CHAPTER 38: TELL US THE TRUTH!

It was exactly 10:30 in the morning when the three luxurious cars arrived and parked in the driveway of the mansion.

Everyone exited their cars and rushed inside to see with their own eyes the missing member of their family.

Alpha Maxwell was waiting on the sofa in the living room, fidgeting in his seat, feeling restless. Beside him was his formidable grandmother ready to support him.

The moment they saw him, tears of happiness and relief shone in their eyes.

Luna Adela rushed toward her son and hugged him tightly.

"My son, where have you been? You got us worried to death. Life here has never been the same since you disappeared without a trace. We can’t understand why you left us without informing us of your whereabouts. What happened to you? Where did you go?" Luna Adela asked between sobs. She was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing her son alive and well. All her fears and worries finally subsided.

His father stood in front of him. His face was stoic. "The torture you put us through was too much, son. How could you just leave and come home just like that as if you were on vacation? Have you thought about our feelings at all? Don’t you have any considerations at all? I didn’t raise you to be like this!" He snapped at him.

"Bro, why did you give us so much stress? How can you be so cruel?" Zian angrily snapped at his brother.

Grandma Franchia quickly intervened to diffuse the volatile situation. "Maxwell was kidnapped. He didn’t ask for it. He is a kidnap victim! Can you just listen to him please, before you crucify him?"

Everyone fell silent after Grandma spoke.

"Is this true, son?" Luna Adela asked, seeking truth from her son’s eyes.

"Yes, it’s true. I’m a kidnap victim," Alpha Maxwell finally admitted in a strained tone.

"Guys, sit down first and let Maxwell explain his side before you judge him." Grandma pleaded for everyone’s cooperation.

"Fine!" Zian grumbled and glared at his brother. "He will lie for sure!"

"Enough, Zian!" Grandma scolded him.

Everyone settled down on the sofa, waiting for Alpha Maxwell to explain what truly happened to him.

Alpha Maxwell took a deep, calming breath. "Guys, I’m sorry I made everyone worry. The truth is... I’m a kidnapped victim. It was just yesterday that I was released and I came home straight after my release. Now I’m here in front of you, receiving all your doubts, anger and scolding. Yet you never asked how I felt. Do you think I did this to myself? I’m not a crazy person who would perform such a stupid trick to prank my family. I didn’t want to be kidnapped! I never asked for all of this!" He fiercely defended himself.

Zian growled in disbelief. "Really? Are you kidding us? Are you not ashamed at all?" His voice was filled with animosity and mockery.

Alpha Maxwell glared at Zian. He and his older brother were always at each other’s throats. They couldn’t agree on anything. Maybe in his previous life, they were sworn enemies. "Shut up! Let me explain everything to Mom and Dad. If you are not interested in hearing my story and just want to ridicule me, leave and go to your room. I don’t need you here! Shoo!" he retaliated.

"Fine! I’m not interested in hearing your lies!" Zian stood up and left the living room, heading upstairs.

"Your brother is gone, son. Now hurry up and tell us who kidnapped you and what those kidnappers wanted from you because they never ask for ransoms. What really happened to you?" Luna Adela asked anxiously. Agitation was back on her face.

Alpha Maxwell noticed his father’s silence. He was waiting for him to talk.

"What are you waiting for, son? Speak! Don’t keep us waiting!" Alpha Nelson snapped impatiently.

Grandma Franchia rubbed his back gently. "Start now, my boy, before your father starts scolding you again," she said.

All eyes are on him.

Alpha Maxwell took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak. "It all started when I was sleeping peacefully in my bed in my hotel room. The next time I opened my eyes, I was already imprisoned in this windowless room with another kidnap victim, a woman. Only the two of us occupied the room for the duration of our captivity," he begins.

Their jaw dropped to the floor surprised by his revelations.

"Continue, son," Luna Adela urged him.

"They never tortured us, instead they fed us three meals a day. The food was good and we were given a smart TV so we could watch movies and listen to music all day," Alpha Maxwell explained calmly.

Their foreheads creased, astonished by his revelation. They had a delayed reaction. Should they believe in him or not?

