Chapter 3 - Leo Had Been Missing for Less Than Three Minutes
People kept asking the same question afterward.
How did it happen so fast?
The truth was that it happened in less than three minutes.
Leo and Mia had been near the lemonade station beside the flower beds while my sister talked to them. I turned away to greet a group of business guests. Mia later told me she saw Leo walk toward the far side of the buffet after spotting Javier near the outdoor grill.
She thought nothing of it.
Leo was friendly by nature. He asked questions. He liked adults who looked busy because he always assumed they were doing something interesting.
According to Mia, Javier knelt beside him first. He spoke quietly. Leo looked confused. Then Javier led him away toward the lawn behind the buffet, partly blocked from view by the serving table and a pair of patio umbrellas.
Mia followed a few steps behind.
That was when she heard Leo say, “I’m telling my dad.”
After that, everything changed.
Javier grabbed him.
Pinned him.
And seconds later Leo screamed for me.
The timeline mattered because it told me one thing clearly:
This wasn’t some random burst of temper.
Javier had approached my son with a purpose.
He wanted something from him.
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And he got desperate the moment Leo threatened to tell me.
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