Carlos POV
Days turned into weeks, and sleep had become a luxury we barely had. We were so buried in work that going home was almost impossible. Still, at least things were starting to make sense. Piece by piece, the evidence we had gathered over the past few weeks was finally coming together.
"Coffee break," Jenna announced as she walked in, carrying a cardboard tray with four cups.
"Finally… I've been starving," Jam complained as he grabbed his cup first.
"Santiago!" Jenna called out to me.
"Yeah, coming," I replied as I shut down my laptop. Good thing it finally started working again yesterday—I wouldn't have to borrow Jam's anymore.
We decided to rest for a few minutes before diving back into work. But before we could even relax, Luis burst into the room, slightly out of breath, his laptop clutched in his hands.
"Guys, you need to see this," he said as he quickly connected his laptop to the screen. Photos of children appeared—and one of them was Anna.
"I looked into Anna's family background yesterday," Luis explained. "Turns out she hadn't been home for a long time. She was only six years old when she disappeared."
My chest tightened as I did the math in my head. Anna was twenty-six now.
Luis glanced at me, clearly catching my thoughts. "She's been missing for twenty years. Her parents said she vanished while she was still in elementary school. They had already lost hope of ever seeing her again." He paused before adding, "And I found out that all the women who were murdered in this case also disappeared from their families twenty years ago."
"What does that mean?" Jenna asked.
I was thinking the same thing. Why did they all vanish at the same time? Unless—
"Kidnapping," Luis said quietly, voicing what we were all thinking.
"Are you sure?" Jam asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Jenna shot back, making Jam fall silent. "But we still need stronger proof that they were actually kidnapped," Luis added.
Luis continued showing us the photos of the victims. I froze when I saw one familiar image.
"That's the child, right?" Jenna asked.
I nodded. "Talk to her again, Santiago," she said firmly. "She's our only key to this case now."
I swallowed hard and nodded.
After that meeting, my head throbbed even more. I knew this wasn't just one case anymore. Sexual assault, syndicates, kidnapping—they were all connected. And just thinking about it made my head ache.
That night, on my way home, I stopped by a night market to buy a few things for my fridge. That's when I noticed a child hiding behind a trash bin. I approached her—and froze when I recognized her.
"Mina?" I asked in shock.
She was about to speak when a car passed by, and she quickly hid again. After a moment, she peeked out, checking if the car was gone.
"What's wrong? And… what are you doing out here at this hour?" I asked gently.
"Please help me… they're chasing me," she said, crying.
I helped her stand and looked for somewhere safe. We ended up in a coffee shop, where I bought her something to eat.
"What happened?" I asked later.
She just looked at me and went back to eating her cake.
I sighed. "Why are they chasing you? Who are they?" I asked again, but she stayed silent.
I decided to wait until she finished eating.
"Can you talk to me now?" I asked.
She looked at me—but still said nothing.
"Mina… I'm on your side. If you want my help, you have to tell me what's going on," I said softly.
Still nothing.
I took a deep breath. The coffee shop was big, and we were sitting in the far corner. Hardly anyone could see us.
"Mina… you know Ate Anna, right?"
That finally got her attention. She slowly looked up at me.
"Do you know what happened to her?" I asked.
Her gaze dropped again.
"Mina… I need your help," I said. I could see fear and hesitation in her eyes.
"Please," I continued. "You have to help us."
She looked away.
"Please take me back," she whispered.
I inhaled deeply. "Tell me… were you kidnapped by the people you call your parents now?" I asked carefully.
Her fear was unmistakable. That was when I knew—something was very wrong.
"Please don't hurt them," she said, her voice shaking as tears streamed down her face. "They didn't do anything wrong."
"Mina," I said gently, "just tell me everything. I promise I'll help you."
But she only cried harder.
"Please don't take them away from me. I don't want to be separated from them," she sobbed.
I took out my handkerchief and wiped her tears.
"I won't take you away from them," I reassured her. "Let's do this instead—don't cry. We won't talk about that. Just tell me who's chasing you and why, so I can protect you."
She went quiet for a moment… then finally spoke.
"I ran away from home," she said.
"What? Why?" I asked, surprised.
"Because… they were going to give me away again. I don't want that. I just want to stay with Mama," she cried.
"Give you away? What do you mean?" I asked.
She hesitated—but then continued.
"They said an old man was going to buy me. That I had to go with them."
"Buy you?" I repeated, stunned.
She looked at me with tear-filled eyes. "Kuya police… please help me. I don't want to go with that old man."
I held her hands, making sure she felt I was on her side.
"Mina… I'll do everything I can to help you," I promised. "But I need you to help me too. Do we understand each other?"
She stared at me for a few seconds—then slowly nodded.