CHAPTER NINE: THE DEBT OF BLOOD
"She's alive."
Dominic stared at the photo on my phone. He looked confused. The photo was of his mother. The woman who supposedly died in a car accident when he was twelve. She was standing behind our son with a blade pressed to his throat.
"That's not possible " he said.
"Look at the picture."
"I am looking at it. I went to her funeral. I watched them lower the casket. I stood at that grave for an hour after everyone left."
His voice was calm.. I could tell he was upset.
"Dominic—"
"Shes been dead for twenty three years. Dead people don't kidnap children."
"Then explain the photo."
He couldn't explain it. We both knew he couldn't.
I zoomed in on the background. It looked like a warehouse. There were walls and industrial lighting. I saw a shipping container in the corner with some markings.
"I think I know where this is " I said.
"Where?"
"The shipyard. East harbor. My dads company used to lease space."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure."
Dominic was already on the phone. He was giving orders.
"I want every exit from that shipyard locked down. I want imaging. I want snipers on every building within a quarter mile.. I want it done in the next twenty minutes. You're all fired."
He hung up. He looked at me.
"You're not coming " he said.
". Stop me."
"Aria this is too dangerous."
"He's my son."
"That's why you need to stay where its safe."
"Safe?" I laughed. "There is no safe. Theres just getting him back. Not getting him back."
"If something happens to you—"
"Then something happens.. I'm going."
We stared at each other. He looked angry.
"Fine " he said. ". You stay in the car. You don't move unless I tell you to move."
"Understood."
He didn't believe me. I didn't blame him.
We took the SUV. There were three vehicles behind us. Dominic's security team was big. They all looked tough.
The drive took fourteen minutes.
It felt like fourteen hours.
My hands were shaking. I put them under my legs. Focused on breathing.
"Talk to me " Dominic said.
"About what?"
"Anything. I need to know you're okay."
"I'm not okay. Our son is being held hostage by your mother and your aunt."
"Fair point." He took my hand. "We're going to get him back."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
The shipyard came into view. It looked abandoned.
"Third building from the left " I said. "That's where the photo was taken."
"You're sure?"
"Yes I'm sure."
Dominic's team moved fast. They surrounded the building.
He turned to me. "Stay in the car."
"Dominic—"
"Please." He kissed me. Then he was gone.
I watched through the windshield as they breached the door. I heard shouting and gunfire.
Then silence.
My phone buzzed.
It was a number.
I answered.
"Hello Aria." It was a womans voice. I had never heard her before.
"Where is he?"
"Safe. For now. Though I have to say I'm disappointed in you."
"Who is this?"
"You haven't figured it out yet? I'm hurt. I thought you were smarter than that."
"If you're Dominic's mother then you're supposed to be dead."
She laughed. "Dead. What a limiting concept. I prefer to think of it as absent."
"Why would you fake your death?"
"Because my husband was trying to kill me and I needed to disappear."
". Now you're back."
"Now I'm collecting whats owed to me. Twenty three years of watching my son build an empire with my money. My connections. My legacy.. What did he do? Cut me out completely. Gave everything to Margaret. Left me with nothing."
"So you kidnapped his son."
"I'm correcting a mistake. There's a difference."
"Where is he?"
"Close. Closer than you think actually."
"Tell me Aria. How well do you really know the man you married?"
"Well enough."
"Do you? Do you know what he did to get his capital investment? Do you know where the money came from?"
"I don't care."
"You should. Because it came from me. I gave him everything. He repaid me by erasing me from his life."
The line went dead.
I looked up. Dominic was walking out of the warehouse. Alone.
No Luca.
My heart stopped.
He got in the car. His shirt was torn. There was blood on his knuckles.
"He's not there " he said.
"What?"
"It's a decoy. The photo was taken there. Hes been moved."
"Then where is he?"
"I don't know." He slammed his hand against the steering wheel.
My phone buzzed again.
Another photo.
Luca. Different room. Still tied up. Still crying.
A message.
You have six hours to transfer fifty million dollars to the account or I start hurting him. No police. No tricks. Just the money.
"She wants money " I said.
"Then we give it to her."
The transfer took forty seven minutes.
We waited in the car. Silent. Tense. My hand, in his.
It came at the forty nine minute mark.
Transfer complete.
Then nothing.
No message. No photo. No instructions.
"Shes supposed to tell us where he is " I said.
"Give her time."
"We don't have time."
"Aria—"
My phone rang.
Not a text. A call.
I answered.
"Mommy?"
My breath stopped.
"Luca?"
"Mommy I'm scared."
"I know, baby. I know. Where are you?"
"I do not know. It is dark. A lady is here. She keeps asking me questions. I want to go."
"Do not worry you are going to go. Can you tell me where you are? What do you see?"
"I see boats. I can hear them. I hear seagulls too. It smells bad."
The harbor. He was still near the harbor.
"Luca, listen to me carefully. I need you to stay calm and stay quiet okay? We are coming to get you."
"Okay."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
The line cut.
I looked at Dominic. "He is near water. He can hear boats."
"That is half the city."
"Then we look for an area. Use the camera. Check with the people your mother or Margaret know. There cannot be places that fit."
His team worked fast. They got records. Satellite pictures. Financial deals.
"Got it " one of them said. "An old processing plant. North harbor. It belongs to a company that connects to a trust in your mothers name."
Dominic was moving before they finished talking.
We drove fast. In silence. Too fast.
The processing plant was a place. No lights. No signs of life.
Dominic's team searched it in eight minutes.
They found Luca in a storage room on the floor. Tied to a chair. Crying. Alone.
I got to him first.
I cut the ropes with shaking hands. Pulled him into my arms. I felt his heartbeat against mine. Finally I breathed.
"You are okay " I whispered. "You are okay."
Dominic was there. He had his hands on both of us. He was checking for injuries. For trauma.
"I am okay Daddy " Luca said. His voice was small. "The lady said you would come."
"What lady?" Dominic asked.
"The one with your eyes."
We made it back to the house.
We got Luca checked by a doctor. Fed. Bathed. Put to bed with his dinosaur and every light in the room on because he was scared of the dark now.
I sat on the edge of his bed until he fell asleep.
Dominic was waiting in the hallway when I came out.
"He is okay " I said.
"Are you?"
"No."
He pulled me against him. I finally let myself cry. Let myself be human for a minutes.
His phone buzzed.
He ignored it.
It buzzed again.
"Answer it " I said.
He pulled it out. Read the message.
His face went white.
"What?" I asked.
He showed me.
It was from his mothers number.
The boy was a trick. Check your bank accounts.
Below it. A picture.
Voss Capital Holdings.
Balance: Zero.
Every account. Every subsidiary. Every asset.
Gone.
"She did not want the ransom " Dominic said. His voice was hollow. "She wanted us distracted enough to move everything."
"How much?"
"Everything." He looked at me. "She took everything."
My phone buzzed.
Another message. This time, from Margaret.
Checkmate Mrs Voss. Enjoy your marriage while it lasts.
Below it. A final picture.
Elena. Boarding a plane.
With Dominic's mother.
All three of them were smiling.