CHAPTER 55: WHERE GABRIEL IS

"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 Rome 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 Rome’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 mean 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 means 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 me! Damn it, Alpheus—just stick with your precious friends!"

With that, she stormed out of the room, slamming the door hard behind her.

A heavy silence followed.

Alpheus and Rome 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 come home until he’s cooled off. He probably took a cab and wandered off somewhere nearby. He might still be around the area. But... worst case? He’s gotten completely lost—and if we don’t find him soon, something bad might happen to him."

"Ugh," Alfonso groaned, leaning against the chair. "I hate dealing with smart kids. They’re so stubborn sometimes."

He turned to Rome with a raised brow. "Now I’m not so sure anymore if he isn’t a Hariston by blood. Honestly, he reminds me of you sometimes."

The others paused, glanced at Rome, and then—almost in sync—all nodded.

"I agree," Dave added. "He may not look like Rome, but that kid’s impulsiveness and stubbornness when he wants something is definitely like Rome."

Rome shot him a glare.

"Tsk... Instead of blabbering nonsense, why don’t you actually help me find Gabriel?"

Rome 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 moment Gabriel left. We’re not just sitting here twiddling our thumbs, Rome."

Rome 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 me 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 zoomed in on the blinking tracer.

But then... he froze.

The confident look on his face drained instantly.

Rome 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 me 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... some kind of interference with the tracker."

"Interference?" Alpheus echoed with a frown. "You were so sure a moment ago."

Alfonso swallowed hard and finally turned toward Rome, who was now watching him closely.

"Rome... are you absolutely sure the tracker in Gabriel’s necklace is working properly? I mean... could someone 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..."

Rome’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean what a coincidence?"

"H-haha, nothing! I just mean... maybe we’ll have a hard time tracking Gabriel this time. The tracer’s signal is acting up... It’s sending us all over the place."

Alfonso tried to sound casual but failed miserably.

Rome’s expression hardened. "What are you saying? That the tracker’s malfunctioning? Let me 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 slammed the laptop shut and immediately 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 something. We can’t rely on it anymore."

Then he stood up abruptly.

"I’ll call someone I know. Someone better equipped to help. Just... trust me 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 me—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 moment, 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 someone 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 something was off. It felt like the two were hiding something.

Then Dave froze.

Just like the tracker Alfonso showed earlier, his own device had pinged the exact same location of Gabriel. It matched the one on Alfonso’s tracker.

"...Now I think I know why they’re acting like that." Dave muttered.

---

Meanwhile...

"Mom! Someone’s calling your phone!"

Egypt shouted from the living room as I was preparing something for Gabriel to eat.

She quickly ran over and handed me the phone, where an unknown number was flashing on the screen.

Who could this possibly be?

I froze.

Could it be someone 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?"