Flavian’s POVI had never made such a long journey. No matter how fast I drove, it felt like I would never reach that town. When I finally arrived at the town's entrance, I stopped, got out of the car, and called Cam again."So, Cam?" I asked anxiously."No sign of her, Flavian. There's no movement at Rita's house. Everything's dark, as if she's already gone to bed," Cam informed me."Has Breno arrived?""Yes, they've been here for a while. He suggested we meet somewhere else, said one of the police officers who came with him will keep watch here.""That's a good idea. I'm at the town entrance..."Cam suggested we go to his house, and I thought it was a good idea to set up our command center there. Within minutes, I arrived in front of a large house on a quiet street. Cam was already waiting for us, and beside him were Orlando and Olivia, who seemed to have been crying a lot, but even so, she had prepared a loaded table with enough snacks to feed an army, and several bottles of coffee,
Manuela’s POVI had no idea how long I had been in this vehicle. All I knew was that I could not cry anymore and my whole body was numb."What's that?" I heard the driver ask, and I tried to get up."Stay still, pretty girl!" The man in the passenger seat pointed a gun at me, and I froze."I'm not stopping here. I know that guy over there," the driver spoke again. "I'll call the boss." He grabbed his phone and dialed. "Boss, everything's fine, we're in town, but we can't drop the girl at the lady's house. Her brother is outside." He listened for a moment. "No, the other one. That's right." He listened again. "Alright, boss."He hung up and looked at the other man but said nothing. I was anxious. If he said they were in town, it must be my town. But which brother was he talking about? I needed to escape, but how? Had Flavian noticed I was missing? Would he come looking for me? A while ago, he had sworn he would come for me if something like this happened.I started feeling that lump in
Flavian’s POVWe left college and the police officers were waiting for me, leaning against their patrol car. I barely noticed Lexie and Peter Hank behind me. I approached the officers, about to explode with anger."Well, which one of you is certain that Manuela didn't leave the building?" I stopped in front of them, irritated."Detective, we didn't see the young lady leave," insisted the officer who had spoken to me on the phone."What the hell were you doing that you didn't stop that man?" I asked, feeling the urge to break both their faces."Detective, we didn't think it was necessary," the officer continued insisting."Didn't think it was necessary? You're here to protect her, she was under threat of kidnapping, and you see a suspicious guy but don't stop him?" I complained and saw the other officer nervously run his hand through his hair."You." I pointed to the other one. "You better tell me what happened here, or I'll report both of you to Internal Affairs and request your dismis
Flavian’s POVI took a deep breath and tried to put my thoughts in order once again. I looked around the room."PH, do you know the girl who talked to that man?" That was the first thing I wanted to know."Yes, she's new, one semester behind Manu, transferred from another college. Her name is Karen, room 313," PH informed."Dean, I want to talk to this girl right now, and I also want to talk to your security guard at the entrance, because I had to show ID when I arrived, but for the man who took my girlfriend, he turned a blind eye." I was not in the mood for games, and the Dean noticed."Your girlfriend, detective?" He swallowed hard."Yes, my girlfriend. And if anything happens to her, you and this college will be in serious trouble, and I don't need to tell you that your security guard risks leaving here in handcuffs today, do I? So that worthless security guard better tell me everything I want to know." The Dean sent for the security guard and the student and took us to his office.
Flavian’s POVIt was not time yet to pick up my little one, but I had this urge to go get her early. I missed her, and with everything that had been happening, I felt uneasy about her going to college, a place where I could not do much beyond leaving a patrol car at the entrance."What's wrong, big brother?" Lexie stood in front of me with her hands on her hips."Nothing, why?" I asked, raising my head. I was sitting in the living room with my face buried in my hands."Because you look tense and you're huffing." Lexie looked at me and sat down."It's all this stuff with Manu, Lexie, and her going to college at night. I won't lie, I'm really worried." I ended up confiding in my sister."We all are, but Manu is fine there. She has PH and the patrol car you left. But you seem more restless today than usual." Lexie quickly assessed me with the clarity of someone who knew me very well."Yeah, I am feeling restless." I reflected. "You know what, I'm going to pick her up early." I stood up de
Manuela’s POVIt was funny how my life was about to change completely, yet at the same time everything would remain the same. I was horrified by everything I had learned in the past few days. I was shocked by what I had read in that diary. And there was still the possibility that I was not Rita's daughter, which was not bad and explained a lot, but it left me anxious.Flavian was being very attentive to me, the girls called me every day to check how I was doing, Lexie and Rick kept watching over me all the time at the office, and even Peter Hank, my college friend, was worried about me.In the middle of all this, there was also my parents' divorce, or those who I thought were my parents. My father said Rita is furious about the money. But it is always about money. To begin with, if it had not been for money, she would never have gotten close to my father, and his first wife would still be alive. If it had not been for money, she would not be so desperate to take me back home. If it had