Hillary Blake looked at his phone again and checked the time. The more he looked at the phone, the more worried he got. Where was Kimberly? He asked himself over and over again. Had she changed her mind about coming home?
If she had, she could have just called him and told him and told him that she couldn't make it. There was no need to ignore his calls.
He tried calling her again, but this time the phone was switched off. Hillary Blake began to panic. Christopher Keane, his long time friend, stared at him and moved closer.
"Is everything okay, Hillary?" Christopher asked. "You looked worried"
"I have been trying, but I still can't reach Kim," Hillary replied. Looking even more worried than ever.
"Damn it" Christopher said. "I guess she must be really busy. Remember she said she was at work. I'm sure she is just busy with something. And whatever it is, it must be very important. Just try to enjoy the party. Kim is a big girl and I'm sure she's fine".
"Well, if it's a work issue, she would have called and told me about it. She said she would be here soon. And she should be by now. I can't enjoy the party if she isn't here and I don't know where she is. Something must be wrong. I have a bad feeling about this" Hillary said as he looked around while Christopher looked at him sympathetically.
"I should call Phoebe, they always make plans and go out together. If anyone knows where Kim is, it's her." Hillary said.
"Good idea" Christopher said.
Phoebe picked the call after the fourth ring. "Oh hi, Mr Blake" she said cheerfully. "Happy birthday. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your party, I'm sure you are having a great time though. How's Kim doing?"
Hillary sighed deeply. "She isn't here Phoebe. She said she was going to be here soon and she isn't. That's why I called you. I thought you might know where she is"
"I'm sorry, Mr Blake. But I don't" Phoebe said. "But maybe she's just stuck at work. She was really looking forward to the party too. I will try and see if I can reach her".
"Please do that. Thank you" Hillary said as he hung up. What Phoebe said had made him even more worried. Kimberly never did stuff like this.
"She doesn't know where Kim is either," Hillary said to Christopher. "What if she's in some kind of trouble?"
"Let's wait for a few minutes," Christopher said. "And if she isn't here or we don't hear from her. We are calling the cops"
Hillary liked that idea. He nodded in agreement. Kimberly was all he had. He couldn't lose her. Couldn't think of what he would do if he did.
His phone rang almost immediately and Hillary almost dropped it. He fumbled in his haste to see who it was.
"An unknown number?" Hillary hissed. He didn't have time for this right now. But he picked the call and lifted the phone to his ear.
"Hillary Blake" he said impatiently and obviously irritated.
"Hello, Mr Blake, I trust you are having a great time at your party. Listen very carefully" a voice he didn't recognize said. "We have your daughter, Kimberly, and if you want her to continue breathing, you will do exactly what I tell you... And I mean EXACTLY what I say"
Hillary froze. And he almost dropped the phone. He nodded helplessly. Forgetting that he was on the phone.
He moved into the nearest room, away from the guests and motioned for Christopher to follow him, which Christopher did.
"Do you understand what I just said?" the harsh voice on the other line barked, and Hillary clutched the phone to his ear tightly.
"I understand," Hillary said. He could barely recognize his own voice. Beside him Christopher stood. He was beginning to look worried too as he saw the fear written on Hillary's face.
"Don't try to involve the police," the man said. "Trust me, I will know if you do. And you won't believe what I will do to your daughter if you try to mess with me. You don't want to take chances with your daughter's life.. Do you?"
"No I don't" Hillary said. His hand shook. "Please don't hurt her. I will do whatever you want".
The man on the other end laughed. "Just what I thought. You will do anything for your daughter. Now what I want is really simple, and it shouldn't be too hard for you.... Since you are... You know.... You".
The man laughed again, and all Hillary could think of was how badly he wanted to wrap his hands around the bastard's throat. He didn't say that though. He kept quiet and kept his thoughts to himself. For Kim's sake. He didn't want to do anything that would put Kimberly in more danger than she already was. God! Who knows what they might have done to her already. He thought.
"Money." the man's voice said, interrupting Hillary's thoughts. "That's all I want. You have a lot of it so like I said before, it shouldn't be hard for you. All I want is a ransom of Forty million. And I want it in cash. I don't want the damn police tracking me through the fucking bank. I will call you to let you know where I expect the money to be. I don't think I need to remind you that I have your daughter. If you do anything stupid like involving the cops, I promise you that I will slit your daughter's throat and I won't think twice about it."
"I want proof that my daughter is safe and alive," Hillary said hurriedly before the man hung up. "How do I know that you truly have her.... Or that you haven't killed her".
"Oh your daughter is alive alright" the man said. "But she definitely isn't safe." He laughed again. And Hillary had to bite his tongue to keep from telling the idiot to burn in hell.
"I will let you talk to her for a few seconds," the man said. Hillary heard a few muffled sounds and people whispering before he heard Kimberly's voice. His heart sank when he heard how distressed she was.
"Dad," she said. "Dad, I'm scared. Please get me out of here. They broke into my apartment.... I'm...."
Hillary didn't hear anything else as the phone was snatched from Kimberly. He heard her scream "Dad".
"You heard her. Hope you are motivated now" the man said.
"Don't you dare hurt...." Hillary began, but he said the remaining words of that sentence to himself as the man hung up.
Hillary sat in a nearby chair. Scared for his daughter.... And angry as hell. That bastard better hope he never found him. He thought. But for now, he was more concerned with finding and bringing his daughter home.