When the call came, Max was in a meeting. TC didn't bother preparing him or beating around the bush. He told him straight forward what had happened and that he was going after the kidnappers because he couldn't do anything more for Gwen. She was on her way to the hospital with two gunshot wounds. Max found himself between a rock and a hard place. His son was missing while his sister was dying. Who was he supposed to tend to first?
Being the calm person he was, he sat down in his office and thought things through. Someone had taken Zander which meant they weren't going to hurt him. Yet. If he could cooperate with the police and follow their instructions, they would find him. Taking out his phone he called Darren and instructed him to go to the hospital and wait for news about Gwen. He could only hope that the doctors would do their best to save her. At that moment, finding his son was his priority so he went in search of Emilia.
Knowing her, he thought he'd find her in shock, sitting by herself without saying anything. But when he got at the hotel where she worked he found her with her friend Thea talking to the police. She didn't see him at first so he stood to the side to listen to their conversation.
"Ma'am in kidnapping cases like this one, all we can do is wait for the kidnappers to call for ransom"
"What if they don't call?"
"They will. Unless they have a grudge against your son there is no reason to take him. If they wanted him dead they would have shot him together with his aunt. But because they took him, we know that they will call asking for something. Just be patient" the officer tried to explain but Emilia wasn't listening to any of it.
"Do you have children sir? With all due respect don't tell me to be patient. My son has been kidnapped and I don't know who took him or why. I don't know how scared he is or if he's hurt. How can I be patient?"
"I understand that you're worried but aside from trying to find the kidnappers and waiting for their call, there's nothing more we can do ma'am. Can you tell me if you there is anyone who would want to harm you or your husband?"
"I don't know about Max but someone has been trying to kill me. I thought they gave up because there haven't been any attempts lately"
"Did you report it to the police?"
"No, but I got a bodyguard. He was with my son today" turning to Thea, she asked "Where's TC?"
"He went after the kidnappers" Max replied joining the conversation.
"Alone? How can he do that?"
"Remember what I told you earlier Em?" her friend asked but Emilia didn't bother replying.
"Officer, if I could guess the suspect, I'd say it's Lisandra Martinez. She has always hated me and done everything she could to get rid of me"
"Wait a minute Em. You can't blame this on Lisandra without any evidence"
"Are you kidding me?" she spun around to glare at him
"I'm not defending her. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't pin this on her when we don't even know the truth about who is behind this"
"Fine then. Tell me who you think it was"
"I don't know. It could be one of my enemies or someone we don't know. Let's not jump into conclusions and let the police do their work"
"You know what, I'm going with Thea to look for Zander. If I find out that Lisandra is behind this, I will put a bullet between her eyes. I'm tired of her stupid antics"
"You shouldn't threaten anyone in front of the police ma'am" the officer told her which was the wrong thing to say because she lost it and screamed,
"Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do if you haven't found my son yet. If it really is that witch, I hope you get to her first before I do. Because I will tear her apart for touching my baby"
"Calm down Em. You need to keep your cool if you want me to go with you"
"Listen to your friend honey. You need to calm down" Max placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her but she shrugged it off. It wasn't the fact that she didn't want his comfort but how she looked at him that told him this was going to be a long and hard fight.
He could already see the regret in her eyes. He knew her too well to know what she was thinking. That coming back to him had been a mistake. It made his heart break further to know that she didn't even have to say it out loud. He understood her that much. They loved each other but when things got rough, they somehow found themselves on opposite directions. He wasn't in any way trying to defend Lisandra. But for Emilia to just decide she was the culprit because they didn't like each other was wrong.
His father had taught him to be a just and fair man. Pointing fingers at someone without evidence, he knew first hand how that could destroy a person's life. He'd made the mistake of accusing one of his employees without evidence and he'd paid the price for it. All he wanted was for Emilia to understand that actions had consequences. One wrong move could cost another innocent person their life. But even though he was standing right beside her, there was a distance between them. Let alone giving her an explanation, she wasn't even willing to listen to him.
It made him wonder how much their relationship could withstand before breaking completely. During these hard times, could she let herself lean on him? Or was she going to distance herself further? She hadn't even bothered to ask how Gwen was. He knew that they hadn't liked each other at the beginning but they had been getting along lately. The least she could do was ask if his sister was okay.
"Can we talk" Thea asked pulling him aside.
"What is it?"
"Em is angry so don't hold it against her. All these years, Zander is the only person who kept her going. He's basically her world. I hope you understand why she's acting that way"
"I know and I'm not holding anything against her. I just wish she would let me be by her side"
"She'll come around. The reason I wanted to talk to you was because we know who took Zander"
He straightened up "You do? Have you told the police yet?"
She snorted "I am the police"
"Who was it?"
