CHAPTER 123: NO ESCAPE 

"Auntie!"

"Don't worry, Ray.It's going to be okay..."

Reese threw the empty bottle away and looked at Ruben coldly.

"There.Happy now?"

"My dear daughter, if you just listened to me, you wouldn't have to go through all this!"

Ruben's smug face betrayed his satisfaction.

Everything was going according to his plan.

He winked at the two brawny men by his side, who immediately walked over to Raymond.

One of them grabbed the back of Ray's shirt and lifted the boy off the floor.

"Let him go! Ruben, I drank that thing just like you said.Why are you still make things difficult for Ray?"

"Don't worry.I just want to talk to him."

The muscled man held Raymond closer to Ruben, who took some candies out of his pocket and said, "Well, grandson, tell me your mommy's phone number."

Ray just stood still, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

Ruben went berserk then and slapped the boy.

"The number, boy."

"Ray!"

Reese tried to go to her nephew, but the other man stopped her.

All she could do was glare at her father from afar.

"Ruben! He is just a child.You'll bring God's fury on your head."

‘‘God's fury? If that was a thing, I would have been dead a long time ago.’’ Ignoring her, Ruben looked at the boy and asked again. Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

"The number?"

Ray pursed his lips and turned his head sideways stubbornly.

"You are just as stubborn as your mother!"

Just as he was about to hit Ray again, Reese shouted, "I know it! I know the number, too."

Ruben took his eyes off the boy and focused on his daughter instead.

He slowly took his phone out of his pocket and drawled, "Go ahead then."

Reese gave him Wendy's phone number reluctantly.

He dialed it and in less than three seconds, Wendy picked up.

"What the hell do you want, Ruben?"

Ruben was stunned for a moment, and then smirked.

"Smart girl! I didn’t think you'd know it was me."

On the other end of the line, Wendy was just walking out of the door, on her way to the location Ray had managed to send her.

Once she was in the car, she said in a calm voice, "It was pretty obvious you were the one behind Reese's disappearance.She was just a housewife for so many years.She had very little contact with the outside world and so she had no enemies! It was either you or Flynn, and if that coward had the guts to kidnap her, he would have done it before she got half his fortune with the divorce.So that leaves only you."

"Well, well, well.You are quite the detective, it seems."

Wendy just pursed her lips and said nothing.

When Ray had been taken, she was hysterical.

But after she calmed down and started thinking straight, she realized something was not right.

It took her all but a few minutes to figure out that Ruben was behind the kidnapping.

She had immediately gone back home to fetch something and that was when she got Ray's text with the location he was being held in.

Wendy tried to stall for time.

"Tell me, then.What are you really after?"

"I have your son."

Wendy said nothing but her eyes were blazing in anger.

Ruben continued, "If you want to keep him safe, you need to get here as soon as possible.Alone.And don't make the mistake to call the police! You know what I am capable of.If the police shows up, I might be forced to do something extreme.Anyway, I have your son and sister.Do something stupid and you will lose them both."

"I want to hear their voices.To make sure they are okay."

"As you wish!"

Ruben put the phone in front of Ray's mouth.

"Here, grandson.Say hello to your mommy."

"Mommy, don't..."

Before Ray could finish his sentence, Ruben snatched the phone away.

"Okay, that's enough.You heard him.He is still safe and sound with his dear grandpa."

"Where is Reese?"

"Your sister is fine.I wouldn't harm her.She is the key to me building my fortune."

Wendy gripped the steering wheel tightly and said, "Give me the address!"

Ruben did and she was off.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes!"

Ruben hung up and turned to one of his men.

"Go to the hotel gate and keep an eye out.If you see the police, let me know so we can leave immediately."

"Okay, boss," the man said as he walked away.

Then Ruben turned to the man holding Ray.

"You can put the boy down now.Fetch me another bottle of the same ‘drink’."

"Yes, sir!"

Reese frowned held Ray close to her.

"What do you want with that?"

"Don't worry." Ruben glanced at her coldly.

"It's not for him.It'd just be wasted on the boy.It's for your dear sister."

"What the hell is that thing?"

Ruben grinned, revealing his teeth.

"You'll know soon enough."

The man soon returned with the bottle in hand.

They all stood there in silence and Reese felt that time went excruciatingly slow.

About ten minutes later, Wendy still hadn't arrived, and Reese was starting to lose it.

She was in a trance-like state and she trembled uncontrollably.She felt like she was floating.

"Auntie, what's the matter with you?"

At Ray's remark, Ruben frowned and turned to look at Reese.

When he took in her state, he said with a smile, "It seems that the medicine has started working."

"What...What did you give me?"

"Rohypnol.You may know it as the date rape drug."

Reese was burning up.

Her face was red and she was struggling to control the urge to rip the collar of her shirt.

She'd have to be a real fool not to realize what Ruben's plan was now.

Although she was expecting something horrible, she still broke down when she heard Ruben's answer.

"Scumbag! You bastard!"

Head spinning, she gripped the bedside table to stay upright.

"Why?"

"So I can have full control over you.My dear daughter, don't worry.It'll be worth your while! I will make sure to get the whole thing on video.If you dare to disobey me in the future, it will be made public.I don't care if you are my daughter or not.Don't look at me like that.There's nothing to worry about.You won't be alone.When Wendy is here, she'll get a bottle too!"

"Bastard!"

"Save your strength."

Thinking of how obedient his two beautiful daughters would be from now on, Ruben smiled with satisfaction.

It was as if he could already see a ton of money coming his way.

"I thought Wendy was dead.When I found out she was still alive and a real beauty too, I knew God must really like me."

Reese was consumed by rage and disgust.

She wanted to tear this two-faced, disgusting man apart.

A knock at the door startled all three of them.

When the door swung open, one of Ruben's men poked his head.

"Sir, Mr.Gavin is here." Ruben's eyes lit up.

"Where?"

"He is already in the room you booked for him."

"Excellent!"

Ruben smiled sardonically.

"Take Reese to him!"

"Yes, sir!"

The man entered the room and grabbed Reese's wrist.

He started dragging her towards the door when Ray shouted, "No! Leave her alone"

The boy started running to help his aunt but Ruben grabbed him.

Ray looked like a wild little beast, kicking and screaming.

"Scumbag! My mommy won't let you go! That made Ruben snort, looking really amused by the boy's words.”

"You couldn't be more wrong there, boy.It's me that won't let your mommy go!"

Not two minutes after Reese was taken from the room, the man returned.

"Sir, Wendy is here!"