I Kidnapped My Mommy (ON HIATUS)

4 - Little Boss

At once, the young lord regained his confidence and smirked as he leaned against the wall and put his hands inside his front pockets. "I'm not quite as incompetent as you, father. I did not only manage to find Mommy but I also arranged for her to be part of the delegation to the training that will be held here in our hotel in New York while you are here on a business trip and have to bring me along to be familiar with our international businesses as suggested by my tutors." The little boy grinned after gloating. 

Annoyed, Rien glared at his son with a steely gaze that often told the boy that he was not playing his childish games anymore. "Tell me everything you know about Milena and how you got her here or I will fire all your accomplices who now have questionable loyalty, shut down your tech lab at home, freeze all your bank cards and lock you up in the manor." When the seigneur spoke, his voice was deep and clear which had all those who heard him tremble in their hearts including his usually fearless son. 

In another unusual display of childishness, the young lord pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Evil Daddy," he mumbled. Like him, his father knew exactly how to threaten him and spared no chance to flex his power over him. Because even though he is a very talented boy with a genius IQ, he is still just a child and needed his father's wealth, the help of technology and the people who are loyal to him to do what he wants like locating, stalking and kidnapping his Mommy. 

"Still mumbling rubbish?" His father scowled. 

"I…" Aric sighed and decided there was no use to argue with his father. "I said she's not Milena anymore. Her name is Mia." The boy raised his head and looked at the seigneur who didn't say anything. "But she is my Mommy. Your wife. I got our DNAs tested two weeks ago."

"Two…" Rien opened his mouth in disbelief as he glared at his son. "Two weeks? H-how long have you found her? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I found her three months ago and confirmed her identity a month later. I sent a couple of bodyguards to secretly follow and protect her while I carefully planned how to approach her discreetly." Aric calmly narrated like a little boss then looked up to his father's eyes. "It took me less than a year what you couldn't do in three years. Somehow, I had doubts about you actually wanting to find my Mommy at all." Aric shrugged, not knowing what his last sentence made his father feel. 

"You!" Rien shivered as a sharp pain pierced through his heart and slowly filled it with all the rage and frustration he felt over the years of empty searches. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white and his short nails dug into his palms. He raised his fist and forcefully launched it forward. 

Aric closed his eyes but kept his chin up to bravely meet the punch but it didn't hit his face. A loud bang almost deafened his right ear as his father's fist hit the wall behind him. When he opened his eyes, he was frightened by the bloodshot eyes of the seigneur who still trembled with overwhelming emotion.

"You. Have no idea what you're talking about." Rien snarled as he stared at his son. 

Aric's eyes widened in fear but he still tried hard not to let this show. He has never seen his father so angry before even when he intentionally acted unreasonable and caused him trouble which even cost him millions in the past but one question about his sincerity to his wife turned him into this terrible state. 

"M-my lord…" Mister Samuel who had helped raise Rien with his parents was the only brave soul to speak and step forward to stand between father and son. "Perhaps the young lord…" 

"The young lord knows nothing! You all know nothing!" Rien growled and everyone who heard felt a horrible chill in their bones. No one dared to speak or move after that and for a few seconds there was nothing in the air but icy silence.

"Daddy…" Aric finally regained his confidence and spoke. "I wasn't done talking." His pitch was higher when he spoke and his voice slightly trembled but his calm and proud face effectively masked any fear he felt. He also acknowledged his mistake of doubting his own father but would not apologize for it. 

His father opened his mouth to scold him but didn't. Instead, he scoffed softly as all his negative emotions dissipated. He knew exactly what his son was thinking. He stepped back and looked at his son with a much calmer look. "Alright. Speak."

Aric took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders as he nodded. He then snapped his fingers and one of his bodyguards immediately came forward with a tablet pc in hand. The young lord took it and gave it to Rien. "I prepared all these files for you, Daddy. I meant to give them to you once I proved that you are worthy of my Mommy."

Rien quickly snatched the tablet from the little boy's hand and glared at him. "How can I not be worthy of my own wife? Of course I am. She's MY WIFE. Will you even be here if I wasn't worthy of her? Are you even my son?" He scoffed. 

"Of course I'm your son. How else could I be so cunning and arrogant?" Aric mocked. 

"You little…" The seigneur gritted his teeth to stop himself from blurting out any more senseless words and turned his attention to the tablet in his hand instead. 

With a smirk, Aric watched his father scroll through the files and spoke, "These are all the information I gathered during my search for Mommy and while I watched her secretly. Like I told you, her name now is Mia Manuel. Single. She has no boyfriend and she's not dating anyone. For now." Aric let his words linger as his eyes drift to his father who froze after hearing those two words. Rien didn't say a word but his stern eyes asked his question. The little boy shrugged. "I'm just saying there is no shortage of pursuers for my lovely Mommy. You have quite a list of rivals, Daddy."

Rien sneered. "Who said they're my rivals? They're just pests that can be easily trampled." The seigneur looked at his son irately. "Stop mentioning irrelevant things and continue with the facts." He ordered. 

"Those are facts. Don't say I didn't warn you." Aric mumbled and received a cold warning glare from his father. The young lord shrugged and continued. "Mommy lives with her parents. She doesn't remember anything from her past with us but based on her conversations with the people around her, it seems like she has a complete memory of her life with her parents since childhood which was odd. That also made me question if she was really my Mommy Milena even though she looked exactly like the pictures in the manor. When I confirmed that she is my Mommy, I started to look deeper into the parents she lives with now and…"

"Impossible!" Rien whispered as he saw the information about Mia's parents. 

"They are her biological parents." Aric finished his sentence just as his father looked at him.

"How can that be possible?" The seigneur asked his son but his eyes turned to Mister Samuel who looked as surprised as he was. They were both reminded of a sad and dark past that they didn't want to look back to. 

"I haven't figured that out yet. From your stories, my maternal grandparents should've been dead for over 20 years. The reason why the Fernandez family was able to expand their territory was because they were named custodians of the Manuel's estate and guardian of the daughter they left behind and yet here they are alive and reunited with their only child. Which also made me understand your difficulties in your search for Mommy." Aric said as he rubbed his chin in deep thought. 

Rien looked at his son and nodded. "This whole situation wasn't as simple as it seemed to begin with. Milena's parents being alive and living in hiding, the accident three years ago, my search for Milena being blocked, her reunion with her parents, are all connected. Whoever is behind this will not be easy to deal with."

"You're right, Daddy." Aric, in a very rare occasion, agreed with his father. "Could it be my grandparents?"

The seigneur sighed and shook his head. "No. I don't think it's them but I believe they were given good motivation to be part of the conspiracy. We still can't trust them completely but I think we can use them to find out who's behind all these?"

"What do you mean, Daddy?" Aric was smart but what his father said confused him.