Chapter 99: Despair!

The days passed, the morning was cold in New York, with a cloudy sky and a biting wind that made the leaves dance on the sidewalks. In the silence of the narrow streets of Manhattan, Ester walked with determined steps, her gaze alert. Ahead, Théo's security guard, a burly and rigid-looking man, was walking towards the coffee shop where every Thursday he brought the same coffee and a stuffed croissant for the boy. She approached with a seductive smile, taking a small bottle out of her bag. "Hey, aren't you Marcos, who works with Miss Hanh?" she asked, feigning surprise. "I've seen you go into her apartment. I'm friends with the neighbor." Marcos hesitated for a moment, surprised by her approach. 

"Ah... yes. Do you need anything?"

"No. I just want to invite you to have a coffee with me. It's so cold today..." she said, with a slight smile on her face. Marcos looked at his watch, still suspicious, but Ester kept talking as if she were an old acquaintance and he ended up accepting her. When Ester went to take their orders, she put a sleeping pill in the security guard's coffee and, a few sips later, her eyes began to feel heavy.

"What... what did you put here?..."

"A nap. It'll do you good."

He felt dizzy before falling onto the table. Some people got up to try to help, but Ester, as cunning as she is, asked them not to worry and to let only a man who was at the next table help, since he was her ally, the two of them discreetly dragging him to an alley between two buildings. Marcos was leaning against some boxes.

"One less," she whispered, before disappearing into the shadows.

Meanwhile, Robinson manipulated Evan's cell phone with precision. He wrote a convincing message and sent it directly to Susan:

"Niece, help me. I'm feeling really bad. Severe dizziness. Come here quickly, please." He knew Susan wouldn't resist. And he was right. Minutes later, she left everything behind and ran to her uncle's apartment, crossing the city, worried. When she arrived, she found the man fine, with a confused look. 

"But... uncle? Are you okay?" 

Evan frowned. "Of course I am. What happened?" That's when it hit him. Susan's eyes widened.

"Damn it... Theo!"

She ran toward the door like a hurricane. Theo, on the other hand, had been waiting for a long time in front of the gym and was already restless. The substitute sensei approached, with a practiced smile and a calm tone. 

"Hey, champ. Looks like they forgot about you today, huh?" 

"Susan is never late. She always lets me know..." 

"Maybe her cell phone ran out of battery, or something unexpected happened. Don't worry, I'll take you home." Theo hesitated, looking the man up and down. Something seemed... strange. But he was also cold and started to get scared.

"Okay... But are you sure you know where I live?"

"No. But I'll get the address from the gym receptionist... Okay, let's go." 

The boy got into the car and the fake sensei called. Halfway there, Theo became even more suspicious and tried to call Susan. Without success. He called his mother. Voicemail. He tried to open the door, screaming for help, and tried to attack the man.

"Sorry, kid. But you're not going to like where you're going." With a quick movement, the man applied a substance to a handkerchief and pressed it against Theo's face. The boy fainted almost instantly. Minutes later, the car stopped in an isolated spot. Ester was already waiting for them. She opened the back door and widened her eyes when she saw Theo slumped in the seat. 

"What did you do? Andrew was clear! The boy had to get out unharmed!"

"Either I made him faint, or he ran away. You have no idea... he almost made me crash the car twice. That kid is annoying!"

“Okay,” Ester said through clenched teeth. “Hurry up. Andrew and Rebecca are already waiting.” 

Susan arrived at the gym, panting, desperate, looking for Theo. “Where is he? Where is the boy?” The receptionist looked at her in surprise. 

“You’re late. The substitute sensei took the boy home. He said he was authorized.”

“WHAT SENSEI?” Susan screamed, her eyes brimming with anger and guilt. She ran to the sidewalk and looked around, but there was nothing else to do. 

“Damn it! How could I have been so stupid?” Some time later, Bella was finishing a tense meeting with her allies. She was exhausted, but the cell phone on the table lit up with several missed calls. All from Susan. And one from Theo. Bella’s heart froze. She immediately returned her son’s call. The phone rang three times before being answered. 

“Hi, son, are you okay? Why did you call me?” But it wasn't Théo's voice that answered.

“Hello, Bella. Do you remember me?” The voice was full of sarcasm. “I have your son here with me. And now, finally, I'm going to have my revenge.”

“Rebecca... please, no.” Bella was so shaken that her voice cracked.

“This time, revenge will be mine.” And the call was ended.

Bella let the cell phone slip from Bella's fingers and fall with a dry crack on the conference table, the silence that followed was deafening. She remained paralyzed, her breathing short and irregular, her eyes fixed on nothing. One of the allies, Mackenzie, quickly approached.

“Miss Hahn? What happened?” he asked, alarmed.

“Rebecca…” he whispered with tears in his eyes. “She's with my son.”

A heavy silence took over the room.

“She kidnapped him,” Bella confirmed with a choked voice, wiping away the tears that were already streaming down her face. “Forget about Johnny. Forget about this stupid hunt. I want you all looking for Théo! Now!”

Debby’s eyes widened. “But Bella, this is clearly a trap.”

“I don’t care!” she shouted, banging her fists on the table. “I told you to forget about Johnny! I want my son back! Alive! Do you understand?”

Everyone nodded quickly, activating devices, making calls, organizing the teams.

Bella stepped away from the table with her cell phone shaking in her hands. She took a deep breath and dialed Dylan Kicher’s number.

The call was answered in a few seconds, with DK’s deep voice sounding carefree on the other end.

“Hi, brunette! I’m still looking for Rebecca. I think she hid herself very well, but…”

He stopped talking at the same moment he realized something different. A muffled noise... sobs?

“Bella? What happened? Are you crying?”

Her voice cracked,

“Dylan... Rebecca is here in New York. And she has our son. She’s going to kill him.”

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the line. DK held his breath. Bella’s pain shot through the phone like a poisoned arrow.

“What?!” he shouted, his voice thick with anger and disbelief.

“How did this happen? He wasn’t with Susan?!”

“He was. But someone tricked her... and took him. She’s devastated, and the security guard... is gone.”

“Damn it!” DK punched the wall next to him, knocking over a picture frame. “I should have finished Rebecca out when I had the chance!”

“Dylan, please... help me get our son back,” Bella said in a small voice.

“You didn’t even have to ask. Send me the exact location of the gym. I’ll start there.” I won’t rest until I find Theo. And when I find Rebecca…”