Chapter 91 The mistake he heard
Axel's POV
After the previous day's call with Lisa's father, I was prepared for a more dramatic day than it was because I was ready to pull all the strings I possibly could to track down my lost shipment, or better still, get him to hand it over by surrendering.
It was bright and early in the morning, and I was in the study of the safe house where I'd been doing some important paperwork. It hadn't been up to thirty minutes since I'd gotten started on the paperwork before I was irritatingly interrupted by my phone's incessant buzzing while it rang out loud.
As I looked down at my phone on the desk, I noticed that the number wasn't saved on my phone so I guessed it might be a new client or one of our anonymous dealers that reached out with different numbers, so I immediately accepted the call and held the phone up to my ear.
"You Bastard!" The first thing I heard screamed right into the receiver and I pulled the phone away from my ear briefly because of the unexpected tone that resounded in my ear.
Almost immediately, I figured who'd been calling at this time because I'd attended to one important order of business earlier in the morning. I chuckled satisfactorily and adjusted confidently in my seat, I'd enjoy this for sure.
"Why're you getting so agitated?? I've barely done anything and you're already yelling insults?" I replied in a cocky tone after my laughter had died down, I didn't expect it to get this heated so early but I loved that my package had instigated some panic from him.
"You must've truly taken me for a fool because there's no way on earth that the finger you sent actually came from Lisa's hands. I know that you're too obsessed with her to harm her in such a foul way
But the time I was done with him, he
paused briefly and cleared my throat for a quick second while he stayed quiet and waited for me to get to the point I'd been trying to make.
"And while that might've been true at some point, Lisa made that null and void by crossing a line when she double-crossed me and from now henceforth I'll treat her just as I'd treat a common traitor. You should not doubt in your mind about that" I finished in a cool tone and by Volkov's breathing pattern I knew that I had successfully stirred the pool of panic he'd been trying to mask earlier. "I still don't believe that this body part belongs to Lisa. I'll make sure I prove it, this part you delivered will be sent to the lab to check if the DNA matches hers or not" He tried to sound unbothered but his unusual breaking pattern had betrayed him once again.
However, the fact that he wanted to get the part I'd sent checked for Lisa's DNA was a frail attempt on his path at checking if I'd indeed hurt her, and if he thought I'd lose my mind at his announcing it, he'd barely thought out any of this strategies.
"Oh, of course, suit yourself and run all the tests you'd like to, I couldn't care less" I ensured that confidence oozed from every word that left my lips as I addressed the information he shared which was somehow meant to be a threat. I was dead serious about having tortured Lisa but maybe he needed a few more body parts to be certain, and I'd deliver for sure.
"Meanwhile, the clock is dangerously ticking on your own end, I'll make sure you keep receiving a body part of your daughter every forty-five minutes until you respond appropriately" I warmed him sternly and slightly raised my voice to make my point as I spoke to him.
"You wouldn't dare, and those are sure as hell, not my daughter's body parts, you don't have the balls to lay a finger on her," He said in a tense tone which showed how much more agitated he was getting as I threw threats his way without flinching at anything he'd said. I didn't dignify him with the sort of reaction he was expecting, instead, I reemphasized the point I'd just made.
"You'd better have every single piece of the shipment sent back to its rightful owner quickly, else you'll be getting whatever half of your daughter is left if you don't comply soon enough" I replied in a low and relaxed tone while I stifled my laughter, this had turned out to be far more interesting than I'd expected in no time.
"If you'd really like me to believe that you're maiming my daughter and this is not just an elaborate prank, then I'd like to see my daughter over a video call to confirm for myself that the finger you sent earlier really belongs to her. Do that immediately! I need to see my daughter right now, else there's no deal" He screamed at the top of his voice this time around and he seemed to be pacing around anxiously as well judging from how his breathing had also gotten way more irregular as he rushed out his words.
Did he really assume somehow that he was in the best position to be making demands when I had his daughter at my mercy? The line had gone dead silent for my site while I wondered about the audacity he'd shown while he was clearly on the losing end this time around.
"You... You must really have underestimated me if you think I'll be stupid enough to let you know where we are," I had barely thought about a suitable response before I spoke and I'm certain that he must have noticed my hesitation after he'd shot the question my way.
"Oh wow, you finally slipped up? I wouldn't lie, you almost had me there with your threats and cocky replies. I almost believed that you'd maimed my daughter and sent her body part to me but as soon as you hesitated when I asked to see her over a video call, I knew that you must be hiding something and she's truly safe" He said in a calmer tone and chuckled satisfactorily, I knew I'd slipped up too but the fact that he interpreted it to mean that Lisa was safe and the sound was on him, not me.
I wasn't going to back down because of what he thought he knew, I was prepared to keep at it until I finally brought him to his knees for ever daring to go against me.
"You don't want me to see her because you've done nothing to her, maybe you've been fattened her up a bit by spoiling her and having her in your care" He teased and laughed to his fill while I chuckled lowly as he milked what he thought was an advantage he had over me. He also sounded oddly pleased with himself for having gotten an edge over me by asking for a video call, it's his overconfidence that always ruined him and it'll do so this time as well.
"Oh, you'll see her in due time, keep being delusional about my intentions because you think I'm going up on your daughter for some odd reason" I replied sharply in a stern tone and immediately ended the call before he could think of a cocky retort or tease me any further.
Well, I just had to show him that everything I'd told him was not simply empty threats aimed at scaring him. At a point like this, the best person to get on board with for my instructions to be carried out perfectly was Prince. I quickly picked up my phone again and dialed Prince's number as soon as the thought registered in my head. As usual, he picked up the phone on the first ring.
"What's up, man? Real quick, how long did you say it'd take for a matching forensic result to be developed in a lab? I need to figure some shit out quickly" I rushed my words as soon as I knew that he'd picked up without leaving any room for formalities, as of every second from now, time was of the utmost essence to me so I couldn't waste any second on anything other than this mission in
motion.
"Exactly 12 hours boss. Is everything good? What's the update?" Prince asked in a serious tone while I mapped out the next 12 hours in my head as soon as he replied.
"We're solid. But, Lisa's father has plans to run the body part we sent through a lab for a matching DNA sample. So as of this moment, that's how much time we have to deal with him and get the shipment back safely" I replied to him while my head was still running laps to figure out how to perfectly get him to wave the white flag.
"Okay, we can work with that." He said promptly but he also seemed to be deep in thought.
"Keep it going on your end, make sure you send him a new body part every 45 minutes so he knows we're not fucking around with him" I ordered, at least he'd know that I never made empty threats. "Plans are fully in motion for the deliveries," Prince said and relief flushed over me, it was great to know that there was someone I could always rely on even in delicate situations such as this. "Keep me in the loop, then," I replied and ended the call so that I could watch back and watch everything play out in my favor soon enough.