Chapter 13

Vaalsi was furious—only sedatives could calm him down. As soon as Eliza left, he began dissecting the information he'd gathered during their conversation. Anzhi, that little pest, knew about the cameras. Not only did he know the main ones were disabled, but he was also aware of the hidden cameras still running. He could talk—and he knew what was happening in the orphanage. Not just about the older kids extorting "protection money," but also that Vaalsi was in on it.

And who could Anzhi have blabbed to? He’d seemed mute! But no—turns out he’d been wandering around the spaceport for a whole year. Where else had he gone? What else had he done? Because this little brat could think—and think damn well! He’d even finished the last school year early by acing all his exams ahead of time.

Slowly, a plan formed in Vaalsi’s mind. If he couldn’t make the boy stay silent, he had to make sure Anzhi wouldn’t want to talk. All he needed was to make Anzhi take control of the younger kids and start taking cuts for himself. Or maybe increase the beatings and recruit him into the money-collecting crew as a junior member.

Fine, the goal was clear—now he just needed the right way to achieve it. For now, he’d put pressure on Anzhi—and he had the perfect excuse: the kid had broken a panel in the cafeteria and disrupted the conversation. Hmm… he could even use the psychologist’s own words against Anzhi.