CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Astra was not sure what she wanted to do with information that Theo was kidnapped. The cute little boy that looked so much like Nicholas had been kidnapped and because of her for that matter. It was not something that sat well with her. On top of that, Stephanie was still not picking her calls. That even made matters worse.
'Try to calm down, Sarah," Nicholas said as he rubbed her hair and held her close. Sarah was sobbing loudly and her entire body was shaking from the sobs. And it was all her fault. Astra had no idea what she wanted to do. She felt like crying too but that would be selfish on her part so she calmed down.
'My baby is gone. His birthday is in one week. My baby is turning one and he is nowhere to be found," Sarah said still crying.
'Maybe it's some misunderstanding, he will be back soon. Just calm down and relax you will be with your baby by his birthday," Nicholas said to Sarah.
'It was her ex that took him, I know this. He is probably trying to use him to get to you and Astra," Sarah said. It was obvious that she was hysterical because she was a mother and her child was not with her, but Astra saw sense in what Sarah said. It was Ray, even when she had not heard from anyone she knew it was Ray. It could be only him, the situation just pointed in his direction. The timing was also almost perfect, but Astra did not want the blame to be pointed in her direction.
Nicholas looked at her and she knew that he had the same thoughts as his cousin. Sarah was not alone in blaming her.
'If it was Ray that took Theo, I can promise you that I will get my nephew back from the hands of that monster in safe hands. The bastard has done too much damage," Nicholas said. He sounded so sure that Astra believed him without hesitation. She barely had any choice.
'Stephanie is not still picking up. If Ray truly has Theo, he probably has her too. And maybe even Thompson," Astra chimed up. She did not know what to say, but she did not want to be dormant and irrelevant in the discussion.
'Thompson is Ray's accomplice in this mess. And from what I know Stephanie is his wife! My son is an eleven month old with a dangerous criminal. He probably misses his mommy already. You cannot compare his kidnap to people who willingly associated themselves with the bastard!" Sarah shouted and Astra sighed. She was not sure how to react to Sarah's outburst. She knew what the woman would be passing through and so she tried her best not to judge. It wasn't easy though.
'I am sorry," Astra said and walked from where Nicholas and Sarah stood. She figured they needed space. She could not leave though, she still needed Nicholas' help and connections to help find Stephanie.
Astra sat in the lobby when her phone rang. She looked at the number calling and it was Jared. They had not talked since he told her about the threats and she had actually been avoiding him. It seemed like anything that she put her hands into was getting bad. It seemed like she was destroying the lives of everyone she met. She contemplated picking up Jared's call now. She needed him to be safe, it seemed like Ray was on a rampage and she did not need Jared to just be an example of what Ray did to people who crossed him.
'Hello," Astra said as she picked up Jared's call at the second ring.
'Hey, Astra. What is wrong? I have been trying to get to you for so long, you have just been ignoring me," Jared said and Astra sighed.
'I am scared of Ray, Jared. I don't want him to do anything more. I suspect that he kidnapped Stephanie and also Nicholas' nephew. He is missing. Evidence is even pointing to the fact that he was behind what happened to Nicholas' company and to our marriage. There is so much Jared and I don't know," Astra said. She needed to talk to someone and Jared was there, so it just flowed. Jared sighed.
'Where are you?" He asked.
'I am at Nicholas' place at the moment. I think I will be here for a while," Astra said, looking at Sarah and Nicholas who had sat down.
'Hmm, okay then, I am coming over," Jared said.
'What?" Astra asked shocked.
'No! Don't come," she continued. She wondered what Jared was thinking.
'Why not?" Jared asked and Astra felt like hitting her head on the wall.
'Nicholas hates you for God's sake. Do you think he will easily allow you into his house with open arms?" Astra asked.
'This is a serious issue Astra. No one has the time to start being picky and all. We need all the help we can get in catching Ray. He is very smart, he has kept his real self from you all for years. Do you think it will be easy to catch him now? He is now even kidnapping people," Jared said and Astra sighed. He was not wrong. But she still felt like Nicholas would disagree.
'Okay, then I will ask Nicholas," she said.
'I am on my way, Astra," Jared said.
'Wait, how do you even know the place?" Astra asked.
'I have my ways," Jared said before disconnecting the call.
Astra sighed and looked towards Sarah and Nicholas again. They looked deep in thought, it seemed like they were planning something. Astra walked up to them and smiled before she sat down. They stopped the conversation they were having as she sat down.
