Chapter 1

The kidnapper's voice came through the phone, low and menacing. "Have you got the 2 million ready?"

As I was about to answer, Nina Todd, my widowed sister-in-law, snatched the phone from my hand and yelled without thinking, "We've already called the cops. You won't get a single penny from us."

The room instantly fell into a suffocating silence.

My whole body went weak as I clung to her wrist, my face completely drained of color. I pleaded through my tears, "Are you crazy? They really have my son."

But Nina scoffed, totally unimpressed. "You almost had me. It's April Fool's Day. You can't trick me."

Anxious, I cried, "This isn't a prank. Timmy is really in danger."

Before I could stop her, she waved dismissively at the phone. "Thanks for playing along, but stop messing around. I'm hanging up."

The air suddenly turned icy and still.

The kidnapper's voice came through, cold and menacing. "You fucking dare mess with me? Fine. You can start planning your boy's funeral."

Everything went dark and my mind went numb. Timmy was still with the kidnapper, his fate hanging by a thread. And Nina had deliberately enraged the kidnapper, destroying any hope Timmy had to survive.

And now, there were only ten minutes left before the kidnapper's deadline to make good on his threat.

*****

I cried out and lunged for the phone in her hand, my fingers trembling uncontrollably, "Please, stop. I'm begging you, don't say another word.

"They're real kidnappers. Timmy is still with them, and I'm almost done getting the money together. If you keep provoking him like this, you'll get Timmy killed."

The living room went dead silent. Ruth Todd and Philip Todd, my in-laws, both turned ghostly pale and frozen in place, not daring to make a sound.

But Nina roughly shoved me away, her face twisted with contempt and mockery. "You're really putting on a show, aren't you? It's April Fool's Day. You can't fool me with this."

She spoke into the phone, her voice icy and arrogant, emphasizing every word. "No money. I've already called the cops. If you've got the guts, go ahead and do it."

Everything went black, my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down my face. "This isn't a joke. It's real. Timmy's life is in danger."

Nina frowned impatiently, her face full of disgust, like I was some lunatic she wanted nothing to do with. "Is it really that serious? It's an April Fool's prank, and you're acting like it's a life-or-death situation."

She snapped into the phone, "This is pathetic. Don't bother calling again."

With that, she hung up and slammed the phone down on the table with a loud bang.

When I caught the malice in her eyes, I felt icy all over.

She was doing this on purpose. She wanted to snatch the family inheritance for her own son, so she was deliberately provoking the kidnapper. She was hoping the kidnapper would kill Timmy.

April Fool's Day? That was an excuse she made up.

I stared at the pitch-black phone screen, my body trembling so hard I could barely breathe, my heart gripped tight.

With every passing second, the kidnapper's threat was getting closer; time was running out. Every moment we hesitated, Timmy was in even more danger.

If I was even a second too late, I'd lose Timmy forever.