Chapter 216 - They Miss Their Mommy

Three weeks had already passed since Andrea disappeared and they were nowhere close to finding her. It took everything for Yeong and Alfred to convince Lu Fang that there was no reason for them to remain in Ushant Island. Whoever took Andrea had already moved her elsewhere.

After nearly two weeks of trying to find his wife on the coast of France, he finally returned to China with Hanxi and Han-joon. 

They had used up a substantial amount of money to pay-off information for her whereabouts. They found clues, but still, they could not locate her. Li Wen had scanned through all the nearby islands and found no other facility where they may have kept Andrea.

Despite knowing that the medical clinic was owned by the Dronne family, they had no concrete evidence to support they were directly involved in Andrea's abduction. 

The result of Li Wen's scrutiny over the said facility revealed that a woman was in fact brought in and operated upon, however, the camera footages were not in a perfect angle to confirm that it was Andrea. The clothes and the built were the same but sadly, the face was never captured perfectly. 

The medical records were in a different name, though coincidentally had the same blood type as Andrea. It was pointless to get a court order and summon the clinic administrators as they were already prepared with falsified documents.

Everyone deliberated before deciding to leave Ushant Island. Yeong and Alfred agreed that they were coming on towards their enemies aggressively, that they too were guarding themselves with the same intensity. Yeong suggested that they should make their opponent assume their party had all accepted Andrea's fate and pretend to have stopped searching. 

While Lu Fang understood the logic behind it, the notion of even pretending to give up on his wife took a toll on him. Since he came back, he could not get himself to work. Whenever he did, the momentum was short-lived. Instead, he spent most of his time helping Li Wen with monitoring the Dronne family and their movements, hoping to learn of their connection with Project Zero. 

If he was not surveying, he was training himself with Hanxi or Han-joon. He wanted to be stronger, faster, and more precise in fighting as well as in handling weapons. He swore never to rely on someone else again. Like what had happened to him and his mother, he vowed never to be complacent again.

Alfred and Yeong were the same. Li Wen included, their lives were put on hold, exhausting all their efforts to find Andrea. 

Apart from the surveillance in the small islands of France, whenever there was lead passed on by Alfred and Yeong, she was on it, non-stop. Whether it was the Dronne family, friends or employees of the Dronnes, Nancy's direct family, Gustavo's family or offsprings of the original Project Zero test subjects, all of them, as long as they were connected to Project Zero and Andrea's abduction, Li Wen had eyes and ears on them. 

Project Zero was not aware of Li Wen's existence. She was their trump card to finding Andrea. Soon enough, they would come out of hiding. Soon enough, they would make a mistake and everything would have already been under Li Wen's watchful eyes. 

Lu Fang had been staying at the old mansion since his return. Christina Lu had brought home the twins when they came back from Ushant. Since the man was preoccupied, his parents decided it was best for the twins to stay at the old Lu Residence. Aunt Rosa and the two caretakers had also resumed reporting for work at the same estate. 

One night, the man came home tired after his practice with Han-joon. He went straight to his room hoping to close his eyes. Yet, despite being exhausted, he could not find himself to go sleep. He could no longer recall the last time he had a decent rest. Each time he tried, he felt only a squeezing sensation in his heart. Pain. The pain was all that he felt. 

Christina waited for her son to arrive that day, hoping to remind him of his other responsibilities. "Son? You came home late."

Seeing Lu Fang's bruised face nearly made her teary-eyed.  She sensed he was trying to cover up the emotional suffering by tiring his body physically.

Christina was carrying Brie with her when she came to welcome her son home. "Here," she said. "Hold your daughter while I get some ice pack."

Lu Fang sat on the bed as he carried Brie, lifting her up to his face. The man barely recognized his own daughter. He realized Brie had gained so much weight. When he heard his daughter gave out a sound, his eyes began to water, and he smiled at her. 

"Brie, you look so much like your mommy," he said. 

When he saw her smile back at him, his tears began to flow. He kissed her cheeks before placing her against his right shoulder and scolded himself, "I'm a bad father. I'm- I'm sorry- I'm sorry."

As he cried, the man continued to caress his daughters back. He kept repeating the same words over and over, realizing he had not given his twins any attention after coming back. 

Christina found his son weeping. Watching him criticize himself of his shortcomings also made her emotional. She placed the ice pack on the dresser and came to his side. She sat next to him and held his other hand. 

"Son, you are not a bad father. We all understand what you are going through, but Andy would not want you to overlook the twins. Granted that you miss your wife, but the twins - the twins, they - they also miss their mommy," Christina said, barely able to finish her words. She too started crying helplessly. 

"Just remember your children can also give you love... and most importantly, they - they need you. They need you the most - now that their mommy is not here -  Lu Fang. Andy - Andy is not your only world."

The mother and son spent practically an hour crying and comforting each other. Although it was painful to admit, Lu Fang realized he needed to continue living for himself, his babies and so he can be a better husband when Andrea returns to their side.