Chapter 51
Oliver Ferraz
I try to reach Alice, but no luck. Where could she have gone?
We've searched everywhere she usually goes, and nothing.
I have a bad feeling about this. I'm worried—she's never left like this without letting us know.
I start to panic. That's when I decide to contact some hacker friends of mine.
I can't wait any longer. It's already nighttime, and she would never go out without telling us first.
When my phone rings, I look at the screen—it's her. I answer quickly.
“My lo—” She doesn't let me finish.
“Oliver, they took our sons! Bring my boys back, please!” When I hear this, I feel a terror like nothing I've ever known. A chill runs through my entire body. “My boys, no!” Alice screams in desperation.
“Where are you, Alice? For God's sake, I've been desperately searching for you. Send me your location, I'm coming to get you!” I say, trying to sound calm. The fear of losing them is overwhelming.
She hangs up, sends me the location, and within moments I'm in the car. I check—it's not too far from here. In a few minutes, I find her. I stop the car and jump out. I scoop her up in my arms and hold her; she's sobbing.
“What happened, my little one? What did they do to you? Where are our sons?” I ask, checking if she's okay. Fortunately, she doesn't have a scratch on her. But our boys aren't with her—and that destroys me. I'll go to the ends of the earth to save them.
“I don't know, Oliver. I was at the park and I suddenly blacked out.
When I woke up, I was here, with a terrible headache and without our sons.
They took our boys, I can't bear this pain!
Bring them back! They're so small and defenseless!
What if they hurt them? I won't survive without them!” she says, completely out of control.
I understand her pain—it's the same as mine.
“I promise I'll bring them back, even if it costs me my life. I'll find out who did this, and they'll pay. I promise, love.” She hugs me and cries so hard her body trembles.
“I want my sons, Oliver. Who took them from me? Who would do such a thing?” she asks, and it devastates me. We cry in each other's arms. I never thought I'd go through this. Who would have the nerve to take them, so defenseless?
“Calm down, my little one. I promise they'll be here soon, in our arms.”
I look at her—she's complaining of a headache.
I check for injuries and see she took a blow to the back of her head.
I get her in the car and take her home. She's very nervous, so I call Karla and ask her to come over.
I give Alice a bath, and Karla gives her some pain medication and a sedative.
I'm lying next to her when she says to me:
“Please… just bring my sons back to me! I want my babies…” she murmurs, delirious.
“Calm down, my love. I'm already on it. Tomorrow you'll have them in your arms. Trust me, please.”
“I trust you…” And with that, she passes out.
“I love you, my little one. Tomorrow, I promise, our family will be complete again.” My mother enters the room; I'd asked her to spend the night with Alice, since I have a lot of work ahead of me.
I arrive at my apartment and it's packed.
Even Gabriel came running to help. We band together to bring Edgar and Emanuel back.
Computers everywhere—we needed to access all the city's cameras to track what happened.
Anthony, an investigator, was helping me.
It was already four in the morning when we found the trail: Andréa and Mauricio.
They took my sons. And they weren't going to escape.
“Found the bastards,” Anthony says. “Now it's up to you and the local police, but if you need me, I love blowing brains out.” He flashes a sideways smile.
“Thanks, my friend, for coming to help me. They're small fry. I'll handle it from here.” I shake my friend's hand and leave.
We alert the local police and all head to the address. We needed to be careful—there were children involved. When we break in, I see Andréa. I go straight for her, consumed by hatred. I almost married this monster. Thank God I got away.
I grab her by the hair, pin her against the wall, and lock us in a room.
Hatred blinds me. How could she take my sons?
This woman… I hit her. I'm against violence, especially against women—but she deserved it.
The only reason I didn't go further is because they broke down the door in time.
If they hadn't arrived, I might have killed her.
Finally, I go after my sons. They're with Catarina and Alberto. I pick them up and examine every detail—they're fine. It's already light out; I need to get them out of here.
“Let's get out of here, I need to take them to the hospital,” I said, and we did.
We arrive at the hospital. They run all the tests and, thank God, the boys are perfect—not a scratch on them. Now I just need Alice to wake up so I can bring them to her.
I rush home with them, leave them in Alice's apartment, then head to mine for a quick shower before returning to check on them. I want to be with my woman and my sons. When she wakes up, I'm there, by her side.
“My sons! Where are my sons, Oliver?!” she asks, frightened.
“Calm down, my love, I'll get them for you. Wait a moment, okay?”
“They're here? You brought them back?” she asks, her voice breaking with emotion.
“I promised I'd bring them back.” I kiss her forehead and leave the room, returning with our babies in my arms.
“My babies! Mommy missed you so much…” she says, scooping one up on each side and kissing their little faces. They recognized their mother instantly. “Are they hurt? Did they do anything to them?”
“Calm down, my love. They’re fine. All the tests have been done—they’re perfectly healthy. And don’t worry, Andrea and Mauricio were arrested. They won’t touch any of you again.” She hugs me and says:
“Thank you, Oliver, for bringing our children back. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
“I love you all. We’ll never be separated again.” I took a deep breath and said without thinking: “Give me another chance, Alice. Please, don’t make me suffer anymore. I can’t stand being away from you—especially you, my little one. I love you so much!” She smiled.
“We can try again, but slowly. We won’t rush like we did the first time.” I couldn’t believe what I’d heard and asked her to repeat it. In that moment, I was the happiest man alive.
“Thank you, my love. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world. I promise to make you all so happy. Every single day, I’ll ask for your forgiveness.”
“This is your last chance, Oliver. So make the most of it. I’ve already forgiven you. But promise me: never abandon me again, or our boys. I couldn’t bear it.”
“I promise, love. That will never happen. It’ll be us, forever.
Don’t worry, my little one—I’ll take such good care of our family.
I love you all so much. You won’t regret it.
I’ll be the best father and husband you could ever ask for.
” I seal our love with a kiss, interrupted by a knock on the door.
Karla comes in to check if everything’s okay, then leaves.
Despite everything that happened, today was the happiest day of my life. Having my family back was all I’d ever wanted—and this time, I wouldn’t let them go. Never again.