"Dave's missing," Devan replied curtly, his voice low, but Claire heard him.
"What? Dave is missing?" Claire repeated, wanting to confirm her hearing.
Hearing that, Devan nodded. "I am sure, We'll find him, don't worry, honey. Dave is a smart kid, he won't go too far, trust me," said Devan trying to calm his future wife.
"I hope so," replied Claire. Feeling very uneasy. During the journey, she kept praying for her son's safety.
"Dave, where have you been honey?" Mumbled Claire.
Devan called Leo again.
"How? Have you found Dave yet?" Devan asked right after Leo answered the phone.
There was a harsh sigh from the other end of the phone, prompting Devan to do the same.
"We're still trying to find him, I'm sorry," Leo said.
Devan did not respond, the man immediately disconnected the phone unilaterally.
Traveling for a few minutes, they finally arrived at Bondi Beach which is fifteen minutes from Sydney. The beach with white sand and blue water is the best in Sydney, New South Wales.
Seeing the crowd on the beach, Claire grew worried.
"Devan, where should we look for Dave?" asked Claire with teary eyes.
"Devan, Claire," suddenly a voice came from behind them.
Their reflex turned to the source of the sound, it was Leo and Naila.
"What happened?" asked Devan immediately.
Leo and Naila shook their heads, "We don't know, we were with him since earlier. He asked us to take him to play in the sand by the beach. We obey him."
*A few hours ago *
Leo and Naila decided to visit the most famous beach in Sydney, in addition to relaxing, they can also accompany Dave to play. They knew that the boy had never even played on the beach. So they took him there.
"Woah, this is so beautiful, Uncle, Put me down, I want to walk," Dave said to Leo. The little boy was in Leo's arms.
"Alright, dear."
"Uncle, can I play there?" Dave asked, pointing towards the shore.
Leo just nodded then took the boy there. There were lots of people sunbathing, swimming and playing in the sand. All of them are from various age groups, from children to adults.
Dave looks very enthusiastic, the boy is very happy. Let go of Leo's hand and ran to the beach and jumped up and down for joy.
Dave and Naila just smiled and saw the boy's behavior. At first, Leo and Naila accompanied Dave to play in the sand, and in the end, they chose to let the boy play alone and just watch him and a few meters away.
Leo and Naila looked so busy chatting, only occasionally did they look at Dave just to check on the boy's condition.
Until a few minutes passed, Leo wanted to pee. The man went to the toilet and left Naila alone.
Watching Dave from her position, Naila smiled. "Where did he get those shovels and buckets from?" Naila muttered when she saw the boy busy digging the sand. Suddenly a grown man came up to him, causing Naila to immediately get up from her position and approach Dave.
"Dave.." Naila called making the grown man turn his head towards her.
"Are you talking to me, Miss?"
Naila shook her head while smiling, "Ah no. I only called my nephew's name. His name is Dave," Claire replied as she pointed at the boy with his back to her.
"Your nephew? Maybe you have the wrong person, Miss. He is my son and I don't know about you," said the man then grabbed the boy's body.
And at the same time, Naila's body stiffened. As it turned out earlier, the boy they saw was someone else. Only their clothes are the same. Then where is Dave?
Shortly after, Leo came. They panic because they can't find Dave anywhere.
Flashback Off
Leo briefly told Devan and Claire everything.
Hearing that, Claire's body staggered backward. For some reason, her whole body suddenly felt weak and powerless. Luckily Devan immediately held the woman's body so as not to fall.
"Forgive our negligence, Claire. You can do anything to me," Naila said, the girl sobbing. Feel so guilty.
"Well, we should continue the search again," Claire said in a weak voice.
"Have you called 911?" Devan asked.
"Oh my God, I forgot. I forgot to do it because I was too panicked," Leo replied immediately, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell phone.
"No, don't do it," Devan replied preventing Leo's actions.
"I've already contacted my father. I've also contacted some of my friends here. Don't let other people know about this, I don't want someone to take advantage of this incident, especially since our wedding is very close," he added, explaining.
Leo and Naila glanced at each other, "Alright. Then, Let's split up to look for him," Leo said. Devan just nodded and then they parted and scattered towards different directions.
"Don't worry, honey. Dave will be fine," said Devan trying to calm Claire's feelings.
'I won't forgive anyone who dares to hurt my son,' Devan thought, his jaw clenched and one of his hands clenched into a tight fist.
***
Today Mr. Javier has been discharged from the hospital. The old man's condition had improved a bit. Even so, doctors still forbade him to do some heavy work for the sake of his health.
"Any word from Edward?" asked Mr. Javier. Right now they were in the car, wanting to go home.
"Nothing, Dad."
"He visited Australia a few days ago but hasn't given any news yet. He even knew I was in the hospital, but he didn't come to see me. Does he still think of me as his father?" said Mr. Javier with a deep breath, he did not know, why his eldest son could be like this. He regretted giving his beloved son freedom because it made his relationship with Edward feel so distant like now.
"Maybe he's busy doing something, Dad. I heard he was with a woman. Maybe she is his girlfriend," said Edrick trying to defend his older brother.
He knew this from the people he had ordered to watch over Edward.
Hearing that, Mr. Javier sighed again.
"Alright, keep an eye on him. If he does something strange, tell me."
As Mr. Javier finished speaking, Edrick's cell phone rang.. It came from Marlin, one of the men who was watching Edward's every move.
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