Chapter 49

By 4:35 p.m. Dare called Jemimah to inform her that the cash was ready, so she could go ahead and call the kidnappers and tell them to give them a time and place where the exchange would happen later that evening. His security friend and his team were also notified and were on standby to hit the road once the transaction location was announced.

Tiara’s parents had been brought up to speed about the progress that has been made in the search of their kidnapped daughter, and they were in high spirits and just as expectant as Dare was. Even Chichi wept with relief when she heard that her friend would be returning home soon.

It took another two hours before Jemimah called back to tell Dare where the rescue operation would take place. It would be at the same abandoned building where they’d gone earlier, and they were to drop the money there and wait for Tiara to be delivered to them once the cash was confirmed to be accurate. Dare didn’t like this part of the deal, but it was his only chance to get his woman back alive.

Following his friend’s suggestion, Dare requested proof of life from the kidnappers, before agreeing to drop off the money. Since Jemimah was the one in contact with the kidnappers, they decided to drive up to her place first, get the proof of life and then head over to the meeting point.

It took another one hour for the kidnappers to call back. When Jemimah answered the call and put the phone on speaker so that everyone present could hear what was about to be said, it was Tiara’s voice that came on from the other end of the line.

“Hello?” She sounded unsure at first, then her voice steadied when she spoke again. “Hello, if you can hear me, I am alive and well. I have not been harmed at all, and I will be delivered to the designated place once the required payment has been made.”

It took all of Dare’s willpower not to scream out her name and weep with relief. His precious Tiara was alive and in a matter of hours, she would be in his arms again.

“Now that you’re convinced that she is alive, make sure you drop the money at the location we provided, within the next 45 minutes,” a male voice said. “Delays would not be tolerated.”

The call ended.