The days that followed were a blur. The police came, searched, and left with vague answers. "No evidence, no clear picture."
Gabriel felt the rage welling up inside him.
One day, as he sat in the living room of the mansion with Dorella, Peter, and Lily, he couldn't take it anymore.
"I'll find him. Whoever did this will pay!" he said in a trembling voice.
Dorella looked at him with eyes filled with anguish. "Gabriel, you can't do this alone. If you don't think of yourself, think of us. We've all been together since we were kids. We won't let you go now."
For a moment, Gabriel felt something tighten in his heart. The way Dorella was looking at him… it wasn't just anguish. It was something deeper. But he pushed that thought away. This wasn't the time for that.
"I don't want to get you involved," he replied.
"You're not getting us involved. We're getting ourselves involved," Lily said in a calm voice, while Peter nodded.
But Dorella stood up abruptly, with a mixture of anger and tenderness. "Whether you like it or not, we're all in this together. Leo was our friend, too."
Gabriel looked at them one by one. They all looked determined. Gabriel sighed. "Okay. But you'll do what I say."
"I won't listen to you when you're wrong," Dorella said, but she smiled slightly, as if to soften him up. "But okay, whatever you say."
And in that moment, amidst his grief and anger, Gabriel felt for the first time in days a faint spark of hope. He was not alone. And his friends would never leave him alone.