Chapter 5 - The Mastermind
I sprinted down my street, my chest heaving with exhaustion.
Up ahead, I saw Lena's silver sedan parked in the driveway.
The front door of the house was still wide open.
I saw the masked man step out onto the porch.
He grabbed Lena by the hair and dragged her kicking and screaming into the house.
I reached the edge of my neighbor's lawn and threw myself behind a tall hedge.
I dialed 911 again, begging the dispatcher to hurry.
She told me SWAT was being deployed and told me to stay back.
I couldn't stay back.
I crept toward the side of my house, moving toward the basement window.
Through the thin glass, I could hear the screaming upstairs.
Lena was crying hysterically, begging the man not to hurt her.
"Where is the money, Lena?" the man roared.
"Travis was supposed to have it!" she screamed back.
"He was supposed to cash out the accounts and pack the bags!"
"Well, Travis tried to fight me, and now he's bleeding on the rug," the man said.
"So you better find that money, or I'm going upstairs to get your kid."
"Take him!" Lena suddenly shrieked.
I froze, my hand trembling against the brick wall of my house.
"What did you just say?" the man asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Take Noah," Lena cried out frantically.
"His dad is rich, and he'll pay whatever ransom you want."
"Just let me go!"
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A wave of pure, blinding rage washed over me.
My ex-wife had just sold our son to a cartel hitman.
