The day ended on a happy note. They drove back to the hospital to drop Ares off. Along the way, Ares was quiet while Maya and Elias never spoke about the incident at the mall. Well, at least not in front of her.
They walked Ares to her room and left after saying their goodbyes.
Ares stood in front of her door watching their backs as they left. Only when their figures disappeared in the distance did she go inside her room. In her hands she carried the large shopping bags she received as a gift from Maya.
The day was coming to an end as the sun started to set. The strong smell of alcohol lingered in the air as the cold air brushed against her skin. She glanced around her room. It was cold and empty but there was warmth in her chest.
She placed the bags on her bed and took out one of the dresses. Her fingers caressed the soft fabric of the dress and brought the dress to her nose. She had a lot of 'first-time' experiences today. She had her first time in a diner, first time eating delicious food, first time going to a mall, first time dressing up, first time running into a gang of gangsters... Okay, so maybe being surrounded by gangsters wasn't a good 'first-time' experience. But there was a first time for everything.
She slept that night with the dress in her arms, happy to receive a gift for the first time.
The Cross family drove back to their house with no clue that their little gesture to take her out meant a lot to her, how much it meant to her to be out in the world and to have them to keep her company.
They only knew that they made the right decision to take Ares out for an outing. It seemed to them that Ares prefers to talk to people around her age or anyone underage.
With this information, they felt that they were one step closer to her than they were before. Elias went to his room after bidding his parents good night and Maya and her husband did the same. Maya slipped into her nightgown after bathing and Detective Cross followed after her.
"What's wrong?" Detective Cross looked at his wife's dazed expression and knew right away that something was bothering her.
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong," Maya replied.
"Honey, I know that look. You always make that look when something is bothering you. So, tell me what's wrong," he asked once again, showing no sign of backing down.
"Sigh! I really can't hide anything from you can I."
"I would hope so… Since I am your husband. Now stop trying to change the subject."
Maya sighed once again and started, "Something happened when you left with that photographer."
"What happened?" Detective Cross asked with a serious face. After being married for 20 years, he knew his wife better than he knew himself so when she said that something happened after he left, he knew that it was about something urgent.
"We ran into gangsters when we left the department store," Maya thought back to when they were surrounded by those unlawful men and her face became unpleasant.
Maya didn't finish explaining but hearing just that was enough to make his expression turn dark. He clenched his fists, feeling rage rise in his chest.
"Then what happened after?" Detective Cross forced the words out through gritted teeth, trying to keep himself from going mad.
"They wanted to take Ares. They wanted to take her away to-to-to," Maya couldn't bring herself to say but Detective Cross knew what she was going to say. The veins on his arms bulged as his fists tightened.
'Those f*cking bastards! They dare to lay their hands on Ares! Wait till I get my hands on them!' Detective Cross thought.
He wanted to fly into a rage, but he kept himself in check when he saw the helplessness in his wife's eyes.
He took her small frame into his arms and stroked her hair to calm her, "Shshshsh, it's okay. You don't have to say it. I know. I know."
They stayed like that for a while until Maya finally calmed down. It wasn't easy for her to explain what happened, but she had to. She needed to let her husband know exactly what happened, for Ares's sake.
"We were surrounded and one of them reached out to grab my wrist b-"
"They touched you?!" He cut her off. His face turned red with anger while the air around him shifted. There was killing intent exuding from him. What she said had struck a nerve and he couldn't hold it back anymore.
"They almost did but Ares slapped his hand away. She protected me," Maya said in bafflement.
Even up till now, she didn't understand why Ares protected her. Logically speaking, Ares should be the most frightened one among the three of them. But instead of being overcome with trauma, she protected her and placed herself in danger.
After being tortured and locked up like an animal, how could she still be strong? Just, how?
"After everything she experienced before the fire, she protected me." Tears welled up in the corners of Maya's eyes as she uttered.
She took deep breaths and focused on breathing slowly and calmly to hold back her tears. It was only after she kept her feelings under control did she continue.
"Then she told me and Elias to wait in an ice cream parlor right across from the department store. I disagreed at first, but Ares insisted, and Elias complied. We left her there and much to my surprise, they didn't stop us from leaving. We watched from a distance to make sure they didn't lay a hand on her but then the weirdest thing happened… Out of nowhere, they kneeled then not too long after they ran away like there was a tiger, hot on their trail."
At last, Maya finished explaining and Detective Cross remained silent, processing what Maya had just said. He was relieved that nothing happened to them. However, it was nonsensical for the gangsters to kneel without reason and then run away. Did something scare them off? Or maybe someone.
"I promise I'll look into it first thing tomorrow morning," he spoke up after a long pause. There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask her, but he decided to check it out himself.
"I'll hold you to that."
"Sleep," Detective Cross softly whispered into Maya's ear. He laid down right beside her and wrapped his arms around her with her back facing him.
"Goodnight." Maya started dozing off.
The next day Maya had to go to work, so she couldn't visit Ares. While Detective Cross had to keep his promise, he went back to the mall and took Elias along for the ride. It wasn't long before they arrived at the mall, and they started making their way toward the Surveillance Room.
Elias was quiet the whole ride, but his mind was filled with thoughts about the incident from the day before. As they walked towards the entrance, Elias couldn't hold it in anymore and finally asked the question that's been on his mind, "Did mom tell you?" Elias walked at his father's side, intently watching his side profile as he waited for his answer.
"She did," Detective Cross simply answered. His expression tightened, thinking back on what Maya told him.
"You have to catch them," Elias said after a pause and looked at his father with a meaningful gaze.
