Walter winced as a piercing cry filled the house the moment he stepped inside.
His wife, Abby, sat at the kitchen table, her face tense with distress. He didn’t need to ask—Logan’s cries had been exhausting her again.
Since becoming parents a month ago, their world had turned upside down. But for Walter, nothing unsettled him more than his son’s relentless wailing.
Smiling, he approached the crib—only to find it empty. Instead, a dictaphone played Logan’s recorded cries, and beside it lay a note. Heart pounding, he pressed stop, silencing the room.
“I warned you that you’d regret being rude to me.
If you want to see your baby again, leave $200,000 in the luggage storage lockers near the pier.
If you go to the police, you’ll never see him again.”
Walter’s stomach dropped. He remembered the janitor he had insulted at the maternity hospital, blaming him for breaking a gift. The man’s parting words echoed in his mind: “You’ll regret this!”
Determined, Walter rushed Abby to the police station, but as they were about to enter, his phone buzzed.
“This is your first and last warning. If you enter that police station, your kid’s going into the bay. Get the money to the location mentioned below.”
Abby gasped. Walter scanned the crowd, but there were too many people. Their only option was to pay.
On the way to the bank, Abby’s condition worsened—she was pale and nauseous. Concerned, Walter took her home before returning to withdraw the ransom.
He placed the money in the locker as instructed, then hid nearby to watch. It wasn’t long before he spotted the janitor, his flashy, hippie-style shirt making him easy to track.
Walter followed him through a parking lot, past restaurants, and into a bus station. When the janitor stowed the bag inside another locker, Walter struck, shoving him against the metal doors.
“Where is my son?” he demanded. “I did everything you asked—now return him!”
The janitor’s eyes widened. “I don’t know anything about your kid! Someone paid me a hundred bucks to move the package!”
Walter hesitated. “I swear,” the man insisted. “I have kids, too. I’d never hurt a child.”
Walter released him and yanked open the locker. It was empty. A hole had been cut in the back.
Heart sinking, he drove home, dreading telling Abby they had lost Logan.
But when he entered the house, something felt off. Abby was gone.
Upstairs, her belongings were missing—even small items like her lotion. Realization struck—Logan hadn’t been kidnapped by a stranger. Abby had taken him.
A strange relief settled over Walter. The ransom money had been fake. Now, he just had to find them.
He drove to the maternity hospital, where he met a doctor and made a careful request. The man nodded and dialed Abby’s number.
“Mrs. Taylor, this is Dr. Jones from the maternity hospital. We discovered something serious in Logan’s routine tests. He needs immediate treatment.”
Walter held his breath as the call ended. Moments later, his phone rang.
“You have some nerve calling me after what you did,” he growled. “Where is Logan?”
“Says the man who faked the ransom money,” Abby spat. “Now I can’t take him to the hospital because of you. Where’s the real money, Walter?”
Walter’s heart clenched. “I’ll pay.”
As soon as he hung up, he transferred the funds. Now, he had to wait.
Tears burned his eyes when his younger brother, James, walked into the hospital holding Logan.
Abby was beside him, speaking to the receptionist. Everything moved in slow motion as police and FBI agents stepped in and surrounded them.
Abby lunged at Walter, but officers tackled her before she could reach him. Both she and James were arrested.
Walter clutched Logan tightly, his relief overwhelming. But Abby’s final words cut deep.
“You think you’ve won?” she screamed. “Logan isn’t even yours! You couldn’t get me pregnant, remember? But whatever’s wrong with you clearly doesn’t run in the family!”
Walter froze. James refused to meet his gaze. The betrayal was sharp, but in the end, it didn’t matter.
“I don’t care,” Walter said. “I’ll adopt him if I have to. I’ll raise him while you two rot in prison.”
Holding Logan close, he walked away, determined to give his son the life he deserved.