'Jared wants to come to your place Nicholas. I told him about Ray, he wants to help," Astra said.
'Jared is one of your friends, isn't he? How do you know he is not in the league with Ray? You just pointed him to our direction," Sarah fumed. Astra sighed because Sarah was getting annoying.
'Jared was being threatened by Ray too. That was how I had the hint that he was still in the obsessed business. Besides, Ray already knows where this house is. It is not news to him. He has even come for dinner when Nicholas and I were married. No one is suddenly going to point him in our direction. He already knows were the direction is," Astra said and Sarah gasped.
'Everybody should calm down. This is not the time to be arguing," Nicholas said before Sarah could say anything. Thankfully.
'She is the one with the stalker boyfriend," Sarah said and Nicholas groaned.
'There is no need to throw blames, and even if blames are to be thrown, don't you think they should be thrown to the criminal himself? Astra is a victim in this too," Nicholas said and Sarah glared at him, but kept quiet.
'We need to put our heads together so that we can catch the bastard and get Theo home safe and sound," Nicholas said and Sarah nodded. All of them had their seats back on the couch then and started planning.
'So you have informed the police about Theo's kidnap?" Astra asked Sarah and she teared up a bit. Sarah did not look like someone who easily cried to Astra, but it seemed like the kidnap of her child affected her a lot and Astra could understand her plight.
'I have. The nanny has written a statement. They were going on a walk when two men cornered her and with a gun led her into their van, they drove very far, took Theo from her and then pushed her out," Sarah said and Astra gasped. It was much more serious than she thought. It meant that Ray had armed men in his command. Astra was not she sure that it was Ray though. It could have been anyone.
'What made you feel it was Ray though?" Nicholas asked, it was as though he read her mind. It seemed like they had not previously spoken about it.
'The nanny read me a note. It said, stay away from her. I did not totally understand until I saw Astra and I remembered your theory. I also heard what the both of you were talking about," Sarah said and Astra sighed. It was him. There was always a note that said to stay away from her. Did the man want her alone?
'Since we have deduced that he has armed men working for him, we should also get a team of armed me, just in case of any casualties. We need to get Theo and Stephanie out of his grasp as soon as possible," Nicholas said.
'What about the police?" Astra asked The entire thing we worrying her as it got more and more complicated.
'We have already filed a police report. Since the nanny could not remember the plate number of the car, they told her to wait for the call of the kidnappers. We are hoping that they will call me soon. We need to get their location so that Theo can be back home," Sarah said and Astra sighed.
'I will call JW security to help us with more men that will be with us all the time. We don't know his next move. We will all go to the police station together to report the entire case. The one of Stephanie and the threats and the stalking issue," Nicholas said and Astra nodded. She hoped everything will go well as the situation was slowly dawning on her.
Astra was still quiet and professing all the news when Nicholas' butler came in with Jared.
'He wants to see you Sir," the butler said and Nicholas nodded. Astra smiled as she saw Jared and stood up to hug him. She might not feel much sexual attraction towards him, but his hugs made her feel safe. That was one thing she liked about him.
'Are you okay?" Jared asked, she could see worry in his eyes as he touched her face.
'I am fine, Jared. You should sit down," Astra said. Looking at the others. Sarah was frowning so hard at the both of them and Nicholas looked plain irritated. Nicholas she could understand. They were once together and he was jealous. Sarah on the other hand, she could not get. Why did the lady hate her so much? Astra thought as she sat down. The thought she might have more than cousin like feelings for Nicholas surfaced, but she was not sure. Another thought came to her then, she might be angry on behalf of Nicholas. That made much more sense. Nicholas thought for the past five years that she cheated on him with multiple men. Astra frowned as she thought about it. Whoever had sent that letter did them dirty. Nicholas probably told her she was a cheat and that would have brought out the hate. There was also the fact that her baby daddy had left her. Maybe he had cheated? She could only speculate, but her second speculation made more sense.
'So what is the plan to catch Ray?" Jared said, rubbing his two hands together. He looked different from how she knew him. He looked ready to catch Ray.
'Well, we get all our resources ready, from the police to the body guards and everything. Then we wait," Nicholas said and Jared nodded even though a frown marred his face.
'What if he doesn't show up?" Jared asked.
'Well, if he doesn't show up, we draw him out," Astra said.