Chapter 3 - The Burner Phone
Arthur grabbed the boy and threw them both behind a concrete pillar just as the black van sped past.
The side mirror of the van shattered against the pillar where they had been standing a second ago.
Tires screeched into the night as the vehicle disappeared down the busy city street.
The boy was shaking uncontrollably as he clutched his grandfather's expensive coat.
"They took my mom," the boy sobbed loudly.
Arthur pulled himself up and stared furiously in the direction the van had fled.
"Nobody is going to take my family away from me ever again," Arthur vowed fiercely.
He immediately pulled his phone from his pocket to call his personal security team.
Before he could dial a number a loud electronic ringing sound came from the boy's backpack.
The child sniffled and pulled out a cheap plastic burner phone with a cracked screen.
"Nobody ever calls this number except my mom," the boy whispered in fear.
Arthur gently took the phone from the boy's hands and pressed the answer button.
He put it on speaker so he could hear every word clearly.
"Anna?" Arthur spoke into the phone with a desperate and hopeful voice.
A deep and electronically disguised voice laughed cruelly through the terrible speaker.
"Anna is currently indisposed, Arthur," the mechanical voice taunted.
Arthur felt his blood run entirely cold at the sound of his own name.
"Who are you and what have you done to my daughter?" Arthur demanded angrily.
"I am simply a collector of unpaid debts," the voice replied smoothly.
"Your manager friend failed to finish the job seven years ago and now I have to clean up her mess."
Arthur looked back toward the brightly lit showroom where the manager was currently being questioned by police.
"If you harm a single hair on her head I will destroy you," Arthur threatened.
"You are not in a position to negotiate, old man," the voice warned.
"If you want to see Anna alive you will transfer your entire company shares to the offshore account I just texted you."
Arthur looked at the screen and saw a text message containing a complex banking code.
"You have exactly one hour to make the transfer or the boy becomes an orphan permanently," the voice added.
The line went completely dead before Arthur could say another word.
He looked down at the boy who was staring back at him with wide and terrified eyes.
"We need to get back inside and force the truth out of that manager," Arthur said as he grabbed the boy's hand.
They rushed back into the showroom just as the police were putting the manager in handcuffs.
"Wait, I need to speak with her," Arthur ordered the officers.
The manager looked at Arthur with a twisted and victorious smirk on her face.
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"You are too late, Arthur," she whispered maliciously.
She suddenly collapsed to the marble floor while foaming heavily at the mouth.
