Chapter 443: Schemes in the Marketplace

Chapter 443: Chapter 443: Schemes in the Marketplace

The meal was over, the drama had been watched, and everyone had seen enough excitement for one day. The guests dispersed, each going their separate ways.

But unlike the peaceful sleep of Hector and Arabella Donovan, many of the guests couldn’t get a wink of sleep that night. In some places, you could even hear the sound of fierce arguments coming from inside the rooms.

Meanwhile, in a certain building in the nearby town, the lights burned all night long. Arrangements were made in advance throughout the activity area designated for Arabella and the others, ensuring the plan would go off without a hitch.

The next morning, after Arabella and Hector had breakfast and arrived at the meeting point arranged by the production team, they were startled to see several of the other guests looking haggard, with dark circles under their eyes.

"What did you all get into...? Up to no good last night? Look at those dark circles!"

The guests exchanged glances, saw the same familiar dark circles under each other’s eyes, and gave a simultaneous, wry smile.

Fortunately, the production team didn’t give Arabella and the others much time for idle chatter, quickly announcing the day’s new mission.

"Take the children into town to go shopping. During this time, all expenses, including lunch, must be covered by ourselves. The catch is, we can’t use our own money."

Faye Collins read the production team’s mission requirements, her brow furrowed. "Isn’t this just a roundabout way of making us earn our own money?"

"They probably want to create the appearance of giving us a lot of freedom. After all, you don’t necessarily have to earn money to solve the problems of eating and shopping."

"...Considering this production team’s usual bullshit, that’s entirely possible."

Arabella Donovan didn’t join the discussion. Instead, her gaze fell upon Jude Underwood, who stood not far away, looking just as haggard, with prominent dark circles under his eyes.

But while the others had a sleepless night because of the warnings Arabella had given them the previous evening, Jude’s dark circles were mostly due to the bratty kid’s antics and the unreasonable demands of his sponsor.

’It was clearly Hector Donovan who changed the script, yet I’m the one being blamed as useless and cursed as trash by my sponsor. I’m the one being forced to separate Chloe Coleman from the two adults today and hand her over to the traffickers.’

’Jude wanted to just walk away from it all, but he couldn’t bear to give up the deposit he’d been paid, or the promise of resources once the job was done.’

’In any case, it’s a good thing Chloe Coleman wasn’t officially paired with me. When the chaos starts at the market later and she really goes missing, the viewers online will only blame her temporary guardians, the Donovan siblings. Not me.’

With that thought, Jude’s restless heart calmed slightly. His gaze toward Chloe Coleman now held a cold, calculating determination.

He didn’t know, however, that Arabella had seen it all. Thinking of the arrangements she had made for what was to come, she simply glanced at him, her expression unreadable.

The small village was over ten kilometers from the county town. The production team had some semblance of a conscience, at least, and didn’t make them walk. The group took a car, arriving at the town with a bumpy sway around ten in the morning.

The location the production team arranged for the mission was the town’s most bustling commercial street.

Notably, the town was currently holding a deity procession festival. The entire street was lined with small stalls selling tanghulu, cotton candy, balloons, and toys.

When Arabella and the others arrived, the deity procession was just passing down the street. Both sides were packed with a bustling crowd of onlookers.

Hector Donovan, holding the child, exchanged a knowing glance with Arabella, who gave him a small, confirming nod.

’This must have been something Mrs. Coleman had long anticipated, or rather, meticulously arranged.’

’Using the bustling chaos to increase the chances of the child getting separated and abducted... Her scheming was nothing if not thorough. Too bad for her she was up against Arabella, who knew their plan from the start.’

Milton Lambert and the others hadn’t expected to run into such a lively event while filming a show, and they were all a little excited.

"What a coincidence! You rarely see such a lively deity procession in the big cities anymore. You can only find them in more remote towns and villages like this, where things aren’t so strictly regulated. Back in my hometown, the thing I looked forward to most every year was going to the market fair with my friends during festivals like this, playing and shopping. Thinking about it really brings back memories."

Faye Collins hadn’t come from a well-off family. Although she had built a career for herself through her own hard work and gained a foothold in the big city, when she felt tired, she couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for the romanticized, touching memories of her childhood.

This was the main reason why, even though she knew her parents weren’t as wonderful as she imagined—and were in fact somewhat old-fashioned, stubborn, and tyrannical—she was still often manipulated by them.

Milton Lambert and the others chimed in, clearly all very interested in the lively scene.

Seeing his chance, Jude Underwood spoke up. "An event this lively is a rare opportunity. Why don’t we let the kids watch the festivities before we worry about lunch?"

The others exchanged a look. They remembered how, the previous night, to prevent their own children from clashing with the bratty kid again, they had all tacitly ignored that temporary father-and-son pair. No one had called them over for dinner or even mentioned them.

Now, seeing the man himself, they couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Plus, it wasn’t just the children; the adults wanted to watch too, so they readily agreed to Jude’s suggestion.

Arabella and Hector had no objections. Their whole purpose in coming here was to lure the snake from its hole—to catch all the real human traffickers Mrs. Coleman had hired in one fell swoop.

’Right now, of course, they had to give the enemy a little taste of success, let them fall under the illusion that their operation was likely to succeed. Only then could they smoothly draw out all those vigilant vipers.’

"Alright, let’s go up ahead and watch for a bit. Keep a close eye on your kids so you don’t get separated in the crowd."

"Okay."

The sounds of pipes and drums grew louder as they approached, and the deity procession soon arrived in front of the group.

Various musical troupes marched at the front, ceremonial cannons fired from the rear, and the dragon and lion dance teams enthusiastically interacted with the local onlookers lining both sides of the street.

The children were also targets of their interaction. You could see that this was all new and fascinating to them. After some initial shyness and confusion, they adapted and grew excited, cheering and shouting along with the crowd.

While the other guests were captivated by the lively scene before them, Hector and Arabella’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point as they constantly scanned their surroundings for any suspicious individuals.

Arabella, in particular, was trying to observe the colors floating above the heads of everyone within her sight. Under normal circumstances, most people had a faint white or yellow color above their foreheads, indicating they hadn’t accomplished anything major, nor had they done anything to trouble their conscience.

’Traffickers would surely be different. Having ruined so many children and families, their colors must be drastically different from others.’

Arabella scanned the area and spotted several prime suspects in the crowd. Just as she was about to make her move, a piercing scream came from the outer edge of the throng.

"Something’s wrong! There’s been an accident! Someone fell down! Someone’s been trampled! Someone, help! Help... Someone’s been trampled to death!"