20 Years Ago
“Can anyone tell me what component needs to be added to cause the desired chemical reaction?” My chemistry professor asks the hot, crowded room of students. I hated that I had messed up my sophomore year; I sure as hell didn’t want to spend my summer in a chemistry class that I could have aced back in the spring. I raise my hand with a sigh after no one volunteers.
“Mr. Lowe?” She calls on me.
“Sodium…” I answer.
“And why?”
“Because sodium is the only chemical that will de-stabilize the solution.”
“Very good, Mr. Lowe.” She adds sodium to the solution which causes it to bubble up. My lab partner, Vincent Marks, high fives me.
“You’re pretty smart, Man. Why are you in summer school?”
“Too much screwing around last semester, why are you?”
“My shit-for-brains academic advisor ‘forgot’ to tell me I needed an additional science to graduate.”
“Ah, that sucks man.” I only knew a little bit about the guy, but he seemed nice enough. I wasn’t exactly social. In high school, I was branded a geek because I was so good at math and science. I wore it in stride, taking into consideration that my semi-decent looks and athletic build made me look less like the stereotypical nerd. Plus, I could beat anybody’s ass.
After class, Vincent asks if I want to grab a few beers at the pizza place down the street from the science building. I agree since I’m hungry and could use a few cold ones.
After we order pizza and a pitcher of Summer Ale, Vince asks me my story.
“Well, I’m from Philly. My mom died when I was younger, so it’s just me and my dad.”
“I’m sorry to hear that…” Vincent says.
“I was eight. She’s been gone awhile. Anyway, my dad is a science teacher…”
“Hence the scientific genius?” He interrupts. I laugh.
“I guess you can say that.”
“Who’s your crew? I mean, who do you hang out with?” He asks.
“I’m more of a loner.”
“But you go to parties…I’ve seen you at a few of them.”
“Yeah, alone.”
“How fun is that?”
“Not too fun…but I manage.” I often ventured out to house parties alone, usually able to convince a hot girl to accompany me to my apartment after. They didn’t have to know I was a geek and certainly couldn’t tell it after I put my moves on them.
“What about you, what’s your story?” He chuckles.
“Not much to tell, really. I’m from Connecticut, my mom is a principal and my dad is a corporate lawyer.”
“Rich kid, huh?” I should have known. Most people I encountered on campus were legacies and had parents who were filthy rich. I certainly wasn’t in that category as I was on full scholarship and my dad made pennies as a high school teacher.
“Yeah, but don’t tell anybody.” We both laugh.
“Vince!” I hear a guy say as he walks in, seeing him wave at our table.
“Oh, Gus! Come on over!” He gestures for the guy to come over. I think I’ve seen him in some of my classes. He was quiet, always seeming to brood over something. He comes over, plopping down in the empty seat.
“How’s it going, muchacho?” He and Vincent slap five.
“Oh, you know, same shit different day. Gus, this is Ryan. He’s in my chemistry class.”
“Oh, cool, nice to meet you, Man.” He shakes my hand.
“Likewise.”
“Ryan was just telling me how he likes to party alone” Vincent looks at Gus.
“Alone? What fun is that?” He laughs asking almost the same question Vincent had asked earlier.
“I manage…” I repeat the same answer.
“Well, our boy Kendall is bartending at one of the hottest parties of the summer next weekend. You should come with us” Gus suggests.
“Oh…I wasn’t invited.”
“Bullshit, man, just come with us. We’ll get you in” Vince offers. I chuckle at the proposal, often reminded of the jocks who used to think they were giving me payment for doing their homework by inviting me to parties.
“I’m not doing your homework.” I tell him. He laughs.
“Dude. Really? You think that’s why we’re inviting you? Aren’t we past high school?”
“Then what’s your motive?” I ask. They both look at each other.
“No motive, there’s a big group of us. We minorities have to stick together, huh?” Gus says. I chuckle again.
“Minorities?” I inquire. Then I notice that Gus does not look like the average White guy. Maybe Hispanic. He did call Vincent ‘muchacho’.
“Yeah, you know there’s not many of us on campus.” I look at both of them, shaking my head. They weren’t wrong, though. Our fair university was not exactly known for its diversity…especially when it came to men.
“Come on, it’ll be fun. Plus, I’m sure you’ll have more luck with the ladies if you have a few wingmen” Vince says.
“I don’t need wingmen…” I explain.
“Really!” They both exclaim.
“I may be a science nerd, but…knowing science means you know all about the human body…if you catch my drift.”
“I think I’m gonna like this dude” Gus says with a laugh as the waitress sets down our pitcher of beer.
“Gus?” She looks at him.
“Oh, hey, Kim.” He seems uninterested at the highly emotional girl.
“You never called!” She hits him on the shoulder.
“Ow! What the hell, Kim?” Vincent and I look at each other, wondering where this was going to lead.
“What, you didn’t think I’d see you again? We fucking met here!” Gus gets up, putting his hand on her shoulder.
“Look, babe. I’m sorry…let me make it up to you later.” He flashes a million-dollar smile, and her scowl suddenly disappears.
“You better…” She smiles, walking away from us. Boy, that dude must rehearse every scenario with a girl in his head.
“Smooth move” Vince teases.
“Oh, shut up. She’s a good lay. I need to keep her in my inventory.”
“Your inventory?” I ask.
“Yeah, man. You gotta keep the good ones in your repertoire.”
“You’re a douche.” Vincent shakes his head at him.
“Yeah, whatever, like you don’t get ass every chance you get.”
“I don’t drag them around like you do. Once I’m done, I’m done. You have all these lovesick girls following you around campus.”
“I know, you’re the king of one-night stands. Can’t blame me though.” Gus slaps him on the back. I have to laugh at the banter between the two of them, they seemed to be alright. I guess I could hang with them.
The next weekend, I meet Vince and Gus at their apartment to meet the rest of their friends and have a few pre-party drinks. I had never been to this particular party, but I heard many things about it. Usually, it was the rich kids who were invited, so I, being on scholarship, was never included. I guess it would do me some good to get in with the sons and daughters of executives, lawyers and doctors.
I knock at the door of the apartment and the door opens, where I see Gus, dressed in his swim trunks and a white t-shirt.
“Hey, you made it! Come on, meet the rest of the crew.” He leads me into the kitchen where a few other guys, along with Vince are taking shots.
“There’s the doctor!” He exclaims, holding up his shot glass. Gus puts his hand on my shoulder, pointing to each of the guys to introduce me.
“This here is Charles, Ray and Brandon. You’ll meet Kendall at the party. Guys: this is Ryan, the doctor.” I chuckle.
“Well, I’m no doctor yet…” Truthfully, I didn’t even know if I wanted to be a doctor…wouldn’t tell my old man that, though. He was banking on me becoming a doctor so that he could retire.
“Join the club!” Charles raises his glass at me. Gus immediately hands me a shot of some concoction and clinks my glass.
“Welcome to the crew, man!” They all cheer, raising their glasses and throwing back shots.
We arrive at the rooftop of some tall apartment building a little way from campus. The pool is massive and filled with guys and girls in colorful swimwear. The undeniable aroma of hamburgers on a grill permeates the air.
“Fuck yeah, let’s go!” Gus leads the charge of guys heading towards the pool. I shrug, taking off my shirt, placing it on a lounge chair.
“Hey! Someone’s sitting there, asshole!” A girl growls at me.
“Sorry!” I swipe my shirt off the chair.
“Linda! No need to be a bitch!” Another girl walks towards us. She’s extremely hot…her skin is a perfect shade of chocolate with a curvy body that makes me stop in my tracks. Nothing makes me salivate more than a sexy Black woman.
“Hi! I’m Lexi..” She approaches me, holding out her hand.
“Ryan.” I shake her hand enthusiastically.
“You wanna sit with us?” She asks with a smile that her daddy probably paid thousands for.
“Uh…” I look over at the guys who are preoccupied with some stupid game in the pool.
“Sure.” She gestures for me to sit down in the empty lounge chair next to her.
