Booked to Disappear Chapter 09

Booked to Disappear Chapter 09

Even now, I still don’t fully understand what role Sarah plays in all of this.

I accompany the police to the hospital.

Before we even reach her room, a piercing scream echoes down the hallway.

“Don’t hit me! Please don’t hit me!”

Several nurses rush inside, pin Sarah to the bed, and inject her with a sedative.

Her parents stand nearby, wiping away tears, their faces full of heartbreak.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennett glance at Sarah with undisguised disgust.

By now, they’ve learned that she’s the one who organized the trip, so they have no sympathy for

her.

The police then lead us to Gavin’s room.

The moment I step inside, the smell of blood hits me.

“He has multiple broken ribs,” the officer explains. “After he was taken there, he tried to escape. They caught him and shattered both of his legs.”

The other freshmen are terrified by the armed guards.

They obey every order without resistance.

Most of them suffer injuries, but nothing life-threatening.

Gavin is different.

Spoiled by his parents since childhood, he’s always gotten whatever he wants.

He openly defies the people holding them captive.

Even after being beaten once, he refuses to back down.

Instead, he plans an escape with several other students.

He doesn’t make it very far before he’s caught again.

This time, they break both of his legs.

The officer lowers his voice, “The traffickers had already selected him for organ harvesting.”

“If we hadn’t arrived when we did, he probably wouldn’t have survived.”

Although the rescue saves his life, the damage is irreversible.

His injuries are too severe. Even after surgery, he’ll never walk normally again.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennett break down in tears.

My parents and I quietly leave the room.

“What a tragedy,” my mother whispers. “He’s only eighteen. What kind of future will he have

now?”

I lower my eyes without saying anything.

I don’t feel much of anything.

There are so many moments when all of this could have been prevented.

They ignore every single one.

The parents deserve an explanation.

Seeing their children covered in bruises has shattered them.

Around that time, the traffickers finally confess during interrogation.

They’ve been posting fake travel advertisements online to lure young people.

As the organizer, Sarah doesn’t have to pay the $3,999 tour fee.

Instead, she earns a $100 commission for every person she recruits.

In other words, not only does she travel for free, she actually makes money.

So that’s why she’s so desperate to get me on that plane.

It has never been about friendship.

It has been about the commission.

When the parents learn the truth, their grief turns into fury.

The traffickers are already behind bars, beyond their reach.

So they direct all of that rage toward Sarah.

They storm into her hospital room.

Ignoring the doctors and nurses trying to stop them, they begin hitting and kicking her.

“You ruined my son’s life!”

“He’s only eighteen!”

Sarah is still groggy from the sedatives.

Ironically, the beating seems to wake her up.

“You think this is my fault?” she shouts back.

“They wanted the cheap tour. I never forced anyone to go!”

“I’m a victim too! I didn’t do this on purpose! Stop hitting me!”

Fortunately, the hospital calls the police before things get even worse.

The officers quickly restrain the enraged parents.

Her face covered in blood, Sarah hides behind the police officers but still refuses to back down.

“If they weren’t so greedy for a bargain, none of this would’ve happened!” she yells.

“They brought this on themselves!”

The parents are furious enough to tear her apart.

But with the police standing between them, no one dares make another move.

Eventually, they leave, still seething.

For Sarah’s own safety, her parents secretly arrange her discharge from the hospital.

No one knows where she goes afterward.

When Gavin wakes up and learns he’ll never walk again, he completely breaks down.

He attempts suicide several times, throwing his entire family into chaos.

His parents are physically and emotionally exhausted, but they can’t abandon him.

The happy life they once have falls apart.

After everything that happens, our two families slowly drift apart.

We rarely keep in touch anymore.

The next time I hear about Gavin is several months later.

His parents have placed him in a long-term care facility.

His mother is pregnant again.

The son they once treasure above everything else has been abandoned.

He’s left there to fend for himself.

When my mom tells me over the phone, even her voice is filled with regret.

He’s only eighteen.

If none of this had happened, his life could have turned out so differently.

Standing on my university campus, breathing in the fresh air, I feel only one overwhelming

emotion.

Relief.

Thank goodness I never boarded that plane.

After graduation, I officially take over the family travel agency and continue expanding the

business.

Every now and then, a customer looks at one of our packages suspiciously.

“This tour is so affordable. You’re not going to sell my organs after I land, are you?”

I simply smile.

“If I say no, the people who trust me will believe me,”

“And the people who don’t, won’t change their minds no matter what I say.”

“I’ve always lived by one principle.”

“Do business with a clear conscience.”

No amount of dirty money is worth earning.

Because I know that anything you obtain through greed will eventually be taken back.

I’d rather earn only what I deserve.

That way, I can live with peace of mind… and live in peace.