Priya gave her a dirty look on her way out of the classroom. Rito ignored her. She hadn’t meant to snap at her, but she had more important things to worry about right now than Priya’s hurt feelings.

For the first ten minutes of her conversation with Falguni, Rito had had no idea what she was talking about. The girl had been weeping, nearly hysterical. Rito fished an aspirin from her bag and popped it into her mouth. This was going to be a long day.

She had met Afreen while volunteering at the anti-trafficking nonprofit Pragati, during her time at the University of Weritlan. It had been one of the highlights of her stay in that city, the most fulfilling and interesting work she had ever done.

Falguni was one of the girls Pragati had rescued from an inner-city brothel they had raided during Rito’s stint at the organization. She had been fourteen or fifteen at the time, and had already spent more than two years at the brothel. She’d been sold to the traffickers by her father, and had no home to return to after being rescued.

Rito and Afreen had taken her under their wing, enrolled her in a residential school close to Pragati’s headquarters, and signed up as her local guardians.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

When Rito left Weritlan, she had promised to send Afreen the money for Falguni’s school fees and other expenses every other month. She was due to make the first transfer next week.

And now, Afreen was gone. Disappeared without a trace while investigating some goddamn club in the downtown district. While trying to rescue more children like Falguni.

Rito took her head into her hands and tried to get her breathing under control. During the phone call, she barely had time to process what she was hearing. She was too busy trying to calm Falguni down and make her stop crying.

She closed her eyes. Her heart ached to think of Falguni. To lose the only friend, the only anchor she had in the city that’d taken everything from her. God…as if she hadn’t gone through enough already.

She had to go to Weritlan. If for no other reason than to check up on Falguni, to comfort her and let her know she still had someone who was looking out for her.

But moreover, she needed to know what had happened to Afreen. She was her friend, and she had spent her life trying to rescue and rehabilitate lost and forgotten children like Falguni. Rito would be damned if she let her be forgotten, without doing everything in her power to find her and get her back.

Sucking in a deep breath, she rose from her chair. She needed to talk to Mrs. Haval, ask for some time off. How she would justify it so soon after starting a new job, she had no idea. But it had to be done. Steeling herself for the conversation, she headed for the HOD’s office.