“Beer?” She asks, pulling a can of light beer out of a colorful cooler. I’m not a fan of light beer, but if it gets me in this beauty’s good graces, I’m all for it!
“Yeah” I answer, already enamored with her. She hands me the beer with a flirtatious grin.
“So, uh…you go to school here?” I ask her.
“Yeah, I’m in the nursing program, what about you?”
“Pre-Med, but I’m thinking about changing.”
“Oh? What are you thinking of changing to?” she looks intrigued.
“Pharmaceutical Science.”
“Oh! So, you want to peddle drugs?” She laughs.
“More like create them.”
“Oh…so I assume your first major is chemistry?” I nod.
“Ladies, we have ourselves a smarty pants!” She looks over at her girlfriends who all murmur and giggle in approval. Suddenly, Gus and Vince plop down beside us.
“What’s up, man? Aren’t you coming in the pool?” Vince asks as he wipes his face with a towel.
“I was just talking to Lexi and her friends here.”
“Hey, boys…” her friend, Linda waves at them, keeping her eye on Vince. Oh, boy.
“Care to introduce us?” Gus flashes a smile at Lexi’s other friend.
“I’m Ashley…” The blonde girl next to us says.
“Gus. This asshole over here is Vince.” He nudges Vince after shaking Ashley’s hand.
“Ignore him…” Vince shoves Gus back.
After we’ve drank, danced, eaten and splashed around in the pool, the guys tell me they’re gonna continue the party at their place. I extend the invitation to Lexi and her friends who tell me they would catch a cab and meet us later.
We all pile into a cab, headed back to the apartment. All of us are pretty drunk, ribbing each other about the girls we met at the pool. I was especially excited about Lexi. I might even like her for real…
As we get back to the apartment, continue drinking and entertain our guests, I find myself feeling like I was included in something great. The guys all seemed genuine and for the first time, and I was finally happy that I found my place among some seemingly good friends.
Vince’s Wedding—15 Years Later
I am a fucking nervous wreck, pacing the room like a caged animal.
“Vince, Man, you gotta calm down…” Ryan says, handing me a glass of whiskey.
“How can I calm down? Do we have enough security? Are the girls okay?”
“Jeez, man! Everything is fine!” He puts his hands on my shoulders.
“I’ve never been this fucking nervous before!” I sigh in frustration.
“Look, sit down, take a drink, you’ll be fine!” He all but pushes me into a nearby chair. I take a sip of the whiskey, beckoning myself to calm down.
“Tell me something not wedding related…” I request as he sits down across from me. He laughs.
“Wait until you meet Gabby, man. She’s perfect” He says.
“Oh?” I take another gulp and he tops off my glass as I set it down.
“Yeah, I think she’s the one.”
“How’d you meet her?” I ask, finally calming down.
“Believe it or not, I met her when Madeline got kidnapped.” I look up at him, my mind now totally off the wedding.
“Really?”
“Yeah, she interviewed me for a news story she was doing on the whole thing.”
“So, think you’re finally over Lexi?” I inquire. Ryan had dated Lexi from junior year of college until three years ago when he wouldn’t respond to her ultimatum to propose.
“Yeah, finally.”
“Do you think she’s the one?” I ask.
“She just…fits me just right…and I fit her…in every way” He gives me a devious smile.
“Between you and Kendall…Jesus.” I chuckle, draining the glass.
“What about Kendall?” Kendall emerges from the bathroom half-dressed in his tux.
“You two are vulgar as hell” I point out.
“Hey! Don’t think you’re gonna be branded as a saint just because you decided to chain yourself to one woman…” Kendall eyes me.
“People change.”
“Yeah, you don’t have to tell me that. I remember when you’d have three girls in your bed in one week…” He chuckles.
“Knock it off, Kendall…” Charles comes out of the bedroom, messing with his bowtie.
“You knock it off.” He shoves Charles who shoves him back.
“Hey! Hey! Both of you knock it off!” Gus growls.
“Look at him, acting like Daddy already” Ryan laughs.
“Can we be serious, here?” Gus asks, annoyed.
“Oh, come on, you see our guy here is a ball of nerves. Lighten up!” Ryan looks over at Gus. I get up from the table, shaking my head. I turn to face my friends who are all staring at me.
“What’s wrong, Vince?” Ryan asks.
“What if this is all…some fucked up dream?” I heave a sigh.
“Dude, it’s not! Didn’t we talk about this yesterday?” Ryan gets up, beckoning for the other guys to join him. They all surround me, hands on each other’s shoulders, leaving me in the middle.
“We got you, Man” He says. I gaze at my friends surrounding me, the guys who got me through college, witnessed all of my dumb-ass antics and cheered me on during my triumphs.
“I know you do…” I whisper.
“Come on, let’s get you married, Man!” Ryan smiles.
“Whoa. Whoa. Not yet, we need a toast.” Kendall grabs up plastic shot glass cups, passing them out to us before he pours us all a healthy serving.
“To the crew!” He yells.
“To the crew!” We repeat, raising our glasses before downing our last shot before heading to the church.
Chapter 1—Five Years Later, A New Face
Gabby rushes into my office with our daughter Charlotte in her arms.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as she sets Charlotte on the floor who comes running to me, hugging my legs.
“The damn nanny called out again! I swear, Ryan…she needs to be fired! I have to go to work!” She heaves a frustrated sigh.
“Well, fire her, then” I reply, taking Charlotte in my arms.
“This is the most important interview I’ve had since she was born, I can’t believe she would do this!” She frantically straightens herself up, throwing open my closet door to look at herself in the mirror. I put Charlotte down and step to Gabby, massaging her shoulders.
“Calm down, I’ve got Charlotte.” She turns to face me.
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all, should be a relatively easy day. Then tomorrow, we’ll figure out the nanny thing.”
“You’re the best…” She kisses me.
“Go, go. Good luck.” She takes one last look at her reflection in the mirror, hands me Charlotte’s bag and rushes out. I look at my daughter who has found one of her toys on the floor and is quietly playing. I punch the intercom button for Alexis, my executive assistant.
“Yes, Mr. Lowe…” She answers.
“Can you come in for a second?” I ask.
“Sure, be right there.” She appears at the door almost instantly.
“What can I do for you?” I look over at Charlotte.
“I’ve got Charlotte, do you think you could help out?” I ask.
“Sure, anything you need. In fact, I can take her now. I’m sure the other girls will be thrilled.”
“Thank you…”
“No problem!” She scoops up Charlotte who giggles at the familiar face. I hand Alexis the bag and she ventures out of my office. I plop down in my chair, gazing at all of the stuff I have to figure out before bringing it to the lab. Madeline, the CEO of our company had cut a major deal with Japanese developers and I needed to be able to sell the technology to our clients by explaining how it would benefit people who suffered from chronic inflammation.
As I’m furiously working at my computer, Alexis walks in my office. I look up at her, noticing she’s carrying a printout.
“I thought I’d find a list of some nanny agencies for you.” She smiles, handing me the paper.
“Thanks, Alexis. We’ve had some issues.” I take the paper from her.
“Try the ‘Elite Nanny Services’ My sister swears by them” she suggests.
“I’ll try them, thank you. Is she okay out there?” I ask.
“The HR department got her and she’s napping away in Alicia’s office.” I chuckle. The office loved Charlotte. It was my saving grace when I had to bring her in with me last minute. Aside from Gabby’s commitment to the 6 o’clock evening news, she was sometimes called to do interviews or attend press conferences if a great story hit. That left me on daddy duty as we had absolutely no luck with young girls who called themselves nannies.
Once I’m done working, I get on the phone to call the nanny service Alexis recommended.
“Elite Nanny Services” A cheery voice answers.
“Hi there, I’m Ryan Lowe. My wife and I are searching for a dependable nanny. You came highly recommended.”
“Sure! I’m so glad you decided to work with us. I just need some info…” After I’ve given her all of my information, we arrange an interview with a girl named Wendy at three in my office.
