* * *
"How are you, Sweetheart? Does your hand still hurt?" Laura asked softly. With Diane taking care of Luangmin, she focused her attention on Lan as Mo Chendong carried the eight year old. She softly looked at Lan and her heart felt pained seeing the bandages wrapped around the young boy's wrists and ankles.
"I'm fine, Grandma," Lan replied sweetly, wrapping his arms around his grandfather. Truth be told, he didn't know what had happened. He woke up earlier and he already had wounds on his body that hurt. The last thing he remembered before waking was helping an uncle at the toilet in his school before he suddenly fainted and now woke up in the hospital. He asked what had happened but no one told him the truth, they just told him that he fainted and they brought him to the hospital.
Lan was still young but he wasn't that naïve, he understood that his grandmother and grandfather were lying to him because he knew that fainting wouldn't give him wounds on his wrist and ankle. Additionally, he noticed the way he had been treated since he had woken up was different. He also couldn't ignore the sad expressions on the adults inside the room. It might be because his uncle Daniel is in the hospital bed again, but Lan knew there was more to it than what was on the surface.
"Your parents will be here soon," Laura said again, brushing Lan's hair. A soft but sad expression remained on her face, making Lan wonder why, but hearing this information, his adorable face frowned. His parents are supposed to be having fun. Why are they coming back now?
"Why? Aren't they on vacation?" Lan asked, confused. He knew his parents were supposed to come back a week later.
"Well, they said they already had so much fun. Now, they missed you so much," Laura replied. The reason why they kept the fact from Lan that he was kidnapped was because they were afraid that it would have a negative effect on the child's emotional condition. Even though he didn't remember anything, there are so many other references where Lan could know how it was to be kidnapped, like in books or movies that could cause him to develop depression and other mental disorders.
Lan is smart and very observant but with his very young mind Laura and Mo Chendong decided to keep this from him for now. They wouldn't want to plant fear in the child's heart, they wanted him to grow up normally, where he could run around outside without being terrified.
"Is it because I fainted?" Lan muttered softly, slightly blaming himself. Of course, he missed his parents too and he wanted to see them, but he couldn't shake off the thought that his parents' vacation might have been spoiled because of him.
"What? Of course not, Sweetheart," Laura abruptly replied, holding Lan's arm softy. "Don't say that. Your parents simply missed you so much that they're coming back early. They told me they already had a lot of fun, so they wanted to have fun with you too," Laura lied, assuring Lan.
"Really?" Lan asked, slightly convinced because he knew how much his mother would miss him since they had never been separated this long.
"I've talked to your father. They said they'll spend the rest of their vacation with you here," Mo Chendong added. Hanlu didn't say that actually, but it was easy to make that happen. He doubted Hanlu and Ian would leave Lan's side now.
Laura and Mo Chendong talked to Lan more, making sure the child gets distracted from blaming himself, when suddenly they heard silent sobs. It didn't take three seconds for all of them to realize that it was Daniel who was crying. George and Ronald, who were the closest to Daniel, were the first ones to approach.
"Daniel, w-what is it? Are you hurting somewhere?" George asked worriedly, not knowing where to touch his son as he panicked, seeing the huge droplets of tears from Daniel's eyes. Daniel didn't respond quickly and just covered his face with his palms. Everything that happened, everything sunk in his mind and the answer it gave him broke his heart. It all made sense now, why Laotian said that day that he wasn't a good man, that he was a bad guy. He thought the Alpha was cheating but it wasn't that.
When Daniel talked to the kidnapper, he wasn't able to believe it. He loves Laotian so dearly, and of course he wouldn't accept anyone who would talk bad about him, but now it all made sense. There were rumours, but since Laotian never told him anything, he thought it was a lie. He believed there was no lie between him and Laotian, so he trusted him fully. But now, a young child was harmed, even their son was almost harmed.
"L-Lan?" Daniel said between his sobs. He didn't know that Lan is now safe and sound.
"Darling, he's here. He's here," Laura quickly said as Mo Chendong walked to show him Lan. Diane, who was holding Luangmin, also walked towards them to show him that Luangmin was fine as well.
"I-I'm sorry…" After seeing Lan, Daniel was relieved but when his eyes landed on the bandages the little boy had on his arms and legs, Daniel burst in tears again as he apologized.
"I-I'm so sorry…" Daniel repeated, this time he sat up with the help of George.
"Why is Uncle apologizing? Uncle didn't do anything bad," Lan said in confusion, looking at the bawling Daniel. Mo Chendong let him down so he walked near Daniel and later held Daniel's hand, feeling like he should comfort the Omega.
"I-I *sobs* couldn't p-protect *sobs* you *sobs* a-and Minmin," Daniel said between his sobs, his words weren't very clear for Lan to understand but the little boy remained holding Daniel's hand.
"It's okay, Uncle," Lan said with a gentle smile, making Daniel unable to say anything as he just continued to cry. At the same time, Luangmin was just about to fall asleep again, but he easily woke up hearing Daniel. The moment he saw his mother crying, his tears suddenly started flowing as well until he cried too, joining the Omega. The rest of the group who watched them weren't able to do anything but sigh helplessly.
