Hello There, Stranger

Part 27

"Anong pingasasabi mo?" Lani dropped her eyes and was about to walk away ng bigla siyang mahagip ni Francis.

"If you have anything to do with his abduction, I will kill you. Tandaan mo yan!" he whispered but his words were clear enough that Lani suddenly shuddered.

Francis walked away and joined in the search, his footsteps were firm as he heads towards Samuel's study, naabotan niya doon sina Ben at Edwin at biglang nanlaki ang kanilang mga mata ng makita ang nakahanay na feeding bottles, diapers and mittens. Biglang nanlumo si Francis confirming his thoughts.

"Nasaan ang anak ko? Nasaan si Kayne?" He asked but both Edwin and Ben shook their heads.

"Pumasok kami sa sinabing kwarto but it was empty. There were no traces of your baby in there"

"But Lani knows! We need to ask her and make her confess!" Francis screamed.

"We intend to do that Mr. Gutierrez but if she doesn't speak up, we are back to square one," Ben uttered.

"No, no... nandito ang anak ko, nandito lang siya all along?" The shock slowly hit him.

Francis's steps went back to where Lani was and both Edwin and Ben ran towards him afraid that he might do something he'd regret.

Francis immediately pulled Lani's collar, almost choking her.

"Where is my son? Where is he!" He spat but Lani remained stoic, not uttering a word.

"Where is Kayne, where is he!" He asked again but his voice was strained, feeling more lifeless than ever.

The detectives took Lani away and put her in police custody. They tried to talk to her, but she wasn't giving anything, they changed their tactics to intimidation, but it didn't work, they pleaded and tried to reason out with her but there was no effect. Lani remained silent.

Twenty-four hours have passed, and they haven't extracted even a single piece of information from her.

"Ano ba ang problema ng matandang ito? Walang epekto ang lahat ng ginagawa natin!" Edwin said in annoyance.

"She's way tougher than she looks" komento din ni Ben.

"Nasaan kaya ang bata ngayon?" Edwin asked and both detectives felt depleted as they looked at each other.

Meanwhile, Francis gathered his courage and informed Erika of what happened. His words were carefully crafted, trying to ease the magnitude of what happened while narrating to her what transpired in the mansion.

Erika's eyes, which had been dark and bleak for the past weeks, started to show some signs of life. "Ano ang sinasabi mo Francis?" She wanted to clarify.

"There were pieces of evidence that Kayne was taken by Lani, and there was baby stuff that was found in the house. However," he paused and breathed. "Lani is not talking. No matter what the police do, she just won't talk" he uttered.

Nanginginig ang mga kamay ni Erika sa narinig. "Can I talk to her, please? I need to talk to her Francis" Erika repeated her words and Francis stared at her nodding to her request.

Francis pulled over at the side of the police station and Erika exhaled. A flicker of hope that her son was within her reach made her heart flip, she wanted to whimper, but she stopped herself and needed to be strong.

If I could make Lani listen to me... she thought to herself. 

The officers arranged the interrogation room for both Lani and Erika and when Erika finally went in, she saw the frail look in Lani's eyes. She looked older than the last time she saw her. No matter how she tried to maintain her poise, Erika could see that she was suffering.