that looks like a metal shank that would normally be in the waist area under the upper in the midsole someplace. Should not be where you found it. Dunno how it ended up there. Most decent factories would actually run the finished goods through a metal detector to check for things like that.
Surprised it didn’t notice it right when you bought the shoes!
Dunno the price or brand…Guess you get what you pay for? Never heard or seen anything like that! WTF indeed!
R