“Calm yourself first, Devan,” Leo said then pulled his cousin’s arm back a few steps.
Even though he didn’t understand what Devan said earlier, Leo still tried to calm him down. He then approached Edrick.
“Is it true that you don’t know who we are?” Leo asked, crouching down and leveling his position with Edrick.
Edrick stuttered, his tongue felt numb, it was very difficult to answer the question of the man in front of him.
“Stop wasting time, Leo. What are you asking that for? It was very clear that he was the one who kidnapped my son. Treating him well will only make him act freely later,” said Devan.
“Now, get out of the way,” he added, holding Leo’s shoulder.
“Calm down, Devan. Do not rush. Let me ask him first,” Leo replied as he let go of Devan’s hand that was holding his shoulder.
“You know the risks of lying to us, right? Now tell us, where is the boy you kidnapped the other day?” Leo asked. As for Devan, the man rolled his eyes in disgust. His feeling very impatient.
Hearing that, Edrick was silent for a moment. The man took a deep breath, it seemed he had no other choice but to say it all because there was nothing else he could use as an excuse.
He was waiting for news from Brian since yesterday, but the man didn’t give any news until now.
“I ask you, are you deaf?” Leo asked, he started to raise his voice.
“I already told you, Leo. It’s useless you treat him like that. Now get out of the way, I will deal with it my way,” said Devan.
However, Leo didn’t care. He stared at the man in front of him as he waited for an answer.
The next second, Edrick prostrated himself in front of Leo. The man apologized.
“Forgive us, Sir. Forgive us. I and my Dad were not involved in kidnapping your son, we don’t know anything about it, forgive us. Forgive us, sir,” said Edrick.
Devan snorted disapprovingly. He immediately stepped forward and looked like he wanted to hit Edrick again but failed. Again, Leo held him back.
“Let go of me, Leo. I know he’s lying, stop pretending, Damn it.”
“Devan, listen to me. You want to find Dave, don’t you? If so, you have to be patient. Calm yourself down, now walk away, and sit there. Wait until I finish talking to him,” Leo said, the man then pushed Devan’s body away, asking him to sit on the sofa in the room.
After that, he turned around and returned to Edrick.
“I swear sir. I do not lie. How could I have the time to do such a thing, when my father’s condition was never stable? The whole time, we were just in the hospital. After all, my father has promised not to disturb the Smiths again, sir,” said Edrick again.
Again, Devan snorted disapprovingly.
“But the evidence we got points to your family,” Leo replied.
“Don’t think you can fool us. Do you know, sir? Devan could destroy your family right now if you don’t tell us. You should be grateful, I still have a conscience and treat you well, sir. Aren’t you ashamed?”
“LEO, STOP TALKING WITH HIM. YOU’RE JUST WASTING YOUR TIME,” said Devan, the man stood up from his position again.
“Stop pretending and tell me where the boy is,” Leo asked, not caring what Devan said.
“N-not me, sir, it wasn’t me,” stammered Edrick.
Leo’s brow furrowed, “If it’s not you, then…”
“Edward, sir. He did it,” said Edrick interrupting Leo’s words.
“Me, Brian, and my dad are not involved in this, sir. I’ve never even seen that boy in this country,” he added.
Leo and Devan fell silent hearing Edrick’s words. The two glanced at each other briefly then looked back at Edrick.
“Can you keep for your words?” Leo asked.
Edrick immediately nodded, the man looked at Devan with a scared look. It didn’t take long to find out who the man he was dealing with was.
“You can do anything to us if I lie, sir. Look at my father’s condition! I dare not do anything that could make things worse,” Edrick told to Devan.
“Regarding your son, since yesterday, Brian and I have been trying to save your son from Edward, sir. But until now, there has been no news from the man,” he added.
“Then tell me, where is that little boy now?”
“In Edward’s apartment, sir,” said Edrick resignedly.
“Hearing everything you said, it seems you lied to us. Do you want to pass all your faults to Edward?” Leo asked with one eyebrow raised.
“You know about the kidnapping, you also know where the boy is, doesn’t this already explain everything indirectly?” he added again. Accusing Edrick.
“I told you before, Leo. He’s lying,” said Devan.
“No, sir. You are wrong. I didn’t lie to you. I swear,” said Edrick trying to reassure the two men. Right now, this was the only thing he could do, trying to convince them both for the safety of his father and the economy of his family. Edrick did not even hesitate to prostrate and beg.
“Lie or not, I don’t care about that. I just want my nephew back safe and sound,” Leo said.
“I can help you. I can return Dave to you, sir,” said Edrick confidently.
“Ha ha ha, you even know my nephew’s name. Do you think I can still trust you?”
“Th-That… I know his name, because I met him in Indonesia, sir. I’m telling the truth, please believe me. Right now I’m risking my family, sir. Do you think I dare to deceive you?” Edrick replied, staring at Leo without blinking. His words sounded very convincing.
Hearing that, Devan immediately approached Edrick.
“Then do as you say. I’ll wait here,” said Devan.
“If something happens to my son, be prepared to suffer the consequences,” he added.
While Leo, the man took a deep breath. At least Devan’s anger has subsided a bit now. If he had allowed his cousin to continue with what he had been doing, they might have caused quite a stir in the hospital by now and had become the center of attention. Although at first Leo also felt very angry, he tried to control his emotions.
Solving one problem without causing another problem, wouldn’t that be better?