The kids trooped back to their rooms late in the afternoon; they were all very dejected.
The trial had gone horribly and none of them wanted to go back the next day.
None of them wanted to see the judge fawn over the prosecutor.
None of them wanted to listen to the prosecutor spouting lies about their fathers.
None of them wanted to feel the fear of possibly losing their fathers.
When they all had entered the hall where they were forced to live, the large door slammed closed, locking them in.
Again Chelle started crying and this time Ange joined her.
Peter tried to calm Ange down while Matthew took care of Chelle but she kept crying.
Matthew put Chelle down and took Ange, also trying to soothe her.
"Give her to me," a tired voice said. "I can make her stop."
They all turned to see the person who had spoken and gasped.
Alfred was leaning against the doorway to the last room, arm in a sling and bandages around his head.
"Alfred!"
Matthew and Peter ran over to him, followed by the others, and hugged him gently.
Matthew put a hand on his shoulder and looked in Alfred's eyes.
"Are you okay? You were gone for such a long time." He closed his eyes and nodded, swaying a little. "Where were you?"
Alfred's eyebrows furrowed.
"They said I was in a hospital to treat my injuries from the crash but I don't think I was…it didn't feel like a hospital. Most hospitals are above ground and I felt like I was in a basement. Everything seemed to echo and I heard screaming some nights but they told me it was just my imagination…"
At this Steven's ears perked up.
"What did they do to you? Do you remember?"
The older boy nodded.
"Yeah. They healed me a lot but they also tried to force me to believe that Dad and Papa weren't our fathers but they couldn't. I was too involved with everything that's happened to every believe that. I will always believe Francis is our Papa even though I know he isn't. But he was more of a parent than SHE ever was."
Leon scowled.
"There's that 'SHE' again! Who is it that we aren't allowed to know about?!" he demanded.
Alfred knelt down in front of the younger boy and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"We don't tell you about her because we don't want to think about her and we don't want you to know about her. She was a horrible person and we want her out of our lives but she always comes back. Our thought is that if we keep you all from learning about her, she'll stay away and won't bother us anymore. And if you don't know who she is, she won't ruin your lives either."
Leon sighed.
"Can you at least tell us who she is?"
"My mother."
The door burst open and an angry man with long brown hair in a ponytail stormed in.
"I want my son back!" he demanded, grasping the nearest man's collar. "And I will not leave here unless I have him!"
A man walked in.
"Calm down Mr. Wang. We will give you your son back soon. Before that though, I would like to talk to you."
Yao turned to look at him.
"Who are you and how do you know who I am?"
The man smiled.
"Come with me."
He led the other man down the hallway to his office and shut the door behind him.
"Please sit." He indicated the two chairs in front of his desk and Yao sat in one. "I am Allan Philson. I am in charge of watching over your son and his fellows."
"Why are you watching them? Just let them go!"
"Due to the current situation I researched you so I now know all about you. You were born and still live in China, though the location is unknown. You were born on October 10th, year unknown. And you have raised several siblings." He started counting them off on his fingers. "Honda Kiku, Im Yong Soo, Xiao Mei…" He continued counting. "And most recently, your son Wang Jia Long as you call him or 'Leon' as he is better known as. I wonder what it's like to know that your son is raised more by a man that has no connection to him than his own father. Not only that but he goes by the English name he was given rather than his true name. It must be hard."
Yao narrowed his eyes.
"Did you bring me in here just to spite me? I don't care about any of that! I just want you to give me my son!"
"I can't. He is involved in a major investigation. If you participate with us we may be able to release him to you. With full custody. All you have to do is help us. Tell us what you know and your story and he can be all yours." He grinned. "What do you say?" he asked as he held out his hand.
The Chinese man stared at it, thinking.
AN: Will Yao take the offer or not? Hmm...SUSPENSE. And will Alfred explain why he hates his mother so much? If he does will Leon understand?
