The phone was wrenched from her grip without warning.The boy coughed,attempting to make his voice sound older.

“Pay me one million dollars by next week or else your mother dies. Don’t contact the police,if you do,she might not die,but I’ll send you a part of her as a warning.I’ll call again with instructions as to where to leave the money.”

The boy slammed the receiver down.He looked over at Mrs. Robbin,and for a moment,she thought she saw pity in his eyes.

Mrs. Robbin by now,had lost all hope. Her son would never give up a million dollars for his mother.He was a cold-hearted businessman.She considered committing suicide just so that she could die not knowing for certain that her son loved money more than he loved her.If only her daughter had been alive.

“Look,if you want to live,you’ll be quiet and come with me to my van.”

Mrs.Robbin got into the van without a fight.The boy tied a blindfold around her eyes and they drove for four hours.They stopped,and the boy took off Mrs.Robbin’s blindfold.