Twisted Web of Truths

Chapter Ten

The hum of an engine drove her to a maddeningly calm silence. Her eyes blink a few times, adjusting to the scenery that passes by. Here she is in the city so far away, chasing a ghost amid living creatures.

The driver glances at her a few too many times until she had to fully glare at him. She was supposed to meet them at the airport but somehow, they got things to take care of first.

"Zdachi ne treba." She says, throwing a hundred note at the driver as he parked on the side of the park. She was out faster than a blink of an eye. Her eyes search the area, trying to see familiar faces. Her brows scrunched in a displeased manner. And then, she found them, sitting in one of those park benches with their black jackets. They caught sight of her as she came over.

"Marshall. Oakks." She greets them both. "It's been a while."

The brunet nods his head in acknowledgment while the one with a small afro lets a smile slip out. "And the plan?"

A smile she didn't know she's been holding breaks out of her façade. "Perfect."

*****

"Hey," His father says to him as he opens the door to their room. He surveys the room and stops at Ethan's waiting gaze from the bed.

The place that he had laid for the past twenty minutes or so, clutching that golden bracelet. Upon seeing his father, he hurriedly shoved the bracelet under his blanket. His father already had enough on his plate and this wouldn't help the case.

Levi's eyes narrowed at that slightest movement. "What's that?"

"Nothing." His answer came quickly.

Levi raises a brow. He opens his mouth but Cole's obnoxious snore fills the air, growing louder by second as if his consciousness knows his father is there. Levi turns his head to his other son.

"I'm sorry. I know I said fifteen minutes, but there was a huge traffic jam back in the city." Levi tries to reason.

"It's alright, dad." Ethan tries to reassure him.

"What's this about you fainting?" Levi says after a while. His brows creased in concern. He takes a seat at the edge of Ethan's bed.

"I... I don't know." He shrugs, slowly lowering his eyes. "But I think I saw a memory."

Levi's eyes widen. "This is great, son. This is great. What did you see?"

Hesitantly, Ethan starts by telling him the man who was behind the kidnapping of his parents. All of the man's features are well described that he could draw them himself—if only he had the talent. Especially the man's recognizable green eyes, who still haunt the back of his mind.

"My..." Ethan trails down, not sure how to address an unfamiliar yet familiar man. His father's face still visible in his mind, not in the best way he had hoped for. He swallows his unspoken words and steadied his voice. Strange how he's talking about his birth father in front of his father. "My father refers to him as Adrian."

"Adrian," Levi mumbles, eyes staring far ahead. He clenches his teeth as something flashes behind his brown eyes. "Was there anything else? Anything? This is serious, son. We could finally bring an end to this case."

Wordlessly, he shakes his head. It was a small slip of memory and it already did give them clues. Lots of them. But deep down, he knows it won't be enough. Somehow it won't bring his parents back to him. It won't give him the memories he desperately wanted.