Instead of waiting for Sebastian to come around, Ian pulled Vivian’s hand and ran off. They did not know where they had to go to seek help, but all they knew was they had to do something to find their Mommy and save Matteo. After a while, Sebastian finally came back to his senses and ran over to the two children. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” “Let us go! We want to go save Mommy!” Ian bellowed in uncontrollable rage. He glared at Sebastian with his eyes full of hatred as he pushed his hand away forcefully. It did not take long before Ian realized his blunder. He had shouted “
Mommy” twice when he was lashing out at Sebastian. To Ian’s surprise, instead of interrogating him, Sebastian seemed unusually calm. He looked at the two kids for a few seconds and dragged them into the car. “Stay inside!” Speaking, he slammed the door behind them and went to the driver’s seat before the car zoomed off. Within a few minutes, the black Maybach was already out of Old Town when Luke called. “Mr. Hayes, I’ve got their whereabouts. They are in an abandoned vessel by the pier. We’ve already sent some helicopters and snipers over.” “Got it.” Sebastian hung up after receiving news from Luke. He straightened his back and stepped hard on the pedal as the car sped down the street. Although he was caught in a tense situation, his face did not betray any emotions. Sebastian drove on steadily, just as he would any other day when he was going to work. Despite his cool, it was obvious that he took this incident seriously. After all, he had sent out helicopters and a few snipers.
This itself was enough to illustrate how severe the situation was. A glimmer of zest broke out on the abductor’s face when his phone rang – he had been waiting anxiously for Sebastian’s call for the past fifteen minutes. “Mr. Hayes, have you made up your mind?” “Where’s the kid?” Sebastian ignored his question and interrogated the man about the child instead. “How do you know he’s not dead?” The man asked after a slight pause. An apathetic chuckle came from Sebastian’s side. “I figured you won’t kill the child, ’cause it’s money you want. Besides, it’s not like you have the guts to kill my son. You can’t afford to.” Sebastian’s threats rendered the man speechless. What Sebastian said was true, so the kidnapper had nothing to say in retaliation. “Well, yes, the child is still alive. I hope you’ve got the money ready.” “I have the one billion you want, but you’ll have to prove to me that the child is still alive,” Sebastian negotiated calmly but firmly. One billion was not a small amount, so Sebastian thought he had better err on the cautious side and make sure Matteo was alive. After all, Sebastian Hayes would never make a losing bargain.
The man half-expected Sebastian’s request. Thus, he fiddled with his phone for a bit and switched the voice call to a video call. When the video got less grainy and Sebastian could finally take a good look at the hostage, he finally understood why it was not a prank call. The kidnapper really had a child with him. But he was not the only person in the video. There was another woman. Although her face was splattered with blood, she had her shaking arms around the boy. “What are you doing? Don’t touch him!” the injured woman yelled. When the woman realized the man had them caught on a video, her arms tightened around the child she was protecting, trying to shield him from harm. Sasha Wand! Without Sebastian himself realizing, a hint of anger sparkled in his eyes as he narrowed his eyes at the familiar figure. “Get lost, woman! Or I’ll kill both of you!”
The man shouted and lifted his leg to kick Sasha’s back mercilessly. “Mommy!” Matteo bawled the moment Sasha fell to the ground. The impact sent a fresh flow of blood gushing out of her shoulder as she hit against the cold, wet floor. On the other hand, Sebastian’s face was taut with concentration. His nails dug deep into the leather steering wheel as his grip intensified. “Mommy!” Matteo cried out frantically as he knelt in front of Sasha, demented with worry and fear. “Come over here, you brat! Come over if you don’t want your mother to die!”
The man gave Matteo a brutal tug and dragged the five-year-old over effortlessly, like an eagle preying on a small animal. “Let him go!” Sasha scrambled desperately towards the brute, stumbling her way to Matteo. Her body was soaked in blood, and yet, she was relentless. The man booted her aside and brought Matteo closer so Sebastian could see him. Sebastian almost hit the brake pedal in an emergency when he saw the boy. What he saw hit him like a lightning bolt. He jerked his head closer to the screen and scrutinized the boy before his eyes. Who is he? Ian? Wait, no! Ian’s in the car. Who on earth is this boy? Why does he look so much like Ian? His eyelids twitched as he looked at Matteo. An inexplicable glint flashed in his eyes as Sebastian fixed his gaze on the child.
