"Ten million?” Jonah whispered, his voice filled with despair.
“How are we supposed to get ten million in such a short amount of time?” Elliot sighed not saying a word.
The silence in the house was thick. Ten million dollars. Jonah’s hands trembled, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief. Elliot reached out, his hand finding Jonah’s, squeezing it tightly.
“We will figure this out,” Elliot said, his voice low and firm.
“How, he's not going to stop making ridiculous demands?” Jonah asked, his voice barely a whisper. “Ten million it’s insane.”
“We will find a way,” Elliot repeated, trying to sound confident. “First, we need to calm down. Panic won’t solve anything.”
"How long do we continue to keep quiet. Until he demands what you can't give?" Jonah asked.
Elliot sighed. He pulled Jonah into a hug, holding him close.
“We will get through this together." Elliot pulled Jonah to the room, shutting the curtains.
They laid on the bed, trying to get some sleep. The thought of the blackmailer weighing heavily on their mind. As the night deepened, Elliot tossed and turned unable to sleep, a million thoughts running through his mind. Elliot knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He needed to see Clara. He needed her help.
“I am going to see Clara,” he stated, pulling away from Jonah. “I need to talk to her.”
Jonah stirred from sleep mumbling. He opened his eyes a little to look at Elliot.
“Be careful,” Jonah said, his eyes filled with worry.
“I will,” Elliot promised, kissing him gently on the forehead.
Elliot rose from the bed, putting on some sweatpants and slacked T-shirt. He ran down the stairs nearly flying out of the house. He drove to Clara’s house, the streets quiet and deserted. He found her in her room, a stack of papers spread out on the bed. She looked up from her papers.
“Elliot, what is wrong?” she asked, her voice filled with concern. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
He sat down, his shoulders slumping. "Jonah's being blackmailed for a while now and the blackmailer won't let up, each demand more outrageous than the rest. He just asked for 10 million dollars in 24hrs." Elliot told her.
Clara’s eyes widened. “Ten million? That… that does not even make sense impossible.”
“I know,” Elliot said, his voice heavy. “And Jonah, he is been going through this for weeks, all alone. I had no idea. He has been paying this guy off, trying to protect me, trying to protect us all.”
Clara listened, her expression growing increasingly grim. “That is awful, Elliot. Jonah should not have had to go through this alone.”
“I know,” Elliot said, his voice filled with regret. “I should have been there for him. " Elliot said still feeling guilty.
"Do you guys have any clue who could be doing this. Elaine?" Clara asked.
"Well it is not her, Jonah ran into her a few days ago and she did not seem like a suspect." Elliot told Clara.
"Any other suspects?" Clara asked her brows furrowed as she was in deep thought.
"No suspect with at least sufficient evidence but there is more. Lila came to my house a few days ago. She acted strangely, too nice and then she hid a teddy bear in my room. And she was wearing your perfume.”
Clara’s brow furrowed. “My perfume? That’s odd.” “I caught her in tears recently, she was crying in her car the other day,” Clara added, a memory surfacing. “I saw her when I got home. She tried to hide it, but I could tell she was upset.”
"Could that have been the same day?" Elliot asked.
They looked at each other, many unanswered questions in the air.
“It makes no sense,” Clara said, shaking her head. “Why would Lila do this? And why the teddy bear? And why my perfume?”
“I do not know, though it was the same teddy bear she gifted to us during the barbecue." Elliot said, his voice laced with frustration. “But it feels like she’s involved somehow.”
“We need evidence,” Clara said, her voice firm. “We can not accuse her without proof. Lila is a drama queen, and she might just blow this up or turn it into what it is not. Mum and dad would not want that now." Clara explained to Elliot.
“But how do we get proof?” Elliot asked, his voice tired.
Clara stood up, “I have sources, Elliot. People who can help us. I will start digging, see what I can find out about Lila, about anyone who might be connected to this blackmailer.”
He hugged Clara, relief flooding his mind. “Thank you, Clara,” Elliot said, his voice filled with gratitude. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Clara hugged him back patting his back, "It is not a promise or anything but it's definitely a start." Clara said. “We will get through this,” Clara reassured, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Elliot and Clara stayed awake all through the night, working out possible people. Clara paced the room, her phone in her hand as she constantly made calls. Elliot sat back and watched in admiration as Clara handled calls with ease. He grew newfound respect for her. They continued trying to piece together any ideas they had, soon enough the sun began to rise. Elliot looked outside surprised, they had lost track of time.
Elliot stood up going to stand in front of Clara holding her shoulders, "You need to get some rest you have been up all night." He told her.
"I know, but I am not complaining." She replied.
Elliot ignored her leading her to the bed and tucking her in, "You have already done enough besides you need rest to be able to make sensible progress."
Elliot told her moving the duvet to her chin. Elliot turned to leave when Clara called out, "Where are you going? You need some rest too and the guest room is always available."
Elliot turned, "I wish I could get some rest, but I have to go to the bank now. That is a lot of money to move in one day." Elliot explained to her.
Clara nodded, yawning her eyes slowly fluttering shut.