Chapter 3 - Gunfire Hit My Mansion as Theo’s Wounded Dog Detected the Intruder, and I Learned Warren Had Been Lying About Where He Was the Night Ruby DisappearedI ran downstairs.
My men were already moving.
Smoke filled the hallway.
Theo was curled beside Ranger.
The dog had been shot in the shoulder.
I dropped beside them.
“Who fired?”
One of my guards pointed toward the kitchen.
“Someone escaped through the service door.”
I looked at Warren.
He was gone.
The betrayal was no longer a suspicion.
It was a certainty.
But why?
I ordered the mansion sealed.
No one entered.
No one left.
Then Theo said:
“Ranger smelled him.”
“Who?”
“The man who took Ruby.”
“What did he smell like?”
Theo hesitated.
“Smoke.”
“Anything else?”
“Mint.”
I remembered.
Warren always smelled like mint.
He chewed mint gum constantly.
I asked Theo:
“Was your brother there?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“He told me.”
“Where?”
“Before he disappeared.”
I froze.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
I stared.
“Your brother is alive?”
Theo nodded.
“He told me to find you if anything happened.”
“Why?”
“Because your wife told him you were the only man who could protect Ruby.”
My heart tightened.
Amelia.
Even after death, she was still guiding us.
I asked Theo:
“What happened to your brother?”
“He was taken.”
“By Warren?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Theo closed his eyes.
“He said there was an old hotel.”
“What hotel?”
“Black Pine.”
I knew it.
An abandoned property outside the city.
One my family had owned years ago.
I ordered vehicles.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A video.
I played it.
Ruby.
Alive.
Sitting on a chair.
Her face was frightened.
But she wasn't crying.
A man's hand rested on her shoulder.
Then Warren stepped into frame.
He looked at the camera.
“Bring Theo.”
I stared.
“Bring the boy.”
“Come alone.”
“If you bring your men, Ruby dies.”
The video ended.
Theo looked at me.
“They'll kill my brother too.”
I knelt.
“I won't leave either of them.”
He looked at me.
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
We went to Black Pine.
But before entering, I stopped.
There were too many vehicles.
Too many guards.
Warren expected me to come alone.
I left my men outside.
I entered.
Dark.
Cold.
The smell of damp wood.
Then I heard a child crying.
Ruby.
I moved toward the sound.
“Daddy?”
My heart broke.
“I'm here.”
Warren stepped into the room.
Gun in hand.
“Stop.”
I froze.
Ruby was tied to a chair.
Beside her was another boy.
Four years old.
Theo's brother.
Alive.
Warren stared at me.
“You should have listened.”
I asked:
“Why?”
He laughed.
“Because Amelia knew too much.”
“What did she know?”
“She knew what your father built.”
“My father?”
“Yes.”
I felt cold.
Warren continued:
“She discovered the Helix network.”
The same name Amelia had written.
A network.
Secret accounts.
Political connections.
Information.
Control.
“She wanted to destroy it.”
“And you?”
“I wanted to survive.”
“Why take Ruby?”
“Because she's the heir.”
I stared.
“Heir to what?”
Warren smiled.
“The archive.”
He pointed at Ruby.
“Your daughter is the only person who can open it.”
I looked at my child.
Then at Theo.
And suddenly, I understood.
Ruby wasn't kidnapped for ransom.
May you like
She had been kidnapped because Amelia had hidden something inside her.
Something that had been waiting three years to be found.
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