Chapter 78 Only for Money
The air inside the warehouse seemed to freeze, filled only with Clara's heavy, furious breathing and the cold wind seeping through gaps in the rusted iron door.
Clara wrenched free from the kidnappers' grip, stumbling backward several steps. Disheveled strands of hair clung to her sweat-dampened temples as her eyes burned like poisoned daggers, boring into Ethan and Emma, huddled together in the corner. Emma's face, delicate and beautiful even in terror, only fueled her hatred.
"You useless idiots! I hired you to do a job, not to give me grief!" she snarled.
Vernon's expression darkened as he rubbed the hand that had restrained her, his voice dripping with warning. "Ms. Johnson, we're in the kidnapping business, not murder! We agreed to grab them and let you handle it—scare them, rough them up, whatever. But killing them in front of us? That's off-limits. It breaks the rules! You mess up the merchandise, what are we supposed to ransom? Their mother will come after us with everything she's got!"
Perry added in his gravelly voice, "Exactly! Vernon's right. We're only in this for the money. We don't want blood on our hands!"
Clara burst into shrill, maniacal laughter that echoed through the cavernous warehouse, dripping with mockery and venom.
She suddenly yanked a black credit card from her designer purse and slammed it down on the nearest cement platform piled with tattered tarps, producing a crisp sound.
"Take this card! There's ten million dollars on it—all yours! I don't even want my cut anymore."
"Ten million dollars?" Vernon and Perry's breathing instantly became labored, their eyes locked greedily on the small card that represented unimaginable wealth, avarice practically overflowing from their eyes.
"That's right! Ten million dollars! There's only one condition." She stabbed her finger toward Ethan and Emma, her teeth grinding audibly. "I want them dead. Right here, right now! Clean it up! I never want to see that manipulative little bitch's face, that looks exactly like her mother's, and I never want to hear that arrogant little boy's voice that sounds just like his mother's smugness. I want them gone forever!"
The warehouse fell into deathly silence.
The temptation of ten million dollars seared into the two kidnappers' hearts like a red-hot brand.
How many kidnapping jobs would it take to earn this much?
The massive greed instantly crushed all fear and principles.
What rules? What lives? In the face of enough money, everything became a joke.
Hidden behind the oil drum in the shadows, Jasper felt his blood turn to ice as he listened to the crystal-clear conversation inside.
'Ten million dollars for Ethan and Emma's lives . This psychotic woman!'
Vernon swallowed hard, his eyes meeting Perry's in several heated exchanges.
From each other's eyes, they saw the greed for vast sums of money and the malice about to cross their principles."Deal!" Vernon squeezed the word through clenched teeth, bending to pick up the black card and carefully tucking it into his pocket like a priceless treasure.
"Ms. Johnson, don't worry. We'll handle this flawlessly, leaving no trace."
Clara watched them yield, a twisted and gleeful smile spreading across her face, as if she could already envision Emily's devastation after losing her beloved kids.
She adjusted her slightly disheveled fur coat, resuming her imperious posture. She'd known that with enough money, anything could be arranged!
Though this deal was costing her big.
She'd originally planned to profit from the ransom split, never expecting these kidnappers to be so troublesome. Not only would she make no money, but she'd also have to pay out a fortune.
Since she was paying, she wouldn't have to dirty her own hands. Her cold gaze swept over the two kidnappers. "Remember, this is your 'business' now. It has nothing to do with me. If even a whisper of this reaches the wrong ears, I'll show you what 'worse than death' really means."
"Understood! Safe travels, Ms. Johnson!" Vernon was unusually obsequious now.
Clara cast one final venomous glance at Ethan and Emma in the corner, looking at them like lambs awaiting slaughter. With a cold snort, she turned and click-clacked away on her high heels, swaying as she left the warehouse.
The rusted iron door groaned shut again, cutting off the cold wind and seemingly sealing the children's last hope for survival.
The warehouse plunged back into deadly quiet, filled only with the kidnappers' heavy breathing and the faint, suppressed breathing of children from the corner.
The two harsh floodlights now seemed more like execution spotlights, mercilessly illuminating Ethan and Emma.
Emma's small face was ghost-white, her body trembling uncontrollably, yet she bit her lower lip hard to keep from crying out.
Ethan shielded her completely with his small body, his little chest heaving violently, but his eyes held an unexpected calm, even a cold resolve.
His small hand, hidden behind Emma's body, silently felt for the inconspicuous clasp on the special pendant around his neck.
'Faster, it has to be faster!'
Vernon pulled a folding knife from his waist, its sharp blade reflecting cold menace under the harsh lights.
Perry's eyes also gleamed with murderous intent as he grabbed a rust-stained iron pipe leaning against the wall, dragging it across the ground with an ear-piercing scrape.
Vernon licked his cracked lips, advancing step by step. "Sorry, kids, blame your luck for having a troublemaker for a mother!"
The cold killing intent wrapped around the two children like tangible frost!
"Make it quick!" Perry growled, raising the iron pipe!
Just as Vernon's knife lifted and Perry's pipe whistled through the air about to strike, a deafening explosion echoed through the air!
The warehouse's thick but thoroughly rusted iron door suddenly burst inward from outside, warping, deforming, then, with an ear-splitting screech of tearing metal, went flying completely!
It crashed heavily onto the dusty warehouse floor with earth-shaking impact!
Frigid wind mixed with bone-chilling air instantly rushed in!
Blinding headlights cut through the warehouse darkness like sword blades, shooting straight inside!
In that dizzying column of light, a tall and imposing figure, appeared at the warehouse entrance like a war god descended from heaven!