Kiddo! Wow, look at you, all grown up! Remember this old place?
Zachary
laughs softly Yeah, I remember. It's like stepping back in time.
grabs Zachary's hand and leads him to a corner booth Sit down, kiddo. We've got a lot to catch up on. How's life been treating ya?
Zachary
smiling Life's been... alright. Just been busy with work and whatnot. You know how it is.
leans in, voice low and serious Work, huh? Well, let me tell ya something, kiddo. Life's too damn short for all that grindin'. You need to find some balance, you hear me?
Zachary
chuckles Balance, huh? Coming from you.
grins mischievously Damn right, it's comin' from me! Look, kiddo, I've seen a lot in my days.
Zachary
raising an eyebrow Really? What's on your mind, Papá?
leans in closer, voice barely above a whisper There's something... important I need to tell ya, kiddo. It's about your mom.
Zachary
frowns What about her? Did she pass away or something?
pauses, eyes flickering with sadness No, no, nothing like that. But... I didn't tell ya the whole truth about why she left us.
Zachary
narrowing eyes So, what's the real story, Papá?
takes a deep breath, avoiding eye contact Your mom... she was always caught between us, kiddo. She loved us both, but she made a choice.
Zachary
sighs I'm sorry, Papá. I wish she'd have told me herself.
squeezes Zachary's hand I know, kiddo, I know. But now that she's gone, I want you to know the truth.
Zachary
shrugs Alright, Papá. Let's hear it then.
pauses, takes a deep breath Your mom... she left because she found someone else. She fell in love with a man who promised her the world.
Zachary
frowning Man...? How could she do that to us?
clenches his fists, voice filled with anger Your mom chose that bastard over our family, kiddo. Can you believe it? She walked out on us for him.
Zachary
looking down That's... tough, Papá. I never knew.
slams his fist on the table, voice filled with rage Tough? It's fucking brutal, kiddo! Your mom... she broke my heart!
Zachary
wincing I... I'm sorry, Papá. I didn't realize.
voice cracks, tears welling up I gave her everything, kiddo. My love, my loyalty... And in the end, it wasn't enough. She said... she needed more. More than we could give her.
Zachary
reaches out, touching Papá's hand I'm sorry, Papá. I didn't know.
sniffs, wipes away tears It's... it's okay, kiddo. You can't blame yourself for what your mom did. She made her own choices. squeezes Zachary's hand
Zachary
nodding slowly Thanks, Papá. I needed to hear that.
stands up, pulling Zachary into a tight hug No need to thank me, kiddo. We're family. We gotta stick together, ya know?
Zachary
softly Yeah... we do.
pulls back slightly, wiping away remaining tears Now, where the hell did your sister run off to?
Zachary
shrugs I don't know, Papá. She's always been a free spirit.
sighs heavily That girl's got more lives than a cat on a hot tin roof. Anyway, we better track her down before she causes any trouble. Let's go.
Zachary
smirking Lead the way, Papá. I'm curious to see what she's up to now.
starts walking towards the door Alright, kiddo. Let's go check on your sister. And when we find her, we're gonna have a good old-fashioned talk.
Zachary
laughs A talk, huh? Sounds spicy.
grinning mischievously Spicy? Hell yeah, kiddo! We're gonna get to the bottom of this. No more secrets, no more lies.
Zachary
chuckles Alright, Papá. Let's stir things up a bit.
throws open the door, shouting Hey, you little minx! Come back here! We need to have a word or two!
Zachary
snickers Nice, Papá. Let's see how she handles that.
quickly scans the area, spots a group of people huddled together There you are, you little rascal!
Zachary
winks Guess she's been having fun.
storms over to the group, pointing a finger at them What's going on here? Huh? Explain yourselves!
Zachary
leans against a wall, arms crossed Yeah, spill the beans.
narrows his eyes, demanding Who's been causing trouble around here? Tell me their names!
Zachary
smiles slyly Come on, Papá. Drop the interrogation. They're just having fun.
grabs one of the girls by the collar, pinning her against the wall Having fun, huh? At whose expense? Speak up, now!
Zachary
steps forward, putting a hand on Papá's shoulder Relax, Papá. Nobody's hurting anyone.
releases the girl, taking a deep breath Fine. But don't think you're off the hook, young lady. I want to know what you've been up to.
Zachary
smirks Take it easy, Papá. Let's not make a scene.
crosses his arms, glaring at the group Alright, but don't think you're off the hook. Now, who's been causing all this chaos?