Monday, October 17, 2023
Trey's House
A few hours ago...
Lexi sat up suddenly, wondering why she'd woken up. Something had caused it, she knew, but what exactly it was, she had no idea. After scanning the lit room and realizing no one was there and nothing was out of place, she lay back down to see if sleep would return.
It didn't, and after staring up at the ceiling for some minutes, she remembered she hadn't gone to bed alone. Trey. He wasn't by her side, and that made her wonder what time it was. She turned onto her side and stared at the digital clock on the bedside table.
12:17 pm.
She fell out of the bed, startled. Then she rubbed her eyes and looked again, but nothing changed—well, until the seventeen switched to eighteen. She got off the floor and headed straight for the bathroom.
How could she have slept so much when her kids had been abducted?
No wonder Trey was already out of bed. But why hadn't he woken her? With a frustrated cry, she squeezed some paste onto her brush and set about taking off her clothes. There was no time to lose.
After her bath, she got dressed quickly and picked up her phone, wondering if Trey or anyone else had left a text. She skimmed through the texts from Ashley, Sierra and Melissa; they all said the same thing. They wanted to know if she was okay, and that she could talk to them when she felt like it.
She thought about leaving it and replying later, but thinking she was going to be busy helping Trey find their kids, she surmised that she might not have time for it later. She made quick work of creating a group with them four, then typed out a reply:
I'm fine, so please stop worrying. I'm going to be busy so I might not be able to call or text anyone—which is good, because I don't particularly feel like talking. But I'll talk to you later and I'll update you once I know the progress we've made.
She reread it and didn't like how offhanded it sounded. So, she cleared it all up and wrote: I'm okay, and thanks for your concern. I have to go now though, but I'll talk to you later and update you on what is going on so far.
Satisfied, she sent the text and continued checking her other messages when she came across one from an unknown number. Her experience with unknown numbers made her heart thud in fear. Still, she opened the text.
You think you're so smart, involving your hound dog of a husband.
Her heart skipped a beat, because she knew exactly who the message was from. She began walking out the room, yelling for Trey.
But we've outsmarted him this time. He wouldn't see what is going on till it hits him in the face.
"Trey!" She checked out the rooms on the floor, and began hurrying down the stairs to the first floor? Why did the house look this deserted? What was going on?
You have no choice. If you want to meet and keep your precious darlings safe, follow these instructions to the latest.
"Trey, where are you?!" The frustration in her voice was climbing with every call of his name.
First, give a thumbs up to signify this has reached you, Alexa.
She exhaled through her nose and opened her contacts section, looking frantically for Trey's number. She was so shaken that she forgot she'd added him to her favorites, and when she remembered she was already on the ground floor.
After calling out his name a few more times, she hit the call button, but his number was out of coverage. What was he doing? And was he safe? She didn't want to add him to her list of worries, and she wasn't sure she could trust just anyone—not after what Trey had said about a possible insider.
She found Billy's contact and called him, heading back up towards Trey's office. "William Armstrong speaking," he said upon answering.
"Billy, it's Alexandra. I'm headed towards Trey's office with my spare key, and I'm calling you because I'll be there in a few. Think you have a moment to spare? I need help."
"Of course. See you then."
"Bye."
She hung up and went down the hall of the first floor, fishing out the spare key from behind a tapestry, then went down the far end to open the door. After locking it behind her, she headed for the bookshelf and did exactly as Trey had taught her.
Then she checked her phone. Those were the only messages he'd sent, and he truly was waiting for a response before giving further instructions. He was being extra careful, she realized.
And it's almost as if he'd known Trey wouldn't be around.
The elevator came to a stop and opened, revealing Billy waiting on the other side of the door. "Thank you for meeting me on short notice."
Billy directed her towards her office. "I was already here anyway so it's no problem."
"That's true. Have —"
"Not to be rude," Billy cut in, his voice low, "but I'd rather we got to either my office or the small conference room reserved for Trey's use before talking. We still don't know if there are more insiders."
"Okay."
Billy went in first holding the door open for her to come through then he closed it after her. "Yes. You were saying?"
"I was asking if you'd seen my husband—" she blushed lightly when Billy smiled amusedly, "I mean Trey."
"I know," he said, waving her into a seat as he headed for his behind the desk. "He's out of the house to look into a clue he found while reviewing camera feeds. I'm sure he'll tell you the full details later."
She chewed on her lips nervously. "I see," she whispered finally. "Then that leaves you to help me with this."
Billy's brows furrowed in concern. "What's the matter?"
She opened up the text and gave her phone to him. "Ethan is the one who contacted me; I'm sure. And since I couldn't find Trey, I thought I'd ask if you think it's a good idea to follow through."
"Absolutely not," came his immediate response. "Your husband would kill you and me both if we even think of it, because then he'd have to retrieve not just the babies, but you as well."
Frustrated his Chief of Security was just like Trey himself, she huffed out a breath. "What do you propose I do then?"
"Give me a moment. I'll try tracing the number to see if I can find where the number is currently." He used his foot to push him away from the desk to a smaller table with a laptop and set the phone next to it. "I need a couple of minutes. Hope you don't mind the wait."
"No."
*
Billy's head shake when he turned around told her all she needed to know before he spoke. "He spoofed his location to appear in multiple spots on the map simultaneously. I can't find which exact one it is."
"Then I guess the only option left is for me to meet him like he requests," she said, staring straight at him.
"Like I also said before, that is out of the question," he told her in a stern voice.
She sat up when the perfect way to take advantage of the situation occurred to her. "Think of it this way. —"
"No. I told you if you left, it would put us both in trouble." Then he amended, "Every one of us here, actually."
"Hear me out," she asked, spreading her hands on the surface of his desk. "Our babies are with them, right?" Billy nodded slowly, wondering where she was going with this. "I had been worrying about whether they'd get fed or taken care of. —"
Finally realizing where it was going, Billy attempted to stop her. "I highly doubt —"
"Let me finish," she growled. She finally had an opportunity to see her kids after a whole night of worrying and she wasn't going to throw it away. "If I go, I can care for them and make sure they're safe. That way, Trey can take his time getting things together."
"I understand," Billy said consolingly, "but I highly doubt Mr. Robinson would agree."
"Once he understands I'm doing this for the safety and wellbeing of the babies, he'll understand." She paused, but continued quickly to prevent Billy from saying anything contradictory. "I just need to know they're okay. Please."
"But what about your safety?" he asked. "I'm responsible for your safety now that he's not around, and anything that you do, I'll have to account for."
She sighed. "Ethan wants me. Besides, if he's truly bankrupt, he might still need the money from Trey to run off, say, to another country. Between that and wanting me for himself, I highly doubt he'd hurt me.
"Besides, if he does need the money, he will contact Trey and that'll give you the opening you guys need. I just need to be with them for the meantime—till you find us."
"What if that isn't the case? What if after getting you, he doesn't want the money? What if we delay in finding you and he takes you all even farther away?"
She was quiet, mulling over that possibility. No sensible man who has been imprisoned would give himself out to be found by making outrageous demands that could land him in jail again.
Then she sighed. "Is there no way you can track me from here? They might take my phone and search me, so it has to be something that can't be detected by scanning devices."
Billy gave her a long look, and when she stared right back, her eyes challenging, he realized she wasn't willing to back down. She was determined as a mother, and he knew then that nothing he said would dissuade her.
Pushing back to the desk, he opened the coded and fingerprint based drawer, bringing out a plastic rubber. "What's that?" she asked.
"You wanted a tracker that couldn't be detected," he said with a shrug, opening the plastic bag to remove one of the wiry trackers. "We'll use this. Let me set it up."
"Sure."
In less than two minutes he was done, then he stood, walking over to her. "It goes in the hair and blends in as soon as it's online or active. But I need to pierce it onto your scalp so it'll hurt a little. Are you okay with that?"
She looked a little wary as she stared at the dainty device in his big hand. "Yes, if that's what it'll take to allow me to go see my kids."
"Also note that it's a prototype; not developed like the subsequent ones so it might not function properly within a wide range." Billy sighed. "Would you like to take that risk?"
"It's better than nothing," she said resolutely, parting her hair near the front for him to insert it. If Ethan decided to pull on her hair like he used to do before, she'd rather he didn't ruin the delicate device.
"I think you've realized that if it breaks, that's it for us. If I can't stop you, the least I can tell you is to be careful," he added as he stepped back. "Don't anger them or make them hurt you. Trey is ugly when he's extremely angry, and I don't want to see that again because you have been touched, okay?"
She nodded, looking determined. "I'll try my best though he disgusts me." Ethan was a good looking guy, but his nasty character made him repulsive to Lexi.
The bright red strand—the tracker—stood out, even if just a little, against her blond hair. But as soon as he got to the PC and switched the device on, it adjusted to her hair color, blending in perfectly.
"Text him your response," Billy said as he went towards the door. "I'll get Jasper to drive you. He'll know to make a professional fuss when you leave, making whoever is watching for Ethan think he truly lost you. That will tell them we have no idea where you are or what you are up to, and ultimately keep their guards down and buy time."
"Sure."
*
Present...
"I still don't like that she's gone," Trey said, trying to get his emotions under control. She really thought it'd ease his worries knowing she was there with the kids. And it did somewhat, but majorly, he was more worried than before.
Ethan had gotten who he wanted with the bait, and if they didn't act fast, they might not see Alexandra nor the babies again. There were still a few hours until Mitch had to bring in his findings and then he'd decide what to do from there.
He turned to his best friend. "Jason, I need a favor."
"Name it."
"I'd like to create another account in your name and transfer all my money and assets to you."
"Huh?" he asked, blinking rapidly. "Why would you want that?"
"Like Alexandra had told Billy, he might call for the portion of assets he would've taken from her, as well as money. I will draw up a statement that says I'm agreeing and put my signature to it.
"But before that, I need to transfer everything because it'll render the signed document useless since I have 'nothing' in my account to give him," he explained.
"Ah, I get it," Jason said when understanding hit him. "We could make it possible, but it might take a day or more."
"Alexandra bought us a little time. We might as well use it wisely." Trey pointed at the door. "Go start setting it up and I'll join you later to sign whatever for the transfer. We have to be quick."
"Sure," Jason said, going out and closing the door firmly behind him.
Trey rounded on Billy frowning as he pointed a finger to his face. "I'm still mad at you for letting her go. So until she's back safely in my arms, we stay like that, but work together anyway."
Billy smiled a little as he watched Trey bypass him towards his office door. "I will have to live with that, even though I dislike the notion."
Trey narrowed his eyes at him and continued. "I will go up after Jason leaves and 'look for' Alexandra. That should tell the mole, and ultimately Donovan himself, that we don't know what she's up to."
Billy smiled wryly. "What do you plan on doing?"
Trey smiled wickedly. "I'm going to go on a 'rampage' since I can't take it out on you. See you later."