Chapter 98 Chapter 0098

Chapter 98 Chapter 0098
•NATASHA•

I kept thinking about everything Amelia had said. I felt guilty that I had taken everything they hoped would be theirs one day.

Though my father’s lawyer had told me countless times why my father wanted me to inherit everything, it seemed unfair to cast his legitimate children aside.

I took a long moment before paying for the wine and leaving Rose’s restaurant. The breeze was getting colder when I left and drove home.

I had hoped to take a long shower and relax my mind when I got home and found Richard in my house, panting and looking as if he had been running.

Susan was bringing him a glass of water when I walked into the living room and furrowed my brow in confusion.

“Richard? Are you okay?” I walked toward him, but he groaned as he avoided eye contact with me after drinking the water.

My mind started racing when I saw the hesitation and the look on his face when I asked if he was okay.

“Thank you, Susie.” He gave Susie the glass, and when she left, Richard turned to me with remorse in his eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s Kyle,” he answered, leaning back as he touched his forehead.

“What about Kyle? Is he okay?” My stomach formed a knot, and my chest tightened.

He shook his head, his eyes filling up with tears, and when he broke down, I knew something bad had happened to my son, and I didn’t know what I would do.

“They took him, Natasha. Someone took him when he was returning from the mall with his babysitter. They don’t know who took him because they couldn’t see their faces. I’m sorry, Nat.” He cried, sitting on the couch.

Time froze, the earth stood still, and only the sound of my heart beating filled my ears.

“Richard, you can’t be sorry, Richard. You must find my son!” I snapped. “You know who took him, so find him now!” My head was spinning.

I thought of the guy who kidnapped Greg and got paid to get him released. Then I thought of the guy Clyde told me about and wondered if they were the same person.

“What are you saying, Natasha?” He asked, standing up from the couch. “Are you saying I have a hand in my son’s disappearance? Does that make sense to you?”

“How would I know? Maybe this is your other plan to get money from us.” Screw it, I couldn’t help myself. “You think I’m an idiot or something? Greg’s kidnapping never happened!” I leaned toward him. “I saw you with that girl when you told me you were paying the kidnapper. You made me a fool and went to sleep with her in a hotel.”

“You — you saw me?” He stuttered, suddenly speechless. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Natasha. I wouldn’t have lied to you about Greg’s kidnapping.”

“Are you telling me it wasn’t you I saw leaving with a woman and going to a hotel with her while Susan and I were waiting for you to pay the ransom for Greg to be released?”

“I’m not justifying what happened, but I paid the ransom and brought Greg home when I returned from the hotel. Why would you follow me around? You didn’t trust me?”

“That’s not the point!” I snapped. “Richard, you lied to me and made me believe you weren’t playing in our faces. You cheated, and now someone kidnapped my son because of your shenanigans! You want to make money off him for your stupid company that will go nowhere!”

“Stop it, Natasha!” Susan chimed in. “That’s enough. Richard is Kyle’s father, and he would never put his son’s life in danger for money. Even if that was the case, the money is mine, isn’t it?” She sneered, and I arched my brows in confusion.

She was my assistant and had to stand with me through anything. Her sudden favor of Richard caught me by surprise, and I couldn’t believe she was the same person who had begged me to stop Richard from pursuing her.

“That’s okay, Susan. If Natasha wants someone to blame for the kidnapping, she can blame me because Kyle wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped if I had gone shopping with him instead of sending him with his babysitter.”

“How could you support him after what he has done?” I questioned Susie, hoping she would follow the script I had for her instead of standing with the man who had gotten my child kidnapped for selfish reasons.

“Did you want me to keep quiet and let you make Richard feel as if he would put his son’s life in danger intentionally?” She leaned closer. “What we can do right now is look for the boy instead of pointing fingers at each other because no one’s innocent here, not even you, Nat.”

“Oh, I see,” I scoffed. “If you want to be the devil’s advocate, go ahead. Let me not disturb whatever was happening before I walked into the room.”

I turned around and headed to my bedroom. I locked the door and called Clyde as I sat on the edge of the bed.

“Hey, Nat. I’m glad you called. I was about to call you about Annabelle’s DNA tests. She’s not mine,” he scoffed. “Daphne lied to me. Lanny knew he was the father.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Clyde,” I sniffed. “What are you going to do? Did you tell Daphne about the results?”

“She denied nothing. She’s been calling all night, sending me texts. Annabelle is here, and I don’t know how I’ll drop her off at her mother’s place and never see her again.”

“You don’t have to do that.” I leaned back on the couch and sighed. “She’ll always be your daughter.”

“Are you okay?” he asked, and I started crying again.

“Kyle’s missing. Richard just told me someone took him when he went shopping with his babysitter. I don’t know what to do. We must find him, Clyde.”

“They took him? When?”

“I don’t know, but if Richard was involved so he could get ransom money from me again, I want to know because after this, he will never see him again.”