Unbelievable
Larry tugged the hood of his jacket tighter over his head as he stepped out onto the bustling Paris street.
His heart raced, but his toddler face was set in determined lines.
He had to fix this mess.
Mummy didn’t need to worry, not if he could sort it out before she found out what he was doing.
He spotted a taxi pulling up to the curb and waved it down. The driver, a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard, glanced at him through the rearview mirror as Larry climbed into the backseat. The man spoke quickly in French, the words rapid and unfamiliar.
Larry blinked, reaching for his phone. He quickly opened a translator app, typing in what he thought the driver had said. The app blinked back at him: Where is your mama?
“Uh...” Larry swallowed, typing in his response: She’s at the hotel. I’m going to meet her.
He pressed the button, and the app’s mechanical voice echoed in French. The taxi driver frowned, glancing back at Larry through the mirror, but shrugged and pulled away from the curb.
Larry leaned back against the seat, clutching his phone tightly. His hands were shaking, but he couldn’t let that stop him.
He pulled up Rowan Vaughn’s number, the one he and Laura had managed to get earlier, and quickly typed out a message.
I’m headed to the location now. We can talk there. Don’t be late.
He hit send before he could second-guess himself. This had to work. If he could just talk to Uncle Rowan, he could explain everything. He’d make him understand why they did it, and maybe, just maybe, he’d agree to the plan. Larry figured grown-ups liked talking about business anyway, so maybe Rowan would listen if he sounded confident enough.
The taxi driver started speaking again, gesturing with his hands. Larry quickly fumbled with the app, translating again. Is your mama okay? Where are you going?
Larry hesitated, thinking fast. “I’m going to meet someone,” he said, tapping his phone to translate. “i am headed to Rue de Rivoli. My mother is very fine thank you ”
The driver raised an eyebrow but said nothing, turning his attention back to the road.
Larry glanced out of the window, watching the unfamiliar streets of Paris flash by. His stomach flipped nervously as the reality of what he was doing started to settle in. He wasn’t entirely sure where he was going, but he’d seen Rowan’s assistant book meetings at some fancy restaurant when he and Laura had been digging around earlier. He could head there, or at least close by. He didn’t have much of a plan beyond meeting Rowan and somehow convincing him to go through with the marriage idea.
This is gonna work, he told himself, gripping his phone. It has to.
Rowan’s response buzzed on his phone a few moments later.
Who is this? Where are you?
Larry stared at the screen, biting his lip. He hadn’t thought about what to say if Rowan asked for details. Should he tell the truth? No, that would ruin everything. He quickly typed back.
You’ll know when you see me. Just come.
After pressing send, Larry’s heart raced even faster. This was it. He just needed Rowan to show up. The sooner this was all over, the sooner he could make everything right. Then Mummy wouldn’t have to worry, and everything could go back to normal. Maybe even better.
The taxi driver pulled up near the location Larry had punched into his phone—a fancy hotel that looked like it belonged in one of those movies Mummy watched late at night. Larry slipped a crumpled handful of bills into the driver’s hand and climbed out. His feet hit the pavement, and the weight of what he was doing settled heavier on his shoulders.
He took a deep breath, looking around, hoping this plan worked.
***
Rowan stood by the entrance of the sleek Parisian hotel, his eyes scanning the streets for any sign of the mysterious "L" who had dragged him halfway across the world. He didn’t like this one bit. The message had been cryptic, and Callum had been buzzing in his ear the entire drive, warning him against going alone. But Rowan wasn’t about to let someone walk off with his money without a face-to-face confrontation.
“Sir, this could be a setup,” Callum murmured again from his side, his voice tight with concern. “You don’t even know who you’re meeting. It’s reckless. What of if they are involved in the accident?”
Rowan barely glanced at him, his jaw set in frustration. “I don’t care who it is. Whoever did this crossed a line. I’m not leaving until I find out who’s behind this. Besides it's a public place.”
Callum sighed, clearly unhappy with the decision, but knew better than to argue. “Fine, but be careful.”
Rowan’s eyes flicked up as a taxi pulled to the curb. A small figure hopped out, and Rowan frowned, squinting as the figure walked toward him.
“Is that...?” Callum started, disbelief coloring his voice.
Rowan’s frown deepened as the figure came closer, and his confusion quickly turned into pure shock. A child. A literal child—no more than seven or eight—was strutting toward him, hands stuffed in the pockets of a jacket that was too big for him. The boy’s face was serious, his eyes focused, as if he were walking into a boardroom.
There was something about him that looked so familiar.
Rowan’s gaze flickered briefly to Callum, who looked equally dumbfounded. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rowan muttered.
The boy stopped in front of him, crossing his arms and looking up at Rowan with an expression that was entirely too confident for someone his age. “You’re Uncle Rowan, right?” he asked, his voice steady, like this was all part of his plan.
Rowan raised an eyebrow, glancing around to see if this was some kind of joke. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Larry,” the boy said, puffing his chest out a little. “I’m the one you’ve been messaging.”
Callum’s jaw practically hit the floor. “What? This kid... this is the hacker?”
Rowan, still too stunned to react properly, stared at the boy, his mind spinning. “You’re telling me you hacked into my family’s accounts? You stole a hundred million dollars?”
Larry nodded, unfazed. “Yup. My sister and I did it.”
Rowan blinked, trying to process this. “A child hacked into my accounts?”
Callum stepped forward, shaking his head. “This has to be some kind of mistake. There’s no way a kid—”
Larry’s face hardened. “I’m not lying. I hacked your system, okay? Don’t underestimate me just because I’m a kid.” His small hands balled into fists. “I could do it again if I wanted to.”
Rowan’s eyes narrowed, a cold anger simmering beneath his confusion. “You expect me to believe that you did this? What is this, some game you and your friends are playing? Who’s really behind this? Your mother? Is she the mastermind?”
Larry’s eyes flashed, and before Rowan could even react, the kid swung a leg up and almost kicked him square in the groin. Rowan jerked back just in time, barely avoiding what would’ve been a painfully accurate hit.
“Whoa, whoa!” Callum jumped between them, eyes wide in disbelief.
Larry glared up at Rowan, his fists still clenched. “I did it. Me and my sister. And you’re being rude, Uncle Rowan. I came here to talk business.”
Rowan stared at the boy, his disbelief shifting into something else—frustration, and maybe even a hint of grudging respect. The kid’s got guts, he had to admit. Still, there was no way this child had pulled off something so sophisticated without help.
“You’re telling me you managed to move a hundred million dollars, and you expect me to believe there’s no one else involved?” Rowan’s voice was low, dangerous.
Larry stood his ground, his face set. “We did it. Me and Laura. No one else.”
Callum looked ready to faint. Rowan, however, took a step closer, staring down at the boy. “And why did you do it?”
Larry hesitated, glancing away for a brief second before looking back up at Rowan with that same defiant look. “To get you to marry our mum.”
Rowan laughed. Crossing his arm across his chest. “You don't have to cover up for your mother.”
“But I am not!”
“Well, no normal human being would believe this little boy. Your mother could have used that money to run away but she didn't. Instead she seems to be obsessed with me and want me to marry her. Quite the joke of the century.”
Larry scowled. “Fine. Take it as you see it. I am not refunding that money.”
“Oh you don't have to, I already took it back.”
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