"The people you refused to work with. Actually it was my idea to break off the deal with the shipping company. Take this as Emilia's love for you. We investigated every deal you made just to make sure you didn't fall into the wrong hands. Em always said that she was protecting Zander's inheritance but I think it was because she didn't want you to do business with criminals" she said and any other day, Max would have had a reaction. Not today though. He couldn't care less what they did or didn't do. He just wanted his son back.
"I don't understand you"
"The shipping company belongs to the Petrovs. It wasn't easy finding that connection but we did which was why we stopped you. Since he wants payback for not keeping your word, he took Zander. Although I think he's safe because Petrov promised not to hurt him"
"So you're telling me that some Russian guy kidnapped Zander?"
She shushed him "Keep it down. I don't want anyone else to find out. I trust that TC will handle this matter"
"What can he do? He's just a bodyguard. This is my son's life we're talking about here. If need be I will call out favors and bring in Swat"
"And here I was commending you on being calm. If you want to see Zander again you'll keep your mouth shut. And TC is an undercover agent that's been working on the Petrov's case for longer than anyone. He knows how they work. He's the only one who can bring him back safe"
"Still, wouldn't it be better to have more people assisting him?"
"In my experience, powerful people like the Petrovs have informants everywhere. In this instance I suggest you trust no one. You never know who could be on their payroll. I'm not saying this because I don't trust my team but shit happens"
Max nodded understanding her explanation. He realized why she'd made detective at such a young age. She was clever and thought on her feet. Any other cop out there would have asked for an arrest warrant for that Petrov guy and then who knew what would happen to Zander after that. Although it didn't make sense that they'd take him and not hurt him. If they wanted revenge against him, hurting his son would be the perfect way to do that. What else did they want, money?
"What does this Petrov guy want?"
"I don't know. He was here in the morning and he had some words with Em but then left abruptly. My guess is that he's already on his way back to Russia so that no one would accuse him of anything. Don't worry too much Max, we will find Zander"
"I hope so. I really do" he said running a hand through his hair. Already he could see media vans pulling up outside the hotel "Take care of my wife. I have to make some calls"
"Okay. Don't do something stupid"
"My patience has a limit. There's only so much I can take before I lose it"
"Stay calm for Emilia's sake. If not for anyone then for her" she patted his shoulder and left. He watched her lead Emilia to a car and drive off. He didn't know where they were going but he knew that leaving her alone now was the right thing to do. After she'd calmed down, she would come back home and hopefully look for him. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out heading to his car,
"Hey"
"Why do I have to hear something so serious from the reporters?" Preston hissed.
"Sorry. I'm still in shock"
"I'm at the house trying my best to calm Mel down. Get back here immediately"
"Okay. I'll be right there" he'd forgotten about everyone else. Had his mother seen the news too? If so then what was her reaction? Was she going to finally talk? He needed her to tell him everything will be okay. He really needed his mother now more than ever.
------------------
"How is he?"
"Fine. One of the guys told him to do what he was told and he would get to see his mother soon. He hasn't said a word again"
Genevieve sighed "I don't want to do this but I have no choice. This is the only way I can get rid of that snake"
"So what's next?"
"We wait. So far what has Lisandra said about her plans?"
"We are to lure Mrs. Carter here then kill her and make it look like an accident. She will swoop in, save the kid and be the hero"
"Clever. She's going to feel remorse over not being to save Emilia but in my son's eyes she will look like a brave woman who risked her life to save his son. After this I'm sure Max will definitely fall in love with her"
"That's the plan ma'am"
"Let's make it happen. We are going to help Lisandra achieve her goal"
"Yes ma'am"
"Call me when you have Emilia. I will tell you what to do next" Genevieve hung up.
After so many years, she was going to get rid of that pest for good. Spending three years in a wheelchair hadn't been easy. She'd done a lot of rehab and taken a lot of medicine to restore her body back to what it had originally been. It was also hard to hide the fact that she could walk and talk from everyone else. The only person who knew she was okay was her doctor. He understood why she was doing it and had promised to help her keep her secret. But this charade would come to an end soon.
She was going to do everything in her power to rid herself and her family of that woman. Max was going to be hurt but sooner or later he'll get over it. And maybe after a few years he would thank her for helping him. She was a mother and no one knew the lengths a woman would go to, to protect her children. She was prepared to sacrifice her grandson if it meant her son would be free. He was young and healthy. If he wanted, he could have more children.
"Oh my dear boy, I'm sorry for doing this but I have no choice. I hope you will forgive me someday" she said looking down at bracelet Zander had given her just a few days ago.
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How do you think this will end?
From my end I think you'll be surprised by how fast things will go downhill. Only two or three more chapters left. Sit tight.