Three arrives quickly, and on the dot, Alexis buzzes me.
“I have a Wendy Richardson from Elite Nanny Services here?”
“Send her in, Alexis.”
Alexis escorts a petite, young-looking blonde who smiles when she approaches the door.
“Have a seat Ms. Richardson.” I gesture towards the chair across from me. She sits, gazing at me with enthusiasm.
“Well, Ms. Richardson, Mrs. Craig sent me all of your professional information. Tell me a little more about yourself.”
“Of course, Mr. Lowe. I’m trying to put myself through school right now, so I took up nannying. I have plenty of experience with the little ones, specializing in newborns to age three. How old is your daughter?”
“She’s one, so I’m assuming that’s an age you’re comfortable with?” She nods, looking around my office with curiosity.
“So…are you divorced?” She asks me with a hint of flirtation in her voice. I look at her in confusion.
“No, my wife is a journalist and always busy, why?” She looks flustered.
“Oh…I—I’m sorry. It’s just usually, the wives hire the nannies.”
“It’s okay, I understand. No need to be embarrassed. You’ll meet my wife tomorrow.” Her eyes light up.
“So, does that mean I’m hired?” hey eyes reflect hopefulness.
“If you can promise me that you will show up to work and treat our daughter well, you have the job” I say.
“Of course!”
I lead her to the HR office to meet Charlotte who seems a little uncertain but eventually seems to warm up to her.
Later that evening, as Gabby and I are eating dinner, I tell her about the new nanny I hired.
“Do you think she’s trustworthy?” She asks.
“She seems trustworthy enough” I respond. She shrugs.
“She better show up…”
“Well, she’s part of an agency. Their policy calls for termination for no-shows. I’m sure she wouldn’t want to lose her job.”
“Hmph.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask. She had seemed off tonight, she wasn’t usually so nonchalant. She drops her fork and looks at me.
“I don’t know…” She looks down.
“What’s going on, Babe?”
“Well…I got some strange emails today at the office. Don’t get me wrong, I know journalists always get stuff, but it was kinda disturbing.”
“What did they say?” I inquire.
“Just stuff like ‘you’re beautiful’ ‘I want to meet you’. It was bizarre.”
“You want me to get one of my IT guys to trace the address?” She shakes her head.
“Maybe it’s a fluke. Let’s not do that just yet.”
“All you have to do is say the word, you know.”
“I know.” She takes my hand across the table, stroking it tenderly. Truthfully, I was a little worried, after an incident happened with Vince’s wife, I’ve always been afraid of any psychos out there. Since Gabby was always in the public eye, it heightened my insecurity.
That night, as Gabby sleeps in my arms, I have an unsettling feeling that someone is watching us. I gently move her over to check things out.
I know that no one could brave the 15th floor to look in our windows, so that couldn’t be it. Just as I start to check out the other areas of the place, I hear the email alert ping on my phone. I pick it up cautiously and see an email from an unknown address. That’s weird, usually our system filters those out. I click on it, praying it’s not a virus.
SLEEP WELL, SOON SHE’LL BE MINE!
I immediately send the email to our tech security, hoping that they will come up with something from the anonymous address. Gabby might not think so, but this could potentially be a dangerous situation. I need to nip this shit in the bud now.
The next morning, we get up early in anticipation of meeting the new nanny. Gabby holds a sleepy Charlotte, who is protesting the early morning wake-up by whining at her mother.
“I know...” Gabby sympathizes with her daughter, handing the child a sippy cup of juice to calm her.
Right on time, we get a call from the concierge desk. I tell them to send her up, and wait a few minutes for her to take the elevator up.
Once we hear the knock on the door, I open it to see Ms. Richardson standing before me. I greet her politely.
“Oh, please, call me Wendy. Ms. Richardson sounds so formal.” She laughs.
“Very well, I’d like you to meet my wife, Gabby Lowe, and of course, you’ve already met Charlotte.” She smiles at my wife and daughter and holds out her hand to Gabby.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Lowe.”
“Oh, Gabby, please” Gabby grasps her hand.
“Well, let me show you the house...” She gestures for Wendy to follow her.
“Gabby, I gotta go...” I tell her before they venture to the other side of the apartment.
“I’ve got it. See you tonight.” She smiles at me, blowing me a kiss. Charlotte, amused by the gesture, imitates her mother by blowing kisses at me as well. I return the affection and head out of the door for work.
Once I’m in the office, Joshua Jackson, the head of IT security approaches me.
“Mr. Lowe, you have a minute?”
“Sure.” I tell him to follow me. He sits across from me, bringing out his tablet and scrolling.
“I’m really puzzled by this email, Sir.” He looks at me genuinely.
“Why is that? Hard to trace?” He shakes his head.
“It looks like it’s coming from the IP address in your house, Sir.”
“What?!” He sighs.
“I double checked a few times. Now, sometimes these hackers, they can clone IP addresses to disguise themselves. I think this is the situation, here.”
“But that means that someone knows the IP address to my home, where my family is. If they know that, what else could they know?”
“I recommend a security detail at your apartment until we figure this out. I don’t like that they were able to clone your IP address. Especially since I secured it myself.”
“Should I tell my wife? She’ll be scared out of her mind about this...”
“Let’s monitor for now. If I sense that there’s a bigger threat, then maybe we’ll take the next steps.” I nod with understanding.
“Thanks, Josh, keep me posted.”
“Of course.” He stands before stepping out of the office. Now, I was really concerned. Who in the hell could clone our personal IP address? Why would they? I pick up the phone to call Gabby. I need some information.
“Gabby Lowe...” she answers.
“Gabby, it’s Ryan.”
“What’s up?”
“I need you to forward me those emails...” I tell her.
“I thought I told you not to worry about it.”
“Gabby, please. For my sanity.” She sighs.
“I promise you, it’s nothing. Journalists get stuff like this all of the time.”
“I know, but your safety is my priority, and I’ve felt uneasy about it since you told me.”
“Fine. I’ll send them, but please don’t respond.”
“I promise you I won’t. I love you.”
“I love you too, talk later.” She hangs up. Almost immediately, I hear multiple pings coming from my computer. She works fast.
I look through all of the emails which indicate the same thing: they want her. I forward them to Josh, asking if the IP address is the same, hoping that this creep isn’t threatening.
My email immediately pings with a high-level message from Josh.
This IP address is the same as the email you sent me this morning. I need to go to your home immediately and revamp your system.
My greatest fear is realized. I quickly type a response:
The nanny should be there with my daughter. I will call and tell her you’re coming.
I’ll be on my way now.
I pick up the phone and call the house, hoping Wendy hasn’t taken Charlotte out yet.
“Lowe residence” she answers professionally.
“Wendy, it’s Mr. Lowe. We have someone coming to work on our internet connection. His name is Joshua Jackson. Please let him in.”
“Of course, Mr. Lowe.”
“Thank you. Is everything alright?”
“We’re fine.”
“Great. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.” I hang up wracked with worry. Who is this guy? Is Gabby taking this too lightly? I pick up the phone again and call Vince. He knows about these things. Vince and I were initially business partners until he moved to another company and left the partnership to his wife, Madeline.
“Marks...” He answers immediately.
“Vince, it’s Ryan.”
“Hey! How’s it going, Man?” He asks.
“I don’t really know...” I say slowly.
“Something wrong at the office?”
“No, you know I’d call Madeline for that...this is personal.”
“Tell me what’s going on.” His voice grows serious.
“Gabby has some guy stalking her.”
“A stalker? How do you know?”
“Well, she got some weird emails...”
“Emails? Are you sure it’s not some jerk?”
“Well, I did at first, but then he emailed me...the IT department says he cloned our IP address to make it look like it’s coming from our house.”
“From your house? So, we’re not dealing with some kid in his mom’s basement then.” He sighs thoughtfully.
“I tell you what, why don’t I send Shane up there?” Shane Watson was Vince’s most trusted security detail: retired FBI and extremely diligent in his duties.
“Could he do anything? I mean, we don’t know who this guy is.”
