Chapter 4 - The Ghost From the Past
Mark stared at the glowing silver emblem of his father's old holding company.
"Arthur Vance is dead," Mark whispered, his voice trembling with shock.
Richard simply smiled and adjusted his expensive silk tie.
"Your father faked his death to avoid federal prosecution, Mark," the lawyer explained calmly.
"He has been pulling Victoria's strings from the shadows for years."
Mark felt the world spinning around him as the ultimate betrayal sank in.
His own father had orchestrated the kidnapping of his beloved grandson.
"Where is Billy?" Elena demanded, stepping directly in front of the smug lawyer.
Richard checked his gold pocket watch with infuriating slowness.
"They are on a yacht heading for international waters as we speak," he replied.
"Sign the company over, and you will receive the GPS coordinates to intercept them."
Mark snatched the papers back from Elena and aggressively scribbled his signature on every page.
He didn't care about the money or the billion-dollar empire he had built.
He only cared about getting his little boy back.
Richard inspected the signatures carefully before handing Mark a small piece of paper.
"The docks at Pier 47," Richard instructed.
"You have exactly one hour before the boat leaves American jurisdiction."
Mark and Elena sprinted back to the sports car and tore out of the airfield.
The rain began to pour, slicking the dark city streets with dangerous puddles.
Elena checked the GPS tracker app on her phone again, hoping to confirm the location.
The red blinking dot was indeed moving rapidly across the harbor water.
They reached the deserted industrial docks just as lightning cracked across the night sky.
Mark grabbed a heavy steel tire iron from his trunk and gripped it tightly.
They crept through the maze of rusted shipping containers toward the wooden pier.
A luxurious white yacht was moored at the very end of the dock, its engine humming loudly.
Mark kicked the cabin door open and charged inside with his weapon raised.
The luxurious living area was completely empty.
Elena noticed Billy's stuffed bear sitting alone on the glass dining table.
She picked it up and realized the GPS chip had been ripped out and left behind.
A loud, metallic clank echoed from outside the cabin.
Mark rushed back to the deck just in time to see a shadowy figure sever the mooring lines.
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The heavy anchor dropped, but the boat began drifting away from the dock.
A timed explosive device began beeping frantically from the engine room below their feet.
