:

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    55 vouchers

    “What do you want?” “In the restroom, Jessica backed up against the sink, her arms. instinctively shielding her stomach as two janitors closed in from either side, blocking her

    escape.

    “What do you think? We’re going to beat you to death, you filthy tramp.” The shorter of the two, an older woman with graying hair and a mask, raised her broom and swung it at Jessica.

    Jessica quickly sidestepped, her heart racing. The voice gave her instant recognition. “You’re Madeline’s mother. I suggest you…”

    “Don’t you dare say her name!” Grace snapped, her voice shrill with fury.

    “For god’s sake, stop talking and knock her out already!” Peter growled. “If someone finds us, we’re screwed.”

    As he spoke, he pulled a cloth from his worn janitor uniform and lunged toward Jessica, pressing it toward her face.

    Jessica fought back, startled and horrified. All she’d done was step out to use a restroom on another floor as the clinic’s was full.

    Had she known this would happen, she would’ve waited for Brian. But now it was toote.

    The sharp, chemical stench of the cloth overwhelmed her senses. Darkness closed in fast.

    She stumbled, her knees buckling. With a final burst of will, she bit down hard on her tongue and tried to scream, “Help…”

    Seeing it, Grace quickly mmed Jessica’s head down and forced the cloth over her mouth.

    and nose.

    The damp fabric muffled everything. Her limbs went limp, and Jessica lost consciousness.

    Without pause, Grace and Peter hefted her into arge blue garbage bin, mmed the lid shut, and rolled it onto a cart.

    Behind their bmasks/b, they exchanged smug looks.

    Since their release from the police station, they’d been staking out the neighborhood where Jessica and Brian lived, following her for days. But Jessica was always with Brian until now. Finally, there was a chance.

    They pushed the cart quickly toward the elevator.

    “me your sugar daddy for this,” Peter muttered, bitter.

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    55 vouchers

    If Brian had simply agreed to their demand of 300 thousand dors, they wouldn’t have been forced into this.

    But he refused. And with the buyer breathing down their necks, Madeline unreachable, and Miguel increasingly impatient, Grace and Peter had grown desperate and angry.

    Their own misery made them unwilling to let others live in peace. Kidnapping Jessica could serve both as a ransom threat to Brian and a chance to terrify him, paying him back for sending them to the policest time.

    Their n felt wless. Confident and urgent, they exited the building.

    At that same time, the receptionist at Brian’s clinic told him Jessica had gone to use the restroom on another floor. When she didn’t return and didn’t answer her phone, unease

    turned into rm.

    Brian rushed out immediately. As he neared the restroom, a bright yellow “Under Construction” sign caught his eye near the corner. His stomach dropped.

    Within seconds, he was inside, banging on the doors. “Jessi? Jessi, can you hear me?”

    But they were all empty and silent.

    Wesley, just behind him, sensed something was off. As he tried to calm Brian down, he called building management and requested surveince footage.

    Wesley’s sharp tone jolted Brian back to focus. Taking a shaky breath, he steadied himself, turned, and said, “Take me ito /ithe security office. Now!”

    As Brian walked, he checked Jessica’s location via her smartwatch and noticed it was moving rapidly. Without hesitation, he called his bodyguard.

    “Don’t get too close. We can’t risk spooking the kidnappers. Jessi’s safetyes first,” he instructed, his voice cold and steady.

    He arrived at the security control room, where the supervisor, already briefed by Wesley, immediately led them to review the surveince footage.

    Someone had been abducted on their property. If me were to be assigned, they wouldn’t be spared. Full cooperation was their best hope of mitigating Brian’s anger.

    Brian scanned the recordings quickly and soon identified two suspicious figures.

    “Pause at 52 minutes, 10 seconds. Zoom in.”

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    EX 55 vouchers

    He fixed his gaze on two janitors pushing a cart into the restroom, something about their posture felt familiar.

    As the image sharpened, his expression darkened. “It’s them!”

    “Who?” Wesley asked, puzzled. He didn’t recognize the pair.

    “Madeline’s parents. They showed up at my office a few days ago, demanding money. I had them escorted to the police. If I’d known…” Brian’s face was grim. Realizing it was Grace and Peter who had taken Jessica sent a chill through him.

    Their resentment toward him and Jessica was obvious. In their hands, she’d be anything but safe.

    “We need to find her. Now,” Brian said, jaw clenched.

    Just then, his phone rang. The number was unfamiliar. Assuming it was a robocall, he was about to decline, but something made him hesitate.

    He answered abruptly. “Did you take Jessi? What do

    you want?b” /b

    “Well, Mr. Atkinson, I see you’ve caught on,” came Peter’s smug reply. “Then I’ll skip the pleasantries. If you want your mistress and love child safe, you’ll bring us three million in cash. No games.”

    Brian seethed with rage, but forced himself to stayposed. “Fine. Three million. You’ll get it. But if youy a hand on Jessi, the deal’s off.”

    The money meant little to him. If it could bring Jessica back unharmed, he’d pay ten times. that without a second thought.

    “Rx, Peter replied breezily. “As soon as we see the money, she walks free. No harm done.”

    They wanted money, not trouble. Prison was never part of the n, and Peter made that clear.

    “You’d better mean that,” Brian said coldly. “I’ll have the money ready as fast as possible. Where’s the drop?”

    Peter hesitated. They hadn’t nned that far ahead. But he covered it quickly with a scoff “Asking for a location before you’ve got the cash? Don’t take us for fools. Get the money, send proof, and once we’ve verified it, we’ll give you the ce.”

    He ended the call.

    Brian tried calling back, but the line was dead. Without wasting another second, he dialed Jackson.

    …

    :

    “Prepare three million in cash. Immediately.”

    Wesley, listening nearby, frowned. “You’re not going to the police?”

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    55 vouchers

    Brian had already ended the call. While reaching for another phone to contact security, he answered without looking up, “There’s no time. I know where they’re keeping Jessi. I’m going

    in now.”

    And with that, he left the surveince room in a determined stride.

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