CHAPTER NINE
Jeffrey could see Maya was struggling to keep it together, but he didn’t mince words. He owed her the unvarnished truth and knew it would further strengthen her resolve.
“How can he contact me?” She tossed her hands up. “He doesn’t have my number.”
“We’re confident he’ll use the Kids Chat website,” Casey said.
“Wait, what?” Her brows scrunched together, and she looked from Jeffrey to Casey.
Casey glanced up at him, seeking his permission to share what they knew.
Jeffrey nodded. “She has clearance.”
“Okay, cool. That’ll make all of this so much easier.” The techie turned his attention to Maya. “The two losers who created Kids Chat are in the process of being brought in for questioning. In the meantime, we’ve taken control of their website. We’re now able to view all of the activity taking place there. Including all of Sherborne’s messages. ”
“But how does that help us?” Her frustration manifested itself in her curt tone. “We’ve already seen the messages between Isla and him. Hell, I’ve read them so many times, I could recite them verbatim.”
“Sherborne wasn’t just messaging with your daughter. He was communicating with another member of the site. I was able to easily trace that individual’s IP address, and I’ll give you one guess who it led me to.” Casey sat back, arms crossed, giving her a moment to put the pieces together.
“Wait, are you saying that Nadim was also communicating with Sherborne through the Kids Chat platform?” she asked.
“Bingo.” Casey sat forward, tapped a couple of keys, and a screen on the wall to his left flashed on. “He was the one telling Sherborne what to say to Isla.” He opened the familiar website with its bright colors, animated unicorns and dinosaurs on the homepage. After a few more clicks, a series of messages popped up on the screen. “Right here, you can see where they’re discussing your daughter.” He clicked the mouse and circled the text in red.
“He’s telling him what to say and wants to turn her against me.” Maya glanced back at Jeffrey.
“Nadim is smart. He knows if she’s mad at you and blaming you, she’ll withdraw and stop trusting you.” Jeffrey’s anger rose.
These two assholes were talking about his daughter like she was nothing but a pawn in their sick game .
“Making her more vulnerable to outside influences.” Maya tightened her arms around herself. “This is all my fault.”
Jeffrey moved up, shoulder to shoulder with her. It almost caused him physical pain not to wrap his arm around her and pull her close. But he wasn’t prepared to open himself up to her again.
“Let me show you where they start talking about luring her away.” Casey hunched over his desk, his fingers flying over the keyboard.
“Why wouldn’t Al-Mansoori just set up an alias and communicate directly with Isla? Why have Sherborne do it?” Maya asked.
While Casey worked his magic, Jeffrey explained things to Maya.
“Our working theory is that Nadim wanted to avoid having a traceable line of communication between himself and Isla. And he likely knows by now that you’ve gained access to Isla’s Kids Chat messages and will be monitoring them, just in case she happens to log in to her account.” Jeffrey was counting on it. “When he does, Casey will be there, in the background, monitoring the messages and tracking the IP address.” He was certain it would be traced back to the Qadiran Embassy.
“So we’re supposed to just wait?” She spun on Jeffrey. “That could take hours, days, even, and all that time our daughter is—”
“Whoa, whoa. Hang on, folks.” Casey snapped his fingers to get their attention. “We’ve got a message coming in.”
Jeffrey and Maya looked up at the screen. The avatar for Sherborne’s fake account blinked a few times before a message appeared.
S: Hello, Ms. Corbett. I assume you are seeing this message or will be very soon. I have been looking for you for a very long time. You see, I have something that belongs to you and am willing to arrange a trade. I will give you until midnight tonight to respond to this message. I know you are on the east coast of America, so that gives you exactly eight hours and thirty-seven minutes. To ensure you understand the urgency of my request, I am sending you this …
The avatar blinked until a video attachment appeared in the message.
Keys clicked as Casey scanned the attachment.
“It’s clean,” he said.
Jeffrey glanced at Maya.
She blew out a breath and nodded.
He internally braced himself for what they might see and said, “Open it.”
Casey opened the video and clicked play .
