Page 35 of Billion-Dollar Ransom

THE REALITY OF the situation dawned on the children right around lunchtime.

It was easy to pretend that last night was nothing more than a sleepover full of games and food and jokes, followed by a surprise breakfast of cereals that were outright banned in the Schraeder household.

Cal hadn’t known such a thing as Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries existed, let alone the Cap’n Crunch’s Oops! All Berries variation.

But once the sugar high wore off, Cal and Finney began to feel different.

They were wearing the same clothes they had put on for school yesterday.

And now for lunch, they were staring at packaged deli meats, Kraft singles, and white bread, none of which were allowed at home.

According to their father, processed food was poison, Finney said.

Four watched Cal carefully. The boy was struggling to put on a brave face, most likely for his little sister’s benefit. But Four could see his hands trembling as he spread a dollop of mayonnaise on the thin slice of bread in his hand.

Call it Mom Radar. She could always tell when something was off with her own child, and apparently, this skill transferred to other children too. The longer this whole ordeal wore on, the worse things were going to get for these children. And Four wasn’t sure she could bear it.

“How are you doing there, Cal?”

“Fine.”

Cal was absolutely not fine. And he refused to make eye contact.

“Look, I know how strange this all seems. I promise, you and Finney are going to be okay.”

Cal finally looked at Four, and his eyes almost took her breath away. They projected sadness, fear, and anger all at once.

“You don’t know that.”

“I swear on my—” Four caught herself. “I swear nothing will happen to you.”

Finney looked up from her cheese sandwich and watched their exchange intently.

“You can’t swear or promise anything because you’re not in charge,” Cal said. “You’re taking orders from somebody, right? That’s how kidnapping works. But if you are in charge, why don’t you let us go?”

“It’s not as simple as that, Cal.”

“Somebody could just call your cell phone and order you to kill us,” Cal said. “Isn’t that right? You have to do whatever they say.”

“Cal, no .”

“Maybe they already told you to kill us. Maybe there’s poison in the mayonnaise! I notice you and the other guy aren’t eating the same food as us.”

Finney glanced down at her sandwich, studying the bite mark she’d just made.

Four and her husband—who was currently upstairs taking a shower—weren’t eating the same food as the children because neither of them had been able to choke down anything other than black coffee since this whole crazy thing began yesterday.

Probably even before that. Four couldn’t remember her last hot meal.

And yes, Cal was right: Four and Three were ultimately not in charge. Despite the circumstances, though, she’d sworn to do everything in her power to keep these children as safe, comfortable, and mentally healthy as possible.

Four took a clean spoon, dipped it into the mayonnaise jar, widened her eyes playfully, then scooped up a big mouthful and ate it as if it were vanilla ice cream. She almost gagged, and her stomach was already in knots. But the wide-eyed surprise from both kids made it worthwhile.

“See?” Four said after she swallowed. “No poison.”

Finney giggled. Even Cal cracked a smile.

“Cal, honey, I know you’re afraid. You want to know how I know? Because I have a daughter who’s a little older than you, and sometimes she gets afraid too.”

“You do?” Cal asked. “So where is she?”

Leave it to a child to innocently hit the heart of the situation. Yes, Four, where is your daughter? And why aren’t you with her right now, when she needs you the most?

“My daughter is with my baby sister, her aunt,” Four explained, “while her daddy and I are looking after you two goofballs.”

But this last attempt at humor didn’t work. Finney solemnly placed her sandwich back on her plate. “Why does your daughter get afraid?”

“She’s sick a lot,” Four said quietly.

“Sick from what?” Cal said.

From what? Four thought. That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it. If she knew the answer to that question, they might not be sitting here in this strange house with these innocent children.

“Nothing for you to worry about,” Four said, which was the truth in a twisted way. Her family problems were nothing to the Schraeder family. “But can I tell you something? I get scared too.”

Cal looked at Four, truly perplexed. “Why do you get scared? You’re a grown-up.”

“Sometimes it can be very scary to be a grown-up. Because you’re the one in charge, and so many things depend on what you do or don’t… do.”

No. She couldn’t do this. Not in front of these kids, who continued to look at her with wide eyes. She muttered something along the lines of Finish your lunch, rushed into the guest bathroom just off the living room, and closed the door behind her.

Four knew this violated the letter of the plan—and One took his plans very seriously; they were to follow them under pain of death. The children were never to be left alone. But she thought it would have been far worse to openly weep in front of them.