"Sweet Angel Orphanage?" Jalen paused for a moment before recalling something.
"Oh, I think I have some impression of this orphanage before."
Roland's ears irked up the moment he heard Jalen's words.
"I think this orphanage was involved in a scandal before, causing it to catch the public eye, exposing some of the dark secrets that the orphanage has hidden for so long."
"The matter back then was actually very funny. As far as I can recall, it seemed that one of their orphans escaped, causing massive hysteria among the caretakers, in fear of being exposed to the public. In an attempt to search for the missing orphan, they searched the whole Tree Town day and night, however, they ended up alerting the authorities at the same time this way."
"One thing leads to another, the authorities investigated the truth and after some time, it was exposed that the Sweet Angel Orphanage was actually involved in many illegal activities such selling illegal drugs, child trafficking and even child prostitution. It was said that they were actually preparing for a yearly child trafficking transaction at that time, and hence, they panicked when one of the orphans managed to escape."
Roland nodded his head in understanding hearing his words. Although there were some details that he did not know about, some details aligned from what he knew back then. And as for the child that escaped, of course, it was him. Of course, only Roland himself knew of this fact as he did not speak to anyone about it. Even Anna only knew that he ran away from a certain orphanage but did not know the exact details of what had truly happened.
"Can you tell me more about what exactly happened after that incident?" Roland asked.
"Hmm? Sure, no problem."
Although Jalen was curious why Roland was adamant on learning about this piece of information, he did not think too much about it and still provided Roland with everything he knew. Of course, it was not confirmed that all information he said was the truth, but Roland could make do with this information for now.
"I see, so that's what happened back then." Roland stated after Jalen finished speaking.
"Yeah. By the way, may I ask why you are inquiring about this orphanage? If it's a sensitive topic then it's alright if you don't answer," said Jalen.
"No problem, I was just informed that there was an orphanage here and I was planning on donating some funds for the orphanage, however, I don't think that's still possible anymore," Roland replied with a slight chuckle.
action
Jalen chuckled after hearing Roland's words. Indeed, would someone still dare to donate funds at that kind of orphanage? And besides, even if they do, how could they donate if the orphanage itself was already gone?
"Well, if that's all then I'll hang up as we are still finalizing the matter here regarding your land. This should be done by today though and you can then send the experts here tomorrow or the next day after that at least."
"Sure, you have my gratitude for filling me up with what happened to the orphanage. Right, if you need some help in the future, don't hesitate to call me. I am not an influential person but I have many capable men under me."
After hanging up, Roland stared at the passing trees deep in thought.
"The matter is truly not settled yet. According to Jalen, only a few people were arrested during that time as there was no evidence that the other caretakers were involved in the illegal business as well. Only the 'main' culprits were arrested and were imprisoned in Tree Town local jail."
"As for the other orphans, Jalen said that they were transferred to a brand new orphanage in Fore City. How convenient. I wonder how they are doing now." He said, still looking at the passing tree's over the window.
"I'll investigate the location of that orphanage later. We should visit when we have some time." Janine suddenly said.
Roland smiled and replied, "Alright, thanks!"
"However, just locate it normally. Don't snoop around too much. If my guess is right, that gang should still be operating that same orphanage and they might still be doing the same thing until now. After all, Jalen did not mention that one of the police were involved in the incident and there was no mention about the gang so they must have found a way to avoid the authorities pursuit and only implicated some non-important members."
Janine went silent after hearing that. She then nodded her head in understanding a while later.
More than two hours later, Roland and Janine got out of the car at Sparkling Buds.
There was still an hour away from their class so the two of them decided to eat at Sparkling Buds for lunch.
With great familiarity, Roland went inside Stacey's office and saw the latter busy doing some paperworks.
When Stacey looked up, she immediately beamed a radiant smile upon seeing that it was Roland. She immediately stood up from her seat and went forward to embrace Roland tightly. She wrapped her hand around his waist and leaned her head towards his chest, closing her eyes as if she embraced the feeling of hugging the man in front of her.
Roland was taken aback for a moment before he reciprocated with a tight hug as well.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly.
"Hmmm," only Stacey's soft nod was heard as the two of them stayed in their position.
"I just missed you," Stacey said, finally letting go of the tight hug as she tiptoed to kiss Roland's lips.
Roland smiled happily and answered, "Well, I'm already here."
Being showered with this much love was a first for Roland. Stacey who was not afraid to show her emotions towards him was truly a feeling for him. It was something that Roland wanted to experience everyday. He just could not get enough of this woman in front of him.
"Right, have you eaten already? Do you want me to cook something for you?" Roland suddenly asked, it was apparent from the tone of his voice that he was quite happy.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel