by A. K. Evans
Just then, as I was staring out my front window, I saw Max’s truck come barreling down the driveway. He was driving like a crazy man.
“Hey, Steph, Max just pulled up. I’m going to go, but I’ll give you a call soon.”
“Okay. Just remember to think about what I said,” she urged.
“I will,” I promised.
“Love you!”
“You too!”
I disconnected the call and moved to the front door. The second I opened it I knew something was very, very wrong. The look on Max’s face was nothing but pure anguish.
“Max?” I called softly, knowing whatever he was going to say was not going to be good.
Tears filled his eyes. “They’ve got her,” he struggled to get out.
“What? Who?” I asked.
His voice. I’ll never forget the strangled sound of his voice when he replied, “Claire. She’s gone. Courtney just called me, screaming. She’s hysterical. Someone kidnapped Claire.”
I gasped. “Oh my God.”
“I need to get over there, but I need you. Please. Will you come with me?”
“Of course, Max. Anything,” I replied, forcing myself not to break down into tears. I wanted to so badly, though. Because Max’s favorite girl in the whole world was missing, and I knew how much that was going to hurt him. I never wanted Max to hurt.
I ran through the house, grabbed my keys and purse, and zipped outside.
Ten minutes later, we pulled up outside what I assumed was Max’s sister’s house. There were several police cars parked in the driveway and along the road. Max threw the truck into park and jumped out. I was out by the time he made it to my side.
Before we had the chance to even take a step toward the house, we heard a woman wail, “Max!”
My eyes shot in the direction of the pained screamed. Courtney, the woman from the picture in Max’s home, was running toward him, her phone in her hand. Her body collided with his and bucked with her uncontrollable sobs. “They’ve got my baby! We’ve got to get her back, Max. We’ve got to find her.”
Max was struggling to stay composed. His voice was just as ragged when he assured Courtney, “We’re going to bring her home, Court. Where’s Jim?”
“Inside. He’s calling his parents. Mom and Dad are already on their way,” she answered.
Just then, I saw a man step outside the house with his head down and the phone to his ear. He started pacing back and forth as he spoke. I realized then that that was Jim.
“Okay. We just need to talk to the police and see what the first step is,” Max said. I could tell he was doing everything he could to keep himself in control of his emotions. I didn’t know if it was for the sake of his sister, himself, or both.
“She just wanted to play in the snow,” Courtney cried softly. “We came out here so she could play.”
I vaguely heard a phone ringing, but I couldn’t pay attention to that because the moment the words came out of Courtney’s mouth, I saw defeat and devastation come over Max’s face. It hadn’t snowed since the big storm, but there was still more than enough snow on the ground for a little girl to play in. Max hadn’t made it over to play in the snow with Claire like he had promised. That’s the moment I knew Max was never going to forgive himself for this. It was also the moment I believed he realized he’d not come to see Claire because he’d been spending that time with me.
“One minute she was right there, the next she was gone,” Courtney began. “I took my eyes off of her for one second when I turned around for Julian. By the time I turned back around, the tires were squealing, and Claire’s pink snowsuit being pulled into the car was the only thing I saw.”
She saw the car. That had to be a good thing. That was at least something.
Just then, the phone in Courtney’s hand rang. She looked down at it, and I watched as her brows pulled together. She slid her finger across the screen and held it to her ear. “Hello?” she answered.
Max and I watched his sister as she waited for whoever was on the other end of the line to respond. It took a matter of seconds for Courtney’s face to pale and her entire body to lock. Her eyes were filled with fear as she looked up at her brother. Max must have figured out what was happening because he yelled out to his brother-in-law, “Jim!”
I looked to see Jim moving in our direction. His face was a mix of determination and anguish. A few officers who were there must have noticed something because they started following behind Jim. Before he made it over to us, my attention was turned back to Max because he’d pulled the phone from Courtney’s hand.
He held it to his ear and declared, “You’ve got Claire’s uncle, Max King.”
There was silence while he listened to the person on the other end of the line. Max’s eyes slid to Jim’s.
“How much?” he asked a moment later.
Oh God.
Oh no.
This was bad.
“When?” he pressed, his voice tight and strained.
There was a beat of silence before Max growled, “I need more time than that.”
He waited and listened.
“I want to talk to her. I need to hear her voice. I need proof she’s unharmed right now.”
A few seconds passed before I saw the tears well in Max’s eyes. “Hi, kiddo,” he struggled to get out. Max continued to break my heart when he promised, “That’s right. Uncle Max is coming to get you so we can go play in the snow.” Another pause, then, “Yep, we’re playing hide-and-seek right now, and you’ve got such a good hiding spot. But I’m going to find you. I’m going to be there as soon as I can, Claire. I promise you. Okay?” He waited for her reply. And finally, he vowed, “Love you more than the world, Claire-bear.”
My heart couldn’t handle it. A sob crawled up the back of my throat and escaped. Max’s eyes came to me, but I knew he was no longer listening to Claire. Because his entire demeanor changed.
“We will get it. You will have it. But you need to give us more time. No games. You’ll get the money. But if that little girl comes back here with so much as a hair out of place, I can promise you’ll wish you were dead. Because I will make it my life’s mission to find you. And when I do, I’ll show you no mercy.”
I didn’t think it was wise for Max to be threatening the guy who had his niece. I especially didn’t think it was smart that he was doing that in front of the group of police officers that had moved toward us. Even still, I stayed silent. I was here to support him, not call him out on the things I didn’t think were wise.
Max pulled the phone from his ear and whispered, “Fuck.”
“Max?” Courtney called.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!!” he repeated, his voice getting louder with each word.
At that point, one of the officers took charge and said, “Mr. King, please calm down. We need to know what they said so we can figure out our next move.”
Max’s dead eyes went to his brother-in-law before they went to the officer, and he deadpanned, “Claire was a target.”
“What do you mean?” the officer asked.
Max took in a deep breath. “These guys are connected to the cartel that Jim and his team just seized that twenty-five-million-dollar shipment for. Now, they’re demanding fifty million dollars in the next twelve hours if we want Claire back unharmed.”
I gasped.
Ransom.
Someone took Max’s innocent four-year-old niece for a fifty-million-dollar ransom.
“Oh God, Jim,” Courtney cried as she fell into her husband’s chest. “Our baby.”
Jim took the weight of his wife’s body against his, curling an arm around her, and promised, “They aren’t going to get away with this. We’re going to bring her home.”
Max stood there staring at the ground for several long moments before something came over him. It was like he’d had a revelation of sorts, and I knew that was true when he finally declared, “I’m going to liquidate the business. I just can’t get it done as fast as they want it.�
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Max was going to give up his livelihood to get his niece back. My heart couldn’t take it. I needed to do something. Unfortunately, before I had a chance to say anything, the officer did.
“Mr. King—” the officer got out before he was cut off.
“Max,” Max insisted.
The officer jerked his chin down in acknowledgment and began again. “Max, I’m going to highly suggest you reconsider. Jim’s already been in touch with some of the men he works with and we’re going to call in the Feds and—” That’s all he got out before Max cut it off again.
“I’m going to do whatever I need to do to bring that little girl home,” he seethed. “So you can call whoever you’ve got to call, but don’t you try to talk me out of doing what I’ve got to do to make sure she’s safe and is home on time to sleep in her bed tonight.”
Max was going to lose it. I could tell he was barely hanging on by a thread.
“We want to get her back safely, too,” the officer assured him. “Did they say anything else on the call?”
“They’re calling back in four hours to confirm the details of how and where they want the money sent, and to make sure we’re on track for timing,” Max shared.
“What about my little girl?” Jim pleaded with Max for any shred of a connection to his daughter. “What did she say?”
“She’s got to be so scared,” Courtney worried, her hands clutching her husband.
Max dropped his gaze to the ground and closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths before looking back at his sister and his brother-in-law. “Her head is still in the clouds. She’s not scared, which makes me believe that whoever has her is at least being decent with her. Based on what she said, they told her we were playing hide-and-seek. I figured it was best to let her think she’s winning right now.”
Nobody said anything for several long moments, but Max started letting the guilt take over. “I should have taken her outside and played with her the day she asked,” he mumbled.
That’s when I moved to him. I slid my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek to his chest. Max’s grip around me was so tight, I was being crushed to his body. He was hurting and needing my support right now, so I didn’t say anything. I just let him hold on as tight as he needed.
Just then, an SUV flew up the road and came to an abrupt halt. An older man and woman jumped out and came running over in tears.
They had to be Max’s parents.
Claire’s grandparents.
Between their son and daughter, they were given an update on the situation. Max’s mother moved to her daughter and engulfed her in her arms. Max’s father looked between his son and son-in-law and asked, “What are we going to do?”
Max shook his head. “I don’t have that kind of cash liquid right now. I told them I’d get them what they want, but that we needed time. They aren’t budging.”
“Maybe we can give them a partial payment in the time frame and then negotiate a time for the remainder,” his father suggested.
“I’ll try anything,” Max offered. “But I need to make some calls first so I can see how much I can come up with that quick.”
Max’s father added, “Same here. We just need to put everything we’ve got together and hope they’ll accept it.”
“Gentlemen,” an officer interrupted. When he had their attention, he explained, “I don’t want to dash your hopes or anything, but in cases like this, it’s very rare that they’ll negotiate, especially if you’ve already promised them the payday they’re looking for. I am strongly suggesting you wait until the FBI is here and can get a professional on the line. I’m not saying you can’t try, but I want you to be prepared for what could happen if you do this. You don’t want to risk insulting or angering them. That won’t be good for Claire.”
I stood there staring at the hopeless faces. The man I loved and his family. A family I believed I could love, too.
They were all completely, totally shattered.
