Bab. 20. Kidnap.

Elsewhere, Jeremy was bowing his head, thanking the woman who had been his guardian during the flight from the Netherlands to Washington, United States. Even though they were only together for a few hours, the woman's help meant a lot to him.

"Are you sure you don't want Auntie to accompany you? You said this is your first time coming here. Do you already know where your dad is?" the woman asked, worried.

Jeremy nodded confidently. "I'm sure. Besides, Auntie has helped more than enough. I also already know where my dad is."

"This is for Auntie," he continued, giving some chocolates and candies to the woman who had helped him. A sincere gesture as a sign of gratitude and repayment, even though it wasn't much.

"Alright then, be careful. And if you feel like something is strange, like someone is following you or has bad intentions, don't forget to shout and immediately report it to the police. Understand?" the woman reminded him with a caring voice.

"Understood, Captain," Jeremy replied with a small smile. "Then, I'll take my leave. See you."

The woman nodded and waved with a warm smile, watching Jeremy walk towards the destiny that awaited him, while feelings of worry and hope followed the boy's footsteps as he walked further away.

Upon arriving at the address, Jeremy stopped for a moment and caught his breath. His eyes gazed at the tall and magnificent building in front of him.

"So, this is where Papa works?" Jeremy murmured, admiring his father's workplace, while holding a piece of paper with the address where he was standing now. Only that address was known to him, besides the information he had obtained from the internet and some important documents belonging to his Mom. It was from there that Jeremy found a clue about a man named Azka Xavier, who was most likely his biological father.

"Why is it so crowded?" Jeremy murmured, tiptoeing trying to see what was happening behind the crowd of people.

In front of the building, dozens of people crowded the yard. They carried cameras, microphones, and live broadcast vehicles. The noisy sound full of questions filled the air.

"Mr. Azka, is it true that the photo of the child on social media is your son?"

"Ten years ago you stated that you were once married, but your wife suddenly disappeared. Is this related?"

"Will you be doing a DNA test?"

Occasionally the reporters fell silent for a moment, mesmerized by Azka's handsomeness, which seemed to have returned to what it was ten years ago. A few days earlier, he still appeared with a thin mustache and beard. However, now the handsome man's face was clean-shaven and looked younger, with the same charisma.

Azka looked at the reporters lazily. There was always something in the spotlight. Even though the post had only gone viral a few hours ago, and these reporters had already come swarming like this.

"I don't know for sure who that child is. And please give me some space," Azka said briefly while combing his hair back with his hand.

"That's him!" Jeremy shouted from the back of the crowd. His eyes widened when he saw Azka directly.

"Excuse me! Please let me through! I have to meet him!" Jeremy shouted, trying to push through the crowd of large adult bodies around him.

"Papa!" Jeremy shouted loudly.

Azka turned his head, his forehead furrowed. It was like hearing something, but he only saw a sea of annoying reporters.

Before Jeremy had a chance to move further, his body suddenly felt light. His vision began to blur after his mouth was covered by something.

"I have to meet him, at least once," Jeremy whispered.

Jeremy's body hit the car seat hard. He winced, confused, followed by the sound of the car door closing loudly.

"Why did we have to kidnap him too? Didn't Azka say earlier that he doesn't know who this kid is?" grumbled a man in the front seat.

His friend who was driving the car just shrugged both shoulders.

"The boss just told us to take the kid. Whoever he is, and even if the kid is really part of the Xavier family, then this will be a big advantage for us!"

Jeremy growled, trying to stay conscious, but his body was very weak at the moment.

"If you want to stay alive, you'd better just sleep," said the man who had grumbled earlier, while covering Jeremy's mouth with a cloth with a sharp scent.

Some time had passed since the incident that shocked the Xavier family, namely the emergence of a young boy who went viral on social media because his face looked very similar to Azka's when he was a child. All family members, including personal security and the information retrieval team, had been deployed to search for the child throughout America. However, the results obtained were nil.

The woman who first posted the child's photo and had been his guardian during the trip from the Netherlands to Washington also didn't help much. She only explained that the child left on his own, with a strong conviction to meet his father.

"Are you sure he didn't give any other clues at all?" asked Dominic, Azka's second brother, from the phone screen.

Azka shook his head slowly. "None. We've even tracked airport CCTV, terminals, and various points the child might have passed through, but his trail seems to have vanished into thin air."

"We still haven't found the woman he had a one-night stand with, even though it's been ten years. So, how can he possibly find that child now?" his mom interjected irritably as she passed by. She felt disappointed because her youngest son still hadn't shown any results from his search, both for the woman he had spent the night with and for the child who looked so much like Azka. Even though she had hoped to have a new grandchild and daughter-in-law.

"Mom, Azka has been trying to find them. Why do you have to be like that?" Azka asked, looking at his mom annoyed. Even though he had been trying hard all this time.

Madeline, who was about to eat a snack, stopped and sighed. "If you were really looking for her, you should have found her a long time ago, Azka."

Azka felt even more annoyed. It was as if his mom no longer cared about him.

Elsewhere, in a warm cream-colored room, a little boy hugged his favorite robot doll while sitting next to Dominic. His face looked sullen.

"So... I'm not going to have a new older brother, Uncle Azka?" the boy asked in a soft voice. He was Aldiano, the son of Dominic and Ellaina, a couple who had been married for eight years.

Azka smiled thinly. "He's not necessarily your older brother, Aldiano. Maybe he's just playing hide-and-seek right now."

Aldiano pouted his lips at his uncle's words. "But I've already prepared a new room for him. I've also picked out some of the best toys that I'm going to give him..."

Dominic patted his son's head gently. "Don't be sad. If he really is your older brother, sooner or later he will definitely be found."

Azka smiled thinly again, letting his mind wander. For some reason, a feeling of guilt began to grow in his heart.