“Oh, this is a bit of a surprise!” Pippa declares with the understatement of the century as she slides into the car. “So, we’re all, like, working together now? Mr. Donald is working with us?”

“I don’t know who is working with who anymore,” I growl back. “We just need to rescue Savannah.”

“Why? Where is Savannah? Why isn’t she here with us?” Pippa is on high alert and rightly so.

“Bryan rang up Mr. Donald earlier and he actually has her. So that’s why all of this is going on.”

“Holy fuck. So, where is she? Where are we going? We have a plan, right?” I’m silent for far too long. “Oh, my goodness, we don’t have a plan. This is crazy. Do we have any idea where she is?” Pippa’s cell phone starts ringing and she grabs at it quickly. “Oh, shit. It’s Bryan. It’s almost like he knows that I’m with you.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. That asshole obviously found Savannah somehow. He’s been tailing us, I’m sure.”

“Okay, so what the hell do I do? Should I answer it? Do we play right into his hands here?”

I glance at Tommy who offers me a helpless shrug. None of us know what to do for the best. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I don’t want to give him any satisfaction but we need to find out where she is somehow.”

“H… hello?” Pippa’s anxiety shines through as she answers the phone. “What’s going on, Bryan?” There’s a long pause where it seems to me that she’s getting some instructions. I pull the car over to the side of the road and turn while I wait to see what’s going on. Pippa looks absolutely petrified. “Yep, uhuh. Right, I see.”

“What is he saying?” I hiss at her. I know it’s unhelpful but I can’t help myself. “What’s going on?”

She holds up a finger to stop me from interrupting but with my heart hammering in my ears it’s difficult for me to reign myself in. “Yes, Bryan… but what…? What do you…? Yes, okay, whatever. Right. Bye.”

She sighs and looks incredibly resigned as she hangs up the phone. I have to really control myself so I don’t demand the information while she does her best to process it. The sheer anguish is evident in her face.

“What did he say?” Thankfully, Tommy jumps in for me. “Did he give you something to do?”

“He said that we need to go to the business park near the giant supermarket on the outskirts. But I don’t know, it was weird. I felt like he was lying. Knowing Bryan, this is all just a game.”

I flick the key and bring the car to life. “We don’t have any other options, do we? We can’t just leave Savannah where she is to rot. We’re going to have to save her one way or another and this is all we have.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to blindly follow his instructions…”

“With all due respect, Mr. Donald,” I interrupt him. “I don’t think you are the best person to listen to when it comes to dealing with Bryan, do you? Since your poor decisions have put us in this mess in the first place.” He shuts up rapidly. “Now, Pippa, do you know where we’re going? Because I have no idea.”

“Yep, sure. I know. I’ll guide you along the way. You need to start by taking a left at the end of this road…”

The only talking done on the rest of the drive is Pippa’s instructions. Tommy appears pensive, like he’s trying to crack the code of the mystery here, and Mr. Donald looks pale and sickly. Good. I hope my words have gotten through to him. I want him to think about the sheer mess that he’s created for his family.

“Okay, this is the business park.” Pippa’s voice quietens to a whisper as we drive through. “It’s pretty eerie now, but it’s always full throughout the day. I can’t imagine that Bryan is doing anything here. He won’t want to be seen. That’s why I think this is just a game. I know what an asshole he is, he’s…” This time it’s Mr. Donald’s phone that rings out. “See what I mean? This is him now, I guarantee it. Yep, that’s his number there.”

“Put it on speaker phone,” I demand. “I won’t say anything I just want to hear him.”

Mr. Donald does as I command and soon Bryan’s sniveling evil voice rings out. “I see you’ve done as I command. Very good, that means you’re listening and learning too. That bodes well for the future…”

“Where is Savannah? You can’t keep her from me forever, I’m her father…”

“Ah, ah, ah! It’s that sort of chat back that created this drama in the first place, isn’t it?” Mr. Donald is silent. “Right, good. I wanted you to come here just so you can see how far my spies spread out. I have quite a serious operation on the go now, thanks to the money you have kindly… donated to me and the cause.” He laughs out a nasty, bitter sound. “That’s why the money can’t stop coming. I can’t lose my control now, can I?”

“What do you want me to do, Bryan? You have absolutely rinsed my company for everything it’s worth.”

“The problem with you is that you cannot see the bigger picture here. What started as a small lie, a little fiddle with the numbers to keep your company afloat, has spread into a web of lies, hasn’t it? If everything you have done gets out now, your company will collapse and everyone will lose out.”

Mr. Donald’s face hardens. “I will not steal the pensions of everyone in the company, I can’t do that…”

“If you don’t, they get nothing anyway. So, who is really losing out? There’s no win here for you.”