This whole family was broken.
Courtney and her mother were crying in one another’s arms. I could easily see Jim struggling. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he was feeling a tremendous amount of guilt that the work he did put his little girl in harm’s way. Max’s father was staring off into the distance, and I wondered if he was picturing that little girl’s face.
Then, there was Max.
He was…I didn’t even know what he was. The look on his face wasn’t something I’d ever seen before now. In fact, it was something I knew I never wanted to see again.
I had to do something.
I couldn’t stand by and do nothing when I had the ability to take care of Max for a change.
So, I blurted, “When they call back in four hours and give you the details for payment, give them to me. I can have the money ready to go wherever it needs to go within an hour. Probably less.”
In an instant, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I was only looking at Max. “What?” he asked as his head jerked back.
“Give me the account details of where they want the money sent, and I’ll transfer the money to get Claire back,” I semi-repeated.
“Ella…you…do you…can you—”
I cut him off and assured him, “I can.”
His eyes widened. “How?” he asked.
Now was as good a time as any. I took in a deep breath, slowly let it out, and explained, “Because my name is Eleanor Page and I’m the developer, founder, owner, and every other head-honcho title you can give me of Page TV and a smattering of other widely-used apps. I literally have billions of dollars, Max. I will pay to get your niece home safe and sound and without a hair on her head out of place.”
Max was utterly shocked. He clearly never expected I was this well off, and he didn’t move a single muscle for a long time.
“We can’t ask you to do that, Ella,” he insisted after several minutes had passed.
“You didn’t,” I told him. “I’m offering.”
Max continued to stare at me. I held his eyes.
When I spoke again, I stated, “It’s time to tip the scales in my favor.”
Eleanor
The charge of electricity and tension in the air was palpable. I’d finally found the way to tell Max the truth about who I was, and he had yet to really react. Suddenly, I was wondering if I should have stepped in.
I mean, a little girl was missing. A little girl Max loved. Doing nothing just wasn’t an option for me.
But Max’s inability to speak to me was starting to worry me.
In fact, when I told him it was time to tip the scales, all he did was close his eyes and let out a sigh.
“Max?” Courtney called, breaking the silence.
Max turned to his sister who had her eyes on me. Understanding the question in her tone, Max introduced us. “Court, this is Ella. Ella, this is Courtney.”
I stepped forward and extended my hand to her. “Hi, Courtney. It’s so nice to finally meet you. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, oof—”
Courtney hadn’t taken my hand to shake. Instead, she used it to yank me toward her where she pulled me into a hug and held on tight. She didn’t say anything. She just held me fiercely. And that was all I needed to know not only just how much this meant to her, but also that I’d done the right thing. At least, it was the right thing in her mind. I still had no clue what Max’s thoughts were.
From that point forward, I didn’t remember or pay much attention to what was happening around me. The police were there, the Feds were on their way, and a handful of members of Max’s extended family had arrived. But I found it incredibly difficult to focus on any of it.
Because all of my attention was on Max. Initially, it was on the fact that he seemed to be in such a state of shock. But then it was because he moved from that to conflicted. I already felt so horrible for everyone involved in the situation that I didn’t want to make assumptions about Max’s headspace. So, I stood by and waited for any indication of
what I could do.
The only time I pulled myself away from Max’s side was when his nephew, Julian, started getting fussy. I knew I was an unfamiliar face, but the whole family was so torn up over Claire being kidnapped for ransom that I had a feeling Julian could sense it. I walked over and bent down where he was seated on the floor. There were a bunch of toys out for him to play with; however, with everyone else being so distraught, Julian didn’t have anybody to play with him.
So, while Max and his family talked to the police and the FBI after they arrived, answered their questions, and cried, I occupied Julian. But I didn’t do it without looking over at Max regularly to make sure he was okay. It hurt my heart to see, more often than not, that he wasn’t. Because if he wasn’t on the phone or speaking with detectives with determination written all over his face, he was staring off into space looking defeated.
Three and a half hours after they received the first call, the phone rang again. It was from a blocked number, so we knew it was them. And even though the FBI had arrived and walked Max through what he needed to do and say, everyone seemed to be feeling a little anxious. This was mostly because the kidnappers were calling thirty minutes sooner than they originally said they would.
When Max answered the phone, it was like nobody in the room was even breathing.
“You’ve got Max,” he answered.
Despite the number of people in the room, my eyes remained focused on Max. Based on what I gathered from the earlier conversations, I knew there was an FBI agent listening in to the call. But I didn’t seek out that person at that moment.
I only cared about Max.
I watched from where I was sitting on the floor playing with Julian, as Max’s body grew more and more rigid. He was holding a pen in one of his hands, looking down at the notepad, and scribbling what I could only assume were the account details for the transfer.
“Where?” Max asked.
He listened and waited for a response.
Max’s eyes shot to the agent I assumed was listening in. The agent nodded and held up two fingers.
“Two hours,” Max stated.