It was already two in the morning, but Hayri did not come. Jane called him up, but his phone was off. He promised to come, and he even asked her to wait but many hours had passed already, but still, there was no news from him. Jane was getting worried; Hayri was always sincere. If he did not come, there must be a heavy reason. She called up Rona, but the latter confirmed that they didn't take long in the school since Kristian was not there.
A few minutes after, she heard the sound of a chopper passing by. Then, the soft pitter-patter of the falling rain that followed progressed to a deafening roar of a heavy deluge. She slid into the covers of her bed and pulled it up until her chin, her thoughts were on Hayri. She decided to wait until morning before she would inform everyone about his disappearance. She did not want them to worry unnecessarily. What if Hayri just got exhausted, fell asleep unintentionally, and did not realize that his phone had gone off?
Somehow, her head started to get groggy as sleepiness started to wear her down. Just when she was about to close her eyes, the door that separated her from Kyle opened up. She thought it was Kyle, but when a large figure appeared at the doorframe, she jolted up.
"Good morning, Jane. I'm sorry I have to do this, but I will explain. Trust me. I will never harm you."
"Who are you?" Jane asked, her eyes darting sparks of fear and confusion. Though his tender eyes suggested a gentle personality, and though his handsome features were far from the looks of an assassin she often saw in movies, her reflexes suddenly dictated her to run away.
"I'm Mr. Blacksmith, and you must have known by now that I am Charles Madani."
Jane sighed in relief, she couldn't explain, but somehow, something in her heart told her that this man wouldn't hurt her.
"Who's spirit wouldn't fly away with the way you make your grand appearance? What kind of superpower do you have?"
Charles smiled and sat down at the couch across her, placing one leg over the other. It seemed he had no plan of disappearing soon.
"I don't have a superpower, but I am an inventor of many apparatus and types of equipment that make everything possible for me."
To her surprise, Charles exposed many things about himself, such as his inventions, underground movement against Markus, the mission and vision of the Velvet Fighters, and even his plan to shatter the whole Madani Islands. The only thing he did not expose was his love life.
"Thank you so much for confiding, Dr. Charles," Jane said, too overwhelmed by the load of information she got.
"It's because I trust you. If you want to talk to me, just speak through the gadget in Kyle's wrist."
Jane's eyes widened as he said that. For so many times, she saw Kyle talking to himself. Who would have thought that he was actually talking to his father?
"I would also be placing another for Kristian."
"Kristian?"
Charles chuckled when he saw her reaction. "Jane, I'm asking you for another favor. I would like to leave him also to you. It's like this."
Charles then narrated his love story, starting from Rona as the island girl, then to his tragic marriage with Riza and down to the reason why he pulled him out of the orphanage.
"I'll be paying you for everything, from the nannies to your expenses."
Jane smiled to herself. The monetary value of the pieces of jewelry he gave her would already cover many years if expenses were the issue. However, he could not pay for the danger he put her family into.
"I'm hoping that after this, I could focus on being one of your suitors someday."
Jane's eyes rounded in shock. He really had the nerve to say it!
"I'm not going to say sorry, Jane. I already had the crush on you while we were in the university."
Jane became speechless! Should she tell him about Hayri? Part of her said yes and part of her said no. She couldn't put Hayri at risk. What if Charles would remove him out of his way?
_____
Early the next morning, when Jane still had no news of Hayri, she already felt uneasy. She called up Ajie and informed him of what happened. Soon, all of them went to the home of the shocked Mr. Dioko. Calling up all his men and his private investigators, he sent all of them to find Hayri but all of them returned empty-handed.
Soon, the news of Hayri's disappearance hit the headlines that day. Some netizens said, his disappearance could be a kidnap-for-ransom strategy. Some said it was again the work of the Ebony Fighters, seeking for the government's attention. As soon as the Velvet fighters heard it, they traced it right away and in a few minutes, they uploaded a video to the internet, showing the people how Hayri was forcefully tucked into the car and held as a prisoner at the Mandani Island.
Jane cried hard. They were all scared and sad for him, but Jane was the most affected. It was just last night since they declared their love for each other. It was just last night since they both looked forward to a happier and lovelier relationship. Yet, he was gone.
To have peace and privacy at the moment while her family thought of a myriad ways to get to Hayri, she went to her room. Thinking about Kyle that she may have overlooked, she peeped at him through the hole at the door.
"Dad, please help daddy Hayri. He's lost," cried Kyle, his back at the bedboard.
Jane remembered Charles and the high chances that he could help them, she strode towards him and sat beside him. Gazing at the toy-like gadget, she spoke into it.
"Dr. Charles, I need to talk to you."
Note: HI, all! I will be editing this one tomorrow before I start on a new chapter. My lids are already dropping.