The video panned slowly from left to right, showing a massive wardrobe cabinet with intricately carved doors inlaid with a gold filigree design in the shape of—
“Stop there!” Maya walked up closer to the image frozen on the screen. “That’s the official crest for the Qadiran royal family. See?” She traced the design with her fingertip.
Jeffrey walked over to stand next to her. Her body crackled with frustration, anger, and worry.
“That confirms it’s Nadim who has Isla.” He gave Casey a nod, and the video started again.
“Did you see how careful the person recording the video was to avoid showing their reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror?” Jeffrey could hear the rustle of clothing, the shuffle of feet on the floor, and the camera operator’s labored breaths.
“Is that …” Maya strained to hear. “It sounded like someone whispering.”
Casey rewound it, cleaned up the sound, and played it again.
Someone whispered “Mama” before being shushed.
“That sounds like a kid,” Casey said.
“A mother and child?” Maya asked.
“Nadim wouldn’t dream of dirtying his hands with such a menial task.” Jeffrey knew that with certainty.
Casey started the video again.
Dark crimson drapes with gold fringe along the top hung across one entire wall, presumably covering a window. The camera continued around until it stopped on the foot of a massive bed with thick posts draped in crimson velvet .
The camera lifted slightly, and they got their first look at Isla lying in the middle of the oversize bed and looking incredibly small.
“Oh, baby,” Maya whispered. “What have they done to you?”
Their daughter was atop the bedding, on her back with her hands crossed on her stomach. She was dressed in traditional, female Qadiran attire. A black abaya—a sort of robe-like gown—covered her entire body, and she wore black slippers. Her head was wrapped with a black shayla hijab, leaving only her face exposed. Her eyes were closed, and her face was relaxed in sleep.
God, he hoped she was sleeping.
As if reading his thoughts, Maya cast Jeffrey a frantic look. “She’s sleeping, right?”
“Casey, can you zoom in on her?” he asked.
“You bet.” His tech looked concerned, too, and quickly tapped a few keys to get a close-up of her torso. “It looks like her chest is rising and falling.”
“Nadim is a sadist, Maya. If she were dead, he would want to see your reaction firsthand.”
“Yes.” She nodded as her eyes remained on Isla. “Yes, you’re right. He would gain great pleasure from my misery.”
The bedding appeared to be gold silk, and there was an array of colorful pillows, each with its own unique embroidered design, displayed against a wooden headboard in the same over-the-top style as the wardrobe cabinet. The crest of Qadira was carved into the center of the dark wood.
Casey zoomed in on Isla’s face. “Her cheeks are nice and pink. So that’s a good thing.”
“She looks so small.” Maya stroked a single fingertip over Isla’s cheek. “And I absolutely detest seeing her dressed that way.”
The video ended.
The final message from Nadim simply said, Midnight, Ms. Corbett .
A tear streamed down the center of Maya’s cheek, and she partially turned to silently swipe it away.
Jeffrey’s heart broke for her. With that single tear, his resolve to keep her at an emotional distance crumbled like a sandcastle being hit by a wave. Watching her struggle to hide her pain made it impossible for him to remain aloof. He had only just found out he was a father, hadn’t even met Isla yet, but it ate at him to see their daughter looking so fragile and vulnerable. How doubly awful it must be for her mother.
He stepped up to Maya and pulled her into his embrace. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his waist, held him tightly, and buried her face against the side of his neck .
Her shoulders shook, and her quiet sobs vibrated against him. In the background, a door opened and quietly shut as Casey left them alone.
Jeffrey hated the circumstances behind it, but damn, it felt good to hold her again. She remained in his arms for a few moments until she began to gather herself.
“Ugh. I’m sorry.” She sniffled, let her hands fall away from him, and stepped back. “I really don’t have the luxury of falling apart just yet.” She twisted around to snatch a tissue from a box on the console and dabbed her eyes and nose.
“How about you give yourself a bit of grace. For over a week, you’ve been dealing with this nightmare all by yourself.” Jeffrey had always known Maya had a steel spine; this situation proved that. “That’s over now. From now on, we are in this together. Got it?”
“Got it.” She nodded with a small smile and tossed the tissue in the garbage can next to his desk. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”
Helping her find their daughter and obliterating the people responsible for taking her were the only things that mattered to Jeffrey.