Chapter 24 Chapter 24

Chapter 24 Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR~

"It's not possible," Declan said when I showed him the footage. "Rick would never—"

"Look at the watch," I interrupted. "That's the one you gave him. The custom one with his initials."

Declan stared at the screen, his face going pale. "No. There has to be another explanation."

But we both knew there wasn't.

Detective Morrison arrived within minutes of our call. When we showed him the footage, he immediately put out an alert for Rick.

"Has he seemed different lately?" Detective Morrison asked. "Acting strange, distant?"

I thought back over the past few weeks. Rick had been quieter than usual, less present. I'd assumed he was busy with work.

"He's been stressed," Declan said slowly. "He said something about financial problems last month. I offered to help, but he said he'd handle it."

"What kind of financial problems?" Detective Morrison pressed.

"He didn't give details," Declan admitted. "Just said some investments had gone bad."

My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.

I have the children. They're safe, for now. If you want them back, you'll do exactly as I say. Don't involve the police. Don't try to find me. Wait for my next message. - R

"He's texting me," I said, showing them the phone. "He says the twins are safe."

"For now," Detective Morrison noted grimly. "That's a threat."

"But why would Rick do this?" I asked, my voice breaking. "He's been Declan's best friend for fifteen years. He's been part of our lives since the beginning."

"Money makes people do terrible things," Detective Morrison said. "If he's desperate enough—"

"Rick would never hurt children for money," Declan insisted. "There has to be more to this."

Another text came through.

You took everything from me. My job, my reputation, my future. Now I'm taking what matters most to you. Fair is fair. - R

"What is he talking about?" I asked Declan. "You took his job? His reputation?"

Declan looked confused. "I don't know. I've only ever helped Rick. I got him his job at Norex, recommended him for promotions—"

"Wait," I said, remembering something. "Didn't you turn down his proposal for that merger last month? The one he'd been working on for months?"

Declan's face changed. "The Quantum Tech merger. Yes, I vetoed it because the numbers didn't make sense. But I explained my reasoning. Rick said he understood."

"Maybe he didn't understand," Detective Morrison said. "Maybe he saw it as a betrayal."

"That's insane," Declan said. "It was a business decision, not a personal attack."

"To someone who's unstable, everything feels personal," Detective Morrison said.

My phone rang. Rick's name appeared on the screen.

"Answer it," Detective Morrison instructed. "Put it on speaker and keep him talking as long as possible. We'll try to trace it."

With shaking hands, I answered. "Rick?"

"Hello, Anita," Rick's voice sounded strange. Flat, emotionless. "Are you worried about your babies?"

"Please bring them back," I begged. "Whatever you're angry about, we can fix it. Just don't hurt Maya and Nathan."

"I'm not going to hurt them," Rick said. "I'm not a monster. But I do need you to understand something. I've given fifteen years of my life to Declan. Fifteen years of loyalty, support, friendship. And how does he repay me? By humiliating me in front of the entire board."

"The merger wasn't personal," Declan said. "Rick, you know that."

"It was personal to me!" Rick shouted. Then he took a breath, his voice becoming calm again. "That merger was my chance to prove I was more than just your assistant. More than the guy who follows you around cleaning up your messes. But you didn't even consider it seriously. You just dismissed months of my work like it meant nothing."

"That's not true," Declan argued. "I spent weeks reviewing your proposal. I gave you detailed feedback about why it wouldn't work."

"You made me look like a fool," Rick said bitterly. "Margaret was supposed to invest based on that merger. Her company, her money. But after you killed it, she pulled out completely. And now I'm broke, Declan. Completely broke. I invested everything I had into preparations for that merger, and you destroyed it all."

"I didn't know," Declan said, his voice full of regret. "Rick, why didn't you tell me? I would have helped—"

"I don't want your charity," Rick spat. "I want what I deserve. What I've earned. And since you won't give me that, I'm taking it."

"What do you want?" I asked. "Money? We'll give you whatever you need. Just bring back the twins."

"I want ten million dollars," Rick said. "Transferred to an offshore account. You have twenty-four hours."

"That's a lot of money to move that quickly," Declan said. "I'll need time—"

"You're a billionaire," Rick interrupted. "Don't tell me you can't access ten million in twenty-four hours. Figure it out. I'll send account details in an hour. And Declan? If you involve the police, if you try to trace this call or find me, the twins disappear forever. Understand?"

"We understand," I said quickly, before Declan could argue. "Just please, take care of them. They're only nine months old. They need their formula, their diapers—"

"I'm not stupid," Rick said. "I took everything they need. They're comfortable, fed, safe. As long as you cooperate, they'll stay that way."

He hung up.

I looked at Detective Morrison. "Did you trace it?"

"He's using a scrambler," the detective said. "We got a general area—somewhere in the city—but nothing specific enough to help."

"We have to pay him," Declan said immediately. "I'll get the money together."

