Vanessa Hale stood by the crates, her expensive designer coat dripping wet.

She was holding a manila folder, her face pale and tense.

Beside her stood Marcus.

He looked disheveled, his tie loose, his eyes darting nervously around the empty space.

“Where is Evelyn?” Marcus asked, his voice echoing hollowly in the metal building.

“She is dealing with the offshore transfers,” Vanessa said, her voice sharp and impatient. “We do not have much time, Marcus.”

“Dante Russo is tracking my accounts,” Marcus said, pacing back and forth. “He blocked the Swiss funds today.”

“I told you to handle him,” Vanessa snapped. “If Russo gets his hands on the original trust deeds, we are ruined.”

“I am trying,” Marcus said, stopping and running a hand through his wet hair. “But he has Alessia.”

“Then find her,” Vanessa said coldly. “She is the only one who can sign the release forms.”

“I know,” Marcus said. “I have someone watching her old apartment. And her doctor’s office.”

My heart stopped.

They were already planning to trap me.

“We need to get her back before she realizes how much we took,” Marcus said.