"I'll go call the doctor," Tian Zi said, scratching his back. He wasn't really fond of hearing people cry, so he decided to escape the room and hopefully when he comes back later, no one is crying anymore.
* * *
The next day.
Arriving at the airport together, Hanlu and Ian walked out of the arrivals area and straight to their service. They held hands without talking, however even without words both of them knew how worried they were. Neither of them could comfort each other because they didn't know the situation well enough. They couldn't simply let out words like "everything will be fine", that "Lan was fine".
"We'll arrive soon, we can see him then," Hanlu said, trying to ease the tension. Although Ian wasn't saying anything, Hanlu knew the Omega might have thought this was his fault. It was his idea to listen to Lan's request, saying the child will be fine with his parents. The Omega might have also blamed himself for even agreeing in the beginning and then now this happened.
Receiving no reply, not even a simple nod, Hanlu sighed in defeat before he tightened his hold on Ian's hand. "This was my fault," Hanlu said and as soon as Ian heard it, he twitched a little before he looked at the Alpha, his eyes filled with sadness.
"I-I'm sorry… neither of us is at fault, Luu... Don't worry, I'm not blaming anyone," Ian said as he shifted his position to lean on Hanlu's shoulder. He was neither lying nor telling the truth. It was true that he didn't blame Hanlu, but it is a lie that he didn't blame himself. Back then he should have just stood his ground and brought Lan to France, whether he liked it or not. At least that way, none of this would have happened.
"But you look like you're blaming yourself," Hanlu said, making Ian unable to retaliate. With what had happened to their son, he didn't have the energy to even argue. Ian pulled away from Hanlu and later looked down before uttering "I'm sorry,"
"Please, don't be. Anyway, my mistake is to start this conversation, I'll shut up now," Hanlu apologized, earning a soft chuckle from Ian.
"That's probably for the best," Ian said. Their ride continued with the two choosing to stay silent until they finally arrived at Michael C. Hospital. Last night, after Daniel was given the go signal, he was then transferred to the hospital he was previously admitted to and was put into intensive care immediately, just to stabilize the twins in his stomach. Lan and Luangmin on the other hand were already discharged, because they had little to no injury. But since Daniel's mental and emotional state requires him to be with the two children, both Lan and Luangmin were currently staying in the same room as Daniel.
Stepping out of their car, Hanlu immediately saw Tian Zi waiting outside. When the young Alpha found him with Ian, he quickly walked towards them.
"How is he?" Hanlu asked the moment Tian Zi was three meters away from them.
"He's fine. Just light rope burn and bruising on his wrists and ankle. He doesn't remember anything, so he didn't develop a trauma," Tian Zi replied, briefly hugging Hanlu as a greeting. Hearing the good news, Hanlu and Ian were slightly put at ease.
"And the investigation?" Ian asked this time. They started walking towards the building.
"Tracing him was trickier than we thought, his escape was flawless, no CCTV, no witnesses, and even no DNA. The car he used was stolen from someone unrelated, the cell phone he used belonged to Lan, and the equipment he used in his explosive was too general to trace where he bought it," Tian Zi replied, frustratingly. It was clear that the man was prepared and made sure he wouldn't leave any traces. They only have one clue and that was when the kidnapper said that Mo Hanlu and Mo Laotian ruined his life.
"Who's handling the process?" Hearing Tian Zi's reply, Ian frowned. He didn't believe an amateur kidnapper wouldn't leave a trace behind. Even some of the professionals leave traces.
"Dad's people are skilled. If they found nothing, it's safe to say we aren't dealing with a simple kidnapper," Hanlu said, knowing that Ian doubted the result.
"We only have one clue…" Tian Zi said. He's not included in the process of investigation because he had an on-going investigation he was doing himself. He just finished recently and his finding was quite a shock. His suspicion was right, but it was not the right time to share it. He'll wait until Mo Laotian arrives.
"What is it?"
"He had deep resentment for both Older brother and Eldest Brother." Tian Zi said, looking at Hanlu. The moment Ian heard it he gasped closing his eyes. He knew from the very beginning that revealing Lan's identity to the public will bring unnecessary harm to the child. Aside from greedy people who would do anything for money, there are those that Hanlu and Mo Laotian had made enemies with who wanted revenge.
Meanwhile, also hearing Tian Zi loud and clear, Hanlu's eyes suddenly turned wild, like it could kill someone just from looking at it. The air around him turned cold and frigid, as if it aimed to suffocate people around him, making both Ian and Tian Zi alarmed. Ian especially had never seen Hanlu so angry before. The Alpha always wore the warmest smiles in front of him, despite his provocations, Hanlu never really got angry, But seeing him now, Ian knew there was more to Hanlu than what was in front of him and he was stunned. Only one thing came to his mind, 'I married a dangerous man.'
"I'm going to fucking tear him apart when I find him," Hanlu whispered dangerously, his emotions taking him over. How dare he touch his precious son! This man is definitely digging a ten meters deep grave for himself.