Page 46 of Be My Traitor

Theo was one of my most loyal servants and he got behind the wheel of my car and immediately drove off. I put on the helmet he’d left on the bike seat and gave him a couple of minutes’ head start so the police wouldn’t guess that I was on the bike. The tinted windows of my car would conceal Theo’s identity so by the time the police realised they were chasing the wrong man, I’d be at the warehouse.

Whoever had taken my daughter was going to regret it.

I pulled up alongside Milly’s car. As I switched off the engine and pulled off my helmet, my phone beeped with a text from Milly.

She says well done for making it inside the deadline – just. Now come inside. Go through reception and down the corridor. Turn left at the bottom and then go through the third door on the right.

I did as I was told, running down the hallways and counting the doors until I got to where I’d been told to go. I pushed through a door, which slammed shut behind me. I turned round to open it, but there was no handle. I was trapped!

“Lucas. You are even better looking in person than I expected.”

A woman’s voice came across an intercom. I frowned. “Who are you? Show yourself!”

“All in good time, son. All in good time.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Enough game playing. I want to see Milly and Amber. I need to know they’re safe.”

“Suit yourself. Go through the red door.”

There was a red door in the wall opposite the door where I’d come in. There was a buzzing sound and I hurried over to open it in case it locked again. I pulled it open and I found myself in a narrow room which was nothing but toughened glass on one side. On the other side of the glass I saw Amber tied to a chair and on the opposite side of the room, there was a large window through which I could see Milly. She was as much of a prisoner as the rest of us and whoever was behind this had the three of us at their mercy.

“Who’s behind this? Show yourself!” I banged on the glass with my fist.

“I’m disappointed. I would have thought you’d have guessed by now.” A woman stepped forward to stand next to Amber. I couldn’t tell how old she was. She had the kind of wrinkled skin that resulted from years of smoking and goodness knew what other abuse, which meant she could be a lot younger than she looked. She had long, dark hair tied back in a low ponytail.

“I’ve never seen you before,” I said.

“Now, Lucas, my boy. That’s not true. I’m disappointed that you don’t remember your own I mother – but then I suppose Penelope would have done her best to wipe me from your memory.”

She came further into the light and I saw that her eyes were an unusual grey colour. My eyes widened as I realised she was exactly who she claimed to be. This was my birth mother!

“M-mum?” I shook my head, confused. “I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?”

“I’ll cut straight to the chase. I need money.”

“Okay.” I rolled my eyes. “So I’ll give you money. You didn’t need to put us through all of this. How much do you want? Ten thousand? Twenty? I’ll transfer it now and we can forget all about this.”

“You don’t understand, Lucas.” My mother tutted. “I wantallyour money. Every last penny that bitch Penelope left to you.”

“This is all over some money?” Milly yelled at her from the other side of the glass. “That’s yourgranddaughter.You’ve traumatised her for life when all you had to do was ask.”

“It’s so easy for the pair of you to sit there and talk about money like it’s nothing,” my mother said. “You’ve had it all your lives. You have no idea what it’s like to struggle. You don’t know what it’s like to be a single mother, never knowing if you’ll be able to feed your baby.”

“You can’t pretend you’re a caring mother,” Milly snapped. “You’ve hurt your granddaughter and yousoldyour son. You are not the victim here.”

“Shut up!” My mother snarled and grabbed Amber. I could see her fingers digging into my daughter’s delicate skin and tears ran down her face. I had to save my daughter.

“You have no idea what it was like for me,” my mother went on. “You sit there in your fancy houses looking down at people like me. You play chess with people’s lives with no care for the kind of devastation you leave behind. No more! It’s my turn to shine. I want you to transfer the entire Donatello fortune to me, Lucas. Your girlfriend has more than enough money to support you both. You won’t miss the billions you give me.”

“And what happens if I don’t?”

“It’s pretty simple.” My mother pulled out a wickedly sharp hunting knife. Its cruel blade twinkled in the light, the serrated edge capable of cutting through Amber’s soft flesh like it was butter. “If you don’t transfer over the money, I’ll start taking pieces off your daughter. I think I’ll start with a little finger. One quick movement and it’ll be gone. So, Lucas, it’s entirely up to you. One way or another, you’ll get your daughter back. It’s entirely up to you whether she’s in one piece or not. Now, I’ve had enough of talking. You have ten seconds to make up your mind. Are you giving me my money or am I taking my pound of flesh? Ten… nine… eight…”

“Stop!” I held out my hand, hating how helpless I felt. “I’ll transfer the money.” I took out my mobile and opened up my mobile banking app. “Where do I send it to?”

“This is my Swiss bank account.” My mother took out a piece of paper and held it up against the glass so I could see the account details. “But if you think you’re going to recover the money from it after I’m gone, think again. I’ll be transferring it out again immediately. Say goodbye to your money, Lucas. It’s mine now.”

I tapped in the account details, but I was so nervous, I kept mistyping.

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