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One of the men points to the two chairs facing each other. “Sit!” he shouts. We do as we’re told, and I become anxious when they pull out a large roll of duct tape. With our hands still bound by zip ties, they wrap the tape around our chests and calves so that we are firmly secured to the chair. One of the men taunts us by placing Anna’s weapon on the table by the door, well out of reach.
I startle when Swank’s screams can be heard from down the corridor. I immediately begin praying for his safety and ours as well. The one man left to guard us until Sean arrives growls out, “Praying isn’t going to get you out of this one.”
After minutes of waiting, the door finally opens, and Conor enters instead of his brother. “Can you hear the consequences of your actions, Aiden? Your friend is taking your punishment for you. How does that make you feel?” When I don’t say anything, he continues, “The way I see it, you can give back the money your grandparents stole from us, or you can throw the games we ask you to. By stacking the odds in our favor when placing our bets, we can reduce your debt.”
“Are you talking about the money you forced my grandparents to launder? Because if I die, the proof I have will be sent to the FBI,” I tell him.
“No, Aiden. I’m referring to the two billion dollars they left behind. As far as the evidence is concerned, your warning last year gave us plenty of time to cook our books. Trust me, our men have scrubbed our ledgers so that we’re squeaky clean should any federal agency come poking around. Any paperwork you have will lead to a dead end and is now useless.”
Anna cocks her head slightly, and I know she’s listening to someone in her earpiece. She plays it off well by asking a question of her own. “Daddy must be very proud of you. Where is he? I thought we were going to meet the ‘boss.’”
Conor’s eyes darken. “Sean and I are the bosses now. There’s a reason no one has seen our father for the past two years. He got soft and is now nothing more than fish food. If you don’t want to join him, I suggest you start cooperating. As it stands, your friend is nearly on death’s door, and you are his only chance of living through this.”
I’m about to give in when the door opens again, only this time Patricia enters as gunfire echoes throughout the building. “We’re under attack, Conor! We need to get out of here!”
“So, this was your plan all along, Patricia? To try and take my daughter away from me and steal the billions my grandparents left to me. You’re a despicable woman!” I’m seething, and my vision clouds with red.
“It was never my plan, Aiden. I’m just along for the ride,” she retorts, urging Conor to leave.
Conor stares at us before turning to Patricia and telling her, “Cut their bindings to the chair but leave their hands bound. We need hostages.” He points a gun at us while Patricia grabs a knife off the table. “One wrong move, and you die.”
The moment the tape is cut, I can breathe easier. Anna is the first to stand up and fearlessly approaches Conor. The next thing I know, Anna ducks toward her left while simultaneously using her bound hands to push the gun out of the way. Conor fires, but the shot goes wide and strikes the wall behind me. Quick as a whip, Anna touches her ring to Conor’s jugular, and he goes down like a ton of bricks.
I stand there in awe of Anna and her skills until she shouts, “Aiden! Use your ring!” Patricia tries to flee, but I catch up to her and place the top of my ring against her back as she tries to escape. Her body seizes up, and she falls to the ground beside Conor.
I prepare myself to run, but Anna stands rooted in place. Instead of sprinting for the door, she pulls the bindings tighter by using her teeth before stretching her arms out and away from her body. I don't understand what she’s doing when she practically punches herself in the gut. When she shakes out her hands, I realize that she is free from the zip ties. I try to mimic her actions but grit my teeth when I'm unsuccessful and they don’t break.
She pulls on my bindings to tighten them almost to the point they are cutting off my circulation. “There can’t be any wiggle room when you try to break them, Aiden. It’s going to hurt, but not as much as what these guys plan to do us. Try again.” This time, when I go through the motions, the ties snap apart easily. There is a stinging sensation, but it’s far less painful than my first attempt. On our way out the door, she grabs her weapon that’s on the table while I reach down and grab Conor’s gun. I pray I don’t have to use it.
“Can you tell me what’s going on?” I ask.
“Jerry was monitoring the feeds from my necklace and turned it off remotely when they were scanning for anything that was emitting a signal. He waited five minutes before turning it back on. When he got Conor’s confession, the FBI and my team moved in. Now, we need to move out and let them handle it. Your safety is my primary concern,” she explains.
“I need to get Swank. I can’t leave him here,” I tell her, my eyes pleading.
“I promise you that he will be perfectly fine.”
“I’m not leaving here without him, Anna. You can go on without me, or you can help.” I don’t understand why Anna would be willing to leave behind my friend, but I refuse to do so.
“Fine,” she says reluctantly.
I follow her down the hallway, unable to remember which room he’s being held in. Anna stops in front of a door and aims her weapon. She gives it a swift kick, busting the lock. “Hands up, Swank!”
Confused, I peer around the corner to see my friend standing at a sink, wiping the blood from his face. He still has purple bruising around his left eye, but otherwise looks in perfect condition.
“You’ve got to get me out of here, Aiden! They’re going to kill me!” he shouts.
Anna lifts her weapon a bit higher, her finger on the trigger. “You’re not fooling anyone. Explain to Aiden how you got free from the loose ropes. Tell Aiden why I smelled chocolate in the fake blood pooled around your body. Enlighten Aiden as to why you are trying to scam him for billions—billions he doesn’t have.”
“Anna, are you implying that my best friend since I was five is behind all of this?” I ask.
Anna doesn’t take her eyes off Swank. “I’m not implying anything, Aiden. He is a part of this. Look at him! Other than a black eye, there isn’t a single injury. The ropes that bound him were loose enough that he could have freed himself at any time. The chocolate I smelled is often used in fake blood as a thickening agent and to darken the tint. I knew within 30 seconds of seeing him that you were getting played.”
Swank chuckles. “I’ll admit, you’re good, Savannah. You figured it out.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Why would you do this? Why would you throw away decades of friendship? You’re Penny’s godfather, for goodness sake!”
“I never planned on hurting Penny, but I knew that a threat against her would get your attention. You didn’t take the first three of my letters to you seriously. All I needed from you was to play one more year!”
