Marry Ex's Billionaire Uncle After Divorce (Aurora and Jasper) novel Chapter 259

Chapter 224: It Will Have to Wait

(Aurora’s POV)

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“He said he was coming home for your wedding,” she said. “He took the day off school. He should have been here hours ago, I called the school and they said he left at six, but he’s not – he hasn’t-”

“Martha.” I was already standing. “What are you saying?”

“I can’t reach him.” Her voice broke. “Aurora, I can’t reach Leo.”

I was already moving toward the door.

Olivia looked up from the couch, startled. “Hey – where are you-”

The music was still playing. The lights were still bright. But I turned back to face her, and whatever she

saw in my expression made her go still.

“Lea’s missing.”

(Aurora’s POV)

Olivia was already on her feet, reaching for her jacket.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No.” I grabbed my bag from the chair. “Go home.”

“Aurora-”

“Olivia.” I stopped and looked at her directly. “Go home. I’ll call you when I know something.”

She searched my face. “The wedding-”

“I don’t know yet.” My head was already spinning. “Just – everything stays as planned for now. I need to figure out what happened to Leo first.”

She let go of my arm. I didn’t wait.

Outside, the night air hit me cold. I pulled up the Uber app and started typing the address with one hand while I dialed Phineas with the other. The phone rang twice before he picked up.

“Leo’s missing,” I said. “Martha can’t reach him. He left school around six and never came home.”

A brief silence. Then: “Where are you now?”

“Getting a car. I’m going to Martha’s.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

He hung up. No questions, no hesitation. I stood on the curb and watched the headlights of passing cars

until mine arrived.

< Chapter 224 It Will Have to Wait

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The apartment looked the same from the outside. Peeling paint on the door frame, the same flickering light in the hallway. But when Martha let me in, she looked nothing like herself.

She was still in her pajamas. One sock was inside out. Her hair was loose and tangled, and she was sitting on the edge of the couch like her legs had simply stopped working. The television was on with the volume

muted.

“He should have been here by four,” she said. Her voice was raw. “I called the school. They said he left at

six. I’ve been calling his phone for hours.”

“Have you tried his friends? Ray?”

“I tried everyone I had numbers for.” She pressed her hands together in her lap. “Aurora, someone took

him.”

I went still. “What do you mean, someone took him?”

She picked up her phone from the cushion beside her and held it out. Her hand was shaking.

I took it.

The message was short. Blunt. One million dollars. A set of instructions. A deadline. The number was

blocked.

I read it twice. Something cold moved through me – not panic, but a specific, focused unease. The timing.

The amount. The way it was worded.

This wasn’t random.

I didn’t say that out loud. Not yet. I handed the phone back and went to check Leo’s room. His laptop was still on his desk. His charger was still plugged into the wall. I tried calling his number from my own phone. It went straight to voicemail – not ringing, just dead.

I was still standing in the doorway when I heard the front door.

Phineas.

He came in without ceremony, looked at Martha once, then at me. I gave him a short account – the timeline, the message, the blocked number. He listened without interrupting. When I finished, he was quiet

for a moment.

Then he said, “The night before our wedding. That’s not a coincidence.”

Martha looked up sharply.

“We’re calling the police,” he said.

“No.” Martha was on her feet instantly. “No police. The message said-”

“The message said a lot of things.” His voice was even. “Mrs. Higgins. Your son has been missing for hours. You received a ransom demand. And your first instinct was not to call the police.” He paused. “Do

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<Chapter 224 It Will Have to Wait

you actually believe he’s safe right now?”

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Martha’s mouth opened and closed. Then her face crumpled, and she pressed both hands over her mouth, her shoulders shaking. “He’s my son,” she managed. “I would never – how could you even suggest-”

My head was pounding.

“We’re calling the police,” I said.

Both of them looked at me.

“Martha, listen to me.” I kept my voice steady. “Even if we pay the full amount, there is no guarantee they’ll

let him go. None. The only real protection Leo has right now is law enforcement involvement. That’s it.

That’s the only thing that actually matters.”

She was still crying, but quietly now. The fight had gone out of her.

“Fine,” she said at last. “Fine.”

Phineas was already on his phone.

The next two hours moved fast. The police arrived, took statements, and swept the apartment. They

installed monitoring equipment on Martha’s phone, set up a trace on the blocked number, and put a GPS

tracker on her car. Phineas arranged for the cash – one million dollars, assembled with a speed that told

me he’d made this kind of call before, under different circumstances.

When it was done, I walked to the window. The street below was quiet. A single streetlamp threw a circle

of yellow light on the pavement.

I heard Phineas come up behind me.

5

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