Nathalie paused, and her face lit with a proud smile. "Oh, I knew the one who was talking. He was the local gangster. He was always causing chaos-thieving, robbing, even kidnapping. He'd been in and out of jail a bunch of times. I wasn't surprised if the child was one of Nathan nodded, clearly impressed. "Nathalie, you're so sharp."

his victims."

Nathalie got more animated, her eyes shining. "I couldn't help but feel drawn to this kid, and deep down, I just wanted to help him. So, I had a lightbulb moment. I stepped up and claimed the child as my little brother."

"The guy was scared I'd ruin his plans. He glared at me and threatened me, saying, 'Little beggar, you should watch your words. You two don't look a thing alike...""

I crossed my arms defiantly and responded, 'Who says siblings have to look alike? I take after our mom, and my brother takes after our dad. Our family's poor, and our parents aren't well, so we've been out begging since we were little... My name's Nellie. And he's..." "The little boy responded, 'My name's Nate.""Content held by .

Nathalie's face softened with a smile

as she recalled the child's quick thinking. "He was so clever. I barely got the words out before he made up a name to go with my story. Everyone around us believed it-even that guy started looking nervous. I seized the moment, moved through the crowd, and went up to the kid. As if by some miracle, he reached out his hand, letting me pick him up."

Nathalie's eyes glistened with tears, her voice thick with emotion. "He was just a little thing, light as a feather. Those awful traffickers had starved him, leaving him skin and bones. They beat him where it wouldn't show and pinched him. When I took him home and gave him a bath, there wasn't a single part of him unscathed..."

Tears welled up in Nathan's eyes, too. "Him meeting you was a bit of luck in all his misfortune."

Nathalie shook her head, her face clouded with regret. "After I took him home, I hid him in my room. All I had to do was buy a bit more food and teach him how to read and write. The kid was sharp, he learned fast and had a sunny disposition He looked cute, too, but just a little too skinny. I thought I could be there for him forever. But then, just a month later, my mom found out..."

Nathalie sniffled, tears rolling down her cheeks. "My mom is the most selfish person. She didn't want me spending my money on anyone else. She would hurl the nastiest insults at me and Kim every single day. She called me shameless for playing mom at my age, called him a burden, an unwanted child, and said he was dragging us down, She demanded he be sent away. The kid had such pride; his eyes were always red from crying... But I had no choice. I had to work, and I couldn't stay to protect him."

Suddenly, Nathalie broke down, sobbing. "All I could do was tell him to hang in there, wait until I could make enough money to take him away. He was so goodx, ignored my mom's harsh words, and survived in our home for six months. But one day, I came home, and he was gone."

"My mom told me he'd gotten healthy and just ran off like the ungrateful brat she said he was. But I couldn't believe her. I stood up to her for the first time, demanding to know where he went. Every day, she came up with a new lie-he was sold to traffickers, ran away, or was dumped at an orphanage."