Chapter 3

CARRIE didn’t stop searching for her brother, so she went back to square one just to find Agustin.

“What are you doing?”

Carrie stopped and turned to face the person who interrupted her, her eyes widening as she recognized them.

“Oh my gosh! Tara!” Carrie exclaimed, standing up to hug her sister. “You’re back!” she said, separating from Tara and just smiling.

Tara rolled her eyes and laughed when she saw her sister. “I texted you, girl! I asked for a ride, but no one came to get me! TSK,” complained Tara as she sat on Carrie’s bed. “I also visited mom in her room, and she’s getting better.”

Carrie smiled and sat next to Tara. “Yeah, she’s getting better and that’s good for us,” she said. Tara sighed and lay down on Carrie’s bed, lifting her hand to look at her engagement ring.

“I’m getting married, but Agustin is still not here. I want Agustin to walk me down the aisle because our dad is no longer here,” Tara said sadly, looking at Carrie, who also looked sad. “Although I am grateful to have my biological father by my side, Agustin holds a special place in my heart. He’s still my brother,” Tara smiled. “It felt as if our dad was by my side as Agustin walked me down the aisle.”

Tara looked up to stop herself from crying because she missed her brother even more. When Agustin disappeared without a trace, Tara left to continue her studies in France and thereafter, she had no news of their brother.

“Has he forgotten about us? Has he forgotten about mom?” Tara asked.

Carrie looked away and took a deep breath to control her emotions, knowing that crying wouldn’t bring Agustin back to them.

“I will find him no matter what,” Carrie said determinedly, running a hand through her hair. “By the way, how are the preparations for your wedding? And where is Fabien?”

Carrie changed the subject to avoid feeling more upset about Agustin.

Tara smiled and got up. “Her family will be coming next month and… You will help me with my wedding, sis,” Tara said with a smile as she pulled Carrie up. “But for now, let’s hang out, just you and me.” Tara said excitedly as she left Carrie's room.

Carrie chuckled softly and shook her head at Tara’s excitement. She glanced at her laptop and sighed before heading to her closet to find something to wear, excited about their bonding time.

ELI RETURNED to work at the club and other transactions with his friend Emmett. He had also removed from his mind the conversation he had with the old man who had helped him, as he had already made the decision not to return.

Eli stopped in his tracks when he noticed that his friend was no longer working and was just texting. He raised an eyebrow and walked over to his friend, giving him a strong slap on the head.

“Fuck!” Emmett shouted as he held his head in frustration, looking around to see who had done it, but stopped when he noticed Eli behind him. “Dude!”

Eli gave his friend a deadly gaze and was about to slap him again when he dodged and stood up to return to work.

“I will deduct your salary if you don’t finish your work,” Eli said seriously, causing Emmett to gulp and scratch his head.

“Sorry! I’ll go back to work now!” Emmett replied, grabbing a rag and wiping the table again. Eli playfully kicked him as he laughed and dodged.

Eli just shook his head and went back to work, but then his phone vibrated. He checked the text, but it was just from his business contact. He glanced at Emmett, then at the club owner, before putting his phone back in his pocket.

Furthermore, he approached the owner and took a deep breath. “We have a transaction today,” he said, enough for the owner to hear. The old man just looked at him and sighed, shaking his head.

“Okay, your work is done now,” the owner said as Eli nodded and placed all their belongings on the table before heading towards Emmett and pulling his friend out of the club.

Eli grabbed his helmet and tossed it to his friend. “We have a client. Let’s go,” he said as he got on his motorcycle. Emmett also hopped on without asking any questions, knowing he was always the one with Agustin during their transactions.

They arrived at the exact location for their transaction. After getting off the motorcycle and removing their helmets, Agustin opened the seat of his motorcycle and took out a large bag containing hundreds of grams of drugs. He handed it to his friend and tapped him to follow.

Two men greeted them and accompanied them to their transaction partner. They entered an underground area and immediately heard loud music coming from a club. Eli nodded to one of the bouncers before they entered.

Emmett whistled at the women they passed by with a grin, while Eli remained expressionless as they walked through the crowd.

A woman approached Eli, but he quickly pushed her away with a glare, causing the woman to leave hastily. Emmett chuckled at his friend’s reaction and shook his head, used to Eli’s behavior.

They entered a VIP room and saw the businessmen they were transacting with, accompanied by male hosts from the club.

“Sir, Mr. Eli is already here.”

The old man grinned widely and called out Eli’s name. “Eli! Buddy!” he exclaimed happily, motioning for them to come closer and sit down.

Eli raised an eyebrow and sat across from the old man. Emmett also sat down next to Eli.

“Bring out the expensive liquor for our guests.” the old man announced, clapping

his hands in excitement at what Eli had brought for him.

