Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

Howard rushed over anxiously. "The police have discovered us."

He pulled me to take me away. The seafood croquettes in my hand scattered all over the floor.

"What do you mean..." I asked.

"Have you forgotten? Sir is assisting us in finding adoptive families for these children. Wasn’t one of the most intelligent children adopted by a man named Yonah Zimmerman?"

Howard suddenly stopped and smiled at me. "Yonah is a human trafficker."

I stood motionless, unable to move. Before I could react, I heard the sound of a police car.

Howard’s expression changed, and he pulled me with a horrified look on his face. "Sofia, run! Run!"

Even without my memory, I could still sense that he was setting me up.

"Howard, we have no grievances. Why would you want to harm me?" I stared at him, puzzled. He appeared to be the most compassionate and ordinary individual among those at the orphanage.

It turned out that people couldn’t truly know someone’s inner self based on their appearance. Those individuals at the orphanage were all truly malicious.

Howard sneered and whispered in my ear, "Every man for himself, and the devil takes the hindmost."

I glanced at Howard with indifference, wondering what on earth he was up to. Was he planning to plot against me and send me to jail?

"If someone wants you to disappear, they would undoubtedly need a compelling reason, such as... becoming a fugitive," Howard smirked as he suddenly took out a towel to cover my mouth and nose.

The pungent smell overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t resist it at all, causing me to pass out. I had a strong suspicion about what Howard intended to do.

He wanted me to "disappear," and before my disappearance, he even framed me for a crime. The police were investigating the relationship between the victims of the mutilation case, and my interaction with the second victim would be the main focus of the investigation.

Lisa handed the so-called evidence to the police. When the police called me in for questioning, they discovered that I was missing. No one could have imagined that I had been kidnapped.

They would all assume that I had fled out of fear after committing the crime. They had prepared a perfectly appropriate excuse for me.

"Since she isn’t cooperating well, let’s replace her." In a daze, I heard Lisa’ voice.

"Everything was fine at first, but suddenly she started getting out of control." Peter’s voice echoed. It seemed like he was complaining about me being out of control.

"I have thoroughly briefed Juliet on everything. If Sofia can imitate Sophia with such precision, then Juliet will remain flawlessly hidden. All that’s left is to expose Sofia’s dead body to the world, using the explanation that she has ’reborn’ in Juliet’s body. Trust me, it’ll be absolutely convincing," Peter declared with conviction.

"Does anyone truly believe it?" Lisa clearly didn’t believe this.

"You don’t need everyone to believe it, just Dexter and Damien. Isn’t that sufficient? You mentioned that you only wanted Damien to live, so I did as you requested." Peter was displeased.

"I’ve already imparted psychological hints to Damien and Dexter beforehand. Now, all I require is an opportunity."

Peter had done some tricks on Dexter and Damien in advance. Gradually, they would come to believe that Juliet was "Sophia". Hence, I must die.

Lisa asked furiously, "Didn’t you actually plan all of this? After killing those two, will the Coleman and Black families be next in line?"

"I’ve never attacked the Coleman or Black family. We’re in this together. Don’t let anyone turn us against each other. Clearly, someone is intentionally trying to create division among us," Peter calmly replied.

Lisa said no more.

"Go ahead. Leave no traces behind," Peter said in a deep voice as he departed with Lisa.

I struggled in panic but couldn’t wake up. They planned to kill me.

Dexter... I couldn’t figure out why, but for some reason, I thought of Dexter. Would he come to rescue me?

"Sir has instructed us to stage her suicide."

Howard rejected the idea. "It’s a tragedy to end her life in this manner. Sir is suggesting that she took her own life out of fear of committing the crime. Can we instead stage her escape?"

"What do you mean?"

"She can still be sold for a good price." Howard sneered.

I attempted to open my eyes, but I was not able to do so at that moment.

Howard was actually one of the human traffickers. Unquestionably, they were all despicable individuals. It came as no surprise then, that every one of them was included in the serial murder case, with no exceptions.

"Mandy has passed away. We have lost direct communication with them, and now we have to share half of our earnings with them. This is truly unlucky!"

"The serial murderer is already dead, so what are you afraid of?" Howard identified the serial murderer as Simon, who was already deceased.

Mandy was the first woman from the orphanage to be killed. She was also considered the "boss" of the orphanage.

"Do you truly believe that the person who died was the mastermind and murderer of the serial murder case? Why do I sense that everyone on the Death List will eventually die?" Howard’s accomplice, Bobby asked with a smile.

Perhaps Bobby was joking, but as someone on the Death List, Howard was clearly frightened. "Don’t be ridiculous. It’s been a while and no one else has died. It’s clear that Simmie is the killer and is already deceased."

Howard began to act recklessly after Simon’s death. He used to pretend, but now he didn’t even bother pretending.

"Are we really selling her? What if Sir asks..."

"Just say that we’ve taken care of her. Sir mentioned that she should disappear and not show up again," Howard said calmly as he walked to my side.

I was awake at the moment, but I didn’t dare to open my eyes yet.

Howard stared at me for what felt like an eternity, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sofia, don’t you dare blame me. It’s your own foolishness that’s to blame here. You can’t even survive anymore, but you still want to be kind and help those children who trust you. If we don’t make use of you, then who else can we use?"

"Humans can’t be overly kind-hearted. Refrain from getting entangled in other people’s situations. It may lead to negative consequences for yourself," Howard murmured to himself.

I comprehended Howard’s words, and a wave of relief washed over me. Sofia did not commit any legal infractions. Rather, she was taken advantage of. Moreover, the person they referred to as "Sir" was Peter.

Sofia’s kindness toward those homeless children had unfortunately become an opportunity for these deceitful individuals to exploit. They aimed to use it as a means to threaten and potentially deceive her.

Combined with the charitable funds and projects mentioned by Howard earlier, it became apparent that Sofia could not single-handedly support so many children. Furthermore, some of the children had congenital diseases. Hence, Sofia required a significant amount of money.

"Sofia, I actually really like you." He firmly held my chin, seizing the chance to caress my face.

I could sense his malicious intent...

Seeing that I was unconscious, Howard became increasingly courageous. "It’s unfortunate that Sir actually requested you to marry that fool. You are so obedient and willing to do anything as long as he provides money to help you support those little bastards. You can even sell yourself. You are truly a kind-hearted person..."

His fingers started to glide down, raising my garments.

I fought the urge to move. Howard was not alone in this place at the moment... If I were to wake up, I knew they would surely kill me.