Chapter 17: Arrested.

Uri appeared to Clement's astonishment and fear. He rushed forward and pushed Uri away, and shouted:

"Get out of here now!"

Uri didn't do what Clement wanted; he looked at Richard resolutely. "I have come at your request. Let go of my sister!"

"Very good!" Richard laughed. "We will release your sister. But I don't trust you and your father. If you want to save your sister, you must let us give you an anesthetic."

"Can not," Clement shouted. "Uri, they are liars; you must not believe them. Get out of here now!"

"Dad!" Uri looked at Clement. "Thank you for worrying about me. But I don't want Anthea to go to prison. I want to save her."

"I won't let you do that; I can think of another way." Clement grabbed Uri. "Let's go now!"

Two men rushed over and grabbed Clement's hands. He angrily twisted his elbow and hit a man in the stomach. The two men immediately restrained him with force, pinned him to the ground, and clasped his hands behind his back.

Richard walked in front of Uri, smiling. "If you run, your sister will go to jail."

Uri stood still, he wanted to hit the people pinning Clement to the ground, but he couldn't. Because Anthea was still in their hands, he had to rescue her.

"I don't run; I want to see my sister. When you return her to my father, I will let you inject me with the anesthetic."

"Okay, then let's go see your sister." Richard had achieved his goal, so he spoke freely.

"Richard, you are a disgrace!" Clement shouted angrily; he struggled to escape the control of the two muscular men.

Richard laughed. "I just need to achieve the goal."

He ordered two men to hold Uri on both sides, escorting him out of the forest. Seeing the group of people accompanying Uri away, Clement hurried after them; he knew what was waiting for Uri ahead. 

The two men pressed Uri into the backseat of a black car; then, they sat beside him. Seeing Uri obediently sit in the car, Richard calmly took the backpack containing Uri's artifacts and got into another vehicle. He led the convoy to the boulevard, towards the Red Leaves organization's headquarters on another city's outskirts.

Clement also got into his car, following the convoy. He blamed himself for not being able to protect Uri. This time he fell into the hands of the Red Leaf organization, meaning he could not survive.

...

The headquarters of the Red Leaves organization is a large, sturdy building. Surrounding the building is a forest and gray stone walls. From a distance, it resembles a medieval fortress. There is a large lake in front of the building, so the air here is very fresh.

The convoy stopped in front of the building's gate. Two muscular men escorted Uri out of the car and followed Richard into the building.

Clement also immediately entered the building, he had not been here in a long time, but the place remained unchanged.

Richard led Uri and Clement to a closed room; he pointed to the iron door and said:

"Your sister is here."

Then he opened the iron door wide. Inside, Anthea sat on a bench in the middle of the white-painted room.

Seeing the door open, she quickly looked up and saw her father and brother. She immediately rushed to hug Clement and Uri, tears streaming down her face.

"Dad, brother, they kidnapped me here."

Richard grabbed Anthea's hand, pulled her towards him, and then looked at Uri. "You have seen your sister safe. I'll let your dad take your sister home, but you have to let us give you the anesthetic."

Uri scowled at Richard. "I need you to destroy all the evidence you have built against my sister."

"Of course," Richard said and handed Clement a USB stick. "These are all clips of your daughter and son entering the museum; you can check it out."

Clement took the USB and sneered. "Do you think I believe in liars like you?"

"If you don't believe it, that's fine," Richard replied. "Your son is already here; it's too late for him to run away."

Just as Richard finished speaking, a man held a syringe and injected Uri in the neck, causing him to faint from the anesthetic.

An angry Clement rushed to hug Uri, but the two men behind him grabbed him and held him tight.

"Your son is already in my hands. Do you think he will escape?" Richard laughed in Clement's face. "We need that boy, not you or your daughter. So rest assured, we will let you and your daughter out of here."

"You must not harm my son," Clement shouted.

Richard did not answer Clement; he waved to the group of people standing around. "Get him and his daughter out of here."

Men wearing red leaf badges on their lapels dragged Clement and Anthea out, pushing them into the car.

Anthea realizes that she is the bait for people to capture Uri. She hugged her face and cried.

"Dad, it's my fault; I was too curious to go to the museum. When will they release him?"

"They never released him," Clement replied. "Let's go home; there's nothing we can do here."

"Can't get out? So he's going to die in there?" Anthea cried out in horror.

Clement drove out of the Red Leaves headquarters, speeding down the avenue.

"I'll find a way to get Uri out; I can't let them kill him."

...

When Uri regained consciousness, he realized that his feet and hands were tied to a small bed. Because he knew in advance that death would come to him, he was unafraid to observe this strange place calmly.

It is a room with four white painted walls, no windows on the walls, and nothing in the room except a bed.

He stared at the closed gray iron door and waited for the arrival of the Red Leafs. When those people appeared, he knew he would have to face the worst of his short life.