Eli remained quiet, observing their companions in the VIP room, some of whom seemed familiar to him.

A waiter approached and served them drinks. Emmett grinned and thanked the waiter, then looked back at him and grinned again, but his smile faded when he felt Eli’s deadly gaze, so he just smiled

and scratched his head.

Emmett placed the large bag on the table to show it to the old man. The old man was delighted and opened the bag, even more pleased because Eli did not disappoint him.

“You didn’t let me down, Eli,” the old man said with a smile. Eli lit a cigarette and leaned back on the sofa.

“I won’t give you anything cheap,” Eli grinned and blew smoke. The old man nodded in agreement and placed a case containing a large sum of money on the table. He opened it and showed it to Eli, who also grinned.

Emmett happily counted the money to make sure they were paid correctly, as there might be trouble if Eli found out the old man cheated them. He glanced at Eli, who was still talking to the old man, and sighed in relief because the old man did not cheat them.

He sat next to Eli and whispered, “It seems like the old man didn’t cheat us. The amount he mentioned in the transaction was exact.”

Eli paused, then grinned and nodded before speaking to the old man again.

Later, a staff member of the old man entered the VIP room with three men in their 20s. Eli and Emmett exchanged glances, but Emmett just shrugged, also puzzled.

“They are Spanish, but they speak English very well, and they are our new hosts,” the old man introduced the three men with a smile.

Eli frowned and glanced at the old man, clearly not liking what he was about to do.

“You can choose from them, my friend; that is my offer to you.”

Emmett and Eli stopped because they were just selling, but they were not using other people for their interests. They looked at the three men and felt their fear.

“Introduce yourself, dear,” the old man’s assistant pushed the three men to introduce themselves to Eli and Emmett.

One of the men stepped forward, but you could feel his fear. “I-I’m Gabriel Alvarez…” he said weakly, but he was pushed by the old man’s assistant, almost causing him to stumble, but Eli caught him.

Eli and Gabriel made eye contact, but Gabriel quickly stood up to avoid Eli.

“Lo lamento... (I’m sorry),” Gabriel said, but he quickly looked down as he spoke.

Eli nodded in understanding of Gabriel's words, leaving Emmett puzzled as to why Eli acknowledged the man, but Eli ignored him.

The two men then introduced themselves, but Eli only showed interest in Gabriel.

“So, Eli, who do you want to be with tonight? They’re fresh and virgin,” the old man said with a smirk.

Eli looked blankly at the old man and pointed to Gabriel, choosing him.

Nervously, Gabriel approached Eli and sat down beside him. Eli put his arm around Gabriel’s waist, surprising him but not showing that he was scared.

Eli felt Gabriel’s trembling, but he held on to Gabriel’s waist even tighter. He sat down and took a sip of his drink, then wiped his lips while staring blankly at the old man.

Eli took a deep breath, touched Gabriel’s cheek, turned the young man towards him, and kissed him. Gabriel’s eyes widened at Eli’s unexpected kiss.

He wanted to push Eli away, but he was too weak to resist. Gabriel was about to stop Eli when he felt Eli gently hold his head and felt Eli’s breath on his ear.

“Don’t move. I will get you out of here safely,” Eli whispered. Gabriel was surprised and just stared at Eli, so he held on to Eli’s waist.

Emmett looked at Eli, who was looking at him, and nodded, understanding Eli’s signal. Emmett closed the case and smiled at the old man, who nodded at him.

Eli stood up and held Gabriel’s hand, who also didn’t want to let go of him. The old man stopped sniffing the prohibited drug when he noticed Eli standing.

“Wait, there are many rooms here. You can’t take my host anywhere,” the old man said. Eli nodded and grinned before quickly pulling out his gun and shooting the old man in the thigh.

Chaos erupted in the VIP room, their companions screamed, and the old man’s men became alert, but before they could draw their guns, Eli mercilessly shot them.

Eli approached the old man and stepped on his injured thigh. The old man let out a muffled scream, and his eyes widened as he looked into Eli’s cold eyes.

It was as if he didn’t recognize the Eli standing in front of him.

“Y-you… Ahhh!” he screamed as Eli stepped on his thigh again, pressing Eli’s foot even harder, causing him to scream loudly once more.

“This is my rule, old man,” Eli grinned and stepped on the old man’s thigh again. “I’m not a patient person. What bothers me is that you would take advantage of an innocent person for your gain. I am different from you, and I know that my world is different from yours,” Eli said with a smirk as he shot the old man’s other thigh, causing him to scream in pain.

Emmett’s grin disappeared, feeling like he had been doused with cold water because the Eli in front of him was entirely different. He swallowed and took a step back, feeling nervous that the police might come after them.