“Bryan, I have let you destroy my life. I won’t let you ruin others.”

“So, you’re happy for me to kill your daughter then? That’s what you want? Your grandson too?”

“I don’t want anyone to die.”

“Then maybe you should go to your office. Work out what’s best for you.”

With that, the call ends rapidly, leaving all of us in disbelief. “He’s a psycho,” Pippa cries out. “This is ridiculous, what the hell do we do now? Do you think it might be time to get the police on side?”

“No, the police can’t be trusted, I don’t think. Not after what Savannah said…”

“Did no one hear him?” Mr. Donald interjects. “We need to get to my office to see what he’s done.”

“We can’t keep driving around the city on Bryan’s orders. We’ll end up nowhere. We need a plan…”

“No, trust me, this is what we need to do. Bryan wants me to be punished. This is all a sick sense of justice for him. He wants me to know that I shouldn’t have gone against him. We need to do what he says.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Donald…”

“No, you aren’t listening to me. This is what it’s about. This is what has to happen. This is the only way to save Savannah and Peter. Trust me, I don’t like it any more than you do, but this is necessary.”

I consider arguing with him for longer, but to be honest I think he might be right. I put the car in gear and do as he asks. I take his directions and drive all the way to his office, wondering what the hell we’ll find. Certainly not Savannah, not at this point. Pippa is right, this is just a small part of a game. Bryan is playing with us. He will toy with us for as long as he wants and until we have anything else, we’re just going to be pawns…

“Oh my God.” I’m gobsmacked. I wasn’t expecting this at all. “He’s destroyed it.”

I turn back, half expecting to see Mr. Donald falling apart. Clearly, this business has been important to him, he’s done what he can to fight for it, things that no one else would even consider, but actually he looks determined. Maybe he’s been fighting for it for so long that it’s actually quite nice to let it go a bit.

His building is destroyed, the windows have been blown out and there is technical equipment everywhere. A group of cops stand around it, but they don’t seem to be doing too much. Further proof that they cannot be trusted.

“Okay, so lesson learned, Bryan. Why isn’t he calling us to give us the next steps?”

“Maybe he wants us to call him?” Tommy suggests. “Do you think that could be possible?”

“Oh, fuck knows.” Pippa shakes her head in shock. “I’ll do it though. Screw it.” She presses her phone up to her ear and starts barking out the moment Bryan picks up the phone. “Bryan, point proven. Mr. Donald has nothing now, the business is up in flames, we get it, so what the fuck do you want us to do next?” She drags her eyes upwards and slowly hands the phone to me. “He says that he wants to talk to you.”

“Me? How does he even know me?” I take the phone. “Oh, stupid question. He’s watching us.”

I put the phone up to my ear to immediately hear him. “So, you are the one fucking my wife, huh?”

I choose to ignore his question. “Where is Savannah? What have you done with her, you monster?”

He laughs loudly. “Oh, I’m the monster? You are the one getting involved with another man’s marriage.”

“One that you don’t even really want. Not for Savannah anyway, just for her money, am I right?”

“Don’t start talking shit about something you don’t understand.”

“Don’t be a coward and keep Savannah and Peter away from us. You should face us.”

“You think I’m scared?” he sneers. “I’m not scared of you at all. I just need you to see…”

“See what? Some fucked up game that you’ve created? Well, we aren’t playing anymore. It’s bullshit.”

“You don’t have any choice if you want to see your lover alive again. Not that I should let her live for you.”

“If you have a problem with me then you should take it up with me.”

“I have a problem with all of you, I want you all to be punished for what you’ve done.”

“Okay, and you don’t deserve any punishment for what you’ve done then?”

“This isn’t anything to do with me. Don’t try and get into my brain. Now, the next thing I want you to do is meet me in the ice cream factory around the back of the school building. You think you can do that?”

“I’m not going anywhere now until you reveal where Savannah really is.”

“How do you know that isn’t where she really is?” I’m silent because I don’t know how to answer him. “Exactly, so you will go there and maybe I will meet you there. Maybe not.”

He hangs up which causes a string of expletives to fly out of my mouth. I try to call him back a couple of times but he keeps cutting me off. This is sick and wasted, I hate every second of it. Most of all I hate that I have no control. With Savannah and Peter under his control, every damn ball is in his court. I don’t know how to play it.

“What now?” Tommy asks me curiously. “Are we going to go to wherever he said next?”

“Yeah,” I sigh wearily. “I guess so. So help me God, Savannah better be there this time…”

“Don’t get too wound up, Jayden, or you’ll be dangerous. We need to be calm.”

Calm? I don’t think that’s possible. I’m too fucking fuming…