Defender's Heartbeat

Chapter 15

Manuel

On the second day of my leave, I received a call from Mr. Garcia. His voice sounded shaky.

"Mr. Manuel, you must come back immediately," he said.

"What? What happened? Is he sick again?" I asked. Enzo was six years old now, and he could understand when I took leaves.

There was no way he had gotten sick just because I left. "Something worse," he said. "He's been kidnapped. The boss asked you to come back immediately. We can't find him. The temporary bodyguard was injured and is unconscious." I felt dizzy as he continued. "Hello...Manuel," he said, bringing me back to reality after I had been speechless for a few seconds.

My mouth felt dry, and words didn't come out. "I'm coming right now," I managed to reply.

I hurried back to the mansion to discover that Gerardo was distraught. He was furious because his enemies had messed with something that belonged to him. Gerardo was a wealthy man, but he also had ties to the underworld. He was a mighty figure in the criminal world, known as the "padrino." It was evident that he was also concerned about Enzo's safety.

I was tremendously stressed and sad, struggling to describe my emotions. But this wasn't the moment to dwell on my feelings. I had to find my son. My heart ached as if someone was squeezing it. I couldn't stop wondering where my baby could be. I didn't think I could eat or sleep until I found him.

"Who do you think kidnapped him?" I asked, struggling to pronounce the words correctly. "Not sure. No one has called. They attacked the bodyguard and took the child. We found the car with the unconscious bodyguard. He hasn't woken up yet," the main bodyguard said.

I started running my fingers through my hair uncomfortably, feeling like I was going crazy. I wanted to scream, yell, and cry out loud. I paced back and forth around the room, my whole body feeling empty as if a vital organ was missing. Just thinking about Enzo's disappearance made me shiver. I wanted to cry, to cry out loud, to scream. Sitting on a chair, I hugged my head with my hands, not knowing what to do.

"Don't worry, man. We'll find him," another guard said, touching my shoulder. They all knew that Enzo and I were like father and son. They looked at me with worried faces. I wondered if any of these guards had families and children. Could they feel my pain? Did Gerardo and I feel the same anguish about Enzo's disappearance?

Gerardo's men searched for Enzo everywhere, but there was no clue yet. Gerardo had both friends and enemies, so it was likely that someone had kidnapped Enzo to get revenge on him. Gerardo seemed aware of this; only his close bodyguards knew about his enemies and business dealings. Every time a phone rang, my heart raced, hoping it might be news about Enzo, but it never was. I wouldn't have been surprised if I had suffered a heart attack right then and there, given the immense stress I was experiencing.

The next day came, but there was still no news about my baby. I hadn't slept properly the night before and had barely eaten. I drank some beer and cried alone in my room. "Oh God, where is he?" I missed having him beside my bed. He always snuck into my room. I had cut the vine near his room, so he started using a door or a window on the first floor to jump out and come to my room. He never entered my room through the door, always using the window to jump in, so I kept it unlocked.

Sometimes, I slept in his room at night, knowing no one bothered to come in. His room was more comfortable; he even had a king-size bed. I slept on his couch, although he wanted me to sleep in his bed. But I rarely did. I didn't want him to get too close to me, even though I loved him. I didn't think getting too close would benefit him because Gerardo hated Enzo getting closer to me.

Around 10 a.m., we received a call from the hospital informing us that the guard had finally woken up. He explained what had happened, saying that a cab had hit the car and some masked men had come out from the cab and another vehicle. Initially, they beat the guard. During the fight, the guard was able to remove someone's mask, and he said he could remember the man's face. He provided some details, and that was all he could recall.

It took around five hours for Gerardo's men to find that man. "He's a thug working for money. We'll bring him to the warehouse," one of Gerardo's men called and said.

So Gerardo and I got in the cars to go to the warehouse. I hadn't known about the warehouse; this was the first time I had heard about it. It was a few miles away and was in a lonely place.

When we went inside, there was a man tied to a chair, and it looked like Gerardo's thugs had been roughly questioning him. It was horrifying to look at him. "So?" Gerardo asked with a rough voice. At that moment, Gerardo looked like a mad lion. His eyes looked darker, and his body language indicated impatience.

"He spilt it. We can go and get him," the thug said.

"What if it's a trap?" a guard questioned.

"We can go as two teams then. First, one team; the others can wait," I suggested. I didn't want to waste a second.

We quickly got into the cars and started our journey. I was so nervous and anxious. I felt like I had been sitting in this car for a million years. "Arrgh!" I growled and hit the body of the car with my hand a few times like a lunatic.

"Calm down, man. He'll be fine," one of the other guards said.

How can I calm down while my son is not with me? I thought to myself.