Chapter 116 I’ll Protect You
The front door was wide open, but there was no one inside.
Following that, Vania brought her men to search the grounds. However, there was no child in sight.
Have we been duped again?
She looked around and found a janky pig sty with a padlock.
At that, her heart pounded wildly as her eyes got red-rimmed. “There!” She pointed toward it with a shaky voice.
Henry and Leo reflexively looked in the direction Vania pointed and brought their men over to pick the lock.
Inside, an emaciated child with eyes as clear as crystals shuddered in fear, and he was on the verge of blacking out when he heard the voices outside. It had been days since he last ate something.
It would be just another round of beating, he thought as he closed his eyes in despair, for he had experienced this far too many times.
“Boss, it’s open.”
With that, Vania opened the door with trembling hands.
The sunlight shining in allowed Vania to see the inside of the pig sty clearly.
This was no place for a human to stay! There was only one window on the walls, yet it was nailed shut with planks of wood. The dim light shining through the seams only provided hints of time, telling night and day.
Worse, the inside was humid and moist, and there were only a pile of loose hay and two empty bowls on the muddy ground.
Moreover, a strange stench would drift over every now and then.
A poor boy was curled up motionlessly in a corner with his eyes closed in despair. All he had on was a t-shirt and shorts; his clothes were so black that they glimmered, and they were evidently so small that the boy could barely fit in them anymore.
The temperature between night and day here in Eastland was drastic. How did he manage to survive in such conditions?!
Instantly, Vania’s tears fell like beads of a broken string while the others bemoaned.
She didn’t dare approach him hastily for fear of freaking him out.
However, the boy remained motionless. With that, she wiped her tears away and called out to him eagerly with a shaky voice, saying, “Bubba? Sweetheart?”
The boy thought he was in heaven when he heard a gentle voice instead of the cussing he had anticipated.
Slowly, he opened his eyes with incredulity to find a stylish woman at the door, reaching her hand out and calling to him. He could tell she was unlike any of the others he had met, and she wouldn’t hurt him.
Is she an angel sent to take me away? However, he still dared not move, only looking at Vania with his childish eyes.
Then again, the innate bond between family had him trusting the person in front of him.
Just when Vania was about to go up to him, someone shouted from behind, “Who are you guys?”
A ragged man appeared with a bottle of liquor in his hand, so drunk that he couldn’t even stand still.
With liquid courage in him, he bellowed upon seeing a bunch of strangers, shouting, “What are you doing at my property?! I’m telling you, I have nothing but my own life!”
Clearly, he thought they had come to claim their debts.
The little guy instantly trembled in fear upon hearing the all too familiar voice. He was so nervous that he pressed his back against the wall, seeking his sense of security.
“It’s okay,” Vania comforted gently at once. “There’s no need to be afraid. I’ll protect you.”
The boy was evidently stumped, for it was his first time hearing words like ‘protect’, and the indescribable feeling had him burying his head deeper.
Vania was a little at a loss for what to do when she saw him like that. However, she still tried to approach him, speaking as gently as possible, “It’s okay. Come with me and I’ll protect you.”
The certainty in her eyes carried a sense of irresistible trust, yet his hesitation was still evident despite his long, disheveled fringe blocking his gloomy eyes.
