Daniel didn't know what was going on, but he knew Nathan was in a very bad mood that day. Ray and Danny, who were working with him that day, tried to lighten the mood. Nathan just smiled, as usual, but he was a little distant. And everyone noticed.
That night, after politely sending away the last customer, they cleaned the cafe and got ready to go home.
"Hey, Nath, do you want to take these cakes home? I'm sure they're no longer fit for sale," said Ray, taking out a few pieces of cheesecake and putting them in a container.
Nathan, who was cleaning the counter, turned his head and saw that there were still a few cheesecakes left. "I can't eat them all. If I share them with the children at the orphanage, it won't be enough. Just give me one piece," said Nathan.
Ray nodded. "Okay. Danny, do you want one?" he shouted to Danny, who was cleaning the storage room in the back.
"Oh, of course! Give me all of them!" shouted the girl. Danny was a slim twenty-year-old who was struggling to pay for college. She was humble, always smiling, and energetic. Everyone loved her.
Ray just chuckled, putting all three pieces into another container. Ray was a kind-hearted young man. He had brown curly hair and a playful smile that always graced his face, and he was one of the cafe employees customers liked.
"Nath, do you want me to bring you some fruit? There are still a few apples left. Daniel said we can take them home. He'll bring new ones tomorrow morning," said Ray, his eyes sparkling.
Nathan finished his task, staring at the apples Ray had taken out. "Aren't you going to take the cake?" he asked, even though he knew he shouldn't have asked.
Ray was Daniel and Vale's cousin. He seemed to work just to have fun and chat with customers. He didn't need the leftover food from the cafe, of course.
"No, no. I'm fed up eating them. You know Daniel always brings them on weekends for us," Ray chuckled.
Nathan smiled slightly, putting his portion of cake and two apples into a plastic bag. As he was about to walk out, Ray suddenly stopped him.
"Nath, can I ask you something?" asked Ray.
Nathan turned, a little curious, then nodded.
"Do you know that guy who came in today?" he asked.
Nathan shook his head. He had already forgotten about the incident earlier that afternoon, but now he remembered it again. Thanks, Ray.
"Do you know him?" asked Nathan.
Ray shrugged. "Well, I'm just curious. I've seen him a few times at university exhibitions. He's one of Dante Salazar's sons. I'm quite surprised he was here."
Nathan was silent. It seemed that the man wasn't lying when he mentioned Dante Salazar. He thought he had heard that name before.
"Salazar, do you know them?" Nathan asked.
Now Ray looked at him as if he came from another planet. "Salazar, you don't know them? They're a billionaire family with many multinational companies. Last night Erin said even his two sons came here. I wish I had come here last night."
"Why? Did you want to talk to him?"
Ray chuckled. "My father would be happy if I could be friends with them. You know, connections."
Ray immediately waved his hand. "Hurry home. It looks like it's going to snow again tonight. You better get back soon," he said.
Nathan just nodded because he had a long way to walk, and he didn't want to cross the old bridge. Even though he already knew the two men from last night, who he thought might indeed be his brothers, he still didn't want to take any chances.
Ray's words echoed in his head. The Salazar family. They were billionaires. If what the young men said was true, that he was their brother, that meant he was the son of a conglomerate. He was rich.
But why did they abandon him at an orphanage when he was a baby? While his twin was fine. Did he have a disease that made them ashamed to have him, like in the stories in dramas?
Whatever it was, if he wasn't their son, he didn't need to think about it. If he really was their son, he wouldn't accept being treated unfairly like this. It was better to remain poor.
Nathan sighed heavily, walking faster along the snow-covered sidewalk. His feet were cold in his old shoes. He clutched the plastic bag of food more tightly and put one hand in the pocket of his blue jacket.
Just then, a black car sped up in front of him. Then it stopped. Nathan stopped suddenly, startled. His eyes widened when two men in black suits emerged from the car.
Everything happened so fast. They ambushed him, and when he resisted, another man covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief.
He struggled for a moment before everything went blurry and dark. The two men carried him into the car and sped off into the darkness of the night.
The plastic bag of food lay on the sidewalk, moving occasionally in the wind. Snow slowly began to fall, making the atmosphere peaceful.
~At the Emerald Mansion, owned by the Salazar family~
"Put him down gently, Jay," said Malvin, following the two bodyguards who were carrying the unconscious Nathan.
Leo, Lucas, and Nael didn't want to be left behind and followed them into the room.
"Why did he faint?" asked Nael, standing beside the bed, his face showing how much Nathan resembled him. But seeing Nathan unconscious made him worried.
Leo sat on the edge of the bed. "He's fine. We had to bring him like this, because he didn't want to meet us."
Nael looked sad. "Is he mad at us?"
Lucas stood across from the bed, arms crossed. "Now I have to deal with another little monster," he muttered.
Nael immediately looked at him with a frown. "Remember that you're not much older than us. What makes you so great just because you're two years older?"
"I could walk, eat, and play when you were just coming out of the womb. Of course it's different," replied Lucas, his handsome face looking smug. He was about to sit down when he tripped over his own feet and fell onto the bed.
"Serves you right!" laughed Nael.
"Damn!" cursed Lucas.
While the two of them argued, Malvin focused on Nathan, taking off his shoes and feeling the cold skin of the boy's feet. He stared at the old shoes, torn in several places, leaving him speechless.
"He was very angry when I asked him to come home. I'm not sure what he'll do when he wakes up later," said Leo, adjusting his glasses, realizing what was troubling Malvin.
"I understand why he's angry. It would be difficult to accept if you were the only one who had been abandoned since you were a baby," said Malvin, taking off Nathan's jacket, leaving him in his white T-shirt.
"Well, he wasn't abandoned. You know that. We would all be dead if he were here. He sacrificed seventeen years for all of us," said Leo seriously.