PART XXII

BACK TO THE CITY

After receiving Ludar's call, Xavier dropped everything he was doing at the office and rushed to where Ludar told him to come.

He wanted to know what he meant when he said they might have lost another member of their family. Did someone die? But above all that he told her to meet at the chef's burger not at home. What was going on?

As he drove he pulled his phone out and typed his father's phone number in, if Ludar was too messed up to say anything then maybe there must be someone who had to man up and be down with the hand of the situation.

He connected to his car's Bluetooth and dialed his number.

"Hello dad."

"What is it now Xavier?"

"Who died dad?"

"What?" Before he said anything, he could hear sounds coming from the other side of the call and then his father's voice came in again.

"What did you just say?"

"Ludar just called and told me that we just lost another family member, he didn't go into detail well but I need to know?"

"Where are you both right now?"

"I'm heading at chef's burger, it's where he told me he was."

"I'm coming too, wait for me there."

Without saying anything else, Mr. Queens hanged up the call.

He walked back to his room and took a coat then walked to where his wife laid in bed and laid a kiss on her forehead before retreating.

"I'm stepping out for some air, I will be right back darling."

He pulled on the coat then after making sure his wife will be just fine for sometime in his absence.

He walked out of the house, something he hasn't done for more than a month.

He went in his car and drove to the chef's burger with a heavy mind, he just hoped these boys of his weren't stupid enough to be putting themselves in any shit in times like these they were still going through.

He reached the place before Xavier but just as he was walking out of the car, Xavier's car also pulled over.

He jumped out of it as soon as the engine died down and run to his father. "What is going on?" Mr. Queens turned to pass him a humorless look. "You tell me." At now Xavier was confused.

Who died that even their father didn't know about? Maybe it was a secret and Ludar needed his help to cover it up and now he brought their father in it.

With that thought he realized he might have snitched on his brother.

"Do you mind waiting here a little before I learn what happened." Mr. Queens scoffed by that causing him to let thick breaths out through his nose.

"I didn't drive here and left my wife on her own for some of your bullshit son, get yourself together." He said and started heading to the dinner.

He opened it and the first person to look at him was Gabriel because he sat facing the door and when he did, he signaled Ludar to turn around and when he did and found his father there, he felt something run down his spine due to the presence of his father.

How was he here with Xavier, he knew very well that he didn't go to the office, how come he was there.

He stood up as they approached them, Mr. Queens' eyes landed on his son for sometime then went to the other boy sitting in front of him, with what he could name as her daughter sleeping in the boy's arms.

He narrowed his eyes at Gabriel but Gabriel politely said to him.

"Hello, sir." He pretended to not hear his greetings and turned to Ludar.

"What is going on here? Who died?" Ludar frowned and turned to Xavier narrowing his eyes at him too. "Died? Seriously?" He asked in a whisper tone before he turned back to his father and sighed.

"No one died dad, why don't you sit so we could talk then."

"I have no time to be dealing with all this because I have a wife waiting for me at home."

Ludar turned to glare at Xavier one more time before turning to his father and say. "It's about your daughter."

He raised his arms and crossed them at his chest then looked back at Ludar.

"I have no time to run into circles here Ludar, get to the point." Ludar nodded before clasping his hands together and lacing his fingers in one another on the table.

All this time Gabriel was quiet because he felt like an intruder but also he had no way out, one single move and keilla would be awakened and he couldn't bear to see her cry anymore, at least this way she was asleep, free from the world's chaos.

Ludar sighed one more time before going through what happened here to his father and Xavier and by the end of it, Mr. Queens leaned on the table and rested his weight on his arms as he processed everything he just found out. He finds himself punching the table, startling everyone there to the core and waking keilla up.

"Dad." She called as she woke up and saw him standing there breathing hard like he just came from a marathon of running.

Mr. Queens looked at her daughter and just clenched his jaw.

Why did things like this kept happening to his family.

He pulled out his phone and dialed the emergency number, it was time to report to the police and stop keeping things to themselves because they had nothing else to do about what was happening.

The police came and unfortunately for the Queens they were the same officers from the last time that they were reporting another kidnapped girl to them.

