Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1354

Bella hadn't just partied her way through a top-tier Ivy League education. She had actually learned highly technical skills. She knew exactly how to scrub digital footprints and erase her presence from a crime scene.

She could have handled the hacking herself—temporarily blinding the city's camera grid wasn't beyond her capabilities.

But tonight, she needed to be in the field, managing the physical interception. If her hired hacker screwed up, she needed to be available to step in and fix the code.

Since she couldn't be in two places at once, she had to pay someone else to crash the servers.

What Bella didn't realize was that she wasn't the only one watching this route tonight.

Marcus Parker was personally overseeing the exact same operation.

Lillian's career was skyrocketing, and she and Marcus had a solid, mutually beneficial dynamic. Lillian always played by the rules and never shortchanged him, regardless of their friendship.

Because of that, Marcus was always happy to handle her off-the-books requests. With his extensive network and crew, he had far more manpower to deploy than Bella ever could.

The clock ticked closer to 11:00 PM.

At his secluded suburban estate, Sebastian left early, heading straight for the main Blake family manor.

Even though he was the one footing the ransom, Debbie was going to be delivered directly to the manor and handed over to Old Mr. Blake.

Inside the sprawling estate, his parents were still awake, waiting for the final drop.

Sebastian noticed two unfamiliar SUVs parked in the courtyard.

It wasn't that the older couple lacked the resources or the ruthlessness to make someone disappear. But did it really need to go that far? They had swallowed their disgust and tolerated that vile woman for decades.

Yet here was her own biological son, proving to be the one who finally couldn't stomach her existence anymore.

"Sebastian," Old Mrs. Blake said softly. "Life is long. When you sit at the top, countless eyes are watching you, waiting for a mistake. Do you know how you ensure you never lose your seat?"

Sebastian looked at his mother, momentarily thrown off. Weren't they discussing Debbie? Why the sudden philosophical lecture on power?

Old Mr. Blake had also caught Sebastian's underlying implication, but since his wife had spoken, he remained silent.

"What exactly do you mean?" Sebastian asked cautiously.