Chapter 526
526:
Brenna turned to Morton and Jaxson, who shook their heads in frustration.
Jaxson said, “The call was too brief; we couldn’t get a trace.”
Brenna braced herself for a long wait before hearing from the kidnappers again, but to her astonishment, only half a minute later, her phone buzzed with a new message containing a location.
“Come to this place alone at 12:30 tonight. We’re keeping an eye on you. Try anything, and the boy dies.”
Morton and Jaxson exchanged knowing glances; it was becoming clear that this kidnapping wasn’t aimed at Ellie or the Russell family. No, it was aimed at Brenna. After all, why hadn’t the kidnappers reached out to Patrick’s mother?
Everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen, thick tension in the air. Morton was the first to break the silence. “No. Absolutely not. You’re not going.”
Brenna felt an unsettling chill creeping in. She rifled through her memories, recalling those she had crossed over the years—the Ward family in Norview, the Murrays in Orwall, and the military in Valport. She had stepped on quite a few toes, and the list of potential vendettas was overwhelming.
As she shared her roster of enemies with Morton and Jaxson, they scrutinized each name but ultimately dismissed them all.
Yet the most plausible threat emerged from her position as the lead designer of the next-generation fighter jet. If that sensitive information had leaked, the kidnapping could easily be the work of a foreign adversary.
“I’ll go,” Ellie declared suddenly, her eyes fixed on the message.
“No,” Brenna said immediately. “They specifically asked for me. If I don’t show up, they might kill Patrick.”
Morton rose, his demeanor authoritative. “We’ll wait for orders from higher-ups before taking any action. Miss Harper, you’re far too valuable to the military. This is just a kidnapping; we can manage this without putting you in harm’s way.”
When Jayceon hurried into the surveillance room, he found it empty of the familiar faces he had expected. Brenna and the others had vacated the space, which was now swarming with military personnel. Dozens of uniformed officers poured over the screens, their faces set in grim lines of determination, none willing to divulge any details to Jayceon. Memories of Brenna effortlessly orchestrating a military band for Amy’s birthday celebration flashed through Jayceon’s mind. The connection dawned on him; this ordeal was steeped in secrecy. With a wary glance around the room, he decided against probing further and made his way to Thiago’s place.
𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽: ⳑ𝖺𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝗍𝖊𝗅𝘀．𝖼𝗈𝗺
After understanding the full scope of what had happened, Thiago quickly advised Ellie and Brenna not to return to Ellie’s home. He was deeply concerned that Ellie’s elderly parents might not be able to handle the news, so he told Ellie to call and gently inform them that she and Brenna would be staying at Brenna’s place for the night.
Jayceon showed up not long after, stepping into Thiago’s residence, just a few hundred square feet tucked inside a sleek, high-end complex. The small group sat in tense silence on the couch, their expressions tight, each of them waiting for the military’s next orders.
The military was convinced this wasn’t some random kidnapping; it was a deliberate strike aimed at the chief designer behind their next-generation fighter jet. The weight of that realization had them treating the situation with absolute gravity. In less than thirty minutes, a dedicated task force was assembled, and any offer of police assistance was swiftly turned down; the military intended to handle this on their own terms.
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