Theon, Alpha Maxwell’s younger brother, finally spoke. "Bro, you were kidnapped so you could watch TV all day? That’s absurd! I don’t buy that!" he blurted in disbelief.

"That’s not all. What you are about to hear next will blow your mind away," he told him.

"Bring it on!" Theon issued a challenge.

"The management of the facility instructed me and the woman to fall in love with each other and produce a baby. That is the only way we can leave the facility alive," Alpha Maxwell continued.

Theon laughed in disbelief. "What the hell? Are you even real? Your make-believe story sucks. I don’t buy it. You can’t fool me!" He hollered in amusement, thinking everything was just a sick joke created by his older brother’s imaginative mind.

Alpha Maxwell felt sad. "Believe it or not, it is the truth. I will never kidnap or subject myself to this kind of emotional torture. You have to believe me!" he earnestly said, trying to make his brother see the truth in his eyes.

Theon erupted in laughter, amused by his brother’s absurd joke.

Alpha Nelson growled at his third son. "Theon, leave the room now!" he ordered, pissed.

"Yes, Dad." Theon left the group and climbed the staircase, laughing hard.

Alpha Nelson addressed his son. "Continue..."

"Yes, please tell us what happened next?" Luna Adela eagerly asked.

Alpha Maxwell takes a deep breath, gathering strength before resuming his narration. "We gradually developed feelings for each other during our captivity. I got her pregnant and she delivered our son successfully. I named my son Jacob. He is a healthy baby boy. The management has stayed true to their promises. After our baby turned three months old, they released us. Unfortunately, they took custody of my son and would only release him if I married his mother."

Alpha Nelson and Luna Adela looked at each other in shock and astonishment.

"What kind of kidnapping is this? It sounds so absurd and weird!" Alpha Nelson growled, nostrils flaring in anger.

Luna Adela was doubtful, seeking the truth from his eyes. "Is this true son? Or are you making this up? Your story doesn’t make sense at all!" she argued.

Alpha Maxwell sighed heavily. "Believe in me, Mom. I also find this whole thing absurd. But it happened to me. Everything I told you was true. I didn’t make it up!" he insisted, his tone serious.

"It sounds like a work of fiction, son. Not real at all!" Alpha Nelson howled in anger.

"Dad, you must believe me! My kidnapping is real, the woman and my son are real! They are not part of my imagination!" Alpha Maxwell groaned in despair, desperate for them to believe him.

Grandma Franchia groaned in dismay. "There is only one way to find out the truth, whether Maxwell is telling us the truth or not," she interjected, wanting to put an end to their doubts once and for all.

Alpha Nelson looked at his mother. "What is your suggestion, Mom?"

"Let Maxwell bring the woman and his son here to our house, so we can ask the woman if she is indeed real. She would answer our questions under a lie detector test. We can also conduct a DNA test to determine the baby’s paternity. It is the only way to know if Maxwell is telling us the truth or not," Grandma Franchia suggested.

Alpha Nelson and Luna Adela looked at each other, communicating silently, then they directed their gaze at their son.

Luna Adela whispers something in her husband’s ears.

Alpha Nelson asked, "You know this woman? Can you contact her? Can you bring her here? Including the baby?"

Alpha Maxwell fell silent. The thing he feared the most was about to happen. He couldn’t bring Naomi here without revealing her identity first.

Grandma Franchia made a timely intervention. "Guys, sorry for my mistake, I realize that we couldn’t summon the woman here because Debora will be here this coming Sunday. We have to prevent the two women from seeing each other. Deborah will never tolerate seeing her rival in this house. So we have to avoid that scenario from happening."

"You are right," Alpha Nelson agreed.

"Son, tell us more about this woman. Who is she? What is her name? Tell us the name of the pack she belongs to?" Luna Adela asked, wanting to know the identity of the woman involved with her son.

Grandma Franchia and Alpha Maxwell looked at each other in silent communication.

"Go ahead, my boy. Tell them the truth, they deserve to know the truth," Grandma Franchia said softly.

Before meeting his parents’ gaze, Alpha Maxwell took a deep breath.

This is now the final moment when he will reveal Naomi’s identity.