Chapter 6 - The True Mastermind
I stared at the anonymous text message, feeling a cold knot of dread form in my stomach.
Ryan looked just as panicked as I did, proving he had absolutely no idea who took the money.
We rushed out of the bank, leaving Diane arguing hysterically with the confused manager.
Ethan grabbed my shoulder as we reached the car, his eyes scanning the busy street.
"Someone on the inside had to authorize a wire transfer of that massive size," Ethan deduced quickly.
Before I could even process his words, my mother stepped out from the shadows of an adjacent alleyway.
She looked completely different than the quiet, submissive woman from the dinner party.
She was holding a sleek black laptop and a secure banking token.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" I asked, my voice trembling with confusion.
She calmly closed the laptop and looked me dead in the eyes.
"I am the one who emptied the trust fund, Maya," she confessed without a single ounce of guilt.
I gasped, unable to believe that my own mother would steal from her grandchildren.
"Your father made me the silent secondary executor of the trust exactly for a situation like this," she explained.
She had recognized Diane's true nature years ago and prepared a contingency plan.
"I moved the money to a secure account that Ryan's corrupt judge can never touch," she said proudly.
A massive wave of relief washed over me, knowing the children's future was finally safe.
But that relief was instantly shattered by another incoming text message on my phone.
It was a high-resolution photograph of my twins sitting strapped into the seats of a private airplane.
The text below the photo was from Ryan, who had quietly slipped away during our conversation.
"I don't care who has the money, Maya," the message read.
"Transfer the funds back to me in exactly one hour, or this plane leaves the country forever."
I showed the photo to Ethan, whose face hardened into a mask of pure, lethal determination.
"I know exactly which private airfield he uses for his corporate clients," Ethan stated coldly.
May you like
He pulled a heavy, dark metal object from his jacket pocket and checked the safety mechanism.
"We are going to get your children back right now," Ethan promised.
