Chairs scr.a.p.e across the room, and her eyes flicker open under the blindfold. The men are whispering to each other, and there’s the unmistakable sound of cards shuffling against each other. The kidnappers seem to be playing poker. She dimly wonders what they’re gambling—money from the ransom, chances to take advantage of her—and then she hears a sharp slap. It happens again and then again. It seems the loser gets hit in the face.
She fades in and out of consciousness, waking up again as the men run across the room. Strong hands pull her head backward, and someone hits her across the face. A powerful foot kicks her in the shin, and she screams.
“Stop that,” the leader shouts.
“What’s going on?” Leilani asks.
“Your ex-husband changed his mind about you,” the leader says. “He called the police.”
“How soon will they be here?” she asks.
“Ten minutes, tops,” the leader says.
“Okay, listen, I can still get you the money, but you have to untie me,” she says. “I can transfer the money myself, but it will take a few minutes.”
“Why didn’t you just do that from the start?” the Russian asks. “This woman is a liar—she doesn’t have any money.”
“I tried to give you my card, remember?” Leilani asks. “Listen, this is your best bet now. You can’t escape the police with me—they’re already too close. And if you kill me, you’ll get nothing for all your troubles.”
A gun pressed against her cheek, and the leader says, “You better be telling the truth.”
“I am,” she says.
Someone pulls the blindfold off her eyes, and someone else cuts her wrists free. The leader shoves a phone into her hands, and her fingers shake as she types the password. She takes a deep breath before she presses enter. If I guessed it wrong, I’m screwed, she thinks.
Sirens wail in the distance, and the kidnappers disappear. She looks around the dark, gloomy warehouse and waits. Thick chains hang from the ceilings and molding wooden boxes sit in tall stacks along the walls. She wants to scream for help, but a part of her worries that the kidnappers are still lurking nearby.
The sirens get louder, and blue and red lights flicker through the dusty windows overhead. She hears rushed footsteps and then the sound of a door being kicked in. The footsteps get louder, and then a dozen bright flashlights blind her.
“Miss, are you all right?” the police commander asks.
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “They knew you were coming—I almost died. Who called you?”
“A concerned gentleman,” the commander answers.
“Did he give his name?” she asks. “Was it Waylen?”
“I’m sorry, Miss,” the commander says. “We really can’t discuss this with you right now.”
They untie her and help her walk toward the door—an officer supports her on each side as she stumbles toward the bright, flashing lights outside. Outside there are ten squad cars and an undercover vehicle—dozens of officers mill around and bark reports into their walkie talkies. A slender female figure wanders among them, looking lost.
“Miss, this is an active crime scene,” an officer shouts. “You can’t go inside.”
“But I’m her friend,” Rebecca’s voice says. “I’m really worried about her—shouldn’t she be out of there by now?”
“She’s still in shock,” the officer says. “Let her breathe. Besides, as soon as she’s able to talk, she has to answer our questions. You can talk to her later.”
Rebecca paces the ground, waiting for news from the officers. The voices on the walkie talkies are almost incoherent. She can’t understand what they’re saying with all that static in the background.
When she sees the officers half-dragging, Leilani, out of the warehouse, her heart sinks. It’s almost too bad that they didn’t kill her, she thinks. But at least she looks pretty shaken up. Maybe she’ll mind her own business.
She touches the bandage on her neck and sighs. I’d better not have a scar for nothing, she thinks. She chews her lip and watches the officers talking to Leilani. Before the kidnapping, everything was going according to her plan.
That bitch doesn’t know how much effort she’s cost me, Rebecca thinks, feeling her blood start to boil. I knew it was too good to be true when Waylen called me up and said he wanted to date me. It was easy enough to bribe Bamford servants and find out that Waylen’s grandfather imprisoned him until he agreed to date me.
As if that wasn’t insulting enough, he dragged me here and left me in that miserable little house all by myself. I played the perfect girlfriend, but he seemed blind to my beauty and charms. I knew then that he still had feelings for his little whore of an ex. I hunted her down and asked her to design the cufflinks and hired a murderer to keep her trapped in my house.
Of course, Waylen was smitten with her. The way he looked at her made me sick to my stomach—he never once looked at me like that. Arranging the kidnapping was tough, but I thought the plan was a good one. Faking unconsciousness in the hospital was difficult, but a few bribes to the nurses helped. After that, it was just a matter of redirecting the call to the voice-double I hired and asking him to call the police.
She taps the briefcase at her feet with the tip of her shoe. There are two hundred million dollars in the case, but she knows she won’t have to use it. The plan was never about the money. It was about making Leilani realize that Waylen doesn’t care enough to pay her ransom.
Really, if it weren’t for that bastard in her stomach, I would’ve let them kill her, she thinks. Maybe I’m too soft. Maybe I should have let the bastard die—it’ll just compete with my own child someday.
“Let me in, please,” Rebecca shouts. “I’m so worried. I feel sick to my stomach. The kidnappers were supposed to take me, but she sacrificed herself. If anything has happened to her, I’ll never be able to live with myself.”
The police shrug, and Rebecca limps over. The plaster cast on her leg makes her usually graceful walk look awkward and clunky. She’s carrying something heavy and black under her arm, and she seems to be struggling with it.
“Leilani,” she shouts. “Leilani, are you okay?”
Leilani’s head spins, and she grabs the nearest officer for support. The man’s eyes widen, and he slips her arm around his neck to keep her on her feet. She groans and looks at Rebecca. What is she doing here? She wonders. I can’t believe she’d show her face after leaving me to die.
“Leilani, I’m so sorry,” Rebecca says, gasping for breath. “I didn’t mean to leave you. I lost consciousness on the way to the hospital from blood loss. I was out for a day. When I woke up I saw all the missed calls and I feared the worst. I got the money and rushed to the drop point, but the police were already here. I was scared; I was too late.”
Leilani closes her eyes and shakes her head. Rebecca’s words make sense, but it’s too much to think about. Her legs shake, and her body feels like it’s shutting down. She shivers as an officer shouts for someone to bring her a shock blanket.
“When did the police arrive?” Rebecca asks. “Did you call them yourself? You’re so brave.”
“No,” Leilani whispers. “I didn’t call them.”
“Well, thank God someone did,” Rebecca says. “I was worried, sick. Maybe I would have gotten here in time, but who knows.”
“I’m fine,” Leilani says. “It’s okay now.”
Rebecca lunges forward and wraps her arms around Leilani. Tears shine in her large eyes and drip down onto her cheeks. Within seconds she’s sobbing uncontrollably. A kind looking officer pulls Rebecca off Leilani and hands her a tissue.
“I’m going to call Waylen and tell him what happened,” Rebecca says. “He’ll make sure you and the baby get the best treatment.”
“Don’t bother,” Leilani says, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “He already knows.”
“How does he know?” Rebecca asks.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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