When I was nine, the boy I’d grown up with sold me to a traveling carnival.
He said that if I, his family’s recognized daughter, disappeared, then my half-sister wouldn’t have to live in my shadow.
He returned to Riverbend Pack soaked to the bone, telling my father I’d chased a paper boat during the Summer Riverside Festival and fallen into the rapids.
After that, my sister took my place as Father’s only acknowledged daughter and became his fiancée.
As for me, I was stripped of my name, branded with a number, and trafficked through an illegal labor network for thirteen years.
Then I saved the Alpha King from an ambush on the northern border. I followed him back to the capital and became a royal medical investigator.
The new list of administrative candidates from the Royal Academy arrived at the Castle.
I saw his name on the list, and I drew a line straight through it.
“Adrian Cole trafficked a nine-year-old girl.”
“I don’t care how outstanding his grades are. A man like that has no place serving the Crown.”
The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 24 I set the little green paper boat on the water. The current caught it and quickly pulled it away from the shore. This time, I didn’t wait for it to come back. The lights of the new identity recovery center beside the dock were
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The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 23 On the day Adrian was transferred to the northern prison, Maeve asked if I wanted to go watch. “No.” “You waited so many years. Don’t you want to see him lose the one thing he cared about most with your own eyes?” “I already
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The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 22 If someone claiming to be family came to take a victim, their bloodline records, old missing-person files, and the victim’s own stated wishes would all have to be verified. No one would be handed over just because of a shared last name, or because
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The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 21 Within three months, they rescued eleven women still trapped in illegal labor networks. The whereabouts of nine others remained unknown. I submitted a proposal to Elliot and the Royal Council to establish identity recovery centers near major docks, bus terminals, and freight hubs. These
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The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 20 Riverbend security officially reopened the disappearance file. The old file read *presumed drowning, no body recovered*. The new one documented the dockside abduction, the Starlight Carnival, and the six illegal transfers in full. The identity registrar asked if I wanted to restore the name
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The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 19 He hadn’t even bothered to have security question Peter. Tucked away in the old visitor log was the manager’s note from that day: *Mr. Hawthorne requested this lead be closed. No further contact.* When Daniel saw that line, he stared at the floor and
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The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 18 Her engagement to Adrian was, of course, dissolved. She argued that she had not participated in the original crime. The judge acknowledged that, so she was not convicted of human trafficking. But four years ago, she had been an adult. She could have contacted
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The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 17 The day the verdict was announced, the first autumn rain began to fall over the capital. Adrian was permanently stripped of his Royal Academy credentials and barred for life from holding public office. For the abduction of a minor, human trafficking, witness intimidation, and
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The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 16 He claimed he had kept my place for me all these years, that he had never truly forgotten me. Maeve looked moved. I had her turn the page. Within two years of my disappearance, Isla’s status had been changed to Daniel’s sole recognized daughter.
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The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 15 “I don’t know if this money is clean.” “When the investigation is over, I’ll decide who it really belongs to.” The inspection team audited Adrian’s income over the years. He had, in fact, supported himself later through tutoring and editing. That didn’t erase the
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