Cassandra's face paled. Tears started rolling out from her eyes, her hands and feet trembled as her mind raced thinking of all the possibilities.
'What happened to you Bella?' She thought to herself as her face crumpled in sadness.
Alex, looking at Cassandra, regretted bringing her here.
'Ah! I shouldn't have brought her,' he lamented.
'I wanted to score some brownie points from her, but she is having a breakdown.'
His face was now conflicted, he wished to console Cassandra by saying that her daughter will be fine but he refrained from doing so in front of everyone.
'People might think I am trying to use her emotional vulnerability to woo her,' he thought.
"But still…." He muttered, his face wrinkled into a frown.
He then placed his hand on her hand and gently began patting them trying to soothe her raging emotions.
Cassandra's emotions visibly calmed down after a few minutes of assurance from Alex.
The rest were silent, they understood that it must've been hard for Cassandra.
Alex, after confirming that Cassandra had calmed down, turned to the principal and asked, "Can we get information about the 4 boys along with their addresses and their photos?"
The principal curtly nodded at him in reply and called the front desk lady to bring the boys' details.
A knock on the door interrupted them. The front desk lady entered, her expression softening at the sight of Cassandra's tear-streaked face. Handing the principal the boys' details, she offered a silent prayer: 'I hope you find your daughter soon.
The principal then handed over the details to Alex, who took a glance at the documents before turning to the principal and said, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Principal. Your help would be really valuable to us in finding Bella." in all sincerity.
He then turned towards the students and the teacher and said, "Thank you, for coming forward and telling us what you know, with this we have a new lead and are now one step closer to finding her."
He then stood up to leave and glanced at Cassandra and said, "Let's go."
Alex and Cassandra walked out of the principal's office. 'I shouldn't leave her alone.' Alex thought as he gazed at Cassandra walking.
Her steps were uneven and her hands were clutching her dress tightly. Her head was down, not wanting to face the world.
They reached the car and Alex opened the door for Cassandra to get in, but she didn't move from her spot.
'Ahh! If I knew this would happen I wouldn't have brought her.' He regretted it.
'I wish to console her but...' he hesitated
'Ahhh! Fuck it. Damn what the world thinks!' Alex realized and resolved himself, "I am here, Cassandra." Alex murmured as he hugged her, "You can cry." He said, his voice soft.
Like a dam gate that had been broken, at Alex's words, Cassandra started crying loudly as she pounded his chest with her trembling hands.
"Alex, my daughter!" She cried, desperately.
Alex didn't utter a word and stayed still, and gently rubbed her back as Cassandra poured all her emotions out.
A while later, Cassandra stopped crying. She was still hugging Alex and seemed like she didn't want to end their hug either.
Alex, noticing she had calmed down muttered, "Have you calmed down?" still gently rubbing her back.
"Mhmm" Cassandra nodded.
"Then, shall we go to those boys' homes?" He questioned.
"Mhmm" Cassandra nodded again.
Alex then opened the car door and gestured to her to get in. In a few minutes they were on the road, driving towards the guy who pursued Bella the most.
While Alex was thinking about the case. Cassandra was having thoughts about something else entirely.
'Ahhhh! What did I do!? What did I do!?' Cassandra screamed internally as her cheeks turned beet red.
'Ahhhh! How can I cry in front of him!? This is so embarrassing!'
She then looked at Alex and called him, "Alex."
"Mhmm" Alex hummed in response, not taking his eyes off the road.
"I am sorry." Cassandra apologized.
This time, however, Alex turned towards Cassandra, frowning, he was confused as to why she was apologizing.
"Why?"
"I am sorry for crying all over you." She stated.
Alex shook his head and replied, "You did nothing wrong to apologize. It means a lot to me that you can trust me enough to show your emotions."
He put his hand on hers and gave her a reassuring smile.
They reached the first house in an hour. The house was moderate looking and had a small porch at the front with little gardening space.
"Is this the correct address?" Muttered Cassandra in confusion.
"Yes, this is it. Maxwell got a full scholarship during his admission." Alex stated.
"Ah!" Cassandra nodded in understanding.
They both walked towards the front door and hit the bell.
Ding dang
They reached the first house in an hour. The house was moderate looking and had a small porch at the front with little gardening space.
"Is this the correct address?" Muttered Cassandra in confusion.
"Yes, this is it. Maxwell got a full scholarship during his admission," Alex stated.
"Ah!" Cassandra nodded in understanding.
They both walked towards the front door and hit the bell.
Ding dang
"Coming," a voice was heard from behind the door. Soon, a 12-year-old girl opened the door and looked at them, asking, "Who are you?"
"Aren't your parents home?" Alex asked instead of answering.
