Lucas froze upon hearing her. He was at a loss not having expected this twist at all. “Please Lucas, he’ll kill all four of them. Please ask your team to discontinue the chase,” she sobbed, breaking down completely over the phone. Lucas was dumbfounded by her words. He couldn’t understand how there could be four when he remembered Maria mentioning that Cara had only three siblings. Did he not hear her correctly?
“Don’t worry, Cara. I’ll just inform officer Berkeley. I’ll call you to update,” he said, disconnecting the call. He found officer Berkeley on the phone as well. He disconnected the call and turned to Lucas.
“The team is following Frederick discreetly. He has a weapon and we can’t take any chances,” said the officer.
“Has he made any demands yet?” asked Lucas worriedly. At that point, he was willing to grant Frederick’s wishes in return for the children.
“Yeah, the officers who tracked his call just reported to me. Frederick wants Rohesia to drop the charges and take back the case. He wants her to apologize publicly at a press conference and clear the allegations against him. He also wants us to free the club and allow him to conduct his business like he used to before,” said the officer with a grave expression on his face.
“How can everything be undone? There has been a crime. The video is proof of that and it’s gone viral already. Even if Rohesia takes back her allegations against him, the public won’t spare him at all. What he’s doing is illegal!” exclaimed Lucas agitatedly. “So are we giving in to his demands?”
“No, we aren’t but we will try to pacify him first so that he doesn’t harm the kids. Our team is still after him, looking for a new opportunity. They will take advantage of any false step from his side.” Lucas knew that there wasn’t anything they could do about it. “They should be heading towards Seattle.”
“But that’s an eleven-hour drive away,” gasped Lucas.
“Wait, I just received an update that Rohesia is live on the Newsmax channel. Let’s check it out,” said the officer, checking the channel on his mobile phone. They found a grave and pale Cara, talking to the reporters. She apologized for the video release that she claimed was fake. She broke down when asked if she was under any threat. The media went crazy with speculations that their favorite star’s life might be under a real threat. The news had an opposite effect than the one it was intended for. The paparazzi went crazy and started chanting hate messages for Frederick. They all wanted to punish Frederick for torturing their favorite singer. A devastated Cara was escorted back to the hospital when she fainted on the spot. The news circulated on every channel ever since and it was impossible that Frederick had missed it.
“Now what? That didn’t go well. The public can’t be fooled. Frederick can’t escape his punishment anymore. If he kills the children, he will be subjected to corporal punishment,” said Lucas.
“Yes, but I don’t think he cares about his life anymore,” said the officer. Suddenly he received a call informing him that Frederick had a flat tyre and stopped his car at the roadside. The team took advantage of the situation and used silencer guns to puncture all the other tyres, compelling Frederick and his driver to get down to inspect the damage.
Alerted they picked up speed and soon reached the scene. Lucas gasped seeing that the team had barricaded the vehicle. Two gunshots were fired back to back piercing Frederick and his driver’s legs, wounding them enough to ensure that they couldn’t escape.
“There is a bomb in the car that will detonate any minute. You can’t rescue those kids,” laughed Frederick, his eyes dancing menacingly like a demon’s.
The officers arrested Frederick and his driver while the officer-in-charge slowly opened the door of the car. He detected the bomb planted near the feet of the children who were tied up inside. They quickly untied the children and helped them outside. His men tried to diffuse the bomb. Lucas got down and followed officer Berkeley towards the terrorized boy and girl who emerged from the car. He introduced Lucas to the team while the children sobbed with relief. They were traumatized and handled by one of the officers who gave them some water.
Lucas looked around with confusion. He remembered Cara mentioning four children. “There have to be two more children,” said Lucas, looking inside the empty car.
“No, Mr. Donnelly, these two children were the only ones inside,” informed an officer. Lucas panicked as a feeling of dread overcame him. Did Frederick kill the other two?