"If you pay, there's no guarantee he'll return the children," Detective Morrison warned.

"And if we don't pay, there's a guarantee he won't," Declan shot back. "I'm not risking my children's lives."

"Let me try to negotiate," Detective Morrison said. "Buy us more time to find them."

But I knew Rick. If he'd planned this carefully enough to get past our security, he'd planned for everything else too.

Over the next hour, Declan worked with his bank to gather the ransom money. It wasn't easy—moving that much money quickly required authorizations and verifications—but he made it happen.

The account details arrived exactly when Rick said they would. Declan transferred the money.

Then we waited.

One hour. Two hours. Three hours.

No word from Rick.

"He's not going to contact us," I said finally. "He has the money. Why would he risk getting caught by bringing the twins back?"

"Because he's not a monster," Declan insisted. "You heard him. He said he wouldn't hurt them."

"People say lots of things," Detective Morrison said grimly. "The question is whether we believe them."

My phone rang again. Rick.

"I got the money," he said. "Thank you for being reasonable."

"Where are our children?" Declan demanded.

"Patience," Rick said. "I need to make sure the money is secure first. Give me a few hours to disappear, then I'll tell you where to find them."

"A few hours?" I cried. "Rick, please. They're babies. They need us."

"They'll be fine for a few more hours," Rick said. "They're sleeping peacefully. I gave them their bottles, changed their diapers, even sang them lullabies."

"Let me talk to them," I begged. "Let me hear their voices, know they're okay."

There was a long pause. Then I heard it—Maya's little laugh, Nathan's babbling.

"You hear that?" Rick said. "They're fine. Happy, even. Maybe they're better off with someone who actually appreciates them."

"Don't you dare," Declan growled. "Don't you dare suggest—"

"I'm kidding," Rick said. "Mostly. Look, I'll call back in three hours with their location. Until then, sit tight."

He hung up again.

"Three hours," I said numbly. "How am I supposed to wait three hours?"

Sarah arrived, having heard what happened. She sat with me while Declan paced and Detective Morrison coordinated with his team.

"They'll find them," Sarah promised. "Rick can't hide forever."

"He doesn't need forever," I said. "Just long enough to disappear with ten million dollars."

Around midnight, Declan's phone rang. Not Rick this time—Margaret Chen.

"I heard what Rick did," she said. "I'm so sorry. If I'd known he was this unstable—"

"It's not your fault," Declan said. "But Margaret, did Rick say anything to you recently? Anything that might help us find him?"

"He mentioned having a backup plan if things went wrong," Margaret said slowly. "He said something about property his grandmother left him. A cabin somewhere upstate?"

"Where upstate?" Declan pressed.

"I don't know exactly. But it was near Lake Placid, I think."

Detective Morrison was already pulling up property records. "I've got three properties in that area connected to Richard Carson—that's Rick's full name."

"Send teams to all three," Declan ordered.

"We can't just storm in," Detective Morrison warned. "If Rick feels cornered, he might do something rash."

"My children are out there somewhere, cold and scared," I said, my voice shaking. "I don't care about caution. Find them."

Two hours later, just as the three-hour deadline was approaching, Detective Morrison's phone rang.

"We found them," an officer said through the speaker. "The twins are at the second property. They're safe."

I burst into tears of relief.

"And Rick?" Detective Morrison asked.

"Gone. He left the children here with supplies and a note saying he was sorry."

Sorry. After everything, he was sorry.

We drove to the cabin immediately. When I saw Maya and Nathan, both crying but unhurt, I thought my heart would burst.

I held them so tight, breathing in their baby smell, feeling their little hearts beating against mine.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered to them. "I'm so, so sorry."

Declan was crying too as he held both of us.

"Where's Rick?" he asked the officers.

"We don't know," they admitted. "He left about an hour before we arrived. Could be anywhere by now."

They found the note Rick had mentioned.

Declan,

I'm sorry it came to this. You've been a good friend, better than I deserved. But I couldn't keep living in your shadow, being the sidekick to your hero. I needed to prove I was more than that.

I never meant to hurt the twins. I just wanted you to feel as powerless as you made me feel. To understand what it's like to have everything important to you taken away.

The children are fine. I took good care of them. Better than I took care of myself.

Don't try to find me. I'm leaving the country, starting over somewhere new. Maybe I'll finally figure out who I am when I'm not defined by my relationship to you.

I hope someday you can forgive me. I hope the twins never remember this. I hope Anita stops looking over her shoulder, waiting for the next attack.

You deserve to be happy. All of you do.

Goodbye.

- Rick

"He's not coming back," Declan said quietly.

"Good," I said fiercely. "I hope he st
ays gone forever."

But even as I said it, part of me felt sad. Rick had been part of our lives for so long. And now he was just... gone. Another person destroyed by the chaos surrounding our family.

When would it end?