“Honey, how long has he been crying like that?” Walter asked as he stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in comfort.
“I’ve tried everything, Walter,” Abby said, her voice cracking. “He’s been fed, changed, bathed, burped—I even checked his temperature. He’s not sick, but he just won’t stop crying. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
Walter looked into her tired eyes, feeling the weight of parenthood pressing down on them both. It had only been a month since Logan was born, and their lives had changed in ways neither of them had anticipated. The sleep deprivation, constant worry, and emotional highs and lows were draining, and the sound of Logan’s relentless cries only added to the stress. If there was one thing that deeply disturbed Walter, it was the sound of his baby crying with no way to calm him down.
“We’ll figure this out together,” Walter said, trying to keep his voice steady. He took Abby’s hand and led her to Logan’s nursery.
As they entered the dimly lit room, the sound of Logan’s cries grew louder. Walter knelt beside the crib, preparing to soothe his son. But as he peered inside, he froze. The crib was empty.
Instead of his baby boy, there was a dictaphone playing the sounds of Logan’s cries. Next to it was a note. Panic surged through Walter as he pressed the stop button on the device, silencing the awful noise. His heart raced, and for a moment, the room felt like it was spinning.
“Walter, what’s happening? What did you do?” Abby asked, her voice filled with concern as she stepped closer. Walter handed her the note, his hands shaking. Abby’s eyes widened as she read the chilling message aloud:
“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.”
“Oh my God!” Abby gasped, dropping the note. “Who would do this? Was I rude to someone? Were you? How could someone take our baby?”
Walter’s mind raced. His thoughts immediately went to the janitor at the maternity hospital. Just a few weeks earlier, while visiting Abby and Logan after the birth, Walter had an unfortunate encounter with him. The janitor had accidentally knocked over a decorative pot Walter had bought for Abby, and in his frustration, Walter had lashed out at him. He called the man names, insulting his intelligence and work ethic. The janitor had warned him, saying, “You’ll regret this.”
“It has to be him,” Walter muttered, his face pale. “I was rude to a janitor at the hospital. He warned me I’d regret it.”
“We have to go to the police, Walter,” Abby said, her voice trembling with fear. “But the note says we’ll never see Logan again if we do!”
“We can’t trust the kidnapper to return him, even if we pay,” Walter replied. “We have no choice. If this is the janitor, we know where he works. The police can track him down quickly.”
Abby hesitated but eventually agreed. Walter parked the car outside the police station, preparing himself to walk in and report the crime. But as they were about to step out of the vehicle, Walter’s phone buzzed with a message. He unlocked the screen and felt his blood run cold as he read:
“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 let out a cry of horror as she read the message over Walter’s shoulder. They both looked around, trying to spot anyone suspicious, but the street was bustling with people, making it impossible to tell who might be watching them.
“We have to pay the ransom,” Abby pleaded. “Please, Walter, we can’t risk it. Logan’s life is more important than anything.”
Walter reluctantly agreed. They decided to head straight to the bank to gather the money. However, as they drove, Abby’s condition worsened. She became pale and nauseous, eventually throwing up in the car. Seeing her so distressed, Walter decided it was best to take her home and handle the ransom drop-off on his own.
“I’ll take care of everything,” Walter assured her as he helped her inside. “Don’t worry, we’ll get Logan back.”
Abby nodded weakly, her eyes filled with tears. “Please, just hurry.”
Walter left for the bank, his mind racing with thoughts of his son. The idea of Logan being in some dark, unfamiliar place, crying for help that wouldn’t come, haunted him. He quickly gathered the ransom money and drove to the pier, where he placed the cash in the designated luggage locker.
He parked nearby, hoping to spot the janitor collecting the ransom. Soon enough, he saw the man approaching the lockers. Walter’s heart pounded as he watched from his car. The janitor opened the locker, took the bag of money, and began walking away. Walter followed him, keeping a safe distance as they moved through the crowded streets.
The janitor eventually entered a bus station and placed the bag inside another locker. Walter couldn’t wait any longer. He rushed up to the man and shoved him against the lockers.
“Where is my son?” Walter demanded, his voice shaking with rage. “I did everything you asked. Now give me Logan!”
The janitor’s eyes widened in fear. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he stammered. “Some guy paid me to collect the package and drop it off here. I swear I don’t know anything about your kid!”
Walter’s grip tightened. “Don’t lie to me!”
“I’m not lying!” the janitor pleaded. “I have kids of my own. I’d never hurt someone else’s child. I was just paid to do this job!”
Something in the man’s eyes told Walter he was telling the truth. Reluctantly, Walter released him and checked the locker the janitor had used. To his horror, it was empty. There was a hole in the back of the locker, and whoever had taken the money was long gone.
Devastated, Walter drove home, his heart heavy with guilt and fear. How could he tell Abby that he had failed? That their son was still missing? But when he arrived at their house, something even more shocking awaited him.
Abby was gone. Her clothes, personal belongings, even her favorite hand lotion—everything was missing.
Frantic, Walter called her phone repeatedly, but she didn’t answer. That’s when it hit him like a ton of bricks—Abby had orchestrated the entire kidnapping. She had been so insistent on paying the ransom, so eager to leave the police out of it. She had taken Logan, and now she was gone.
Walter was crushed, his world unraveling before his eyes. The only solace he had was knowing that the ransom money he had placed in the locker was fake. Now, it was up to him to find his son.
Driven by sheer determination, Walter contacted a doctor at the maternity hospital where Logan was born. The doctor agreed to help, and together, they concocted a plan. The doctor called Abby, telling her that Logan needed urgent medical attention for a rare genetic condition. Panicked, Abby promised to bring Logan in immediately.
Walter waited at the hospital, his heart pounding. When Abby finally arrived with Logan, the police, whom Walter had secretly informed, were waiting. Abby and her accomplice—Walter’s own brother—were arrested on the spot.
As Abby was being led away in handcuffs, she screamed one final revelation: “Logan isn’t even yours, Walter! He’s your brother’s son!”
Walter stood in shock, his mind reeling from the betrayal. But none of that mattered. Logan was his son in every way that counted, and he would love and protect him, no matter what.
“I don’t care,” Walter said, his voice steady. “I’ll raise him as my own. You’ll never take him away from me.”
With that, Walter left the hospital with Logan in his arms, ready to start a new life with his son, free from the lies and deceit that had nearly torn them apart.
