Chapter 190
Chapter 190
Elara’s POV
The distorted voice echoed through the speaker, artificial and cold.
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“Twenty million in cash. You have twelve hours. Instructions will follow. Involve the police and your children
die.”
The line went dead.
For a moment no one moved. The silence in the room was absolute, broken only by the faint hum of Dante’s tracing equipment still connected to the phone.
Then Elara started shaking.
Not crying, not screaming, just shaking like her body had forgotten how to be still. Her hands trembled in her lap, her shoulders quaking with tremors she couldn’t control.
“What the fuck,” she whispered. “What the actual fuck.”
Marcus was beside her immediately, pulling her against his chest. “It’s okay. We’re going to handle this. I have the money, El. Twenty million is nothing. We’ll give them whatever they want and get our babies back.”
“It’s not about the money-”
“I know you’re scared but this is good news. They want money, which means they’re keeping the twins alive. This gives us leverage, gives us a way to get them back safely.”
Elara pulled away from him, her eyes wild. “Marcus, stop. Just stop talking for a second.”
He froze, clearly taken aback by the sharpness in her voice.
Dante was typing on his laptop, his face illuminated by the blue screen glow. “The call came from a burner phone, routed through three different towers to obscure location. Whoever this is knows what they’re doing.”
“Can you trace it?” Richard asked from where he stood near the window.
“Not with the equipment I have here. I’d need access to carrier databases and that requires warrants which requires involving the police which we apparently can’t do.”
Elara’s mother had her hand pressed over her mouth, tears streaming down her face. “Twenty million dollars. Who has that kind of money just lying around?”
“I do,” Marcus said. “Or I can have it by tomorrow. I’ll liquidate assets, pull from offshore accounts, whatever it
takes.”
Mimi was pacing again, her movements jerky and agitated. “But how do we know they’ll actually give the babies back? What if we pay and they just disappear?”
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Chapter 190
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“Then we hunt them down and make them regret ever touching my family.” Marcus said, his voice flat and dangerous.
Emeka had moved to sit on the arm of the couch near Elara. “The voice was distorted. Could you tell if it was male or female?”
“Male,” Dante said. “The pitch modulation software can’t completely hide vocal cord structure. Definitely a
man.”
Elara was still shaking, her mind racing. The voice had been distorted but there was something underneath the artificial warping. Something familiar.
“El?” Marcus put his hand on her knee. “Talk to me. What’s going on in your head?”
“I need everyone to be quiet for a second.”
The room fell silent. Elara closed her eyes and replayed the phone call in her mind. The words, the cadence, the slight pause before “they’re dead” like the speaker was enjoying the threat.
We have your kids. Bring twenty million in cash.
She’d heard that rhythm before. That particular way of structuring sentences, of emphasizing certain words.
You involve the police, they’re dead.
The artificial distortion had masked the tone but it couldn’t completely hide the speaker’s natural speech patterns. The way he said “your kids” with just a hint of mockery. The way “twenty million” came out smooth and practiced like he’d rehearsed it.
Elara’s eyes snapped open.
“Oh my God,” she breathed.
Marcus gripped her shoulders. “What? What is it?”
“The voice. I know that voice.”
“How? It was completely distorted-”
“I know but there’s something underneath the distortion. The way he talks, the rhythm of his sentences. Marcus, I’ve heard this person speak before.”
Dante looked up from his laptop. “Are you sure? Voice distortion software is designed specifically to prevent recognition.”
“I’m sure. I don’t know how I’m sure but I am. That voice, even distorted, I’ve heard it recently.”
Her mother leaned forward. “Who? Who do you think it is?”
Elara’s mind was spinning through possibilities. Someone she’d spoken to recently who would have reason to kidnap her children. Someone with resources and planning capability. Someone who knew their routines,
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Chapter 190
their security, their vulnerabilities.
And then it clicked into place with such perfect clarity that she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it immediately.
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The late-night visit. The questions about the twins. The way he’d smiled when he mentioned their beds.
“It’s Julius,” Elara said.
The room erupted.
Marcus stood up so fast he knocked over the side table. “What?”
“The voice on the phone. It’s Julius Wellington.”
“How can you possibly know that from a distorted voice?”
“Because I just talked to him three hours ago! I know how he speaks, the cadence and rhythm. Even through the distortion I can hear it.”
Dante was already typing. “Julius Wellington. Aurora’s brother. You said he showed up here tonight?”
“Yes. Right after we got back from the Bronx. He came to the lobby claiming he wanted to check on me, to see if I was okay after hearing about the kidnapping on the news.”
Mimi stopped pacing. “That’s weird timing.”
“Extremely weird. And he knew things he shouldn’t know. The twins’ names, the fact that they have beds plural. He was fishing for information, watching me react.”
Richard moved closer. “You think Aurora’s brother orchestrated the kidnapping?”
“I think he’s involved. I don’t know if he’s working alone or with Aurora or with someone else but that voice on the phone was his. I’m certain.”
Marcus pulled out his phone. “I’m calling Detective Rivera right now—’
“No!” Elara grabbed his wrist. “They said if we involve the police the twins die.”
“If Julius is behind this then the police need to know. They can pick him up, question him, force him to tell us where the babies are.”
“And if he has a partner who kills Alexander and Catherine the second Julius gets arrested? We can’t risk it.”
“So what do you suggest? We just pay the ransom and hope he keeps his word?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know what we do but calling the police feels like signing our children’s death warrants.”
Dante closed his laptop. “Elara, if you’re right about Julius being involved, the police finding out he visited you tonight is going to happen anyway. Building security already has him on camera. It’s only a matter of time before Detective Rivera sees that footage and starts asking questions.”
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