Only God knows how much Elias hated that group of gangsters, how much he hated himself for being weak. 'This will be the last time,' he swore.
Detective Cross secretly glanced at Elias from the corner of his eye with a thoughtful manner.
He knew his son very well. Elias was a simple person even as a child he would prefer to spend his day doing the things he liked. It was this personality of his that caused Detective Cross to worry for his future.
However, looking at him now, he discovered something different about him.
When he returned to the car after getting rid of that photographer, he noticed the awkward atmosphere. But that wasn't the only thing he noticed.
There was a vast change in Elias's gaze.
He didn't understand what it meant back then but now he saw it plain as day. He wanted to grow stronger. Strong enough to protect the people he loves and, unconsciously, Ares has become one of the people he cared about. A knowing smile appeared on his face with his gaze still on Elias. His son has finally matured, and he was sure it was all because of Ares.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure they won't see the light of day." A dark glint flashed in his eyes for a second then disappeared the next. They dared to try and lay their filthy hands on his wife and Ares. If he doesn't catch those bastards, he won't be able to call himself her husband.
Soon, they arrived right outside the surveillance room and heard voices coming from inside.
"Are we here to get the recording from yesterday?"
"Not bad… You'd make a hell of a detective with that brain of yours," Detective Cross complimented.
On the surface, Elias's expression remained the same, but his heart raced when his father complimented him. Before meeting Ares, his dream was to become a music producer. Music was his haven, his world. But after yesterday, he started reevaluating what he wants to do in the future. It was only now that the idea of becoming a detective came to mind after hearing his father's compliment. While Elias was lost in his thoughts, Detective Cross went ahead and entered the surveillance room.
"Sir, you're not supposed to be here!" One of the security men came up to Detective Cross when he heard the door pushed open.
The sound of the security man's voice brought Elias back from his train of thoughts. He quickly made his way to stand at his father's side. He made himself scarce while watching his dad acquire the footage of the incident with just the show of his badge.
They readily handed over a copy of the footage with questions asked. It didn't even take them an hour and they left the mall as fast as they entered.
"What now?" Elias asked, getting into the car.
"Now we're going to go to grandma's for lunch."
It was close to lunchtime so Detective Cross decided to head over to the diner and Elias agreed.
"Now that you have the video, are you going to figure out who they are?"
"Yeah, but it might take a while. I need a clear capture of every single one of their faces, enough to use facial recognition software," he patiently explained.
"Why don't you send it to Liam? You know, to expedite the results."
At the same time, Elias finished speaking, Detective Cross's phone rang, making him unable to reply to Elias's question.
"Speak of the devil," Detective Cross spoke softly when he saw the caller ID. "Hey, I was just about to call... I have footage that I-"
"You need to get your ass over here, ASAP," Liam cut him off, sounding uneasy.
"Why? What's going on?" Detective Cross's brows furrowed.
"I don't know... They're Captain's orders. Just get over here as fast as you can before he starts talking about his war story again!" Liam said before ending the call.
"Something wrong?" Elias noticed his father wearing a troubled expression.
"No. Nothing… I just need to make a quick stop at my work before we go to grandma's."
Detective Cross rerouted and directly drove to the station.
"Stay in the car… It'll only take a few minutes," he instructed Elias before alighting the car.
The first thing he saw when he walked through the door was his partner, Liam, waiting for him.
"Man, what the hell is going on?" He questioned, never once stopping and Liam walked by his side, matching his pace.
"I have no idea. He only said he wanted to talk to both of us… You have been MIA these past few weeks, where the hell have you been? What were you doing?"
"Long story short, I was with Ares."
"Why are you so invested in her, James? You're never like this with other cases similar to this."
Liam knew how James was when it comes to cases involving child abuse or children, period. But his behavior during this case was different. He became more erratic. Like a moth drawn to a flame, he continues to approach her, not knowing when to give up and it could affect his health. He was getting too close to this case and taking it too personally that it was ethically inappropriate.
He knew about it but never said a word and he was starting to believe that it might be the reason why the chief wanted to talk to them.
"I'm not 'invested' in her. I just-" Detective Cross couldn't find a reason behind his actions when he thought about it. "-I don't know."
Liam didn't continue to press him for answers when they arrived at the captain's office. The door was closed but half of the door was translucent glass, so they could make out a faint silhouette of a man.
Knock! Knock!
Detective Cross mildly banged on the door, notifying his presence.
"Come in!" A strong, resounding voice came from inside the office.
"Captain, Chase said you wanted to talk to us," Detective Cross said, looking at the man in his late forties sitting behind the desk.
"Yes. Come in, the both of you… Close the door and take a seat," his Captain ordered.
Detective Cross entered the office with Liam in tow. He closed the door behind him before he took a seat beside Detective Cross.
"I called you both here because I want you two to work on a drug case involving the Galante crime family. These are all the files on the case." He signaled at a file box placed on the side of the desk.
"But Captain, we are already working on a case," he argued.
"Not anymore. The Cox case is closed. Their death was an accident, and the girl will be handed over to Child Protective Services. What happened to her was unfortunate but that's all it is."
"With all due respect Captain, it's not all it is," Detective Cross disagreed. "Chase ran a paternity and maternity blood test on Ares's blood and the Cox couple's blood. Results came out 99.9999% match. Not only did they conceal her existence they also unlawfully imprisoned her, their daughter. They don't have any records from ten years ago. Chase and I believe that Emma and Ryan Cox are false identities. We need to figure out their real iden-."
"What you need to do is to work on the Galante case. This case is a priority over every case and that's final. Am I clear?" The Captain interrupted him.
"I'm not giving up on her case!" Detective Cross said before leaving.