Chapter 193
Marcus’s POV
…
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59
59 your hers
The email with instructions arrived at 5:47 AM, just as the sun was starting to rise over Manhattan.
Marcus hadn’t slept. None of them had. They’d spent the last hour analyzing the photo Julius had sent, searching for any clue about where the twins were being held. The bare walls, the industrial lighting, the angle of the shadows, anything that might give them a location or a clue.
Dante had run it through every image analysis tool he had access to but there was nothing. The room could have been anywhere in the five boroughs or beyond.
Now Marcus stared at his laptop screen reading Julius’s instructions for the third time.
Pier 76. 2 PM today. Elara comes alone with the money in a black duffel bag. No police, no security, no husband. She gets out of the car, walks to the end of the pier, and leaves the bag. When I have the money, I’ll tell her where to find the children.
Any deviation from these instructions and the twins disappear permanently. I’ll be watching.
“Absolutely not,” Marcus said. “There’s no way in hell you’re going alone.”
Elara looked up from where she was sitting on the couch, her eyes red and swollen from crying. “It’s not up for debate. He said “come alone” or “we will never see them again.”
“It’s a trap, I swear. He’ll take the money and either kill you or take you hostage too. This is exactly what he
wants.”
“I don’t care what he wants. I care about getting our children back.”
Dante closed his laptop and rubbed his eyes. “Marcus is right. This setup is designed to isolate you, make you vulnerable. Pier 76 is exposed, public. He can watch from multiple vantage points and see if you’re really
alone.”
“Then I’ll be really alone.”
“No.” Marcus stood up and started pacing. “We figure out another way. We set up surveillance, put a tracker in the bag, have police positioned nearby-”
“And when Julius sees all of that he kills our babies!” Elara’s voice rose. “Is that what you want? To be right while Alexander and Catherine die?”
The room went silent. Even Mimi stopped her constant pacing to look at them.
Marcus forced himself to breathe, to think rationally instead of from the place of pure terror that had taken up residence in his chest. “I’m trying to keep all three of you alive. You, Alexander, and Catherine. Walking into Julius’s trap alone doesn’t guarantee any of that.”
“It’s the only chance we have.”
17:12 Mon, May 11
Chapter 193
“It’s suncide”
🙂
Elara stood up, walked over to Marcus, and took his hands “Listen to me. I know you’re scared I’m terrified too. But those are our babies out there with someone who’s already proven he’ll hurt them to get what he wants. I’m not going to risk their lives because we’re too afraid to follow instructions”
“What if he doesn’t give them back? What if you hand over the money and he just leaves?”
“Then at least I tried everything. At least I did what he asked.”
Richard had been quiet through most of this, standing near the windows watching the sunrise. Now he turned around. “What if Elara wears a wire? Something small enough that Julius won’t see it but that lets us hear what’s happening.”
“He’ll check for that,” Dante said. “Any professional kidnapper would. He’ll make her strip or pat her down before he takes the money.”
Elara’s mother made a small sound of distress. Emeka went over and put his arm around her shoulders.
“What about a tracker in the money?” Mimi suggested. “Something small embedded in the bills.”
“Same problem. He’ll probably check the money for dye packs and trackers before he accepts it.”
Marcus felt helpless in a way he’d never experienced before. He was a billionaire with unlimited resources and connections and none of it mattered. Julius had outplayed him at every turn.
“There has to be something we can do,” Marcus said. “Some way to protect you while you’re out there”
Dante pulled his laptop back open. “I can track her phone in real time. If she keeps it in her pocket, I’ll know exactly where she is every second. And I can have emergency services on standby ready to respond the moment something goes wrong.”
“That won’t help if Julius grabs her and throws her phone away.”
“It’s better than nothing.”
Elara pulled away from Marcus and went to the safe in the study. She came back with a small handgun that Marcus had insisted she learn to use after Penelope’s arrest.
“I’m taking this.”
“No,” Marcus said immediately. “Absolutely not. If Julius sees you’re armed he’ll assume it’s a setup”
“Then I won’t let him see it. But I’m not walking into this completely defenseless.”
“El, please….. El I’m begging you please don’t make me go crazy.”
“This isn’t negotiable, Marcus. I’m going alone. I’m taking the money. And I’m taking protection. Those are my terms.”
Marcus wanted to argue, wanted to lock her in the penthouse and go to the pier himself with an army of
17:12 Mon, May 11 M…
Chapter 193
5$
55-vouchers
security. But he knew that stubbornness set in Elara’s jaw. She’d made up her mind and nothing he said would change it.
“Fine. But we have to do this smartly. You wear clothes with pockets so you can hide the gun. Dante tracks your phone. And we have police positioned far enough away that Julius won’t see them but close enough to respond in under sixty seconds.”
“The instructions said no police.”
“I don’t care what the fucking instructions say. I’m not letting you walk into that place with zero backup.”
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