“Are… Are you guys here to register? How many rooms do you need?” The owner was quite welcoming.
Lily didn’t want to waste her time with this woman. She pulled out a photo of the twins, “Which room are the kids in right now?”
The owner stuttered, “Who… Who are you, people?”
“I am their father,” Linford took a step forward, “You’d better give me their room number right now. Accepting kids this age is not a legal thing to do. If we call the police, your motel will probably be shut down.”
“Don’t call the police!” The owner went nervously, “Alright, listen. The kids came here last night, and they already left a couple of hours ago.”
“They left? Where did they go?” Lily looked like she was about to have a heart attack.
“They left at dawn. The girl was crying, and the boy just took her away. I felt bad for them, so I gave them some sandwiches.”
“Why didn’t you call the police when they came to register? They are just two small babies!” Lily was so pissed off.
“Well… My business is not entirely legal. I will never call the police under any circumstances.” The owner sighed, “Besides, it is your fault that your babies went missing. I’m not the one who was being careless here. Why are you taking it out on me?”
Lily went tongue-tied.
“Did you ask where they were going?” Linford asked.
“Well. I tried to ask, but the boy wouldn’t say anything.” The owner shrugged.
The group of people could only leave the motel.
“Why would Cody take Candace to someplace like this?” Lily couldn’t understand that.
Linford looked around, “Because this place is rather remote compared with our city. It won’t be easy to find them. Look around. You can barely see any surveillance cameras. I bet Cody has already found someplace to hide.”
Lily shook her head, “The boy really didn’t want us to find them. Why did he leave? Did he know something?”
Linford had also expected that. He shouldn’t have hidden things away from the boy. He was too smart, yet he was not mature enough. Once he discovered something he thought he knew, he would make his own plan.
No matter how much Linford regretted the whole thing, he knew he should find the boy as fast as he could right now.
****
Franco couldn’t fall asleep. He had stayed up for nights. When Linford and other people went to find the twins, he just sat in his bedroom, looking out of the window blankly.
Jack went to take care of him, distributing his pills and reassuring him repeatedly that Linford had found the trace of the babies.
“Cody and Candace will be safely back, sir. I promise. Cody is probably a bit stubborn. But Candace is the sweetest. I assure you that she will never leave you behind like this.”
It broke Franco’s heart as he recalled their lovely faces, “Tell Linford that he must get them back. They’re the reason that I’m still living. If they leave, I don’t want to live anymore.”
Jack panicked, “Sir, please don’t say that.”
“Cody must have noticed something,” Franco sighed heavily. “That boy is too smart. He must have guessed what was happening. We shouldn’t have hidden it from him. They must have known that I locked Cristelle up and forced her to leave. I bet they hate me so much at this moment.”
Candace went a bit sleepy on the bus. She rested her little head on her brother’s shoulder. The road was a bit bumpy. Cody could only hold her with one arm in case she fell off.
The port was not far away. Cody decided to take a boat and leave this city. And they would never come back again.
Cody was happy to get rid of those horrible people.
The bus pulled over before its stop. Cody shook Candace a bit, so she slowly opened her eyes. The little girl rubbed her eyes and looked around. She looked a bit scared as Cody took her hand and led her off the bus.
“Cody, where are we?” Candace was confused.
“This is the city port. We’re going to take a big boat later. Are you excited, Candace?” Cody smiled, trying to cheer his little sister up.
“Where is the boat going?” Candace was still scared, her wide eyes filled with concern.
“We’re going back to our hometown,” Cody said firmly.
“Is Mom there?” Candace asked with a small voice. She had cried all last night, and her throat was a bit sore.
“I guess,” Cody said, feeling a bit sad as well.
He actually also didn’t know where their Mommy was right now. But going back to their hometown was the only choice he left. Besides, he was more familiar with that place. He believed he could generate more ideas to find their Mom when he got back to that place.
The twins held their little hands and walked toward the port. Before they could reach their boat, Enzo suddenly showed up before them, keeping them from getting on board.
Cody grabbed Candace’s hand and instantly spun around, trying to run away. But Linford and Drew showed up and blocked their way as well.
“Da-Dad!” Candace cried.
“Don’t call him Dad! We don’t have a Dad, and we’ve never had one!” Cody glared at Linford angrily, his eyes filled with deep resentment.
Enzo tried to approach the boy, “Cody, you don’t even want me anymore?”
Cody looked away, “I have nothing to do with you as long as you’re a Bradley member.”
“What about me?” Drew tried to calm the boy, “I’m not Bradley, Cody. Can we still be friends?”
“Bradley’s friends are my enemies!” Cody snapped, wearing a stern look.
Drew was stunned, instantly holding his chest as if a strong thunder had hit him. His eyes flew toward Linford, “Linford Bradley, you heard that!”
“Shut up, Drew!” Linford growled.
Drew moved forward after recovering from the strike of Cody’s words. “Cody, we’re friends, right?”
“No! We’re not!” He hissed.
“Cody, you need to calm down.” Drew took another step forward, “You can’t just take Candace and run away. What if you run into bad guys?”
Cody glared, “Are there even worse people on earth than you bunch? I don’t think so.”