“He has contacts with guys in the Secret Service. Trust me, he can help you find out who this guy is.”
“Send him.”
“He’ll be on his way this evening. Hey, let me know if there’s anything else I can do. We’re here for you and Gabby.”
“I appreciate it, Vince. I really do.”
“Anytime.”
That evening, I debate internally on whether or not I’ll tell Gabby about the situation at hand. I didn’t want her to be afraid, but I needed her to be aware.
“What’s on your mind?” She asks as she pours herself a glass of wine.
“Gabby, we need to talk.” She puts the cork back in the bottle and takes her place beside me at the table.
“What’s wrong?” Anxiety crosses her face.
“The guy who emailed you...”
“You didn’t respond, did you?”
“No, but he did email me too.” She gasps.
“When?”
“Last night. I got my IT guy to trace the IP address.”
“What did he find out?”
“Whoever it is, they know our IP address. I had to get it changed.”
“What do we do?”
“I called Vince, he’s gonna send Shane here so that we can find out who this guy is. I don’t feel right about this situation, and I haven’t since you told me.” She lets out a quick breath.
“I just...this happens all the time!”
“Maybe, but when someone goes to the trouble of cloning our IP address, that’s a problem.”
“Oh, Ryan. I had no idea.”
“I know. Look, I don’t want you to worry, but we have to take precautions. I need you and Charlotte to be okay. This guy is getting too close, I mean, how does he even know where you live?”
“This is New York and I’m a public figure. It’s probably terrifyingly easy to find out where I live.”
“I think you should tell Hal about this. Maybe on his end, they can monitor emails.”
“You think I need to involve my boss?”
“I do, and you need to make sure you don’t venture out alone anywhere.”
“Okay, Ryan, I’m gonna humor you, but if the emails stop, I don’t need you to pursue this any longer.” I sigh heavily. I should know by now that my wife would attach stipulations to anything I tell her to do.
“Fine.”
“But I do love you for making sure I’m protected” She adds with a smile.
“That’s what your husband is supposed to do.”
Chapter 2—Sticky Situations
I sit at the desk in my home office while our kids play on the floor. In an unusual twist of events, I had made it home from work before my wife who I knew was working hard to help market CBD products and new technology under her company’s name. Even with her late nights, she made it home before me as she kept up with the time better than I did.
I hear the door close downstairs, and the kids all stop what they’re doing as we hear light footsteps coming up the stairs.
“Well, keep me posted...” I hear her voice say before she appears in the doorway with her eyebrows raised.
“Something wrong?” I ask.
“Yeah, it’s my sister...” she bends down, kissing each of the kids before standing up to look at me as I get up from my desk.
“What about her?”
“She’s back with her husband.” Now it was my turn to be shocked.
“The same husband you told me about?” I ask. She nods with a sigh.
“I mean, I don’t understand. He alienated her from her family, sponged off her money and did nothing to help the kids.”
“Well, maybe he’s changed.” She rolls her eyes.
“I doubt that very seriously. Bastard still doesn’t have a job. Whatever woman he was with probably got tired of his BS and he went running back to Vivi.”
“Well, she’s an adult, Maddie. You can’t do anything about it. You know what happens when you pry.”
“I know, I know, spare me the lecture.” She tosses her phone on my desk, plopping down in a nearby chair.
“Is that all that’s bothering you?” I ask. She gazes at me for a second.
“What’s going on with you and your new partner?” She questions.
“Vicky? What does she have to do with anything?” She huffs taking some envelopes out of her bag.
“I got the mail...” She hands me an envelope which has undoubtedly been opened.
Thank-you for helping me the other night. I look forward to working with you for a long time.
Vicky
I chuckle at my wife’s misplaced insecurity.
“I helped her with some computer programming last week, Maddie. You can’t seriously think something is going on.”
“Were you alone with her?” She stares me down.
“There were some people still there, don’t do this Maddie. Vicky means no more to me than Ryan does to you. Please don’t make an issue out of this.” She sighs. I never thought she would have a problem with Vicky. She was more than qualified for her job, and the owners of the company loved her. She was nice enough and happily married to a professional baseball player.
“When a woman takes time to write a note instead of an email, that means something is going on.”
“You can’t honestly think--”
“Look, I know you can be a little bit...naive when it comes to gestures from women...”
“Naive? Seriously?” She shrugs.
“Remember Kaci?” I can’t believe she brought that up. One late night visit from a woman that was supposed to be helping us and I have to bear the burden of it for the rest of my life.
“That was nothing.”
“All I’m saying is...be careful about how friendly you are.”
“Maddie...”
“For my sanity and for the sake of our marriage. I’m asking you nicely.”
“Fine. If that will make you feel better.”
“Thanks.” She gets up. I continue to gaze at her in disbelief as she picks up our youngest son, Aidan, carrying him out of the office. She was overreacting big time, and I wondered if it was really Vicky bothering her or if there was something else she wasn’t telling me.
After I spend the night showing my wife in more ways than one that she had nothing to worry about, she nestles against my chest.
“What’s really going on?” I whisper in her ear.
“Nothing...” she sighs.
“Are you absolutely sure?” She separates from me, sitting up in the bed.
“Has...Ryan called you?” She asks.
“Yeah, I talked to him today, why?”
“Josh called me this afternoon.”
“The IT guy?” She nods.
“He said that someone hacked Ryan’s IP address, and that I might need to get ours checked out as well.”
“And?”
“Well, I had the team do a sweep of the office.”
“What did they find?”
“Vince, whoever this person is...they are obsessed with Ryan.” I look at her quizzically.
“Why do you think that?”
“Well, the hacked IP address went into Ryan’s personnel file. Vince, they know all about him.”
“Does the team know when this started?” I ask.
“Looks like it all started yesterday.” The thought of it baffled me. This person wasn’t after Gabby, they were after Ryan, and I had no idea who would do such a thing.
“I’ll give all the information to Shane, if someone’s after Ryan, we need to know who it is and now.”
“There’s something else...” Madeline says quietly.
“What, Baby?” She sighs.
“It’s most definitely a woman.”
“How do you know that?” I demand.
“I mean who would be so interested in his salary, his family?”
“A jealous guy?” She smacks her teeth.
“You know better than that.”
“What woman would be obsessed with him? Ryan hardly dated anyone except Lexi and he broke up with her ages ago.” She shrugs.
“Has he hired any new women lately?”
“I don’t know, you’d know that before me.”
“Look, regardless, I think we need to go to the police on this one. If they hacked into personnel files, they could see financial records, confidential agreements. This is serious.”
“So, let me get this straight. You picked a fight with me about Vicky because you were worried about this?” She hangs her head.
“This is spooky to me and a bit of déjà vu. Women we work with, obsessiveness with male co-workers.”
“Look, Vicky is nothing like that, and you know I sure as hell wouldn’t entertain that if she was. You should have told me this sooner.”
“Well, now you know.” I sigh, frustrated.
“I’ll call NYPD in the morning.”
“Thanks.” She slides down into the laying position, turning away from me. More than five years of marriage and she chooses now to be cryptic about how she’s feeling. She used to talk to me about everything. I noticed she wasn’t doing that as often, and it worried the hell out of me.
The next morning, I call NYPD and am patched over to their TARU.
“How can I help you?” A friendly female voice answers.
“Yeah, I’m Vincent Marks, CEO of MedCorp. I’m calling to report a hacker.”
“Is this a hacking of your residence or business?”
“It’s my wife’s business, PharmaCo.”
“And how did you find out you had been hacked?”
“Her partner found out first, I believe, when he received a threatening email. The IT team looked at it, and the hacker had cloned his home email address.”
“Sir, can you give us the name and phone number of her partner? Were there any more threatening emails?” I give her Ryan’s cell phone number.
“His wife got a few, she’s a journalist with WJAL.” She sighs.
“We have been receiving complaints about threatening emails to the news station. Are you absolutely sure your wife’s partner isn’t the culprit?”
“Hell no! He wouldn’t do anything like this! Our IT team can confirm the IP address was cloned.”
