Walter arrived home after work, but as soon as he entered the garage doors, a piercing scream echoed throughout the house. In the kitchen, his wife, Abby, sat, visibly distraught over their son Logan’s crying.
“Oh, my dear,” Walter said, hugging her from behind. “How long has he been crying like that?”
“I’ve tried everything, Walter!” Abby sobbed. “He’s eaten, I’ve changed him, bathed him, rocked him! I even took his temperature! I don’t know what to do, he won’t stop crying!”
It had been a month since the couple had become parents, and if there was one thing Walter was really worried about, it was Logan’s incessant crying.
“Let’s figure this out together,” Walter said, leading Abby to Logan’s room.
They went to their son’s crib, but, to their surprise, Walter didn’t find the baby. There was only a Dictaphone and a piece of paper. He pressed the stop button on the Dictaphone, and the crying instantly stopped.
“What did you do?” asked Abby, standing behind him. Walter didn’t answer immediately. He held the paper in his hands and thought. It wasn’t until Abby snatched the paper from him and unfolded it that he realized what had happened.
“I warned you you’d regret being so cruel to me.”
“Oh my God!” cried Abby. “What does this mean? Did I hurt someone? You? Who took Logan?”
Walter remembered the janitor he’d mistreated at the hospital. He’d given Abby a small glass jar shaped like a teddy bear, but when he tripped over the janitor’s broom, he broke it.
Walter, furious, had insulted him, and the janitor had replied, “You’ll regret this!”
“We have to go to the police, darling,” Walter said, coming back to reality. “It must be him!”
“What? The note says if we go to the police, we’ll never see Logan again, Walter. We just have to pay the ransom!”
“We don’t even have a guarantee he’ll give him back. Think about it, darling. He’s just a janitor… he can’t know if we go to the police or not, and since we know where he works, the police could come straight to the hospital, arrest him, and take Logan back.”
Abby nodded.
Walter parked the car in front of the police station. They were about to leave when Walter’s phone vibrated with a message.
“This is your first and last warning. If you enter the station, your son will be in the water. Bring the money to the address provided.”
Abby screamed as she read the message, and Walter looked around for the kidnapper. But there were too many people. The only way to save Logan was to pay the ransom.
Walter decided to go straight to the bank, but Abby’s condition was deteriorating. She even tried to struggle and nearly fell. He decided it was best for her to stay home.
“Don’t blame me, darling, but it’s better for you,” he said. Abby didn’t protest.
“Okay… But Walter… does the kidnapper really know how to take care of a baby?” she asked, sobbing.
Walter didn’t answer and took her back home. But his thoughts were dark. He imagined Logan again and again in a dark room, screaming for help without getting a response.
To calm himself, Walter went to the bank. Then he walked to the location indicated by the kidnapper and left the money there.
There were so many people there that he couldn’t locate the concierge, but he knew he was nearby and must be watching them. He got back in the car, drove a bit, and parked near the warehouses. He didn’t wait long before spotting the concierge.
The concierge opened a warehouse. Walter got ready, but a group of tourists walked past him, blocking his view.
“Go faster!” Walter shouted.
The minutes seemed endless until the tourists passed a statue. When the last of them passed, Walter cursed—the concierge was gone.
He searched through the crowd, trying not to breathe too loudly. The man was dressed in a colorful shirt, like a hippie—he shouldn’t be hard to find.
There! Walter felt a surge of relief when he saw the concierge with a bag, and hurried after him.
He followed him around the parking lot, past several restaurants and museums, until he turned toward another set of lockers.
The concierge placed the bag in a locker. Walter braced himself, but when he turned, Walter grabbed him by the chest, pressing him against the locker.
“Where’s my son?” Walter asked. “I did everything you asked, idiot, now give me Logan!” “Listen, I was offered $100 if I take this package and leave it here,” the man replied. “I don’t know anything about your son!”
“Don’t lie to me!”
“I’m not lying! I saw him once after work in the parking lot, but he was under the light, and I didn’t see his face. I have two children too; I wouldn’t hurt someone else’s child.”
Something in the janitor’s eyes told Walter he was telling the truth. He released him and opened the locker. But it was empty. Someone had made a hole in the floor.
Walter ran behind the lockers. The hole was closed with a thin metal plate held in place by two screws. No one around here was carrying a bag of money.
Walter didn’t know how to tell Abby. Logan was his miracle child. They had struggled so long to conceive him. And now she’d lost her chance to find him.
Walter entered the house. After checking every room downstairs, he couldn’t find Abby. He went upstairs and noticed her belongings were gone.
At first, he thought Abby had been kidnapped. He called her again and again, but she didn’t answer. Then he realized the kidnapper couldn’t have taken the lotions.
Walter was devastated. How could she have done this to him? He wasn’t surprised she’d come home so quickly, feeling sick. And he’d insisted on paying the ransom. Abby was the kidnapper. Did she have an accomplice?
Walter’s only comfort was that the money was fake. He would find a way to get his son back.
He went to the hospital where Logan was born, and near the ATM, he saw the one he was looking for: the doctor.
“Hello,” said Walter. “I hope you can help me. I need someone who can call my wife—”
“I’m not a telephone operator,” the doctor replied curtly.
“He doesn’t understand. I’m willing to pay you handsomely for your help, doctor, and for your confidentiality.”
The doctor stared at Walter with narrowed eyes. Then he smiled slowly as Walter explained the situation and what Abby needed to tell him.
Walter showed the doctor the money in his wallet. The man nodded. “Very well, very well. Follow me!”
Walter followed the man to the second floor, where the nurses’ station was located. All the nurses were busy. No one noticed the doctor pick up the phone and call Abby.
“Hello, Mrs. Taylor, this is Dr. Jones from the maternity ward. I want to inform you that a serious diagnosis was made during your son’s examination. You need to bring him in urgently for treatment.”
Walter heard Abby’s emotional cries on the other end of the line, but he couldn’t understand the words.
“Sorry, I can’t discuss details over the phone. I can only say that he has a rare genetic disorder. I’m sure you’re fine now, but it could get worse at any moment. He’s at risk of dying from SIDS and other serious illnesses. You need to bring him in today, Mrs. Taylor.”
The doctor ended the call a few minutes later and nodded to Walter.
“He’ll bring him in as soon as possible,” the doctor said, holding out his hand.
Walter paid the doctor and went downstairs. A few minutes later, his phone vibrated again. He was shocked when he saw the name on the screen.
“You really dare call me after everything you’ve done, Abby,” Walter said. “Where’s Logan? Give him back immediately!”
“And what are you saying, you who didn’t have the courage to pay the ransom!” Abby shouted. “The money was fake, you miser! Logan needs a doctor urgently, and I can’t take him because of you. Where are the real money, Walter?”
“In my account, where it always has been. What about Logan, or is this yet another one of your tricks to extort money from me?”
Abby began to insult him and burst into tears. “I told you he was sick! You have to send me money to treat him. Without it, he’ll die.”
“I won’t let my son die!” “I’ll pay,” Walter replied, and