“Can we check the boot space? Rohesia said there were four,” said a confused Lucas. They checked but didn’t find anyone. They asked the children if there were any other children with them. They shook their heads.
“No, only the two of us,” said the boy. The girl wasn’t in the capacity to speak and was escorted to the car. They had to be taken to a trauma center immediately. The officers diffused the bomb and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Lucas accompanied the children and officer Berkeley to a trauma center nearby.
“I’m Marcus’s brother, Lucas. I’ve come to take you home. We’ll just go to the hospital to get a quick check-up done and then go home. Okay?” said Lucas gently. Adam smiled with relief.
“I’m Adam and this is Vera. Marcus is our friend, so you are too. Thanks for rescuing us,” he said.
“I’m scared to go to the hospital, Lucas,” said Vera, talking for the first time since they were rescued.
“No need to get scared. They’ll just check you and release you. Don’t worry, Vera. I’m there with you,” comforted Lucas.
“Why didn’t Cara and Marcus come to get us? Are they okay?” asked Adam with a frown. He knew his sister too well. She would never leave them if not forced to. Lucas hesitated not knowing whether to tell them about the accident since they were already traumatized. However, he decided to be honest since they should know the truth why their older sibling was unable to rescue them.
“Cara and Marcus had an accident and are admitted to a hospital. Don’t worry, they’re fine and will be released by tonight or tomorrow,” said Lucas.
They reached the trauma center and after half an hour, the kids were released and they drove off home. The children fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion while Lucas called Nicholas and updated him about the latest developments. He wanted to talk to Cara and find out why she mentioned 4 children when there were only 2 but Cara was sleeping.
Marcus opened his bleary eyes and looked at everyone around him. He was feeling much better and the pain was bearable. The hospital released him but he would have to follow the precautions and take lots of rest along with physiotherapy. It would take him weeks to completely recover. His eyes searched for Cara. Where was she?
“Where’s Cara?” he croaked at Nicholas, who was instructing the nurse to get him ready for discharge.
“She just went home. Lucas is about to arrive here with Cara’s siblings. Why don’t you get ready quickly? I’ll update you on the way,” said Nicholas, walking away to have a talk with Dr. James. Marcus was confused as ever. Where did Lucas go with Cara’s siblings? He had no clue as to what was going on.
After an hour, they were on their way to Cara’s house. Lucas’s mom had already left with Cara earlier. It was strange that although Cara had a bitter experience with their mom, she didn’t bear any grudge against her. She didn’t even misbehave with Mrs. Donnelly or ignore her presence despite everything. Marcus’s mom was touched by her humbleness. Despite being a celebrity, she didn’t have any attitude or malice about her. She realized Cara was indeed pure and an innocent soul. The realization made her feel ashamed of her own behavior towards Cara.
“Where did Lucas and the kids go?” asked Marcus on the way home. Nicholas updated him about everything that happened while he was unconscious.
“Thank God, he’s arrested,” said Marcus.
The ambulance reached Cara’s home and the security guards at the door informed Cara who came over to see the ambulance through. They helped Marcus to a wheelchair and pushed him towards the luxurious and picture-perfect house. Marcus couldn’t take his eyes off Cara as she rushed, leading the way to a room on the ground floor. Marcus checked the beautiful room that opened onto the backyard. The pristine white decor with splashes of lavender with the greenery outside gave the room a calming effect. “I’ve had your stuff arranged in the closet, Marcus. Why don’t you rest? Lucas is about to reach any minute,” she said. Before Marcus could answer, Nicholas and his mom came into the room to ensure that he was comfortable. They had rooms upstairs with the kids. A call on the intercom had Cara rushing outside.
“Lucas is here with the kids,” she said before disappearing outside. Nicholas too followed her out to check.
The police car stopped in the driveway and Lucas climbed out with an excited Adam and Vera. He shook hands with the officer, thanking him for everything. Cara gasped with horror.
“Where are Liam and Marianne?” she said, her face pale with fear.