Chapter 8 - THE RANSOM THAT NEVER LEFT THE FAMILY
Gabriel Greedy had arranged his own nephew's kidnapping.
That was Kiran's claim.
And after seventeen years of silence, he was finally ready to tell the truth.
We sat in the attorney's conference room while Kiran explained what happened.
"I remember Uncle Gabriel taking me to a car."
Ravi leaned forward.
"What did he say?"
"That you had been hurt. He said he was taking me to the hospital."
Ravi closed his eyes.
"I was at home."
Kiran nodded.
"I know that now."
He took a shaky breath.
"Instead, he brought me to a house outside the city."
"Who was there?" Detective Mitchell asked.
"Two men. They locked me in a bedroom."
My stomach twisted.
Kiran continued.
"A few days later, I heard Gabriel talking about five million dollars."
Ravi gripped the edge of the table.
"Our father's ransom payment."
"Yes."
Kiran looked down.
"He said the money would be transferred through one of the family companies."
Detective Mitchell carefully recorded his statement.
"What happened next?"
"Thomas Bennett found me."
Ravi frowned.
"Thomas worked for our father."
Kiran nodded.
"He discovered where Gabriel was keeping me. He got me out."
"Why didn't he bring you home?" Ravi asked.
Kiran's eyes filled.
"He tried."
The room became silent.
Kiran continued.
"He called someone at the family estate. Gabriel answered."
Ravi slowly looked up.
"Gabriel controlled the phones."
Kiran nodded.
"He told Thomas that you'd been killed and that I'd be next if anyone found me."
Ravi lowered his head.
I reached for his hand beneath the table.
He held it tightly.
Kiran continued.
"Thomas took me to Pennsylvania. He changed our names. He raised me like his son."
"Where is Thomas now?" I asked.
Kiran smiled sadly.
"He passed away last year."
"I'm sorry."
"He was a good man."
Ravi looked at his brother.
"Why didn't you contact me when you got older?"
"Because I believed Gabriel was still watching. And Thomas couldn't prove who had arranged the kidnapping."
Ravi nodded slowly.
Then Kiran reached inside his jacket.
He removed a small silver watch.
My heart stopped.
I recognized it.
It belonged to my father.
"Where did you get that?" I whispered.
Kiran looked at me.
"Michael Harper gave it to Thomas shortly before Michael died."
I stared.
"Dad?"
Kiran nodded.
"He told Thomas that if anything happened to him, the watch should be given to Ravi."
Ravi examined it.
The back was engraved with my father's initials.
M.H.
But the watch had stopped.
Its hands pointed to 10:17.
Detective Mitchell studied the mechanism.
Then she noticed a tiny indentation beneath the winding crown.
With permission, a forensic specialist later opened the casing.
Inside was a miniature storage device.
My father's final secret.
The recovered data contained bank records, photographs, and audio files.
One recording was dated the evening before my parents died.
My father's voice filled the room.
"Gabriel, I know what you did to Kiran."
Then another voice answered.
Gabriel Greedy.
"You should have left my family alone, Michael."
My father replied calmly.
"Your family deserves the truth."
A long silence followed.
May you like
Then Gabriel said something that made my blood turn cold.
"If you tell Ravi, your daughters won't live long enough to spend their inheritance."
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