Missing Child
I was sweating.
My palms were slick, and my heart pounded so hard in my chest I thought it might burst. I didn’t even know what to say. Everything was a blur, and I could feel the stares of people passing by, their curious glances making the moment even worse.
The phone in my pocket buzzed again. I didn’t need to look at the screen to know who it was. Rowan.
I pressed a hand to my forehead, trying to steady my breathing. “We’re going to the hotel,” I managed to say through gritted teeth, my voice shaking. “And you two are going to refund that money immediately.”
Larry, always the more cautious one, looked guilty for a second before shaking his head. “We can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?” I snapped, glaring at him.
“The account we put the money in…” He hesitated, his face pale. “It’s... um... illegal.”
I stared at him in disbelief, feeling my stomach drop. “Illegal? What do you mean, illegal?”
Laura piped in nervously, her big eyes wide with worry. “It’s not, like, a real bank account, Mummy. It’s one of those... um... hidden ones.”
Larry shot her a quick glare. “A dummy account. We moved the money there so no one could trace it. But...”
“But what?!” My voice was rising, my panic spiking with every word.
Larry bit his lip, his eyes darting away. “We... we don’t know how to put it back.”
I felt like the world was spinning beneath me. “You don’t know how to put it back?” I repeated, my voice trembling. “So, you just hacked into one of the richest families in the world, stole a hundred million dollars, and now you’re telling me you don’t know how to return it?”
They both nodded, clearly terrified.
I buried my face in my hands, trying to keep myself from screaming. This was beyond bad. This was a disaster of epic proportions.
The phone in my pocket buzzed again, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I yanked it out, staring at Rowan’s name on the screen, the weight of the situation crashing down on me. I was going to have to deal with this, somehow, someway.
“We’re going to the hotel. Now,” I said, standing up and grabbing Larry and Laura by the hands. “And you’re going to tell me everything you did.”
They both nodded silently, not daring to protest as I led them down the street, my heart racing faster than ever.
****
By the time we got back to the hotel, I could barely think straight. The panic hadn’t left me for a second, my chest tight and my mind spinning. How could they have done this? A hundred million dollars—gone, sitting in some illegal account, and they had no clue how to get it back.
I immediately grabbed my phone and dialed Asher. My hands shook as I pressed the phone to my ear, pacing back and forth in the room while Larry and Laura sat on the bed, their faces pale. Laura was sniffling, clutching her favorite stuffed animal, her usual confident demeanor completely gone.
“Asher, pick up,” I muttered, chewing my lip anxiously. When his voice finally came through, I felt a tiny bit of relief.
“Remi? What’s wrong? You sound—”
“Asher,” I cut him off, trying to keep my voice steady, “I need your help. Now.”
There was a brief pause on the other end. “What happened?”
I glanced at the twins, lowering my voice. “The kids. They—" I hesitated, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me. “They hacked into the Vaughn family’s account. Took a hundred million dollars. I don’t know what to do.”
Another pause, longer this time. “Wait. What? They what?” His voice rose with disbelief.
“It gets worse,” I continued, feeling a wave of nausea. “They put the money into some dummy account. It’s gone, Asher. We can’t get it back. They don’t even know how.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, and I could almost hear Asher processing the insanity of what I’d just told him. Finally, he sighed. “How… how did this even happen? I mean, I taught them how to use basic coding and—”
“I don’t know how!” I interrupted, my voice shaking with frustration. “They figured out how to move millions like it was some kind of game!”
I glanced at Laura, who was now sobbing quietly, her face buried in her hands. The sight of her broke my heart, and I softened my tone. “They didn’t mean to do it. They were just... trying to help.”
Asher sighed deeply. “Okay. Okay, calm down. I’ll help you figure this out.”
“I don’t know how to calm down,” I said, pressing my hand to my forehead, feeling a headache forming. “I have to meet with Rowan, and I don’t know what he’s going to do when he finds out about this. He’s probably on his way here already.”
“I just checked,” Asher said, his voice steadying a little. “He’s already on his way to Paris.”
I closed my eyes, my heart sinking. Of course, he was. He probably got the messages from the kids and was livid. “I’m going to have to tell him everything, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, you will,” Asher agreed, but then his tone lightened slightly. “But don’t panic. Just explain it to him. He’s a businessman, not a monster. I’m sure he won’t kill anyone over this. I’ll head to Paris as well, just in case.”
I let out a shaky breath. “Thanks, Asher. I’ll send you the hotel details.”
“Got it. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
After hanging up, I sat on the edge of the bed, feeling like the world was collapsing around me. I looked at Laura, who was still quietly crying, and my heart twisted. I went over, wrapping my arms around her.
“Shh, it’s okay, sweetie,” I whispered, even though it wasn’t. “We’ll figure this out.”
“I’m sorry, Mummy,” she whimpered, her small body trembling. “We didn’t mean for it to be this bad.”
“I know,” I said softly, stroking her hair. “I know you didn’t.”
But we were in so much trouble. I was in so much trouble. Rowan wasn’t going to take this lightly, and I had no idea how to fix it. My mind raced, trying to figure out what I’d say to him when we finally met. How could I explain this?
I stood up and forced myself to get ready. If I was going to face Rowan, I needed to at least look like I wasn’t falling apart, even if that was exactly how I felt. I grabbed a simple black dress from my suitcase, something elegant but understated, and paired it with a long beige coat. My makeup was light—just enough to hide the stress that was clearly written all over my face. I stared at myself in the mirror, smoothing my hair and trying to push down the growing anxiety in my chest.
“Alright,” I muttered under my breath. “You can do this.”
When I turned around, ready to gather the twins and head out, I froze.
Larry was missing.
“Larry?” I called, scanning the room quickly, my heart starting to race again. “Larry?!”
Laura looked up, her eyes wide. “He was just here...”
I rushed to the door, throwing it open and looking down the hallway. He wasn’t there. Panic surged through me again. First, the money, and now this? What was going on with my life?
“Where could he have gone?” I muttered, running a hand through my hair, trying to stay calm.
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