I Turned Down the Cheap Graduation Trip-Then My Class Vanished Overseas Chapter 08

I Turned Down the Cheap Graduation Trip-Then My Class Vanished Overseas Chapter 08

I genuinely knew nothing more about the scheme.

All I could tell the investigators was that Lily had found the tour operator through an online platform and had handled the registration, payments, and document submissions herself.

The police obtained the tablet Lily had left at home and found several leads in her messages and payment records.

The investigation soon confirmed that they had never signed up for a legitimate tour.

It was a cross-border scam designed specifically to target inexperienced recent graduates.

The criminals exploited the nearly ten-hour layover by sending local handlers to the airport. They offered to show the students around the city for free, then lured all thirty-nine of them outside.

From there, the students were transported to a sealed-off scam compound.

No one knew its exact location.

The investigators could only pose as students planning a graduation trip and keep communicating with the scammers, hoping to trick them into exposing more information.

There was nothing else I could contribute to the investigation.

Since I had no other plans for the summer, I stayed at the travel agency as an intern and learned how to handle contracts, insurance matters, and emergencies.

A few days later, a group of people entered the agency.

I immediately recognized them as the parents of the missing students.

“Are you here to ask about a trip, or is there something else you need?”

Their children were still missing, so they clearly hadn’t come to book a vacation.

Noah’s parents stood at the front of the group.

Unlike the last time I had seen them, there was no blame left in their expressions, only exhaustion

and fear.

“Erin, are your parents here? We need to ask them for help.”

I led everyone into Dad’s office and stayed inside.

I wanted to know why they had suddenly come to us.

The moment the door closed, several parents went straight to the desk.

Some covered their faces and cried. Others placed neatly organized flight records and missing-person reports in front of Dad.

Dad and I were both startled, and he quickly asked them to sit.

“Please, sit down. Tell us what you need.”

Noah’s father clasped Dad’s hand. His eyes were red from hours of crying.

“Mr. Carter, we have nowhere else to turn. We’re begging you. You’ve run a travel agency for years. You have contacts with overseas hotels, transportation providers, and local tour guides. Could you ask around and help us find out where our children might have been taken?”

They were clearly hoping our contacts in the travel industry could uncover more leads.

We did work with service providers overseas, but they were legitimate companies and ordinary

tourism professionals.

There was no chance we knew anyone connected to the criminals running scam compounds.

Dad explained carefully, “The people I know only handle legitimate tourism. They have nothing to do with places like that, so I can’t promise we’ll be able to help.”

The parents were already on the edge of collapse and couldn’t accept that answer.

“You’ve worked in international travel for years. You have to know the area better than we do. Please, just try. Noah is my only child. I can’t lose him.”

His voice broke, and he started crying again.

In the end, Dad agreed to try out of sympathy.

But he didn’t act privately.

He contacted the investigators first and explained that he might be able to make inquiries through

his tourism industry contacts.

Under police guidance, he reached out to a local driver who had worked with our agency

for years.

The driver provided information about several suspicious warehouses and secured buildings.

The police then launched a joint investigation with local law enforcement.

After ten days of planning, officers raided one of the suspected locations at night, arrested several

suspects, and rescued a group of captives.

When the news reached the parents, almost none of them slept that night.

Early the next morning, they rushed to the airport, desperate to find out whether their children were among the rescued victims.

My parents and I went too, partly because we needed to know the outcome and partly because Dad had provided the lead and needed to help with the follow-up.

“They’re coming out! They’re coming out!”

Someone shouted, and everyone turned toward the exit.

I quickly spotted familiar faces among the rescued group.

They were my former classmates.

Only ten days had passed, but every one of them had lost a frightening amount of weight.

Their clothes hung loosely from their bodies. Their faces were pale, and their gazes were unfocused.

They barely reacted until they saw their parents.

“How did you get so thin? Why are you covered in bruises?”

The arrivals area erupted with the sound of parents and students sobbing.

They had been threatened and beaten every day during their captivity.

They were incredibly lucky to have been rescued.

Noah’s parents kept staring at the exit, but their son never appeared.

Finally, they stopped an investigator and asked what had happened.

“Several of the young people were seriously injured and taken directly to the hospital.”

Noah was probably among them.

Lily most likely was too.