Chapter 2

"Even number! It's an even number!" Olivia exclaimed with relief, shouting at the kidnappers.

The kidnapper grinned, his voice dripping with mockery, "Hahaha! Mrs. Quinn, you're fucking hilarious!"

"You could have saved your son on the first roll, but you chose to save a damn animal instead. Mrs. Quinn, you're truly one in a million!"

Olivia's face flushed red, but she didn't argue back.

She just stubbornly repeated, "This is fate!"

My heart sank to the bottom of an abyss.

My whole body was shaking, blood and tears blurring my vision.

Olivia carefully walked over to Lucas, opened the cage, and took the terrified Samoyed into her arms.

"It's okay now, Snowball is safe," she cooed.

Lucas ran to her side, crying uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, my son Leo had a pale face, his mouth taped shut, crying so hard his body was turning purple.

I rushed over to embrace Leo. His tiny body trembled in my arms.

Only then did Olivia seem to remember us and walked over.

"Is Leo okay?" she asked casually, her eyes never leaving the dog in her arms.

My throat was too constricted from shock to make any sound.

Suddenly, Lucas cried out, "Olivia, Snowball is dying! We need to get him to the hospital right away!"

"Okay, let's go now!" Olivia said anxiously, turning to leave with the dog in her arms without sparing us another glance.

She only threw a cold sentence to the kidnappers: "The money will be transferred to you. Release my son."

With that, she hurried away supporting Lucas.

The iron door of the warehouse slammed shut, cutting off everything outside.

I held my son, my body ice-cold.

The kidnapper squatted down in front of me.

He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he sneered at me, "I've never seen such a heartless wife. Where did you find this piece of trash?"

I stared at him blankly, unable to utter a word.

The kidnapper blew a puff of smoke in my face, bringing me back to reality and making me cough.

"Tell you what, I'm in a good mood today. I'll give you one more chance," he said.

He held his phone out to me. "Call your wife."

"If she's willing to turn back now, I'll let you and your son go."

"How's that? Pretty merciful, right?"

He laughed at his own words.

My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone.

I dialed Olivia's number.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

"Hello?"

It was Olivia's voice. In the background, I could clearly hear Lucas's anxious voice.

"Olivia..." I sobbed, "Save Leo... please come back..."

From the other end came her impatient voice.

"Gabriel! I'm in the middle of getting emergency treatment for Snowball. He's in shock!"

"Leo is my son. The kidnappers won't dare do anything to him once they get the money. Don't make trouble for me now!"