Chapter 16 Elysia’s brow furrowed as she thought of the fifty million hanging over her head. She didn’t want her three kids to worry, so she fibbed, ‘No, sweethearts, it’s all water under the bridge now. You kids keep playing, mommy’s just going to pop to the restroom.” After she’d excused herself, the trio huddled in the bedroom for a clandestine meeting. Elliot spoke up, “It’s not as simple as Mom’s making it out to be. Something’s still up, or they wouldn’t have locked her up.” Evan clenched his little fists, his face a picture of determination, “They think it’s over? Well, I beg to differ! Are we just going to let those bullies push our beloved Mommy around? No. way! You and Emmett keep her company, and I’m going to sort them out. They need to learn there are consequences for messing with our mom!” Evan was all set to take action, but Elliot stepped in front of him, “Not this time. I’ll handle it.” “You? But they’ve got bodyguards, and I’m worried you can’t take them on.” Evan said. Elliot squinted his eyes and put on a serious look on his young face as he stared at his little; tablet, “Mom said we live in a society ruled by laws. We need to play by the rules and find a legal way to make them pay.” While the trio were discussing, Elysia was oblivious to the kids‘ plotting revenge on Tarquin. That night, she lay awake, haunted by the fifty million albatross around her neck. She couldn’t cough up that kind of cash even if they took her life! And the man’s face kept coming back to her, which made her blood boil- he bore such a striking resemblance to Elliot and Evan. That meant it’s highly possible that he was the mysterious man from that fateful day. The thought filled her with such rage she could strangle him! But without absolute certainty, she was at a loss for what to do. After a sleepless night, Elysia finally came up with a plan by dawn. She couldn’t pay the fifty million, not now. And with the risk of that wild man snatching her kids, she decided to expedite the divorce from Tarquin and get out of Dodge. So, Elysia got up, freshened up, left a note instructing the kids to stay indoors, and left the house. She hailed a cab straight to Tarquin’s place to confront him and demand a divorce. At the same time, Tarquin’s world was in disarray. He received startling news early in the morning. The prime real estate he’d been eyeing had been bought out overnight by an anonymous high bidder, the parcels of land he coveted had been snatched up while he wasn’t looking…. 18:50 And the lucrative deals he was about to close? They were all intercepted by an unseen competitor. Preliminary estimates put the Bradford Group’s losses in the billions. But Tarquin wasn’t fazed by the loss of money; what irked him was the clear indication that someone was targeting him! He’d been a titan of industry for years, a name that echoed with authority. No one would dare to raise his voice in front of him, not to mention provocation. Bud now… And to make matters worse, even his top–notch hackers couldn’t trace the culprit. Enraged and without an outlet, Tarquin’s bad mood cast a dark cloud over the entire Bradford Group. Lowell was run ragged, his phone ringing off the hook. Just as they were grappling with the chaos, the Bradford Group’s computers crashed, leaving employees idle and confused. “Are the tech guys good for nothing?!” Tarquin roared in frustration. Lowell, sweating bullets, prodded the tech department relentlessly. The tech team was on the brink of tears; they were competent, but today they had met their match. “Okay, okay, power–on!” After much ado, the computers finally booted up, and the techs breathed a h of relief. But as the screens flickered on, everyone’s jaws dropped.