“Very well, I’m going to give you a case number. Please tell your wife that we need to speak with her as soon as possible.”
“She’s concerned that financial records have been compromised. We already know that personnel files were accessed.”
“Each employee who has been compromised should be advised to put a lock on their social security numbers and change bank information if the hackers got into payroll.”
“Duly noted. I’ll have my wife call you.”
“We will keep you posted, Mr. Marks.”
“Thank you.”
I call Madeline and give her the information before dialing Ryan. Alexis patches me to him.
“Hey” he sighs.
“Hey, you okay?” I ask, concerned.
“I just talked to Madeline. So, this son-of-a bitch hacked my personnel file?”
“I’m afraid so. Do you know of anyone who would be so interested in you?”
“I have no clue, man!”
“Well, we’re gonna have to start from scratch. I need you to get the names of everyone you’ve fired in the past six months.”
“I haven’t fired anyone. Last person laid off was a year ago, and he knew it was coming.”
“Regardless, give me his name so that we can investigate him.”
“Fine.”
“Look, we’ll solve this. We just have to do the legwork. Shane will be there tonight.”
“Does he need a place to stay?”
“No, he’ll stay at my apartment there, but more than likely, he’ll want to keep a watch over you, Gabby and Charlotte.”
“I don’t mind. Not if my wife and kid are safe.”
“Keep me posted. I called TARU, they should be reaching out shortly.”
“Thanks for your help, Vince. This stuff is very new to me. I try not to bother anyone, but I guess that doesn’t protect you from the crazies.”
“No, it doesn’t. Sometimes, you can’t fix stupid, but we’ll find this person. I promise you.”
“I trust you. Just don’t let anything happen to Gabby and Charlotte.”
“Nothing will. Be alert and be smart.”
“I got you.” He hangs up and I sigh heavily. This was not the type of thing I wanted to deal with. After what happened to Madeline and me before we got married, I didn’t want to deal with crazy ass people anymore. I knew I had to help, though. Ryan always had my back. I had to have his.
My phone rings again and it’s Shane.
“You there?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m looking at the surveillance footage now. Tell me, is this woman a housekeeper or something?” I furrow my brow in confusion.
“What woman?”
“There’s a woman in the apartment with the kid.”
“Oh, probably a nanny or something.” I feel relieved, the last thing I needed was for Madeline to be right about an obsessive woman. It would probably put her in overdrive.
“Have you noticed anything strange?”
“No, I’m quite sure whoever is doing the harassing is doing it virtually, but I’ll keep watching. The harassment started a day ago?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll go back a few days, if this guy took enough time to hack into the IP address, he probably started awhile ago.”
“I agree. Keep me posted, and make sure his wife and kid are safe.”
“You know me better than that” he chuckles.
“I do. Thanks for doing this, and send my apologies to your wife.”
“She knows what comes with the job. I gave her a proper good-bye.” I can almost see him winking at his obnoxious joke. I laugh.
“I know you did. Be careful.”
“Always. Talk to you later.”
As I hang up, Vicki comes into my office with a bright smile and a stack of papers.
“I finally figured out how to run the reports on the new software...” she says setting the stack on my desk.
“How’s it looking?”
“Well, we are up everywhere but the Midwest.”
“Surprise, surprise. We’ve struggled with that market for a long time. Any ideas?” She pulls out another sheet of paper.
“I think we should think about focusing on pharmaceuticals that are unique to that area. Maybe have our doctors do patient surveys?”
“That’s a good idea. Speak to the reps at the Midwest office and see if they can offer the doctors some incentives for conducting patient surveys.” She nods, getting up.
“Um...” I hesitate, running my hand over my head.
“What is it, Vince?”
“I got your thank-you note. I appreciate the gesture, but sometimes my wife reads too much into stuff. It’s not her fault, we went through a lot when we were first together.” She gasps.
“Oh...I’m so sorry. I hope I didn’t cause anything too bad?” I shake my head.
“I mean, I eventually got her mind off it. She’s just not a big fan of gestures from women I work with...unless it’s our housekeeper who is a second mom to me.”
“Loud and clear, please send her my apology.”
“There’s no need to apologize, I just wanted to tell you. It doesn’t help that she’s been under extra stress.”
“I definitely don’t want to cause extra stress. From now on, I’ll express my thank-yous verbally.” She smiles.
“Thanks for understanding...” I say.
“No problem! We’re a team, right?” I nod.
“Thanks for the reports, and let me know how it works with the clients in the midwest.”
“I’m on it!” She breezes out of the door. Well, that’s a dodged bullet...at least for now.
Just as I lure myself into a state of semi-composure, my assistant, Mark buzzes the intercom.
“Mr. Marks, I have your sister-in-law on the phone for you?” Puzzled, I tell him to patch her through.
“Vivi?” I answer.
“Hey, Vince...I was wondering if you had a minute to talk.”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“What’s going on with my sister?” She asks.
“What do you mean?”
“She seems a little...unhinged lately.”
“Stress at work. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“You’re taking care of her, right? Like, she’s not overworking herself is she?”
“Vivi, you know damn well I don’t police how much she works.”
“You need to start” she orders, defiantly.
“Vivi, your father made me promise I would never interfere. I intend to stay in his good graces.”
“Well, at least make her take some time off or something!”
“Vivi, what did Madeline say to you that has you so worried?” She sighs.
“She just seems to be in a bad mood every time I call.”
“She’s in a bad mood because you got back with your deadbeat husband” I snap.
“She had to know it was coming...”
“Oh, really? Didn’t sound that way to me. She made it seem like you made a rash decision.”
“I didn’t. She knew we were going to see a counselor.”
“Is that right?” So, if Maddie knew that her sister was already thinking about reuniting with her husband, then she had to be stressing over something else. I had to find out what it was.
“I’ll talk to her, Vivi.”
“That’s all I ask. Thanks, Vince.”
“Sure.” I hang up. What in the hell was going on with my wife, and why was she so damn secretive about it? What was she hiding? I had to find out and quick.
Suddenly, my cell phone rings and I answer it swiftly, not bothering to look at the caller ID.
“He needs to watch who he allows in the house...” a voice growls before hanging up.
Chapter 3—Protect this House
“What is this?” I ask Shane as he hands me a teddy bear.
“Gift for your daughter” he says, curtly.
“Uh, thanks...”
“Sit it on her dresser...” he commands. I come to the hasty realization.
“Is this a nanny cam?” I ask, amused. He nods.
“What do you need this for? We have surveillance in the house.”
“I know that, but you don’t have cameras in any of the rooms. If someone hacked into your house, we need to bait them.”
“But why my daughter’s room?”
“I need a camera in all rooms. It’s risky, but we can catch them the minute they try to hack in. Just don’t do anything you don’t want exposed to the public.” I laugh.
“I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about on that end.” Sadly, our sex life had been on pause since Gabby went back to work. Maybe after this debacle, things would change.
“Good.” He hands me a few more miniature cameras.
“These would be best in discreet places. I’ll let you choose where they go.” I nod with understanding.
“Thank you, Shane. I appreciate you coming up here to work with us.”
“It’s no problem, we’ll get this guy, I promise.” He walks out of my office just as my phone rings.
“Lowe...” I answer.
“Mr. Lowe, I'm so glad I caught you, this is Hal Levinson, Gabby’s boss.”
“Mr. Levinson? What’s wrong?”
“Gabby never showed up for work today...is Charlotte sick?” I nearly drop the phone.
“Gabby left for the studio this morning. It’s noon, you’re telling me she hasn’t come in at all?!” I frantically go to my office doorway and yell for Alexis to chase after Shane. This can’t be happening.
“I should have called sooner, but I knew you two were having issues with nannies, so I figured she was running behind.”
“But you know she would always call if she were running late!” I start to grow exasperated as Shane runs into my office.
“Look, just call the police, my security is here.” I hang up and look at Shane desperately.
“Gabby’s missing...” I tell him.
“What? How?!”
