Chapter 193: Kidnapped
"Just where did the four of you go?" Slater frowned after finally reuniting with them. "Do you know how lonely I was? I couldn’t even enjoy the fireworks because I kept looking for you!"
Lola, Atlas, and the twins turned to him as they casually strolled toward the amusement park’s exit. Unlike earlier, Slater looked haggard. It didn’t look like he was tired, though, but more like he came out of a battlefield.
"Uncle Best, it’s because you were so fast that we lost you," Chacha pouted. "But don’t worry, we watched the fireworks, and they were so beautiful~! I thought the fireworks would hit my eyes and blind me — it’s so exciting! I didn’t want it to end!"
"We missed the grand finale, though," Second frowned deeply. Hearing this, the smile on Chacha’s face faded, and she frowned. The twins sighed heavily at the same time.
Seeing their mild disappointment, a sense of guilt crawled into Lola’s chest. The twins had gotten distracted because the adults behind them were too busy with something else.
"There’s always a next time," Atlas said to his children in a cool voice. "Don’t sulk."
The twins walked carefully, their eyes on their father.
"Next time?" they mused in unison, their eyes widening and then twinkling. They shifted their gaze to Lola.
"Yes, next time," Lola reassured with a gentle smile. "Today, we learned a lot of things. So next time, we’ll know what to do so we won’t get separated and won’t miss anything."
The children’s mouths gaped, looking at her with expectation. After a second, their already pinkish cheeks turned even more pink. Then, they grinned happily.
"We’ll go here next time~!" they cheered. "Another date with Mommy and Daddy~!"
Lola chuckled, holding Second’s hand and swinging it to and fro. But as they moved on with Slater talking nonstop, she couldn’t help but notice.
Wait a minute.
She blinked and gazed down at the twins, who were looking at their father and uncle.
They’d been calling him "Daddy" all day. Did that change now?
From what she knew, the twins used to call their father "Daddy," like any other children would. However, because of some outside circumstances, they had decided to call him "Father Sir." By that, she meant it was an agreement between the kids and their father, who wasn’t happy with his children’s decision.
"Now that I think about it..." Slater rubbed his chin, walking alongside Atlas. He thought about his experience earlier during the fireworks display.
Since he had really gotten the best spot for them, he stayed in it. He guarded it with all his might, even screaming at others to stay away. He was like one of those guys who would fight others during a holiday sale. But minutes after the fireworks started, and the four were still nowhere in sight, Slater had to give up his spot.
The problem was, when he did, those who were already rooted in their places yelled at him for blocking them. Instant karma. With such a huge crowd—the majority of the people in the amusement park had gathered there—Slater had to squeeze through and get yelled at along the way.
Snapping his eyes back to Atlas and the twins, he nodded. "It’s okay! It’s much better that you guys found a different place. That best spot is just too crowded. I can smell everyone’s breath."
"But next time, I’ll find us another place!" he intoned.
"We’ll do better, Uncle Best," the twins encouraged. "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Best."
"Heh." Slater rubbed his nose proudly.
Soon, the five of them stepped out of the amusement park. There were multiple cars coming and going, people leaving, or just waiting and idling around. As the five of them stood near the driveway to wait for their van, they conversed casually, as usual.
Although it was only Slater and the twins who mostly talked.
"It’s so much fun!" Chacha cheered. "I can’t wait to come back!"
"Let’s try another amusement park!" Second suggested. "Can we do that, Mommy?"
"Of course," Lola winked at him. "We’ll try all of them, one by one, okay?"
"Yey~!"
Slater smiled as he watched the energetic twins, while Atlas didn’t react. But his silence was enough to suggest he was pleased. They had been there since morning, but even though night had fallen, the twins were still full of energy.
They were expected to be falling asleep at this point and being carried by the adults. Yet here they were, already planning their next adventure. And the three adults watching and listening just had smiles on their faces.
But then, suddenly...
Screech!
"Uncle Best, Chacha and I will need some pictures for our homework!" Second paused at the sudden screech that pierced their ears. "Can we get the pictures..."
Turning their heads, a white van stopped right in front of them out of nowhere.
"Huh?" Lola furrowed her brows. "This isn’t our..."
Right before she could even finish, the door of the vehicle abruptly slid open. A few bulky men with masks on came out, acting swiftly. Without a word, they suddenly reached for the little kids and pulled them inside.
SLAM!
As the van shut closed in less than a minute since pulling over, it sped away as if on turbo.
Lola, Atlas, and Slater stared at the empty driveway before them. When they gazed down, all they saw were the empty spots where Chacha and Second had been standing.
"..." Lola blinked and blinked some more, lifting her confused eyes to Atlas. "Uh... what just happened?"
Atlas and Slater had their eyes on where the van had disappeared, then back to her.
"They were..." Atlas fluttered his eyelashes ever so tenderly as his next words rolled out of his tongue, carrying the same dry tone, "... kidnapped."
A soft breeze blew past them as Lola stared blankly at the two brothers before her. She blinked, and then blinked some more, her brain buzzing as it blanked. When his words finally sank in, her face twisted in disbelief.
"Eh?!" she gasped. "Kid — kidnapped?!"
A kidnapping right in front of them?!