Chapter 89
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
The old woman heard me screaming.
She moved slow, but her voice carried like a foghorn.
“HEY! LET GO OF THAT CHILD p>
She banged her cane hard against the pavement, over and over.
The guy running the mini-mart stuck his head out too.
The trafficker panicked. She hadn’t expected this half-crippled kid to actually fight back.
She tried dragging me toward the van, but I clawed at the door frame and wouldn’t let go.
“HELP! SHE’S A KIDNAPPER!” I screamed, my words slurring together.
More people started gathering around.
The woman realized she was screwed. She shoved me onto the ground and peeled out, leaving me behind.
I collapsed on the gravel, gasping for air.
The old woman shuffled over and helped me sit up.
“You’re okay now, sweetheart. You’re safe p>
Someone called 911. Someone else dialed the number I’d been screaming.
Half an hour later, a squad car and a cab pulled up almost at the same time.
The cab door flew open, and Clara Nguyen came running out. She dropped to her knees and pulled me into her arms.
“Riley! Oh my God, are you hurt? I was so scared p>
Her warm embrace broke me. All the tears I’d been holding back for so long finally came flooding out.
The polices took me to the station. Clara stayed with me the whole time.
I told them everything. How Mom had forced me to run scams. How she’d sold me to a trafficker.
Using the info I gave them, the police tracked down my mother fast.
She was at some backroom poker den, blowing through the cash she’d gotten for selling me.
When they arrested her, she was yelling that they had the wrong person.
Then she saw me.
She froze.
“Riley? What are you doing here p>
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Chapter 5
“Ma’am, you’re under arrest for child endangerment, criminal abandonment, and conspiracy to commit human trafficking. You need to come
with us p>
Now she panicked. She lunged at me, trying to grab my arm.
“Riley! What lies did you tell them?! I’m your MOM! I would NEVER sell you p>
I stepped behind Clara, watching her performance with cold detachment.
“You’re not my mom. You stopped being my mom the second you shoved me into traffic. The second you chose to let them break my legs. The second you handed me over to a trafficker p>
Mom was taken away.
With all the evidence stacked against her-plus the trafficker getting caught and testifying-she was convicted on multiple charges and sentenced to ten years.
I became an orphan.
Clara adopted me.
“I had a daughter once,” she said softly. “She looked a lot like you. She died a few years ago from an illness. The moment I saw you, I felt this pull. Like you were meant to be part of my life. From now on, you’ll live with me p>
She took me to her place-a cozy two-bedroom apartment. Not big, but warm.
Then I found, she also had a son-Miles Nguyen-three years younger than me.
He was a quiet kid. Barely talked. But when he looked at me, his eyes were gentle.
He’d leave sliced apples on my desk without a word. When I had nightmares, he’d get Clara to come sit with me.
For the first time in my life, I felt what it was like to be part of a family.
Clara enrolled me in school. With her care, my legs slowly healed. They still ached when it rained, but I could walk like a normal person again.
I threw myself into my studies.
Because I knew-this was the only way I could repay them.
I worked like hell.
When I took the college entrance exams, I scored first in the entire city and got into the best law school in the country.
When Clara saw my acceptance letter, her face lit up with pride.
I promised myself right then-I’m going to give her the best life I possibly can.
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Mark Twain