Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Encountering Human Traffickers Right After Going Out

"Boss, I can only stay for a moment. Just be aware of the situation, and be extremely careful from now on." The man delivered his message and, not daring to linger, immediately left the hospital room.

Archer Rhys lay there for a long time, his fists clenched. He wished he could kill all those bastards so they couldn’t threaten Grace Winslow’s safety.

Grace Winslow had no idea what happened in the hospital room after she left.

By the time she walked out of the hospital, the sky had already grown dark.

The hospital was still some distance from home, and she wondered whether she should take the bus back.

Just as she reached the roadside, she ran into an old woman holding a little boy who looked to be two or three years old. His face was flushed red, as if he were sick.

The old woman looked extremely anxious. When she saw Grace Winslow, her eyes lit up, and she hurried over. "Miss, miss, please, I’m begging you, help me check on my grandson. He... he suddenly got like this. I don’t know what happened. Can you help me?"

Grace Winslow glanced over. The little boy’s eyes were shut tight, his face was bright red, and his hair was soaked with sweat.

It was already June, yet he was still bundled up tightly. Something was clearly wrong.

Looking again at the old woman, she had a wrinkled face and calloused hands. In contrast, the little boy was fair-skinned and delicate, looking as if he’d been pampered by a wealthy family.

’Human traffickers.’ The words immediately sprang to mind.

Grace Winslow quickly scanned her surroundings and noticed several other people not far away, all watching in her direction. They were probably the woman’s accomplices.

Her expression changed instantly.

She had encountered human traffickers before in Prospera Town, so she knew how terrifying they could be.

Whether their targets were adults or children, they would abduct anyone they deemed suitable.

Children were sold to childless families, and women were sold to men in remote mountain regions to be their wives.

Grace Winslow instinctively took a step back. Seeing her retreat, a vicious light flared in the old woman’s narrow eyes. She lunged forward, shoved the child into Grace’s arms, and then shrieked, "I know my son is a crude man, and he shouldn’t have hit you, but you can’t just abandon your child and run away! The boy is sick! He’s so little! Just come home with me. My son already knows he was wrong, and he swore he’ll never lay a hand on you again."

"For the child’s sake, please forgive him this once. He’s so little! How will he survive without his mother?"

Alarm bells had already been ringing in Grace Winslow’s mind as the woman approached, but she never expected her to actually try and frame her like this.

The old woman had barely finished speaking when a woman in her thirties rushed over and grabbed Grace. "Sister-in-law, it was wrong for him to hit you, but couples fight, and they always make up. Just come home with us."

Grace Winslow struggled for a moment but couldn’t break free.

Her expression had turned completely grim.

The other people waiting for the bus just watched from a distance, staying far away. No one dared to get involved.

Even if some of them sensed something was wrong, the group was large, and they didn’t dare speak up, afraid they would be targeted for revenge.

Grace Winslow knew that at a time like this, she could only rely on herself. She had no hope that any of the bystanders would be kind enough to help.

The middle-aged woman had only just arrived when two more men appeared.

The two men looked alike, clearly brothers. One of them immediately dropped to his knees in front of Grace. "Wife, wife, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have hit you after drinking. I was really wrong. I’ll never do it again. Please, come home with me."

"That’s right, Sister-in-law. My brother really knows he was wrong. Just forgive him this one time."

Grace Winslow looked at the people in front of her and saw others eyeing her like predators from the sidelines. There were probably more than just four of them. If she tried to run now, not only would she fail, but she’d be dragged back and likely beaten for her trouble.

So, she decided to play along. Still holding the child, she stepped forward and kicked the kneeling man. "You liar! The last time you hit me, you also said you’d never do it again, but you did! Haven’t I given you enough chances?"

"Not only do you drink and beat your wife, but you’re also messing around with the widow in the village! Did you really think I don’t know anything?"

"I didn’t listen to my parents back then. I thought you’d be good to me for the rest of my life. I didn’t even care that you were from the countryside and your family was poor! And this is how you treat me?"

"How long have we been married? And you’re already like this! How are we supposed to go on living?"

"How dare you hit me! How dare you hit me!"

Grace Winslow didn’t dare put the child down.

He had clearly been kidnapped. He was frighteningly hot to the touch, no doubt with a high fever. If he didn’t get to a hospital soon, he could suffer brain damage.

Since they wanted to pose as her family, she would just play along.

"I’ve only been gone two days, and look what you’ve done to the child! He’s burning up like this, and you won’t even take him to a doctor! Are you trying to kill me?"

"If this child doesn’t make it, I don’t want to live either!"

Grace Winslow kicked the man in front of her while crying and clutching the child.

The entire group was dumbfounded.

They had been using this trick to abduct women for a long time. Every other woman had cried, screamed that she didn’t know them, and tried to run.

Usually, they would just beat their target, shove her into a car, and take off. Onlookers would assume it was a domestic dispute and wouldn’t interfere.

But then they ran into Grace Winslow, who didn’t play by the rules. She didn’t resist; instead, she started hitting them.

The man desperately wanted to fight back, but he was afraid of ruining their plan, so he could only swallow his fury and let Grace Winslow kick him.

Grace Winslow was ruthless. Every kick landed on the most painful spot, making the man’s entire body tremble in pain.

After kicking him, Grace Winslow cried out again, still holding the child, "I’ll go home with you, no problem, but first, take the child to the hospital!"

"No, we can’t go to the hospital..." the old woman said, suddenly flustered.

The man also frowned. "We don’t have any money at home, so..."

"I have money," Grace Winslow cut him off. "I went back to my parents’ house, and when they saw how I was suffering, they gave me a few dozen dollars to take home so we could continue our life together. I was already planning to come back; I just didn’t expect you to come find me."

"I’ll trust you one more time, but you have to take the child to the hospital. Look at him, he’s burning up! He’s your own flesh and blood! Are you just going to stand by and watch him suffer brain damage and become a simpleton?"

Seeing this, the bystanders also started to speak up. "Yeah, look at how high his fever is. Not taking him to the hospital... how cruel can you be?"

"Even if you’re broke, you can’t just watch your child suffer brain damage."

"That’s right! Hurry up and take him to the hospital. There’s still time if you go now."

With everyone chiming in one after another, the traffickers were suddenly put on the spot.

If they disagreed now, they feared the crowd would join forces to hold them down.

This was exactly the effect Grace Winslow had been hoping for.

’Once we get to the hospital, it’ll be out of their hands.’