"How could you lose Gabriel?" Alpheus snapped. "You know he’s a sensitive child! You shouldn’t have dumped everything on him like that. At the very least, you should’ve let Ro be the one to talk to him—he could’ve explained things better, more gently. But instead, you just—blurted everything out. Are you even thinking like a mother?"
Ingrid’s fists clenched, and tears welled in her eyes.
"E-even you, Alpheus? You’re taking Ro’s side now?" her voice trembled. "You’re a Monteverde! You’re supposed to be on my side, not his!"
Alpheus remained cold and unmoved.
"Just because I’m a Monteverde doesn’t an I’ll defend you blindly, Ingrid. Yes, I’m your cousin—but I won’t support you when you’re clearly in the wrong. You need to grow up—especially now that you have a child depending on you."
"So you’re saying I’m not mature enough to raise my own son?!" Ingrid gasped, her voice rising in disbelief.
Alpheus exhaled sharply, losing his patience. "If you think raising a child ans dumping your emotional baggage on him whenever it’s convenient, then no—you’re not."
"Tsk! You’ve always been like this!" Ingrid hissed, her voice cracking as anger took over.
"You always take everyone else’s side. Never mine. Not once did you defend ! Damn it, Alpheus—just stick with your precious friends!"
With that, she stord out of the room, slamming the door hard behind her.
A heavy silence followed.
Alpheus and Ro exchanged exasperated glances. The others—Calyx, Alfonso, and Dave—looked around awkwardly.
Calyx was the first to break the silence.
"So... where do we even start looking for Gabriel?"
Alpheus ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"That kid’s smart. Knowing him, he won’t co ho until he’s cooled off. He probably took a cab and wandered off sowhere nearby. He might still be around the area. But... worst case? He’s gotten completely lost—and if we don’t find him soon, sothing bad might happen to him."
"Ugh," Alfonso groaned, leaning against the chair. "I hate dealing with smart kids. They’re so stubborn sotis."
He turned to Ro with a raised brow. "Now I’m not so sure anymore if he isn’t a Hariston by blood. Honestly, he reminds of you sotis."
The others paused, glanced at Ro, and then—almost in sync—all nodded.
"I agree," Dave added. "He may not look like Ro, but that kid’s impulsiveness and stubbornness when he wants sothing is definitely like Ro."
Ro shot him a glare.
"Tsk... Instead of blabbering nonsense, why don’t you actually help find Gabriel?"
Ro snapped as he paced back and forth, phone pressed tightly to his ear. His other hand was clenched, knuckles white as he fought back the panic rising in his chest. "I didn’t bring you all here just to sit around!"
Across the room, Alfonso remained calm and composed, eyes glued to the laptop screen in front of him. He let out a short chuckle.
"You think we’re not doing anything?" he said without glancing up. "We’ve already deployed all of our family’s secret agents. They’re sweeping through every trace of data from the mont Gabriel left. We’re not just sitting here twiddling our thumbs, Ro."
Ro shot him a glare, jaw tightening.
"Look, I know you’re worried—but you’re not the only one. No one wants anything to happen to that kid. Just give five minutes, alright? Five minutes, and I’ll pinpoint his location."
His fingers flew across the keyboard, his expression turning serious. Among the group, only Alfonso was skilled at tracking as his family ran an underground network of secret agents.
A tense silence filled the room as everyone waited.
Ping!—a soft alert sounded from his laptop. A red dot lit up on the digital map.
"There we go" Alfonso muttered, leaning closer as he zood in on the blinking tracer.
But then... he froze.
The confident look on his face drained instantly.
Ro narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"
Alfonso didn’t respond.
His gaze was locked on the location. The red pin was blinking steadily in a very familiar area.
No... it couldn’t be.
That place was unmistakable—it was Sylvia’s neighborhood.
More precisely, the signal was coming from the very house where Sylvia lived... with the twins.
"Hey, Alfonso," Alpheus called out, noticing his sudden silence. "You okay? It’s been five minutes. Don’t tell you still haven’t tracked Gabriel."
Alfonso blinked rapidly and forced a nervous laugh. "H-ha... No, no, it’s just—looks like there’s... so kind of interference with the tracker."
"Interference?" Alpheus echoed with a frown. "You were so sure a mont ago."
Alfonso swallowed hard and finally turned toward Ro, who was now watching him closely.
"Ro... are you absolutely sure the tracker in Gabriel’s necklace is working properly? I an... could soone have tampered with it?"
"Yes. No one knows about the tracking pin inside Gabriel’s necklace. And knowing Gabriel, he’s never taken it off—not since the day I gave it to him."
That made Alfonso’s heart drop. His palms began to sweat. He forced a stiff laugh, the kind that barely reached his eyes.
"H-haha... what a coincidence..."
Ro’s brow furrowed. "What do you an what a coincidence?"
"H-haha, nothing! I just an... maybe we’ll have a hard ti tracking Gabriel this ti. The tracer’s signal is acting up... It’s sending us all over the place."
Alfonso tried to sound casual but failed miserably.
Ro’s expression hardened. "What are you saying? That the tracker’s malfunctioning? Let see it."
"Yeah, show us. I wanna see what the signal looks like." Calyx added as he leaned forward to get a look at the laptop.
But before Calyx could even get a glimpse, Alfonso slamd the laptop shut and imdiately pressed the power button, shutting it down completely.
The sudden action made everyone pause. Eyebrows rose.
"What the hell was that?" Dave asked, staring at him in confusion. "What’s going on with you?"
Alfonso laughed again—this one even shakier than the last.
"W-what? No, no. I just think... the tracker might be faulty. It’s probably broken or sothing. We can’t rely on it anymore."
Then he stood up abruptly.
"I’ll call soone I know. Soone better equipped to help. Just... trust on this."
Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Alpheus by the arm and pulled him aside.
"Whoa—hey, man! What the fuck—"
Alpheus started to protest, but before he could finish, Alfonso leaned in to whisper.
’Listen to —it’s pointing to Sylvia’s house. The signal is coming from there. Gabriel... he’s in her house.’
Alpheus froze. His breath caught for a mont, his eyes widening. Slowly, his gaze drifted back to their friends, still waiting and unaware. He swallowed hard.
"...You’re sure?" he whispered back.
Alfonso gave a subtle nod.
"Uh... guys, Alfonso and I are going out for a bit. We’re going to call soone who can actually help us, Bye!"
Alpheus said before hurrying after Alfonso, who had already stepped outside.
Dave and Calyx exchanged glances, both sensing that sothing was off. It felt like the two were hiding sothing.
Then Dave froze.
Just like the tracker Alfonso showed earlier, his own device had pinged the exact sa location of Gabriel. It matched the one on Alfonso’s tracker.
"...Now I think I know why they’re acting like that." Dave muttered.
---
anwhile...
"Mom! Soone’s calling your phone!"
Egypt shouted from the living room as I was preparing sothing for Gabriel to eat.
She quickly ran over and handed the phone, where an unknown number was flashing on the screen.
Who could this possibly be?
I froze.
Could it be soone from the Hariston family? Did they already find out Gabriel’s here? Are they on their way?
"Mommy! Why are you just staring at it? Answer the phone already—it’s been ringing forever!" Egypt said again before returning to the sofa, where Gabriel was quietly sitting.
I shook off the creeping panic.
No... maybe it’s not the Haristons. Maybe it’s nothing.
With trembling fingers, I finally answered the call.
"H-Hello?"
"Finally! You answered the phone! Is this you, Sylvia?!"
My brows furrowed. That voice sounded oddly familiar.
"A-Alpheus? Is that you?" I asked, a little in disbelief. "How did you even get my number?"
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