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She glared at me, but time was of the essence, and I had no more to spare. I needed to find Grace, and I needed to find her fast. With a determined resolve, I walked past her and left the police station.
There was no time for further delays.
Chapter 19 - Grace
“Hello, anyone home?” I stuck my head through the open door and held onto the wooden door with chipped white paint as I slowly pushed it back.
When I arrived at my mother's house, the sight of the open door immediately struck me as odd. My mother was a police officer; she was an advocate of “safety first”; she was very careful and cautious. She was meticulous and paid attention to every detail. Something as small as a door ajar would not have escaped her notice.
Igor asked me to bring bodyguards, but it was a deliberate choice not to bring any; I wanted to keep my mother's location discreet and protect her from any potential threats.
As I stepped inside, a feeling of unease washed over me. “Hello?” I tried again, calling much louder this time. “Mom, are you here?”
I waited but, still, no response.
The lights were out, shrouding the familiar surroundings in an eerie darkness. It was not the warm, welcoming atmosphere I had expected. My heart raced as I walked further into the house and called for my mother, but I got no answer.
Panic began to gnaw at me, and I couldn't shake the gut feeling that something was terribly wrong. I reached for my phone, planning to call my husband.
And then, I saw him. My half-brother, Aiden.
He sat on the couch, a sinister smirk playing on his lips. Anger and fear welled up inside me, and I marched up to him.
“What are you doing here and where ismymother? Where is she, you fucking psycho?
What have you done with her?”
“Dead,” he said, and my heart sank to my stomach. “Or not. Maybe her body is rotting in a dumpster somewhere.”
Aiden continued to smirk, reveling in my anxiety. He toyed with my emotions, enjoying every bit of it as he stoked the flames of my anger.
“What if,” he slowly rose from the couch, tapping his chin gently. “What if she’s tied up on an electric chair and stowed away in a warehouse on an island, that’s going to explode any minute now.”
“You’re sick!” I screamed. “Tell me where the fuck my mother is right now, Aiden, or else...”
“Or else what, Grace?” The teasing smirk fell off his face and he glared at me. “You’re going to call your husband to come save you? Nuh-uh. Before he even gets here, I’d be done slicing off that smart tongue of yours and feeding it to the vultures.”
“You’re the one that will be fed to the vultures, if you don’t tell me where my mother is, right now.” I maintained my confident stance, though I trembled in my boots. I was all alone with this lunatic, and I had no weapon or basic fighting skills. But I wasn’t going to let him see my fear.
“You really want to know where she is?” he asked slowly and my heart pounded against my chest, expecting the worst. “She’s fine; safe, and unharmed.”
Relief washed over me, and I couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.
“Your turn,” he said, and took a step further. That was when the real fear set in. I hurriedly took steps backward. “I told you what I know, it’s time for you to tell me what you know.”
“Tell you what?” I snapped.
“The envelope,” he said, quickening his steps towards me. I tried to dodge, but he grabbed me and held me close. His grip was firm, and his gaze was intense as he probed me. It was clear that Aiden was determined to get his hands on it.
“Where is it?”
I couldn't help but question him, my voice tinged with defiance. “Why do you need it anyway?” I asked, searching for answers in his eyes.
“Dear, dear sister, if only you knew. Maybe, you would want it too,” Aiden's response was measured, his tone laced with a sense of control. “You see that the envelope, it’s the key to control and power. Our father had possessed it and had been unwilling to share that power with anyone else. It was his way of maintaining dominance and influence.”
“But I'm his son,” he continued, his voice carrying a hint of entitlement. “If there’s anyone who deserves it, it’s me.”
His tone was icy and the look in his eyes could kill. I knew that, if I didn’t get away now, Aiden would carry out his threat of slicing my tongue.
