Chapter 3

He turned the bottle upside down and spilled the brown lifesaving pills all over the floor.

“Liam, have you lost your mind?!” I screamed hysterically into the phone. “Open your eyes and look! He’s not my son! He’s your biological son!”

Unfortunately, Liam refused to believe me. He merely watched my breakdown with a smug smile.

Panic overwhelmed me. I finally blurted out the truth about what had happened five years ago.

“After you ran away five years ago, Jennifer found out she was pregnant! She begged me to marry her in name only because she didn’t want her child growing up branded as the illegitimate son of a fugitive debtor!

“Teddy is five years old. Do the math! He really is your flesh and blood! Liam, I’m begging you. Believe me just this once. He really is your son!”

I thought that after hearing all that, he would at least begin to have doubts.

Instead, his expression only darkened. He viciously kicked Teddy in the stomach.

“How dare you try to disgust me with such a lie?!” Liam roared into the camera.

“Do you think I’m an idiot, Dave? If he were really my son, why didn’t Jennifer tell me? Why didn’t she have the baby and wait for me to come back?!”

“Because you’re a coward!” I shouted, consumed by fury.

“You left her alone to face millions of dollars in debt! You ran off without a word! What right do you have to question her now? Pick up those pills and give them to Teddy! Hurry! He’s dying!”

On the screen, Teddy lay motionless after the kick.

His face had turned gray. His eyes were rolling back. He was clutching the front of his shirt over his chest.

He was in a critical condition. He needed emergency treatment immediately!

Just then, my backup phone began vibrating frantically. Jennifer was calling.

I fumbled to answer. Jennifer’s frantic sobs came through the phone.

“Dave, Teddy’s missing! His teacher said a man claiming to be a relative picked him up from school. What are we going to do, Dave?”

“Jennifer, listen to me! Liam kidnapped Teddy!” I shouted into the phone.

“They’re at the abandoned industrial park on the west side! Call the police! Tell them to send an ambulance too!”

Liam heard Jennifer’s voice over the phone. The madness in his eyes intensified.

“You cheating pair! After betraying me, what gives you the right to still have this perfect little family? Tell that harlot to come too! Then, you three can have one final family reunion right here!”

The moment he finished speaking, a wave of panic swept over me.

Sure enough, the screen went black the very next second.

Liam had ended the video call!

When I tried calling him back, his phone was already switched off.

“Please, drive faster! I’ll pay ten times the cost of any tickets, just get me there!”

I leaned forward desperately, gripping the back of the driver’s seat as tears blurred my vision.

A few minutes later, the cab finally pulled up outside the abandoned industrial park.

I ran into the old warehouse and immediately spotted Teddy lying in a puddle of muddy water.

His thin thermal shirt was soaked through. His chest was barely moving.

Liam stood over him with a sharp folding knife. Its blade was pressed against Teddy’s vulnerable throat.

“Stop right there!” Liam said coldly. “Take one more step, Dave, and this knife might slip.”

I stopped dead, my legs threatening to give out beneath me.

“Liam, I’m here. If you want to hurt someone, hurt me! Just put down the knife!” I begged hoarsely.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Liam taunted. He pulled out his phone and pointed the camera at me.

“Dave, you love Jennifer and this little runt so much, don’t you? Fine. Let’s see how far that love goes.

“Now, face the camera and start slapping yourself. With every slap, I want you to admit what a backstabbing lowlife you are, how you moved in on my woman the second I was gone and how you were happy to take my sloppy seconds.

“If I’m not convinced, I’ll cut the kid’s face.”