"Mr. Queens?" The officer called and not only them that were surprised with this coincidence but Mr. Queens was also taken back to the start of everything.

He shook his head not wanting to relieve that memory again because he's sure had better days.

"Officer Zheng, officer Lin." He said shaking each's hand with a solemn look on his face.

"What is the occasion Mr. Queens?" He looked away not knowing how to put up with this situation again. But realizing on the other side it was his daughters. He turned to the officers and went through with them everything he was also told.

But this time he had evidence and a witness who was keilla.

The officer now had something fishy to look up at, the situation wasn't like last time.

They wrote the report and took evidences with them before leaving the place.

Mr. Queens sighed tiredly, he was a man of ambition and hardworking but this situation was wearing him out.

He turned to his children.

"I'm going to head home first." He said and Xavier and Ludar nodded.

He tapped on their shoulders but before he walked few steps away, he turned to them remembering something important.

"I do not want your mother to know about this, you hear me? We will get on the bottom of this alone." They nodded again and he turned to keilla to make sure she did understand too, when she nodded faintly at him. He nodded back.

Keilla felt wore out, two of her closest sisters were no where to be found with God knows who? What more can she care about now?

Mr. Queens walked to his car but those that were left also had no much to do apart from leaving.

Gabriel knew it was also time for him to head home, he declined more than ten calls from his father and now it was time he went home to resolve his issues he had with his father. He turned to keilla beside him and tucked some of her hairs that fallen in her face behind her ear.

"I'm going to head home too." She looked at him and nodded with a grateful smile on her face. "Thank you for everything, Gab." He shrugged before hugging her but stoped once Ludar cleared his throat.

He turned to look at him but ludar just glared back.

Gabriel pulled back knowing it wasn't wise to get on with it with her brothers.

"If anything happens or a new lead comes," he leaned in her ear and whispered for only hear to listen. "I'm a one call away, little girl."

He pulled back and when she smiled he knew his message was well sent.

He smiled back at her before he walked out and to his car too.

Ludar looked at his little sister in front of him and shook his head.

"Wasn't that the Gabriel that Natara was crazy over?" Keilla shrugged before walking more closer to him and Xavier. "So?" Ludar quirked his eyebrows quite surprised with the his little sister's attitude. "You hear that Xav, she said so to me?"

Xavier looked at keilla and knew it wasn't time to be messing with her, it clearly read on her face that it has been a very hectic day for her.

"Go get in my car keilla, I will take you home to rest." She didn't need to be told twice.

"Just know we drove here in mom's car, it's in the parking lot." She said and made her way to Xavier's dark blue mustang.

******************

It was at the time when day light was bleeding into dark night, the sun was setting and stars and moon was taking over the beauty of the sky. A soul walking in the earth felt quite devastated by what the world was doing to such a beautiful day.

A soft knock came on the office's door and the man straightened up, leaving his daze state before granting an entrance to the person on the other side of the door.

"Sir."

"Yes."

"There is a woman here requesting to meet with you, she is saying it's urgent." Mr. Sanchez furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"She is here for me or for my son?"

"She is here for you and she keeps insisting sir." He sighed.

"Let her in, I will meet her in the living room in a minute." The woman nodded before politely walking out of the old man's office.

Mr. Sanchez took his time getting ready to meet his visitor because he knew no one of importance would be here not informed and he dreaded to meet whoever sitting down in his living room waiting for him, but he knew it was more than a bad manner to turn his back on those looking for him because you never know what they could also be bringing.

He dropped what he was doing and walked out of his office and made his way downstairs to attend to his visitor.

Gabriel wasn't home and neither was his girlfriend Angela.

He walked in the living room and found a woman quite occupied with staring at the art frame hanged at the top of the fire place in the living, but hearing footsteps behind her.

The woman turned to look at the man that looked young and handsomely as she remembered.

"Barbra?" Herbert called surprised to see the woman in front of him. But the woman smiled bowing her body down a little with a smile on her face, she replied. "In her fresh." She stood on her feet and composed herself before saying.

"How have you been, my husband?"

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