddenly paused, as if remembering something.
Eira continued to stare at her, waiting.
"Well... that, there—"
"What is it?"
The old woman hesitated, her lips trembling as she avoided Eira’s piercing gaze. Finally, she stammered, "Marianna came back once and asked if the orphanage could take away her stepdaughter. She said she would pay, but unfortunately for her, only kids from the orphanage are taken."
"Thank you for telling me that. I’ll keep it in mind." With that, Eira walked out of the room, stopping in front of Jania, who handed her a tablet.
"These are all the kids that have disappeared from the orphanage and those who were sent to both Mexico and Italy. The information matches what the old woman said," Jania reported, her tone professional but with a hint of disdain. "But I also found discrepancies in the records. Some children were listed as ’runaways’ or ’adopted,’ but they’re not in any legitimate databases. Those are likely false entries to cover up the trafficking."
Eira scanned the tablet, her jaw tightening as she scrolled through the names and photos. Her fingers hovered over a familiar name. "Marianna’s name isn’t here, yet she was in the orphanage."
"She was likely erased from the records," Jania replied. "Especially if she played a role in luring others. They wouldn’t want to leave any trace."
Eira handed the tablet back with a curt nod. "You weren’t able to find where the children were taken, right?"