“Her boss said she never showed up at work. She and I left together this morning, where could she be?”
“Let’s see something...” He sits down and takes out a tablet, scrolling it rapidly.
“What time did you two leave this morning?” He asks.
“It was around nine.” He gazes at the tablet.
“When did you two leave each other?”
“She got a driver; he would have picked her up in front of the building.”
“She gets in the car...everything seems normal. Do you know the name of the car company?” He looks up at me.
“It’s a rideshare company...RideSafe.” He takes his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing a number.
“Yeah, Hayes, I need a trace on a car...Alpha, Delta, Beta, one, six, two. Thanks.” He hangs up.
“My buddy at the headquarters is going to trace the car. In the meantime, I’m going to pay the rideshare company a visit.”
“What do I need to do?” I ask him, scared out of my mind.
“Call the boss back and tell him they need to put her photograph out. Social media is probably the most effective way.” I nod.
“We’ve got this under control. Don’t panic.” I nod as he steps out of the office. I pick up the phone to call Hal, telling him I’ve been advised to let him know Gabby’s photograph needs to be out on the news outlets. He agrees to do what he can. I immediately call Vince; I know he would be able to tell me what to do.
“Marks...” he answers.
“Vince...” I hesitate, not wanting to face the possibility that my wife was missing.
“What’s wrong?” His voice grows more alert.
“Gabby is missing...”
“Missing?! How?! Wasn’t Shane watching your place?”
“He was, but she left for work and never got there?”
“Have you guys looked at traffic? Could there be an accident or something?”
“Shane is at the rideshare company now. We looked at surveillance and she got into the car. Oh, God, what if something happened to her?”
“Look, call Madeline and tell her that you need her to be on call from the New York office. Go home, get your daughter, and go to my place.”
“My God, Charlotte! I’ll call you later.” I snatch my coat off the back of my chair and run out the office, hollering orders to Alexis to call Madeline.
I arrive at my apartment, where I see the NYPD in front of my building. I tell the driver to stop in front of the entrance, and he screeches to a halt. I toss him some money and jump out of the cab. I run to the first guy in a suit.
“Any updates?” I ask him.
“And who are you?” He asks.
“I’m Ryan Lowe.”
“The lady’s husband...” Another detective says as he walks up to us.
“Mr. Lowe, I’m Detective Waters and this is Detective Thomas, we need you to come with us to the precinct.”
“Can I check on my daughter first?” The first detective looks at me with sympathy.
“Of course.”
The elevator ride seems to take forever, and it feels eerie to have two guys watching my every move. The apartment door is wide open and police are everywhere searching for evidence. I see Wendy holding Charlotte close as she watches in terror at everything going on around her. Charlotte begins to whine, reaching for me as soon as she sees me. I pick her up, holding her close as tears threaten to spill out of my eyes.
“Mr. Lowe...can you leave her with the nanny while you answer some questions?” Detective Waters asks softly.
“No...can someone take her to my mother-in-law?” I hold my daughter tightly. She needed to be with family, and I didn’t trust Wendy enough yet.
“Sure, Detective Brand?” Waters gestures for an attractive lady who appears beside us.
“Mr. Lowe this is Detective Brand. She can take your daughter to her grandmother.” I nod, giving her directions as I hand Charlotte to her.
“She’s in good hands...” Detective Brand says before carrying a crying Charlotte out of the door.
Once I’m in the interrogation room at the precinct, my nerves are all over the place.
“Now, Mr. Lowe, is there anyone who would want to harm your wife?” Detective Waters asks.
“A few days ago, my wife was receiving menacing emails at her office. I tried to trace it, but whoever it was cloned our IP address.”
“How do you know that?”
“I had my IT team investigate.”
“And do you usually fail to report threatening communication?”
“I...I did! My business partner’s husband did!” Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door and an older guy walks in with a stack of papers.
“He’s telling the truth...” the guy says, throwing them down on the table.
“Vincent Marks...former owner and CEO of PharmaCo called TARU yesterday. They’ve been investigating a hack of their New York office, and...Mr. Lowe, I recommend that you go low key. Whoever has your wife is trying to lure you.” I gaze at the guy in surprise.
“How do you know that?” I stutter.
“Well, TARU has found traces on your mobile phone, work phone, personal and work computer.”
“Oh my God. Please, please find her!”
“We’re doing everything we can. We’ve made contact with your friend’s security detail. He is cooperating and giving us everything he has so far. Mr. Lowe, is there someplace you can go?”
“I don’t want to leave the city...”
“Then I would at least suggest you stay away from your apartment. Now, your daughter is with your mother-in-law. She should be safe there, but we have protective detail watching her house.”
“Um...my friend Gus...I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I stayed with him and his family.”
“Very well, we’ll take you after you’ve answered all of our questions. I advise you to get a throwaway cell phone for now.” I nod, wracked with guilt that I didn’t take this seriously. Detective Waters sits down next to me.
“Hey, man, this isn’t your fault. Someone is obviously targeting you. We’ll find the culprit.”
“Mr. Lowe, you need to tell us anyone you think might come after you.” I shake my head.
“I went over this with Shane. I can’t think of anyone!”
“Anyone been fired from your company recently?”
“Not recently.”
“What about your wife? Was she having any problems with someone at work?”
“She never said anything. She only told me about the emails...but if someone was bothering her, she would tell me!”
“Okay, we’ll just assume this was a random stalker. She’s in the news, a public figure. Anyone who is out there like that is at risk.”
“Just please get her home.”
“We have everyone working on this. I promise, we’ll do what we can.”
Twenty minutes later, I knock on Gus’s door.” He opens it hastily.
“Hey! You alright, man?” He asks. I shake my head silently.
“Come in, come in...” He pulls me into the apartment and thanks the officers who escorted me up.
“Okay, sit down.” He pours a big glass of whiskey and I take it willingly, gulping it down just as quickly as he handed it to me.
“Ryan...” he looks at me.
“What did you find out?”
“What do you know about your nanny?” I look up in shock.
“She’s from an agency, why?” He looks towards the back of his apartment.
“Come on out!” He says. In walks Bridgette, the nanny who went AWOL on us a few days ago.
“What is she doing here?”
“Something had to have been going on way before the emails. I thought it was strange that you were having trouble keeping a nanny. So, I reached out to her.” She looks at me timidly.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Lowe...I just couldn’t...”
“You couldn’t what?”
“A few days ago...a man came to the apartment. He said that you had hired him to work on the cable.”
“Why didn’t you call me? I could have confirmed...” Ryan holds his hand up.
“Just listen, Man.”
“He was taking a long time in your office, so when Charlotte was napping, I went to go check. He offered me $1500 to tell him...”
“Tell him what?” I demand.
“Everything...about you, about Mrs. Lowe. I told him no, and he said he would torture me for the rest of my life if I told you...he showed me a gun! I had no choice! Betray you or leave...” I stand up.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was afraid!”
“Okay, okay. Do you remember what he looked like?”
“He um...had dirty blonde hair, he was short...uh...he had a tattoo on his forearm.” The description sounds eerily familiar.
“Gus...”
“You recognize him?”
“Gabby told me about this guy...when she first started working for the TV station. He stalked her and several other women in the news station. When they dated someone, he would go after their boyfriends. He eventually got fired after Gabby threatened to sue the station if they didn’t get rid of him. He got upset but the station had an order of protection brought against him.” I look over at Gus.
“Give me your phone.” I take Detective Waters’ card out of my jacket pocket as Gus hands me his phone. Thank God the man answered on the first ring.
“Detective, I know who took my wife...” I say.
“Who?”
“Look him up, his name is Howard Rand. He got arrested for harassment ten years ago. He used to work IT for the news station.”
“We’re on it. Stay where you are!” He hangs up.
“Why would he target you?” Gus asks.
“Gabby had everything on lock. Maybe it was easier to find me than her.”
“But Gabby’s a public figure! Anyone could find her! Are you sure it is this Howard guy?”
“The dirty blonde hair, the tattoo...it’s gotta be him!”
