Page 32 of Merging with the Billionaire

Conrad reached out and took Tiffany’s hand. He wasn’t going to let her go through this alone.

* * *

“Let’s start looking.He has to be around here somewhere,” Tiffany stated in a soothing voice, trying to calm her sister-in-law down. “I’m sure someone will find him at any moment.”

The truth was, Tiffany was equally scared. A lot could happen to a small child in only a few minutes. Kidnapping was the least of her concerns. She was more worried her nephew was lost, had fallen down and gotten hurt, or even stumbled into the nearby waterfall.

Tiffany made a straight path to that very area, terrified her nephew might be found face down in the water. She wasn’t even sure if her family could survive such a tragedy, especially on the heels of losing their father.

Silently, she sent up a prayer, asking God to help them in the situation.

“Where are we going?” Conrad inquired with confusion. “Do you know where he is?”

Tiffany shook her head. “No, but all kids are attracted to water. I thought he might head towards the waterfalls. I hope I’m wrong though,” she added at the end, barely loud enough for Conrad to hear.

Please Lord, let me be wrong. Don’t let me find him in the water.

They reached the bank of the stream at the bottom of the waterfalls and spent the next couple of minutes looking around. To Tiffany’s momentary relief, there was no sign that Marcus had ever been near the water. After establishing that though, she realized it meant that they still didn’t know where her nephew was.

“Where else should we search?” Conrad inquired, glancing around the park.

“I’m not sure, but I know everyone else headed north and east of the tent. Maybe we should cover the west side of the area,” Tiffany suggested.

“All right, let’s go.”

Tiffany and Conrad took the nearest walk path heading west, scanning the area for any sign of the little boy. The further they went, the more afraid Tiffany became. Where was he? What if she never saw him again? Would her brother even be able to live without his son? Would any of them?

“Isn’t that Marcus over there with that woman?” Conrad asked, pulling Tiffany back to the where they were. “It looks like she is trying to hail a cab.”

Tiffany’s eyes darted over to where Conrad was pointing. It was indeed Marcus, along with his mother Brianna, who wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near him, let alone trying to take him from the park.

“We have to stop them, right now,” Tiffany shouted, sprinting towards them.

If Brianna was able to take off with Marcus, they might never see him again. Who knows where she planned to take him? The woman had endless contacts since her client list was filled with rich and powerful men, willing to do anything for the notorious Manhattan escort.

They reached them just as a cab was pulling up along the road that ran along the outskirts of the park. Tiffany reached out and grabbed Brianna by the arm.

The woman glanced over her shoulder at Tiffany, gave her a dirty look, and stated firmly, “Do you mind taking your hands off me. This is my cab.”

“You don’t recognize me, do you, Brianna?”

The other woman shook her head.

“I’m Tiffany Boswell, Roger’s sister, and you need to give me back my nephew this instant.”

“I don’t have to do anything. He’s my son,” Brianna shrieked out in anger, her glazed over eyes darting everywhere. If she were high on drugs, it made her even more dangerous. “You can’t keep a mother from her child. It’s not right.”

“We aren’t doing anything; you did it with the choices you made,” Tiffany pointed out.

The woman yanked free from Tiffany’s grasp and reached for the handle of the door. “Get in the car, Marcus.”

The little boy glanced with trepidation between his aunt and mother, his big brown eyes puddling with tears.

“It’s all right, Marcus, why don’t you come over here so I can take you to your father,” Tiffany coaxed, reaching her hand out to the boy.

Brianna swung the cab door open. “Get in now, Marcus, before it’s too late. Don’t you want to come away with Mommy?”

Conrad stepped forward and pushed the door shut. “The boy won’t be going anywhere with you.”

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