Chapter 13 - The Blackmail
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Mariana stared at the ringing phone on the wall. Mateo didn’t hesitate; he lunged across the kitchen and snatched the receiver off the cradle.
"Hello?" Mateo demanded.
"I see you found my retirement fund," Elias’s voice slithered through the speaker, arrogant and cruel.
"Where is she?" Mateo shouted, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the plastic phone.
"Where is Chloe?!"
Elias laughed, a dark, raspy sound that made Mateo’s blood run cold.
"So you found the paperwork too. Good. That saves me a lot of explaining."
"Is she with you?" Mariana asked, leaning close to the receiver so she could hear.
"Of course not," Elias scoffed. "Do I look like a family man to you? After your mother died, the state took her. Tossed her right into the foster system. I didn't care. She was just another mouth to feed."
"You're a monster," Mateo growled, tears of pure rage spilling down his cheeks.
"I'm a businessman," Elias corrected smoothly.
"Now, listen closely, boy. I want that lockbox. Every single dollar inside it. You're going to bring it to the old abandoned lumber mill on Route 9 at midnight tonight."
"And if we don't?" Mariana interjected fiercely. "We're handing this straight to the police, Elias. You'll be back in a cell by dinner."
"If you involve the cops, you will never see your little sister," Elias threatened, his voice dropping into a lethal whisper.
"Because right now, I'm the only person on earth who knows exactly which abusive, off-the-grid foster home she's rotting in. You give me the cash, and I'll give you the address. You keep the cash, and I leave the state tonight. She stays in hell forever."
"Elias, wait!" Mateo pleaded.
The line went dead with a sharp click.
Mateo slowly lowered the phone, his hands trembling violently. He looked at the birth certificate on the counter, staring at the name of a sister he had never met, a girl who was suffering the exact same nightmare he had survived.
"We can't call the police," Mateo said, looking up at Mariana with desperate, pleading eyes.
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"Mateo, he's dangerous. We can't meet him alone."
"I have to," Mateo said, wiping his tears away. "I won't let her stay in the dark. I won't."
