Arrange Marriage to the Mafia Boss

Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Missing

It had only been a few hours, but it felt like a lifetime.

The hotel room was quiet. Ni isang tunog ay wala kang maririnig. It was too quiet. Not the kind of silence that brings peace, but the kind that drowns you in your own thoughts. Yung klase ng katahimikan na nakabibingi, kahit ang puso ko ay parang sumisigaw na sa sakit.

I sat at the edge of the bed, still wearing the same clothes from the zoo. Marumi na, may bahid pa ng alikabok at damo, pero wala akong lakas para magpalit. My body felt heavy, and my mind wouldn’t stop replaying the last moment I saw Rage.

Dahil na rin siguro sa pagod ay hindi ko na namalayang nakatulog ako. When I woke up, the sun is already high.

The curtains were drawn shut, casting a dull grey over the room. Thunder sat by the window, staring blankly outside like he'd been doing that all night. Hindi ko siya kinausap. Hindi rin niya ako kinausap. The silence between us is suffocating.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands trembling as I held onto Rage's tiny blue cap — the one he dropped that day. I pressed it against my lips, hoping to feel even a trace of him in it. But all I felt was the emptiness of not knowing where my son was.

Kung nasaan siya.

Kung ligtas ba siya.

My phone buzzed, and I jumped. Agad ko itong dinampot, hoping, praying that it was someone saying they found him — that Rage was safe, that he was on his way home. But it was nothing. Just another message from one of the zoo security officers saying they were still reviewing the footage, still tracing the van.

Wala pa rin.

I gripped the phone tighter, halos mabasag ko na. My nails dug into my palm. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch something. I wanted to disappear. Halos sabunutan ko na ang sarili sa inis.

"We haven't heard anything," I murmured, more to myself than to him. "Not even a single trace."

Thunder didn't move. His jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

"Do something," I snapped, my voice sharp and broken. "You're supposed to know how to handle this, right? You're the one with connections. You're the one they want. So why are you just sitting there?!"

Agad na nag-init ang sulok ng aking mga mata. I can't keep quiet. No mother will be at ease knowing that her son is kidnapped.

He finally turned to me. His eyes were hollow but burning. He looks tired.  "Don’t you dare think I haven’t done everything I can." even his voice sounds tired.

"Then why is he still not here? Why aren’t they calling us? Why haven’t they..." hindi ko na natuloy ang gustong sabihin.

Shaking my head.

"Amora…" His voice cracked. That made it worse. Tila pagod na pagod na talaga siya. His voices sounds so soft, that it almost break me into pieces.

I looked up at him, my eyes stinging. "Don't. Don't say anything unless it’s to tell me where he is."

He swallowed hard and looked down. “I'm trying. I’m doing everything I can.”

“Are you?" I stood up, my body trembling. "Because the mafia doesn't just kidnap a child out of nowhere. This isn't random, Thunder. This is targeted. This is about you." hindi ko maitago ang pait sa aking boses.

He didn’t argue.

"Tell me I’m wrong," I dared him. "Look me in the eye and tell me this has nothing to do with the life you said you left behind."