Chapter 1859
Veronica dashed into the room, trying to understand what was going on. “Grandma?” She asked. She only saw three kids in the house and became deeply concerned. “What happened? Baber was just fine. How did he get taken away? Did you take them out?”
Marissa, her voice choked with tears, tried to explain. “No, no. I didn’t take them anywhere! At my age, I can’t keep up with them. We were just relaxing in the backyard after dinner, and this man selling balloons walked by.
The kids loved the balloons and wanted them. Your grandpa and I sent the butler to buy some, but the rascals insisted on picking out their own. As the butler paid, the man just dropped all his balloons, picked up Baber, and ran off!”
A balloon seller?!
Again, it was a balloon seller! Ellinor remembered seeing a man selling balloons around them lately, and her intuition told her something was off about
him.
She had specifically warned Veronica and the maids about the balloon seller. She told them not to let the children buy any balloons. But she had forgotten to warn her in-laws and their butler, Devin.
Her in-laws and Devin usually didn’t have to watch the children.
Theo had just returned, so everyone was excited, which probably lowered their guard.
It seemed that the balloon seller had targeted Baber from the start.
But why? What was his connection with Baber?
Realization dawned on Veronica, and she admitted regretfully, “Oh! The balloon seller! Ellinor warned me about him, but Grandma and Grandpa didn’t know. I shouldn’t have gone out on a date this afternoon. What do we do now? Baber’s been kidnapped!”
After calming Ellinor, Theo asked in a steady voice, “Did anyone call the police?”
Veronica immediately chimed in. “Right, did anyone call the police?”
At the mention of the police, Marissa’s cries grew louder, to the point where she couldn’t speak.
Putnam, however, was slightly calmer. “We were about to, but then a call came in from an unknown number, warning us not to call the police, or we’d never see Baber again.”
Kidnapping and a ransom threat?!
Ellinor snapped to attention. “How much do they want?”
If it was a matter of money, it wasn’t a problem.
Putnam sighed. “That’s the worst part. They didn’t mention money. They just warned us not to call the police and hung up. When we tried to call back, the number was disconnected.”
Ellinor’s hope plummeted. Theo supported her as he gave out instructions to the people around him. “Keep an eye on Grandma, Grandpa, and the kids.”
Then he led Ellinor upstairs.
Veronica followed them. “Brother, what are you going to do? Shouldn’t we call the police?”
Theo gave his sister a stern look. “Just take care of the kids. Don’t worry about anything else.”
Though she was anxious, Veronica was afraid to cause any more trouble, so she nodded in agreement.
Theo didn’t lead Ellinor to their bedroom. Instead, they went to the study and turned on the computer.
