Chapter 231: Dreaded call

Derby continued. "I care about him." Her voice sounded sincere.

"Even if it hurts that he doesn't want me. I would never hurt him."

A heavy silence followed Derby's last words.

Then she sighed deeply.

"Lucas is a good person." Her voice cracked. "They should have kidnapped you instead."

The room went completely still.

Every head turned toward the speakerphone. Even Thomas froze.

"What the heck…" Caleb Benson exploded from across the room.

Before he could finish, Sally slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Caleb."

He glared at her, furiously. His eyes practically shooting fire.

She glared right back.

"Not now."

Meanwhile, Alex lowered his head.

To everyone's surprise, he didn't argue. Didn't defend himself. Didn't even get angry. Instead, he whispered, "Yeah."

The room turned toward him.

Alex's eyes were red from crying.

"You're right, Derby." His voice sounded hollow.

"They should have taken me."

Sally's face fell. Thomas looked away.

Alex swallowed hard.

"Yeah, they should have taken me, because Lucas is innocent."

His fingers tightened around the phone. "And he doesn't deserve any of this."

The sincerity in his voice left nobody untouched. Even Derby fell silent for a moment.

Alex stared at the phone. Hope and terror battling inside him. Finally he asked the question everyone was thinking.

"You mean..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "You don't know where he is?"

The answer came immediately.

"No. I don't.” Derby's voice was firm.

The line remained silent for several seconds. And suddenly the situation became far worse. Derby had been their most likely suspect. If she wasn't behind Lucas's disappearance…Then someone else was.

Someone nobody had seen coming. Someone who now had Lucas. And nobody knew where to begin looking.

“Derby, please, could you think of anyone that could be responsible for this?” Alex asked.

Derby gave it a thought but no one came to her mind except Larissa, but she responded negatively.

“I can't think of anyone.”

“Please if you truly care about Lucas, let me know if anything or any suspect comes to you, please.”

“Alright, I will,” Derby responded but before Alex ended the call.

She spoke suddenly again.

"Wait." Her tone sharpened.

"What about Jerry and Marvis?"

Alex looked toward Thomas.

"They never left with him."

"Damn it!"

Something crashed on Derby's end of the line. She was clearly pacing, and thinking. Trying to connect the dots.

Then she snapped,

"Think of any enemy you have that could do something like this."

Alex rubbed his forehead. "I don't know any enemies."

For a second there was silence.

Then Derby burst out laughing.

Not because anything was funny, but

because she couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

"Oh my goodness." She laughed again. "Alex, you're so naive."

Alex frowned.

"You think everybody is your friend?"

Nobody answered.

"With what you did last night, you've officially made yourself my enemy."

The room winced.

"In fact, you were already my enemy before you screwed things up yesterday."

Alex lowered his eyes.

Derby wasn't finished. "So think."

Her voice rose. "If somebody else wanted Lucas..."

Her breathing became uneven. "If James had friends and still wanted some money from you indirectly. If somebody's been watching him. If somebody's obsessed with him.

Just fucking think and get my Lucas back!"

The last sentence broke..The anger shattered. Leaving only fear behind.

Alex's hand trembled, because for the first time since the call began, Derby sounded terrified. Not angry but terrified.

Across town, Derby stood alone in her hotel room. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her phone shook in her hand.

For all her anger toward Alex,

for all her resentment…she thought Lucas being hurt made her sick. Who would do this? Who?

Then suddenly

A name flashed through her mind.

Larissa.

Derby's eyes widened. "Oh my God."

Without wasting another second, she disconnected from Alex and immediately dialed Larissa.

The phone rang once.

Twice.

Then connected.

"What happened?" Larissa asked.

Derby didn't bother with greetings.

"Why did you kidnap him?"

Silence followed.

"Hasn't he suffered enough because of Alex?"

Another pause.

"Why would you?   ;"

"Whoa!" Larissa interrupted.

"Girl, calm down."

"What?"

"What the heck are you talking about?"

Derby stopped pacing. Her voice shook. "Tell me you don't have anything to do with Lucas's kidnapping."

The silence that followed felt endless…Then…

"What?"

Larissa sounded genuinely stunned.

"He was kidnapped again?" The word hit Derby like a punch.

Larissa exhaled sharply. "How many enemies does Alex have?"

"If you have Lucas, please…"

"I don't!" Larissa snapped. "Derby, I don't have him." Her tone softened.

"I swear."

Derby closed her eyes.

"You don't?"

"No."

A pause followed,  then Larissa sighed. "I dislike Alex. Everyone knows that. But I wouldn't do this to Lucas."

Derby's shoulders sagged.

"You mean it?"

"Of course."

Larissa sounded offended. "I know you've grown attached to him."

Another pause. Then she muttered,

"If anybody deserves to be kidnapped, it's Alex."

Despite everything, Derby let out a weak laugh. Then immediately began crying again.

"Oh dear God." Her voice trembled.

"I hope they don't hurt him."

Back at Alex's office, the search continued. Security experts traced roads. Pulled traffic cameras.

Tracked license plate possibilities.

Every second felt critical.

Thomas stood over one of the monitors.

"Zoom in." The technician obeyed.

"Run enhancement."

Alex stood nearby, barely breathing. Then, his phone buzzed.

Everyone froze.

The screen displayed: Unknown Number. The room instantly fell silent.

Alex's pulse thundered.

Thomas looked up. "Answer it, speaker."

Alex swallowed. His thumb shook as he pressed accept.

"Hello?"

A man's voice responded from the other end.

"Hey, sweetheart." The room stiffened.

The voice was calm, amused, and dangerously relaxed.

Alex's blood turned cold.

The voice chuckled softly. "I guess you know who's with me right now?"

Alex's entire body went rigid.

Around him, every person in the room stopped moving. In fact, nobody breathed, or spoke because they all knew.

The kidnapper had finally called. The entire room fell silent after the kidnapper's first words.

Alex's grip on the phone tightened so hard his knuckles turned white.

"Tell me what you want."

The man chuckled. “Straight to business, I like that."

A brief pause followed, the he said

"Ten million."

Nobody in the room moved. The kidnapper continued calmly.

"And wait for my next call. I'll send the delivery location in a few hours."

Alex immediately nodded despite knowing the man couldn't see him.

"Done."

The room looked at him in surprise.

No negotiation. No hesitation. Just done.

But the caller wasn't finished.

"Good." He said, but the amusement in his voice made Alex's skin crawl.

"I'll need a few hours anyway."

Alex's stomach dropped. "For what?"

The man laughed softly. "To have some fun with your sweet Lucas."

Fear exploded through Alex's chest. "No!"

The shout echoed through the room making everyone jump.

"Please." His voice cracked.

"Don't touch him."

The kidnapper remained silent. Alex continued desperately. "I'll make it, fifteen million."

Thomas stared at him. Alex didn't care. "Twenty million if that's what you want." His breathing became ragged. "Just don't hurt him."

The caller chuckled hilariously, “Wow, he is really very special.”

“Please, I beg you, he is still recuperating from an accident he had months ago. Please, I beg you. Don’t touch him.”