“Eli!” he whispered, calling out to Eli to leave, but it seemed like his friend wasn’t finished. “Fuck!” he muttered, looking around outside as chaos started to erupt because of what Eli had done.

“This is my final warning, old man,” Eli said, turning the gun and tucking it behind him before signaling to Emmett to leave.

Gabriel, still in shock, was being led out of the underground by Eli.

Eli handed his gun to a bouncer, saying, “Clean up the mess and dispose of the gun.” The bouncer nodded and bowed. “Yes, sir.”

They left the underground and headed to his motorcycle. Eli let go of Gabriel, who was still stunned by what had just happened that night.

“Go home,” Eli told Gabriel, handing him some money before getting on his motorcycle with Emmett. He kept glancing back at them.

“Aléjate de este lugar, (Stay away from this place),” Eli added in Spanish.

Gabriel was speechless, still unable to believe that he was involved in what had happened.

Eli sighed and tapped Gabriel’s forehead, causing him to blink and look at Eli, who was grinning at him.

“¡Nos vemos! (See you!)” Eli said as he revved his motor and sped away from the area.

Gabriel watched as Eli and Emmett drove off, clutching his chest as he realized he hadn’t been able to breathe properly for a while now.

He took a deep breath and touched his lips, still feeling the warmth of Eli’s lips. “Oh Dios mío. ¿Qué pasó? (Oh, gosh. What happened?)” he muttered.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK, SIS?”

Tara looked at Carrie, who was silent as they walked towards the mall parking lot.

“Carrie? Am I alone here? Hey!!!”

Carrie blinked and turned to Tara, who was frowning because she hadn’t been listening to Tara’s stories earlier.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about plenty of things,” Carrie said, forcing a smile at Tara. Tara sighed and headed to the back seat to put their shopping bags from the mall.

“Is it Agustin again? We’ll find him eventually. For now, try to focus on yourself while he’s still missing. You’ve been neglecting your life too much,” Tara said as she closed the back seat door and headed to the driver’s seat, glancing back at Carrie. “Why don’t you relax and find a boyfriend? It might help ease your worries,” she added as she got into the driver’s seat, with Carrie following in the passenger seat.

“I noticed you’ve been in a bad mood today. You don’t seem to be enjoying what we’re doing. It’s starting to bother me,” Tara continued.

Carrie paused and took a deep breath before fastening her seat belt. “No, it was fun. I just can’t stop thinking about Agustin and the organization,” she avoided eye contact with Tara. “How can I relax when Agustin is still missing?”

Tara sighed and started the car. “He didn’t go missing, he left. And he blames everyone for our father’s death,” she said, shaking her head. “Yes, I miss him, I miss our brother, and I understand how he feels. What I don’t understand is why he blamed us and left.”

Carrie also shook her head, as she had been asking herself the same question for years. Agustin had not returned to them, and she didn’t know how he was doing.

Carrie leaned back in her seat and looked out the window as they drove back to the mansion. They stopped at a convenience store near the gas station.

They got out of the car, but Carrie chose to wait outside the convenience store.

“I’ll be quick!” Tara said as she hurried inside the store.

Carrie sighed and leaned against the car to wait for Tara. Several minutes passed, but Tara still wasn’t finished, as Carrie noticed her sister still picking snacks. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was already 9 pm, feeling impatient as she swatted at the mosquitoes biting her legs because of Tara’s delay.

She stopped when she heard a noise.

“He’s a man, but he’s beautiful! And you know how to speak Spanish! You must watch Spanish soap operas! Oh! Shit! We might be late for the paradise party!”

“Tsk. Yeah,”

Carrie stopped in her tracks when she heard that voice… It felt like the world stopped, and her heart pounded loudly. She hadn’t heard that voice in years, but she knew exactly who it belonged to.

She turned around and covered her mouth when she recognized the back of one of the two men. Furthermore, she couldn’t be mistaken, she knew that man. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at him…

“Agustin…”

She suddenly sat down and hid when the man looked back where she’s hiding, while covering her mouth with her hand. Then she heard the sound of a motor driving away from the gas station, so she stood up and leaned against the car, panting.

“It’s him…” she whispered, clenching her fist tightly because even though her twin’s appearance had changed, she knew it was Agustin he had seen.

“Sis, sorry! You know how much I like snacks!”

She looked at Tara and grabbed her shoulder. “I have to go somewhere. You go to the mansion first, and I’ll just take a taxi,” Carrie said, hurriedly grabbing her bag and tapping Tara on the shoulder, who looked confused.

“Hey Carrie, where are you going?”

Carrie didn’t look back and hailed a taxi. She quickly got in and glanced back at Tara, who was left behind, looking puzzled.

As the taxi drove away from the gas station, Carrie leaned back and took a deep breath. No matter what, she would return her twin to where it belonged…