When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 358

Neither Joseph nor Emily spoke for several minutes after the previous recording ended.

The silence inside the room felt heavy and suffocating. Years of questions were beginning to receive answers. Unfortunately, every answer seemed to create another wound.

Joseph leaned back against the sofa. His mind kept replaying Mike Richardson's words.

"If Ethan won't give it to us willingly, we'll make him."

The sentence refused to leave him. Because now he knew exactly what Mike had meant.

Emily quietly reached for the laptop, her movements were calm and careful as if she had already relived these moments too many times. "There is more."

Joseph looked at her. Then nodded.

He wasn't sure he wanted to see more. But he knew he had to.

Emily opened another folder. A different date appeared. It was a later date. The day everything changed.

For a brief moment, Emily's fingers hovered above the touchpad, then she pressed play.

The recording began.

At first, the image was unstable, then the camera moved constantly, but the quality wasn't perfect, because the angle was awkward.

Joseph frowned, then remembered the pendant. This footage wasn't recorded by a security camera but it was recorded by the small camera hidden inside young Cassienne's pendant.

Gradually, the image slowly stabilized.

Music played in the background.

Children laughed.

Adults chatted.

Balloons decorated the large hall.

It was a birthday party.

Joseph immediately felt his chest tighten. This was Cassienne's birthday, meaning that it was the day that everything fell apart.

The camera moved again. A young Cassienne appeared briefly in the reflection of a glass door. Her smile was bright. It was carefree and innocent.

Joseph felt something twist painfully inside him. She had absolutely no idea of anything. None of them did.

The recording continued. Several familiar faces appeared throughout the footage. There are employees, friends, family members, people who had gathered simply to celebrate a little girl's birthday.

Then everything changed as the image suddenly jerked. Voices became louder, confused, and alarmed.

Someone shouted, and another person screamed.

The pendant camera swung wildly as little Cassienne was lifted into someone's arms.

The recording became chaotic.

Joseph leaned forward, his heart pounded. The footage was difficult to follow.

People were running, and shouting. They were trying to understand what was happening.

Then the image briefly caught several men.

Strangers. Their faces partially covered. They looked armed. Moving quickly.

Even through the poor recording quality, it was obvious that these were the kidnappers.

The image cut briefly. Then resumed. Now the surroundings have changed.

The recording was darker now, and the movement was rough. It was unsteady. The children had already been taken.

Joseph noticed another small figure nearby, it was young Dreston. The realization made him feel sick.

Both children. Both families, caught inside a nightmare they didn't understand.

The footage continued as minutes passed. Then something important happened. The pendant camera captured a familiar voice.

The voice of James Freshman.

Joseph immediately sat straighter. The image shifted toward a group of men standing near several vehicles. The quality wasn't great, but the audio remained surprisingly clear.

James sounded furious. "This wasn't the agreement."

The words came sharply, immediately.

Joseph exchanged a glance with Emily, but neither spoke.

They continued watching.

One of the kidnappers laughed. The sound carried through the recording. Then another voice answered, a deeper voice, probably the leader. "The instructions changed."

The sentence echoed through the room. Joseph felt a chill.

Even now, even after all these years, the meaning was obvious.

Mike Richardson had altered the deal exactly as they suspected.

James stepped forward. "You said we were only taking Ethan and his family."

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