“You have to realize that if this nanny quit after his request, he had to have come back to your apartment. That girl you hired had to have made a deal with him.”
“I don’t think she’d do that.”
“Come on, Man! You started getting emails right after she was hired!”
“Why would she do that?”
“Look, it can’t hurt to do some research on her. What’s her name?” I sigh, not liking where he was going with this.
“Wendy Richardson.” I plop down on the couch while Gus gets out his laptop. I look at the frightened girl who seems frozen in the spot she’s standing in.
“Sit down...” I whisper to her. She sits down slowly.
“Look, I’m...sorry. I didn’t know this guy would do something like this.”
“What did you think? He threatened you, he made his way into our house.” She hangs her head. Gus scoffs as he types on his laptop.
“This agency you hired the girl from. They do background checks?” He asks.
“They assured me they did.”
“Well, they must have not done enough digging.” He turns the laptop so I can see. The website is a raunchy Sugar-Daddy site, and there is Wendy, dressed proactively.
“It’s not against the law to be on one of those sites, Gus.”
“The bitch wants money, Ryan.” He gazes at me in curiosity.
“Did she hit on you?”
“A little, but after I said I was married, she backed off!” Suddenly, we hear harsh knocking on the door which makes poor Bridgette jump.
“It’s Detective Brand!” The voice on the other side says.
“You know who that is?” Gus looks at me, I nod.
“She took Charlotte to her grandmother’s.” Gus gets up and goes to the door. Detective Brand shows her badge and Gus leads her to me.
“We tore Rand’s apartment up, Mr. Lowe. He’s nowhere to be found, but...” She sits down next to me.
“Rand has been trying to find out about your wife’s personal life for years. His computer history had all of the images from a search engine, but when he couldn’t find her...he found you.” She throws down a stack of papers. There it was, everything about me: my personnel file, pay stubs, business trip receipts. I look at her in horror.
“Why is this man after your wife?” She gazes at me.
“It had to have been about ten years ago, I guess. My wife just started working at the news station. Rand was the IT person for the studio, but he liked to stalk all of the women in the office. Gabby was the only one who spoke up, called the police and made them fire him.” She sighs just as her phone rings.
“Brand...” she answers. The expression on her face changes.
“Okay, I’ll work on it.” She hangs up, wide-eyed.
“Mr. Brand has taken hostages at the news station, and he’s asking for you.”
“Well, let’s go!”
“Ryan!” Gus stands up.
“Gus, I can’t let anything happen to Gabby.”
“Why can’t you just shoot him?!” He demands.
“Sir, have you ever been in a hostage situation?” Gus huffs.
“I have.”
“Then you know that this is a sensitive situation. Now, we can do this the right way or I’m gonna have a lot of bodies to process.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Who is this?” The detective points to Bridgette.
“She’s the one who gave me the tip about Rand.”
“Okay, she’s coming with us, come on sweetheart.” She gestures for Bridgette to follow us.
The car ride to the news studio is eerily silent, and I have no idea what the hell I’m going to do when I face this guy. I just pray that he doesn’t hurt anyone.
Chapter 4—Live and Learn
I take the familiar elevator ride to my old office, wanting to settle everything with Maddie. On top of everything, I was worried about Ryan, but Shane assured me they had everything under control.
Lacy, Madeline’s secretary smiles when she sees me.
“Mr. Marks...” she seems surprised that I’m there.
“Yeah, is she in?” I ask.
“Her schedule is actually pretty clear at the moment. Why don’t you go on in?” I nod and walk into Madeline’s office.
“Well...what are you doing here?” She looks up at me.
“We need to talk.” I close the door behind me.
“About?” She gives me an endearing look.
“You’ve gotta talk to me, Baby. Something is going on with you.” I sit down across from her.
“Apart from my company being compromised by someone obsessed with Ryan and my sister going back to a deadbeat husband?”
“Yes, apart from that. Vivi called me.” She sighs.
“What did she call you for?”
“She wanted to know what was going on with you, and she also said that you knew she was reconciling with her husband months ago. I’m all ears, Baby. Tell me what’s been going on.” She sighs, seemingly frustrated that she’s been exposed.
“Nothing, I’m just tired...”
“Tired of what? Working? Me? The kids? What?”
“This!” she points to the large stack of papers on her desk. I lean back in the chair.
“Elaborate.” She sighs.
“Look, I love this company, but I’m burned out. Not to mention that there are whole weeks I don’t get to spend with my children.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?!” She pauses, gazing into my eyes.
“Because you had so much faith in me when you promoted me. I didn’t want to disappoint you or the employees. I got jealous when the owners hired a partner for you. I feel like I’m carrying this company by myself. Ryan is great with making sure our labs have the best technology, but you already know he doesn’t know much in the way of business. We keep growing and so does my workload.”
“Baby, why haven’t you hired someone to help you? You are a stakeholder.”
“I didn’t want anyone to think I couldn’t handle it.”
“But you know that as the company grows, the workload does too. You’re too busy worrying about what people think before your own health and sanity?”
“Look, it’s a miracle I’m even here...”
“Stop. Get the HR department to advertise for a Chief Business Developer. Start delegating your duties. What the hell do you have all those people out there working for if you’re not going to use them?!” She huffs just as my phone rings. I give her an apologetic gaze and answer it.
“Gus?” I answer.
“This is bad, Man.”
“What’s bad?”
“The guy who kidnapped Gabby took the whole news station hostage, and he asked for Ryan.”
“You didn’t let him go did you?”
“I tried, man. The police just escorted him in there. What are we gonna do?”
“Look, just make sure you stay there. I’ll see if I can get a flight up there as soon as possible.” I hang up and stand in front of my wife.
“Look, Maddie, I need you to do as I ask and then take the rest of the day off.”
“You’re not my boss anymore, you know?”
“I know, but it’s not what you think.” Her expression changes.
“What’s wrong? What did Gus say just now?”
“Gabby and her co-workers are being held hostage at the news studio, and the guy wants Ryan too. I need you to be home. I don’t know if this guy will go after anyone else in the company. You know how these things play out.” She gets up and goes to her closet, gathering her purse and jacket.
“Let’s go...” She leads the way out of the office and stops at Lacy’s desk, giving her orders to close the office as soon as everything is done for the day.
As soon as we get home, Madeline turns to me, straightening my tie.
“Call Jonathan...Ryan needs you” she whispers. I caress her face, gently.
“You know that everything I do is for you...for our family. I want you to be okay.”
“I know, Vince. Go...make sure Ryan and Gabby are okay. The kids and I will be fine.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I kiss her deeply, bringing her close to me. I was so relieved that I finally knew what was on her mind, and I intended to help her shoulder her burdens.
Three hours later, I’m in New York standing between Gus and Shane as the hostage negotiator desperately tries to make a deal with Rand.
“This isn’t right...” Gus says.
“Let them do their job” Shane responds.
“Their job isn’t good enough. It’s been hours” Gus retorts.
“Let’s just...have the faith, okay?”
“I think I would have more faith if I knew what the fuck was going on in there?!” Suddenly, both Gus’s and my phone ping with a text message. We both grab our phones, looking at a video that was sent to us.
It looks like the inside of the studio with Rand holding Gabby at gunpoint and yelling at the hostages. I immediately go to the negotiator.
“What does he want?” I ask.
“Mr. Marks, you need to interfere--” I take him by the collar, which makes the other agents move towards us agressively.
“Look, that’s my best friend and his wife in there and you’re moving slower than shit, now tell me what does he want?” The guy takes my hands, forcing my arms away from him.
“He wants his job back, okay? And immunity from prosecution: neither of which I can give him!”
“Then what are you planning to do?!” I ask harshly.
“We’re trying to strategize. What I need you and your other little friend to do is stay the fuck outta the way! We got thirty hostages in there, Man! Let us do what we do!” I shove him away in frustration and go back to where Gus is standing.
“We gotta do something” I whisper to him.
“What can we do? We go in there, the guy might start dropping hostages.”
