Dawn met them with uncertainties.
Reyona woke up as she felt someone covering them up.
It was Jane.
"Good morning, ma" the nanny greeted her just as Maxwell stirred too.
"I can't believe I actually dozed off." He said tersely.
Reyona patted his arm as she said "You needed it."
They started the day with a call to the police station again.
Nothing yet.
Andrew and Celia arrived that morning with three other men whom the couple called experts in cases like that.
While the men discussed in Maxwell's office, Celia urged Reyona to walk with her.
"You don't look too well," she said after they walked in silence for a while, "Have you slept a wink since it happened?"
"Actually, I slept for a while," Reyona said. "Didn't think I would, but then…" she shrugged.
"That is nothing to blame yourself for. The two of you have gone through a lot in the past twenty-four hours, and it is understandable how much more your body needs rest." Celia said as she looked down at Reyona's rounded stomach.
Reyona sighed as she placed her hand on her stomach.
"How are you feeling? I mean apart from this unfortunate incident, of course," Celia asked.
Reyona looked down at her stomach and said "I feel fine. I feel great, actually. I just wish Allysyn would be back, and then I would feel better."
Celia put her arm around Reyona's shoulder as she said "She will come back to us safely. Between the police and the boys, something will click eventually. Poor girl, I can't imagine how terrified she must be right now, but we will all be here when she gets home. We will help her get behind this. This will all be behind us soon. You need to take care of yourself in the meantime though. You need to…"
Reyona's phone started ringing.
Reyona frowned a bit as she saw the unknown international number.
She wondered if it was someone from Sydney, but then the code was different.
Her mind went to Toria with a slight worry as she said "Sorry, I need to pick this up."
"It is fine, I will just be there," Celia said as she pointed at the bench that was some distance away from them.
Reyona nodded and quickly picked up the call before it disconnected.
She was not used to talking first when the number was unknown, so she put the phone to her ear and waited for the person at the other end to talk.
Nothing.
All she heard was an eerie silence and then a soft breathing.
What the…did the person mistakenly dial her number or what?
Just as Reyona wanted to disconnect the call, her finger hovered over the disconnecting button as a chill crawled down her spine.
"It couldn't be. It couldn't…"
"Hello," she said urgently.
A pause. Then "Are you alone?" said a distorted voice.
Oh god.
"Y…yes," Reyona answered in a squeaky tone as she turned away from where Celia was seated and turned her back to her. She firmed her lips and said in a clear voice. "Yes, I am alone."
"Good. Do you still want to see this girl alive, or you wouldn't mind getting her dead body?" the awful voice that sounded like it was coming through water said again.
"Of course I…please, I want to see her alive. What do you…" she lowered her voice and said, "What do you want, please?"
"Listen to me carefully. First, you are not going to tell anyone about this. We are watching you. The moment you tell the police or even your husband about this, forget about seeing the girl again."
"No, please. I will cooperate with you. Don't do anything to the girl. Please, don't hurt her" she begged.
"Shut up and listen. $30 million. You will get $30 million without telling your husband, the police or anyone else. If anyone, I mean anyone at all, knows about this, you can be sure that we will know, and you will never see this girl again."
"Please, I… I will get it. I will get it. How… how long do I have?" she said in a shaky voice as tension held her in its grip.
"1 hour. You should stay outside your estate within an hour and someone will pick you up there. Failure to be there and you can be sure that your girl is gone forever."
"One hour, please, that is too short. Can you please… please give me some more time? I can't get thirty million withdrawn in one hour. Please, I…"
"You don't need to have it withdrawn. Just have it in your account and ready for transfer when you get here. Mess with me and you will regret it."
"Please, I need more time. I…"
"Tik... tok. Your hour begins." the call disconnected before Reyona could say any other thing.
"Hello, He… oh my god." when she wanted to pace in agitation, she remembered Celia sitting just some distance from her. She held herself rigidly as she turned around.
Celia was looking at her.
"Is everything okay?" Celia asked as she stood up from the bench.
"Yeah," Reyona said in a high-pitched voice. She quickly cleared her throat when she saw a worried look on Celia's face. "Yes, I am fine."
Celia's brows were furrowed as she came closer to her and said "You don't look fine though. You look peaked." she said as she reached out to touch the back of her hand to Reyona's forehead. "Not fever. What is going on?"
Not the best way to go if she was going to pull this off. Think Reyona. "Just some problems with Summit Edge," she answered with a bit of more composure.
"Oh," Celia said while giving her a keen look. "Do you need help with anything?"
"No, just a managerial issue, you know. There is this contract that would have been our major one in Sydney, but then there's been a slight error, and we might lose it."
"Oh, I am so sorry," Celia said compassionately.
"No, it is fine." Reyona said instantly, she looked at her phone clock and her heart thumped hard before she said "They will…fix it. I have already told them what to do. You know what, I think you were right. I do need some more rest. Can we go back now, please? I wouldn't mind lying down for a while. I am suddenly feeling very tired."
"Oh, okay. Come on, then. Let's get you to bed."