Sophia's heart pounded violently in her chest, her fingertips turning icy.

She suppressed the tremor in her voice. "Let me hear my mother speak!"

Silence stretched for several seconds on the other end.

Dominic Durand's forehead beaded with cold sweat. He hadn't anticipated this demand. Grace Langley lay unconscious in a damp basement.

"J-just wait!" he stammered. "I'll send you a photo!"

Sophia scoffed. "Photos can be faked. Turn on video."

Dominic's hands shook. He glanced toward the door where his son Darren stood guard.

"F-fine..."

Holding his phone, he descended into the basement. The stench of mildew assaulted him. Under the dim bulb, Grace lay bound on the floor, her face deathly pale.

"Mom!" Sophia's tears spilled over instantly.

Dominic hastily ended the call, his voice turning vicious. "Five million! One cent less and she dies!"

"Cash withdrawals require—"

"Wire transfer!" he snapped. "No tricks!"

After hanging up, Sophia immediately contacted her mother's bodyguards.

"Mrs. Langley entered the house and never came out," a guard reported urgently. "We've searched everywhere..."

Sophia's nails dug into her palms.

She rushed to Ethan Sullivan's office, nearly tripping as she burst through the door.

Ethan steadied her. "Stay calm."

After hearing the situation, his expression hardened. "Where does Dominic live?"

"The suburbs..."

"Let's go." Ethan grabbed his coat while dialing Detective Kevin North.

Sophia seized his wrist. "No police!"

"Just borrowing a K-9 unit." He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Trust me."

Night fell.

Four black sedans glided silently near Dominic's residence.

Sophia drove alone to the meeting point, only a single case of real cash in her trunk.

"Change of location!" Dominic kept altering the rendezvous spot over the phone.

Finally, at an abandoned factory, he appeared.

When the silver van's door slid open, Sophia held her breath.

"Where's the money?" Dominic's shifty eyes darted around.

Sophia popped the trunk. "All here."

The man lunged greedily for the briefcase, oblivious to the figures emerging from the shadows.

When cold steel pressed against his skull, his legs gave way.

"M-mercy..."

His knees hit the concrete with a sickening thud.