Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 152

Since Miss Vivian had called for emergency services after the crash, it meant the situation with Mr Devreaux and Gabriel couldn’t be kept under wraps. The accident was also classified as intentional — surveillance footage proved as much. The driver of the SUV hadn’t survived, but was a known felon with a history of petty crimes. Someone had either threatened or paid the man to cause the accident that ended his life on impact.

*What an idiot*. Gilbert couldn’t understand why anyone would be so stupid with their life.

Mr Montague would need to speak with each Devreaux sibling at length before allowing the police to ask their own questions. It was imperative they all knew what information could be shared, and what needed to be left unsaid. It was probable the accident had been caused by one of Mr Devreaux’s enemies, tying him to organized crime, and saying the wrong thing would give the police cause to arrest him — once he was brought home.

There was some debate on if they should reveal what happened with Ms Everett at the Lamont Estate. If there was any way it could be leveraged against Mr Devreaux it had to be avoided; however, if they spun it so Patricia Lamont was the perpetrator it was possible to avoid a deeper investigation. The woman was unbalanced, and much of what she told the police could be explained away as the ramblings of someone in mental distress.

This was the plan, until the ransom demand came in.

It came in through an email to Mr Montague not long after Miss Vivian arrived at the hospital, but before he’d been able to finish his chat the youngest son. The look on the lawyer’s face was grim as he forwarded it to Gilbert.

The text was short and to the point, but it was the video that mattered the most. It was barely fifteen seconds long and showed them Mr Devreaux and Gabriel were still alive, though not in the best of states. There was some background noise in the video, but nothing stood out that might point towards who had them, or where they were being held.

Gilbert could feel the muscles in his neck growing taunt as he read the email and watched the video, fingers tightening on the device in his hand. The police couldn’t be told about this; they’d only get in the way.

“What is it,” Laurent asked, giving the two men a questioning look.

“It’s proof of life and a ransom demand,” Mr Montague explained after giving Gilbert a quick glance. “For your father and brother.”

“Are they alright? What are they asking for? How much?”

“That’s… the problem,” the lawyer hedged, looking uncomfortable as he took out his handkerchief and dabbed at the sweat on his neck. “What they want… isn’t something your father can afford.”

Laurent let out a snort. “That’s hard to believe. Is it some kind of rare painting or… I don’t know, jewel? Artifact?”

This wasn’t something to discuss with the youngest son, Gilbert decided. It wasn’t his decision to make. There was only one person who could, and he was one of the hostages. Sebastian was, technically, in charge now that he was awake but, with his injuries and the drugs they were using to manage his pain, any decision he made could come into question later.

What choice did Gilbert have? Without Mr Devreaux or Gabriel, it fell to the only son currently in the Business to take up the mantle — for now — no matter his condition.

“Excuse me,” Gilbert said, having made up his mind. With a nod to both Laurent and Mr Montague, he left the room they’d commandeered for their chat. His mind was racing as he walked back to where the two guards were posted. He didn’t acknowledge them as he knocked on the door, waited a second, then entered.

“Gilbert,” Sebastian greeted him, voice low but clear.

Gilbert’s eyes swept the room out of habit, before settling on his employer’s son and frowned. The young miss had squeezed onto the bed with her brother, and had apparently fallen asleep, tucked under his arm. Her head was even using his chest as a pillow. Thankfully, it was on the side that hadn’t suffered much damage. It was impressive how she was able to sleep just about anywhere. “She didn’t sleep well last night,” he said after taking in the scene.

Sebastian’s hand rubbed Miss Vivian’s arm in a comforting way, as Gilbert came to stand next to the bed. “I’m not surprised,” the injured man replied. “Ever since Saturday, after we’ve all gone to bed, she’s been sneaking down to the living room to sleep. Puts the TV on low and everything. It’s like she needs some kind of noise or whatever to sleep. Dad’s not happy about it, but she acts like it’s normal, so he leaves it alone. For now.”

The young miss had tossed and turned in her sleep a fair bit, Gilbert remembered. His place was always quiet, and he didn’t own a television, so she had no way to drown out whatever was going on in her mind. It had been noticeable that she hadn’t rested well, but he’d attributed it to the events of the day, not something on going.

This topic wasn’t one Gilbert wanted to continue discussing, especially when he’d come with a specific purpose in mind. “We received a ransom demand.”

The hand on the young miss’ arm paused, then began moving again after a second. “What do they want?”

“…it’s not what. It’s who,” Gilbert explained, his eyes moving from the man to the sleeping girl. “And they are adamant; there will be no negotiating. Her for them, or they die. We have until noon to respond.”

Some of the machines reading Sebastian’s vitals began to change in rhythm as the man tensed from this new information. “Not happening,” he snapped without hesitation. “Not only would Dad kill us if we agreed to it, I’d help him.”

They’d been keeping their voices low, so as not to wake the girl, but the tone of their conversation must have reached her in sleep; she began to stir.

“Shhh,” Sebastian whispered to his sister, voice coaxing. “Go back to sleep. Everything’s fine.”

Miss Vivian mumbled a little but settled back down as her brother continued stroking her arm.

“Any way of tracing who sent the demand?” Sebastian asked, once he was certain sleep had taken the girl again.

“No. I had Joel look into it and, to summarize his words, it’s a dead end.”

“Who the hell is so obsessed with getting their hands on Vivian? I don’t get it,” the man practically growled in frustration. “Auntie Pat wouldn’t be able to pull this off; she’d never stoop so low as to take Dad and Gabriel like this, even if she was paying someone to do the dirty work. Dad’s enemies wouldn’t be so focused on Vivian, not like this. It’s not their M.O., and going for family without just cause…?” There was a lengthy pause before Sebastian continued. “…unless it’s the Russians. But, they would have contacted us, or someone we know, before taking this kind of drastic action. As far as they know, that idiot Sokolov is still living life as he pleases.”

Gilbert gave a slow nod, understanding how frustrating the situation had become. They didn’t have enough information to go after any specific person, and doing so without just cause would start a war; Mr Devreaux always tried to avoid causing harm to innocent bystanders, and a war would make that impossible. “So, what do you want to do?”

For a minute, Sebastian watched his sister sleep before letting out a sigh. “I don’t know… I don’t want… I don’t want to lose Dad or Gabe, but I won’t hand her over to these people, either.”