Chapter 199
Elara’s POV
“Put her down!” Marcus shouted from the dock. “We gave you the money, now put my daughter down”
Julius pulled Catherine back from the edge of the railing but didn’t set her down. Instead he cradled her against his chest with one arm while checking his phone with the other.
“Fifteen million,” Julius said. “That’s still five million short of what I asked for.”
“It’s everything I can access electronically! The rest is tied up in assets that take time to liquidate. You know that.”
“Then I guess we have a problem.” Julius moved toward the boat’s controls, still holding Catherine. “Because I don’t accept partial payments.”
Elara finally worked her right hand free from the zip tie. The plastic had been cutting into her wrist and the blood made it slippery enough to pull through. She kept her hand behind her back, not wanting Julius to notice she was partially free.
“What are you doing?” Elara asked, her voice shaking.
Julius started the engine with his free hand. “Leaving. What does it look like?”
“You said you’d let them go if we gave you the money!”
“I said a lot of things today. Most of them were lies.” The boat lurched forward as Julius pushed the throttle. “You’re all coming with me until I’m safely away. Then maybe I’ll tell Marcus where to find you.”
The sudden movement knocked Elara sideways in the chair she was still tied to. Alexander’s car seat slid across the deck, stopping against a storage box. The baby was screaming, his little face red and wet with
tears.
Marcus started running down the dock, Dante right behind him. “Julius, stop! We had a deal!”
“Sue me for breach of contract!” Julius laughed loud like a maniac and pushed the throttle forward even harder.
The boat shot away from the dock, engine roaring. Elara could see Marcus reaching the end of the pier. could see the desperation on his face as the distance between them grew.
And then Marcus jumped.
He launched himself off the dock in a move that should have been impossible, his body flying through the air. His hands caught the boat’s railing and he slammed against the hull hard enough that Elara heard the impact.
But he held on.
“Get off my boat!” Julius screamed.
Marcus pulled himself up, muscles straining, and swung his leg over the railing. He rolled onto the deck
Cipt, 199
and came up fast, his eyes locked on Julius.
“Give me my daughter.”
“Come and take her.”
Marcus lunged forward and Julius made a split-second decision. He threw Catherine.
Not into the water but onto the deck, tossing her aside like she was nothing more than a distraction. The baby hit the wooden planks with a horrible thud and started wailing.
Elara watched in horror as Catherine began rolling toward the gap in the railing where passengers boarded. The boat was still moving, listing slightly to the right, and gravity was pulling her daughter toward the opening.
“Catherine!” Elara threw herself forward, chair and all, stretching her freed hand as far as she could reach.
Marcus tackled Julius before the man could move. They went down hard, grappling for control. Julius got his hands around Marcus’s throat and squeezed. Marcus brought his knee up into Julius’s stomach, breaking the hold.
They rolled across the deck, a tangle of violence and rage.
The boat swerved wildly without anyone at the controls. Alexander’s car seat slid again, this time toward the opposite railing. Catherine kept rolling toward the gap, her tiny body unable to stop its own
momentum.
Elara pushed up onto her knees, dragging the chair with her since her left hand was still zip-tied to it. She lunged forward, fingers outstretched, trying desperately to reach her daughter.
Marcus got on top of Julius and started throwing punches. One connected with Julius’s jaw with a crack that made Elara flinch. But Julius twisted and threw Marcus off, both of them scrambling to their feet.
They were standing right beside where Catherine was rolling.
“Marcus, the baby!” Elara screamed.
He looked down just as Catherine reached his feet. Marcus bent to grab her but Julius tackled him from the side. They went over the railing together, hitting the water with a massive splash.
The boat, now completely unmanned, veered sharply to the left.
Catherine rolled through the gap where the railing opened.
Her little body tipped over the edge.
Elara screamed and threw herself forward with everything she had. The chair she was tied to came with her, its weight making her movements clumsy and desperate.
She got her free hand around Catherine’s ankle just as the baby’s upper body went over the edge.
Catherine dangled there, half on the deck and half over the water, her face inches from the freezing river. She was screaming, arms flailing, not understanding why the world had turned upside down.
Chapter 199
Elara’s shoulder screamed in protest as she held her daughter’s weight plus the weight of the chair sull attached to her other wrist. Her fingers were slipping on Catherine’s tiny ankle, the baby’s skin so soft there was barely anything to grip.
“I’ve got you,” Elara gasped. “Mama’s got you, baby girl.”
She pulled, using muscles she didn’t know she had, dragging Catherine back from the edge inch by agonizing inch. The chair made everything harder, throwing off her balance, but she refused to let go.
Behind her she could hear Alexander still crying from wherever his car seat had ended up. She could hear splashing and shouting from the water where Marcus and Julius were fighting. She could hear police sirens getting closer.
But all that mattered was pulling her daughter back onto the deck.
Catherine’s chest cleared the edge. Then her shoulders. Elara pulled harder and the baby’s head came back over the railing.
One more pull and Catherine was fully on the deck again.
Elara collapsed forward, sobbing, still gripping her daughter’s ankle like letting go would send her tumbling back over the edge. Catherine was screaming but she was safe, she was breathing, she was alive.
The boat was still moving in wild circles, completely out of control.
Elara tried to get up but the chair was too heavy and her body was shaking too hard. She managed to roll onto her side, pulling Catherine against her chest with her free arm.
That’s when she saw Alexander.
His car seat had slid all the way to the stern during the chaos. It was wedged against the railing at an angle, teetering on the edge of the deck.
The boat hit a wave and the car seat shifted.
It started sliding backward, tilting toward the water.
Alexander’s terrified screams reached a pitch that made Elara’s blood freeze.
The car seat was going over the edge.
And Elara was too far away to reach him.
16:10 Thu, May 14
