Chapter 2

"You know," Clara said, breaking the tense silence as we drove deeper into the darkened woods, "for $250,000, I'd expect a slightly more professional abduction experience."

I gripped the wheel tighter, my knuckles white. "Just stay quiet."

"But this is fascinating," she continued, her voice light, almost conversational. "It's like a badly written thriller. You, the desperate ex-Marine with a heart of gold, probably. Me, the troubled heiress. It' s a bit cliché, don' t you think?"

My jaw clenched. Lily' s pale face flashed in my mind. The beeping of hospital machines.

"This isn't a game," I growled.

"Isn't it?" she tilted her head. "Everything's a game, Leo. Some just have higher stakes."

We finally reached the cabin, a dilapidated structure barely visible through the overgrown trees. It was even worse than I remembered from my scouting trip.

"Charming," Clara murmured as I roughly guided her inside.

The air was damp and smelled of mildew and old wood.

I pushed her onto a rickety chair. "Don't move."

I needed to draft the ransom email to her father, Harrison Hayes.

My hands fumbled with my own cheap laptop, the screen flickering to life.

To Mr. Harison Hayes, I began typing, my fingers clumsy. I have you're daughter. I want $250,000 for her safe return. Wire transfer to this acount...

I paused, realizing I'd misspelled "Harrison" and "your," and the account details were for a savings account I'd barely managed to keep open, one that would trace back to me in seconds. Amateur.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Clara sighed from the chair. I hadn't even tied her up properly; the rope was loose. "Are you actually serious with that?"

I ignored her, trying to focus. The image of Lily, small and frail in her hospital bed, spurred me on. I had to do this.

"You're asking for chump change," Clara said, her tone laced with something that might have been amusement. "I'm worth at least a million. Probably five, if you factor in emotional distress and the current market value for billionaire offspring."

I stared at her, dumbfounded.

"And your grammar is atrocious. 'You're daughter'? Really? He'll think he's dealing with an illiterate moron, and he certainly won't rush to pay that."

She stood up, the loose ropes falling away. I tensed, but she just walked over to me, peering at my screen.

"Let me," she said, and before I could react, she nudged me aside and sat down at my laptop.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, deleting my pathetic attempt.

"Okay, first, it's 'Harrison Hayes,' with two 'r's and an 'o'. And we need to make it sound like you're actually dangerous, not like you're asking for a loan to pay off your student debt."

I just watched, stunned, as she crafted a message that was concise, menacing, and grammatically perfect.

Mr. Hayes, it now read. We have Clara. She is unharmed, for now. The price for her continued well-being is $5,000,000. Non-negotiable. Instructions for a secure, untraceable transfer will follow. Do not involve the police. Any deviation will have severe consequences for her. You have 24 hours.

"Five million?" I choked out.

Clara shrugged, a small, dark smile playing on her lips. "Go big or go home, right? Besides, I am worth it."

She even added a new, untraceable crypto wallet address I didn' t know how she generated so fast.

My head was spinning. My captive was now directing her own kidnapping ransom.

"You... you have your phone," I stammered, finally noticing the sleek device peeking from her designer handbag, which I' d stupidly let her keep.

She picked it up, twirling it. "Of course. You didn't even check. Amateur."

Then, she looked at me, her expression unreadable. "Don't worry. I haven't called anyone. Yet. This is much more interesting than my usual Tuesday."

I had a feeling my carefully laid, desperate plan was already shot to hell.

My anxiety spiked. I pictured Lily again. This had to work.

Later that night, I drifted into a restless sleep, dreaming of Lily' s doctor shaking his head, the experimental treatment funds vanishing like smoke. I woke up in a cold sweat.