“I know, I know.” This is so frustrating. I’ve always hated working with the damn police.
“What if we offer him money?” Gus looks at Shane who shakes his head.
“This guy doesn’t want money, he wants revenge.”
“Isn’t the whole point of this shit is that he got fired? I mean, after he got arrested, he probably couldn’t find another job. Let’s offer him some cash.” Shame thinks about it, and goes to speak with the hostage negotiator who immediately calls into the news station. After speaking with Rand for a minute, he looks over at us.
“Can you let us borrow a hundred grand?” The negotiator asks.
“Yeah, why not? How does he want it?”
“In unmarked bills.” I immediately get on the phone to Madeline.
“Vince?” she answers.
“Maddie, listen, I need you to authorize a hundred thousand dollars out of our joint account. Tell them I’ll pick it up in New York.”
“Are you crazy? They’ll question me like the FBI!”
“Look, tell them to call me if they have questions. You want it in cash.”
“Alright, I’m on it. Just don’t let them paint me as the crazy wife who wants to withdraw a shit ton of money.”
“I promise.” A few minutes later, I get the expected call.
“Mr. Marks, I just wanted to let you know your wife is trying to make a pretty significant withdrawal from your joint account. I need your approval.”
“Of course, give her whatever she wants.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure! What, you think I don’t trust my wife? I need the cash from the branch near WJAL, and I need it now.”
“Sure, Mr. Marks.”
Thirty minutes later, Shane and I are back on the scene, cash in hand.
The hostage negotiator immediately gets on the phone, and he agrees to let everyone out except Ryan, Gabby and the boss. I watch helplessly as all of the news staff quickly comes out of the building, hands raised. Gus huffs in frustration.
“Why can’t he just let it go and surrender?!”
“He’s got a vendetta. He’s not going down without a fight” Shane replies.
“But why Ryan? What does he want with him?” I look at Shane and Gus who both shrug.
Chapter 5—Demons
I look on in horror as Rand holds my wife at gunpoint. I feel helpless and unglued, trying to figure out a way to outsmart this bastard.
“Look, you don’t have to do this...” I tell him.
“Shut-up!” He tightens his chokehold on Gabby who looks terrified out of her mind.
“Why are you doing this?!” She sobs.
“Why? Why?! Because of you, I’m an outcast in the news world. No one will hire me because of you!”
“Then you shouldn’t have been stalking women on the job you asshole!” Hal yells.
“You have no say in this!”
“Please, please...” Gabby whispers.
“You...destroyed...my life!” He yells, cocking the gun. My worst fears are realized: my wife might be murdered right in front of my eyes, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. Suddenly, the phone rings. I breathe a sigh of relief for the stall.
“You...put it on speaker!” He demands, eyeing me evilly. I follow his command, not wanting to piss this guy off any more than he already was.
“Look! We’ve got a hundred grand ready for you...let the other hostages go!” The hostage negotiator’s voice rings out over the speaker.
“I want immunity!” Rand says. The hostage negotiator laughs.
“Immunity? Do you know how many people are witnessing you right now? Take the money! You might can pay your bail...”
“Please, Rand...I won’t press charges...just don’t hurt my baby...” Gabby says. Both Rand and I look up in surprise. I had no idea, and I’m even more terrified. In that moment, Rand looks like he has a tiny bit of conscience and lowers his gun.
“No!” A female voice comes from the back of the studio and in walks Wendy. My already surprised state turns to one of an unbelievable shock.
“We had a deal! You get rid of the wife and I get the husband!” She growls at Rand.
“Bitch, what do you want me to do. I’m not about to go down for the murder of a kid!”
“A kid is not a kid until it’s born...”
“You bitch!” I scream, getting up to tackle her before Hal pulls me back.
“Let me go!” I yell at him.
“You don’t want him to shoot your wife, do you? Calm the fuck down!” My whole body is shaking, and I wanted to attack that bitch more than anything.
“Oh, Ryan...” Wendy walks over to me, touching my face. I flinch away from her.
“You know you want me” she says, seductively.
“I never said I did!” I growl at her.
“No words ever needed to be spoken. I saw how you looked at me when you first saw me.”
“What?!” I look at her in disbelief. I never gave this woman any indication that I wanted her. Is she insane? At the same time, Rand looks at Gabby with a devious smile.
“Looks like you have nothing to live for...” He says before he fires the gun into her side.
“Gabby! Gabby! No!” I yell as she falls to the ground. Everything stands still as I run to my wife who is bleeding profusely. In my haze, I hear a crash and a series of commands coming from the SWAT team. The only thing I’m focused on is my wife.
“Mr. Lowe! Mr. Lowe! She needs medical attention!” A police office approaches us and I raise my eyes at him slowly.
“Save her, please.” I plop down on the floor as they load her onto a journey and lead her away. I’m still frozen.
“Ryan! Ryan! Come on, man!” I hear Vince’s voice and have the slight feeling of being shaken. My vision finally clears and I see my best friend in front of me.
“She’s pregnant...I didn’t know” I sob.
“Come on, Shane will take you to the hospital.” He helps me up, leading me out of the studio. I see Rand and Wendy in handcuffs being harshly led away by some rogue cops who were probably pissed off that they had to baby-sit a hostage situation all day.
The car ride seems to last forever as Shane drives me, Vince and Gus to the hospital. I’m wracked with guilt and anxiety.
“She’s gonna be fine, Man” Vince assures me.
“He shot her...right in front of me...why couldn’t I do something?!”
“You couldn’t do anything, man! You would’ve both been dead!” Gus hisses.
Once we get to the hospital, police and medical staff are everywhere. I feel dizzy as I’m bombarded with questions. Thank God that Vince and Gus are here to help field everything. I feel like my world has come to an end.
After what seems to be decades, a doctor finally comes from the doors leading to the emergency room. Vince accompanies me as I take the dreaded walk towards the man.
“She’s fine, she’ll be fine. She was extremely lucky. The bullet missed major organs” the doctor says.
“The baby?” I ask.
“Baby’s fine. Strong heartbeat.”
“Can I see her?”
“As soon as we get her moved to a room. It’ll be a few more minutes.”
“Thank you” Vince says, nodding at the doctor before he walks away. Vince grabs me by the shoulders.
“She’s okay, you’ve gotta get it together, Man!”
“Did you?! You were a fucking mess when Madeline went missing!”
“I know, I’m trying to keep you from feeling the same way” he confesses.
“Why?”
“Because, I was fucking helpless. I don’t want you to be that way. She’s still here and so is your fucking baby! You have to be there for her!” I plop down into the nearest chair, exhausted. Vince kneels down next to me.
“You know I’ve been through this. Trust me. We’re here for you, so you can be there for her and your daughter...and...your new baby.” I nod with understanding, and he pulls me into a tight hug.
“We’re the crew, right?”
“Yeah, we are.” I come to the sudden realization.
“Did you give that bastard the hundred grand?” He takes a deep breath.
“Yeah, to save your life.” Words can’t even express the gratitude I have for him. Had he not offered the money, the day would have gone differently. I look at the man who pulled me into a brotherhood, made me a part of a family and in that moment, I realize that I couldn’t ask for a better friend.
“I appreciate you, Man” seems to be all I can say at this moment.
“I’ve always got your back...” he says, getting up.
“I know you do.”
A few hours later, I’m in Gabby’s room holding her hand. She’s in and out of consciousness but seems to be okay.
“Ryan...” she says, quietly.
“What is it, Baby?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was waiting.”
“What were you waiting for?”
“For it to be true...you and I haven’t been...affectionate lately. It was that one time...” I fondly look back on one of the only moments we made love since she went back to work.
“Did you think I would disapprove?” I give her a laughing smile. She chuckles.
“We’re growing...” she says, before passing out.
“Yes, we are, baby, yes, we are...” I stroke her hair as she falls into a peaceful sleep.
As I spend the night looking at her, I fall in love with her all over again and find myself thankful for a life of love and an invaluable friendship that I would never take for granted ever again.
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