Impulse (Billionaire Secrets 5)

Jake sped up the footage, going through video of Onslow storming out of the ballroom, marching through the hotel lobby and then outside.

“Wait... Onslow left the hotel?” She frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“Can’t say for certain,” Jake replied. “He walks out of the hotel, down the sidewalk, and then out of range of the hotel surveillance cameras. There aren’t any more cameras in the surrounding area, so that seems to be the last time he shows up on camera.”

“So, whoever took him was outside the hotel?” Simon demanded.

“That means the kidnappers never even got into the hotel to take him,” she said. “You were right, Jake, nobody could have gotten in with all the security, but Onslow could definitely get out.”

“That doesn’t explain how they managed to broadcast their message in the ballroom,” Jake said. “And they still managed to get Simon’s father outside the hotel.”

“But why would Onslow leave?” she asked. “I know he was angry, but angry enough to just leave like that? After everything he did to get invited? That doesn’t make sense.”

“It makes sense if you consider things from a different angle,” Jake murmured.

His tone unsettled her. Whatever theory he had in mind, Heather had a feeling she wasn’t going to like it one bit. “What other angle were you thinking of?”

“What if whoever took Onslow was supposed to be there?” Jake wondered out loud. “Think about it: if there was something suspicious going on right outside the hotel, someone would have noticed. But all we seem to have is Simon’s father leaving and a threatening video. He might have left the hotel to meet someone. What if Simon’s father trusted the people who took him?”

“Who would Onslow trust?” she asked. “It would have to be someone who belonged at the dinner.”

“Most of the people who belonged at the dinner were Dover employees,” Simon said in a hollow voice.

She gasped, the idea too horrible to contemplate. “You don’t really think that a Dover employee could do something like this, do you?”

“It doesn’t have to be a Dover employee,” Simon said. “It could have been someone who belonged there at the time. Hotel staff. The documentary producer.”

“I know you s

uspect the producer of sending those awful comments on social media, but kidnapping seems crazy,” she said.

“A stunt like that could boost ratings,” Jake said.

“I can’t imagine them risking prison for better ratings,” she said.

“People have risked prison for a lot less,” Jake said. “But I see your point.”

“So, who do you think it is?” she asked.

“My money is one someone connected to Dover,” Jake said. “They would have had the opportunity and, with the ransom call, the financial motive seems obvious.”

Months ago she wouldn’t have believed that someone at Dover could be capable of a crime like this. But after Everett Eastman had framed her for a security breach, Heather knew that anything was possible. She wished she hadn’t become so jaded. Time with her ex-husband’s bad behavior and Everett’s criminality had only made her more suspicious. Which was why she had given Onslow such a hard time. A choice she now regretted with all her heart. If only she had been kinder to Onslow. More understanding. He had tried to make amends with his son, and she hadn’t given him enough credit for it.

She might have become more suspicious lately, but that wasn’t an excuse to take it out on Simon’s father. When they got him back safely—and they would—she was going to apologize to him.

“We’ve seen tonight’s footage,” Simon said. “I’m guessing getting the money in cash is the next step.”

Jake nodded. “Dover’s security team will go over footage from the past week to look for any suspicious activity at the hotel. I’ll make a brief statement to the police, and your lawyer can do the same on your behalf.”

“I can make a statement to the media, asking for privacy while we deal with this,” Heather suggested.

“Thank you, Heather,” Simon said gratefully.

“In the meantime, even though security at Dover’s offices will be beefed up, I don’t think either of you should go back to Dover headquarters until we get Simon’s dad back,” Jake said in a no-nonsense tone that quelled any argument she might have had.

“I don’t like the idea of staying away,” Simon muttered. “It makes us look like we’re too scared to show our faces.”

“Sir—”