"Mom's in the kitchen," she grumbled, annoyed that her question was ignored.
"Can we talk to her?" Alex inquired.
"Why do you want to talk to my mom?" The little girl asked.
"We wish to talk about Maxwell," Alex stated, his eyes glinted a little as he activated his ability, the "eyes of truth."
At the mention of Maxwell's name, the little girl's expression turned gloomy and tears started welling up on her face.
Alex noted the reaction on the girl's face and wanted to console her and ask about it, but before he could do that, a voice was heard coming down the hall.
"Honey, what are you doing at the door?"
Soon, a middle-aged woman with black hair and black eyes came towards them. She looked at Alex and Cassandra and asked, "What can I do for you?"
"Hello, miss, I am Alex Woods, a detective," He gestured to Cassandra, "This here is Cassandra Harrington, mother of Bella Harrington. A classmate of your son." Alex introduced them.
He then looked at her seriously and said, "We are here to talk about your son, Maxwell."
At the mention of her son, the lady's face began to turn gloomy but motioned them to come in.
They sat on the sofa and Maxwell's mother asked, "So what do you wish to know about my son?"
"Tell us about your son," Alex replied, activating his "eyes of truth" again.
The lady then fell into a daze and a nostalgic smile appeared on her face as she replied, "Maxwell is a bright and smart kid. When his father ran away with another woman, he was the one who worked part-time jobs to make our ends meet."
"My brother also studies hard, he got a full scholarship in a big school," said the little girl.
"Are any of his friends called Aiden, Carter, or Brentt?" Alex asked.
"No, Maxwell didn't have any friends in school. He would go directly to his part-time job after school ends," Maxwell's mother stated.
'True,' Alex confirmed with his ability.
"Does your son have a girlfriend or is there anyone he likes?" Alex inquired.
"I don't think so, no," the lady stated.
'True,' Alex's ability confirmed again.
When Cassandra heard the lady's answer, she was agitated. She rose to speak up, but Alex put his hand on her and shook his head discreetly.
The lady was confused by Cassandra's reaction to her answer but stayed silent.
Alex then looked at Maxwell's mother and said, "Miss, your son has been pursuing her daughter," pointing his hand at Cassandra, "Bella Harrington, and proposed to her multiple times but was rejected."
Alex's voice now had turned solemn, with an undertone of threat as he continued, activating his "eyes of truth" once more for emphasis, "Bella Harrington has been missing along with 4 boys who had been persistently proposing to her even though they are rejected, in which your son is a part of."
Maxwell's mother was now panicking, her face filled with worry for her son, she replied,
"No! My son isn't like that, he is a good kid. He won't do something like that!" She said understanding the meaning behind Alex's words.
Alex softened his gaze as he looked at Maxwell's mother.
'She's just like my mom.' He thought as he recalled his past.
Not wanting to reopen old wounds, he looked at Maxwell's mother and said, "we are not blaming your son for doing something to Bella, but it is a bit suspicious for him to disappear the same day as her. Don't worry, if Maxwell is truly innocent no harm will happen to him" Reassuringly.
The lady calmed down a little but still was in a panicked state.
'What happened to you, son?' She thought to herself.
Alex then continued asking her a few more questions, to which she answered. He used his ability, 'eyes of truth' to check for any lies, but the lady was honest.
They both exited Maxwell's house and continued on with their investigation.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A few hours later,
The duo have now returned to Cassandra's home after they visited the rest. To say they were frustrated by the result was an understatement.
'One got angry, one other tried to bribe, and the last one was just downright the worst of them all, he was apathetic to his own son's missing.'
Alex thought as he concluded about today's events.
He then looked at Cassandra, who was sleeping peacefully in her bed.
"Who would've thought that she would fall asleep in the car." Alex muttered.
He walked over to her and gently patted her head while murmuring, "sleep well, I will take care of all your problems."
He then left the Harrington mansion and started walking towards his home.
While he was walking he felt that someone was following him from behind.
'Hoh! Looks like he couldn't wait anymore.' Alex pondered as he smirked, noticing the masked man following him a little closer than before.
'Hmph! I may not have the power to barge into a den of criminals with guns yet. But I can definitely handle one of you.' He thought, full confidence in his power.
He then took a fake turn to catch his stalker off guard, and waited at the turn for his stalker to approach.
A few seconds later, the masked man approached the turn and Alex immediately jumped on the masked man.
They both fell to the ground with Alex on top of the masked man. The assailant tried to throw Alex to the side and run, but how could he overpower a man who had 3 times the average human strength.
"You are not going anywhere." Alex stated as he held the assailants hands with his left and yanked off the mask with his right.
Never would he have thought that the one under the mask would be
".....Maxwell?"