Chapter 128

Robert had been watching Rilla's face closely. Seeing her go quiet, he put on a concerned look and said, "Rilla, you don't even know what happens after we die, do you? Why do this? They're just kids. Instead of filling their heads with these lies and leading them to their deaths, wouldn't it be better to educate them, take them out of the village, and show them the world?"

"When they're dead, there's nothing left. What heaven are you talking about?"

"If they don't die, are they just destined to suffer for the rest of their lives?" Rilla replied.

Rilla had thought about it, but the people of Willowbrook Village were so stuck in their ways that they gave her no chance.

She couldn't take them out to see the world.

Seeing the two cops going back and forth, Rilla knew that everything she had done was now out in the open.

So she stopped pretending. "Did you find out about Janet being raped by Chad? Do you know about all the filthy things Hugh and his family have done? They can't escape. Living means endless suffering. Those so-called loving family members are the ones pushing them into the abyss. But they suffer because of their lack of education. Those aren't family members; they're demons. Yet, they can't let go of their feelings for these demonic relatives. Isn't that laughable?"

"They know their only contribution to the family is to become breeding machines, following in their mothers' footsteps, and they don't even see anything wrong with it! Women born in Willowbrook Village can't escape being treated as breeding machines. They live in pain, suppressing it until they get used to it. They even think all women in the world live like this and never question why." Rilla's voice grew more bitter and sharp, her emotions flaring as she condemned the injustice faced by women.

Zoey calmly squeezed the water bottle in her hand. "If you have such a strong sense of justice, you should help them escape, not lure them into suicide. So, stop pretending to be noble or a savior. You are not."

Rilla laughed at her words. "You think I didn't want them to escape? I tried myself. As soon as I got down the mountain, I ended up in Hugh's territory. His people lure me into the factory with promises of high wages, and if I refuse, they would drag me back in front of everyone. Because Hugh and I are from the same village, he gave me a chance to have my parents come and get me."

"And that 'rescue' comes at a price-money. If the person have the money, they can leave. If not, they must stay in the factory! The work is hard labor. What do you think a woman is expected to do there? You can guess."

Rilla's face twisted into a mocking smile. "By the time she earns enough to buy her freedom, at least ten years will have passed. By then, she has wasted the best years of her life. She has lost her youth and everything else, and she's of no use to them anymore."

Her words shattered Robert and Zoey's understanding once again.

Hugh was the village chief's son. How could he do such things?

The factory seemed legit on the surface, but it was involved in much more than just legal business.

Rilla saw the shock on the officers' faces and sneered. "The younger we are, the higher the price for our freedom. My parents spent thirty grand to get me out, nearly draining all their savings! If I weren't their only child, they wouldn't have spent that money. If I were gone, there'd be no one to take care of them in their old age. Even when I was in college, they were still trying for a son. My mom did get pregnant, but her body was too old, and she lost the baby."

She continued, "If that baby had been a girl, I might have had a chance, remaining their only hope. If it had been a boy, I'd probably still be working in Hugh's factory, earning my freedom. Officers, have you ever wondered why Hugh dares to run such a big operation, even bigger than you can imagine?"

"Because the people here are backward, and outsiders are almost nonexistent. No one dares to risk opposing the village chief. Most importantly, he has money. In a poor place, he can do whatever you want here with money."

"He's so rich, yet he stays in this small place. Do you know why? Because no one can control him! Here, he's practically a god."

Robert and Zoey hadn't expected that the discovery of three female bodies would uncover the last veil hiding Willowbrook Village's shame.

No wonder no one dared to talk about the village chief's family since they arrived. Everyone was afraid of offending them.

In their minds, the cops weren't as scary as the village chief's family.

Robert took a deep breath, piecing together everything they had discovered in Willowbrook Village. He was already planning how to report this to his superiors.

He was determined to eradicate this cancerous tumor and let the villagers live normal lives.

Zoey glanced at Rilla. "I get your sense of justice, but I need to correct one thing. Your mom's miscarriage wasn't because of her age; it was because of the poor quality of your father's sperm."

"Here's a little-known fact: why do we hear that older mothers are more likely to miscarry, have premature births, or have babies with birth defects? It's because many women choose partners older than themselves, so the husbands of older mothers are often even older."

"In fact, 97% of genetic mutations are due to the father's age, not the mother's. Think about it. A woman produces only about 400 eggs in her lifetime, while a man releases 20 million sperm in a single ejaculation. Only one makes it to the end, a survival rate of one in 20 million. How fragile is that?"

"In contrast, a woman's eggs are formed when she's a 6-8 week old embryo. That's true genetic stability. So, if your parents really want a healthy son with normal intelligence, your mom should find a younger guy."