Chapter 100 Chapter 100
Maxwell
The confirmation message from Victor arrived a few minutes later. “ “Transfer successful.” Eighty million dollars gone with the push of a button.
I stared at the screen for a moment, my jaw tight, my chest heavy with a mixture of rage and desperate hope. If money was what they wanted, then they had it. All that mattered now was getting my daughters back alive.
My phone buzzed again, it was another unknown number, I answered immediately. “Yes.” The same woman’s voice slid through the line, calm and emotionless.
“Good, the transfer has been confirmed.” I clenched my fist.
“Where are my daughters?” I demanded.
There was a brief pause, like she was enjoying the tension. “You can come pick them up.”
My heart slammed violently against my ribs. “Location?” I barked.
“I will send it to your phone,” she said coolly. “Come alone, Mr. Sinclair. If we see anyone else, your daughters disappear forever.” The line went dead.
A second later, my phone buzzed with a message, an address was sent. It is an abandoned warehouse district on the outskirts of the city. I immediately dialed Lorenzo, he picked up on the second ring.
“Maxwell.”
“Did you get the account details I sent?” I asked, already moving toward the hospital exit.
“Yes.”
“Are you tracing it?”
“We are,” Lorenzo replied. I could hear keyboards clacking in the background and several voices speaking in rapid Italian. “The account is active. The money has not moved yet.” That meant they were still watching it.
“Are you trailing the caller?” I asked.
After a brief pause, Lorenzo spoke again. “Yes.” The single word sent a cold rush of relief through me.
“We routed the call through several towers,” he continued. “She tried to mask it, but our people are working through the layers.”
I pushed through the hospital doors into the cool night air. “They told me where to pick up my daughters.”
“Send the location,” Lorenzo said immediately. I forwarded the message, after a few seconds passed Lorenzo let out a low breath. “Warehouse district.”
“Yeah.” I said.
“That place has dozens of empty buildings,” he said. “Perfect for an ambush.”
“I’m already on my way.”
“Maxwell,” he said sharply before I could hang up. “Do not approach without your security.”
“They are coming with me.” I ended the call and slid into the back seat of the SUV as two more vehicles pulled up behind me. My security team didn’t ask questions. They had already seen the look on my face.
“Drive,” I ordered.
The convoy tore through the streets, engines roaring as we sped toward the outskirts of the city. My fingers drummed restlessly against my knee while my mind raced with a thousand possibilities.
Thirty minutes later we turned off the main road into a dark, deserted industrial area. The place looked abandoned. Broken fences leaned to the side, rusted gates hung loosely from their hinges, and empty warehouses stretched into the darkness like giant shadows.
Our headlights swept across the open space, there were dozens of old cars. Some were missing doors. Some had shattered windows. Others were so covered in dust they looked like they had been sitting there for years.
I pulled out my phone and tried calling the number again. It Disconnected, I tried again. The call failed immediately.
A message buzzed onto my phone. “ Your girls are in the car. Find them.” My jaw clenched so tightly it hurt.
There had to be at least fifty abandoned cars scattered across the area. “This is a game to them,” I muttered coldly.
I stepped out of the SUV and slammed the door shut behind me. My security team followed immediately, spreading out around the area. “Search every car,” I ordered.
My men moved quickly, checking one vehicle after another. Doors creaked open. Flashlights cut through the darkness. My chest tightened with every car that turned out to be empty. We searched all cars and they were all empty. My anger started to grow with every passing minute.
If they had dragged me all the way out here for nothing, I swore to myself I would make them regret it for the rest of their miserable lives.
We kept searching, over thirty minutes passed and yet nothing was found. Frustration burned through my chest. I ran a hand through my hair and turned back toward the SUV. “Let’s move to the next warehouse,” I said tightly. “They might be inside.”
I climbed back into the vehicle while still trying the number again, it disconnected again. My patience was running thin.
Just as the engine started, one of my men suddenly spoke.“There.”
I looked up, a single car sat farther down the road, slightly hidden in the shadows near a broken fence. It was the only car sitting alone.
My chest tightened instantly. “Stop,” I said sharply. The SUVs came to a sudden halt. Before the engine even shut off, I pushed the door open and stepped out. My security team quickly followed, their weapons already drawn as they scanned the dark surroundings.
My eyes were locked on the car as I rushed forward and yanked the back door open. They were there, Curled up against each other on the back seat, their small bodies slumped together like they had simply fallen asleep. My heart nearly stopped before it started pounding again.
“Jesus…” I breathed.
I quickly leaned into the car, my hands moving from one child to another, checking their necks and wrists for a pulse. Their skin was warm. Their breathing was slow but steady.
Relief hit me like a wave until my brain caught up with what my eyes were seeing. I counted again and my stomach dropped. There should have been five but there are four girls here.
“No…” I muttered under my breath. My eyes scanned the car frantically. “Wake up,” I said urgently, gently shaking one of them but they didn’t even bulge. I looked around the back seat again and counted again. Still four.
Cold dread crawled up my spine. “Check the trunk,” I barked. One of my security men rushed forward and opened the boot, it was empty.
My heart began pounding violently again, rage boiling through my veins.
“She’s not here, sir,” the guard said carefully.
I pulled out my phone and redialed the number the kidnappers had used again, the line rang once this time then disconnected. I tried again, but the call failed.
“Damn it!” I roared, gripping the phone so tightly it nearly cracked. I tried again, the call wouldn’t connect.
My phone rang suddenly, I glanced at the screen quickly, it was Lorenzo calling.
I answered immediately. “Maxwell,” his voice came through. “What’s the update?”
My chest rose and fell violently as I stared at the four unconscious girls in the back seat. My voice came out low. “They left them in the car.”
A brief pause. “That’s good,” Lorenzo said. “All five?”
My hand clenched into a fist. “No.”
Then Lorenzo spoke again, slowly. “What do you mean no?”
“Four,” I growled, rage burning through every word. “There are four girls here.” The silence on the line turned heavy. “One is missing.” Even saying the words made my blood boil.
“They lied to me,” I continued, my voice shaking with fury. “Fuck, I am going to make every single one of them pay dearly for this, I swear with my life.”
Lorenzo’s voice hardened instantly. “Which one is missing?”
My gaze fell on the other four girls, I sighed, I don’t even know which one of them is missing, I will have to wait until they wake up or contact Amelia’s parents and I do not want to have anything to do with those twats.
My jaw tightened, “I need to take the girls back to the hospital, I will get every details you need across to you, please do whatever you can to get to Fuckers.” I said.
“Got you Max.” Lorenzo said before the call disconnected.
I lowered the phone slowly before turning to my men.
“Get them out carefully,” I ordered. “We are taking them to the hospital. Now.”