As Dan and Amy boarded the plane back to Massachusetts, they had already said their goodbyes to Alistair Oh. They thought of going back to normal life. "Back to school," Amy said. The Cahill clue hunt was over. Even though they were going back to the US, they knew that the Cahill business wasn't over. A rival family, the Vespers, have been trying to steal the serum and the ancient ring for centuries. The Vespers had been spying on Dan and Amy from the start. Amy and Dan knew that Cassandra Prince was Vesper Six. But what they didn't know was that a Vesper spy was sitting behind them. Samuel Gunter was his alias. His hat had a camera that sent video data to Vesper strongholds. Dan and Amy were being spied on. Yet the Vespers didn't know where the ring was. It was hidden in plain sight. But Samuel Gunter didn't know that he was right behind the ring holder.
"I think we are being followed," Dan said. "The Vespers could be spying on us right now so be careful about what you say." Amy looked at Dan then whispered, "Okay." Dan looked out the window of the airplane. The ocean. Dan had said that every day in the clue hunt, he had seen the ocean. Then Dan asked Amy too loud, "Are you gonna wear the watch with the ring in it?"
Samuel Gunter's eyes widened. "I have located the ring. Time for sabotage."

Sabotage had indeed begun. At that moment, when Samuel Gunter spoke those three words, the kidnappings of seven people around the world had happened. And not a coincidence, all seven were Cahills. Amy and Dan had realized even before she remembered that Nellie always answers her calls, that they knew she was kidnapped. Or worse. Dead. They hoped for the best, because Nellie was starting to feel like family. When Dan and Amy were walking home, three thugs walked up to them and looked at Amy. "Give us the ring," the trio said. "Run," Dan whispered. Dan and Amy ran as fast as they could. Dan threw a bucket at one of the thugs, but not before the thug jumped on him and put something weird on Dan's face. Dan had fainted.

Now Amy was MAD. She jumped up and threw the bucket at a thug. Down. One to go. Then she saw Dan. "Dan," she mumbled. She ran up to Dan. "You OK?" she asked. Dan didn't answer. She picked him up and brought him home. When they got there, Evan Tolliver was already outside. "Why didn't you ride the bus?" he asked. Amy just looked at him. Evan never understood her. Evan saw Dan. "Oh," he whispered. Amy walked into the house and saw William Mcintrye. He did not look happy.

"Seven Cahills are missing," said McIntyre. "Seven!" Amy and Dan both suddenly had a sick feeling to the stomach, as they had just thought about Nellie. "What can we do?" asked Amy. No one answered. Amy had really wished she was a normal girl. She would have never been involved in this. The two have literally had dead bodies upon them. They never had shown any fear after the Clue Hunt. But now they seemed horrified by the thought that Nellie was kidnapped. They were going to succeed, or fail. "...We are lucky to have Ted escape," continued McIntyre. All Dan was thinking was the safety of those seven Cahills. He thought of all the possible culprits, and was scared to think that the Vespers had been behind this. The Vespers meant business. The would kill whoever got in their way, so the Cahills had to be careful around them. The rest of what McIntyre said faded away into a blur. Next moment, Dan and Amy were outside, and a waterproof phone was lying on the ground, as it had just been placed there a moment ago. It was an unfamiliar looking smartphone. Dan picked it up. He dropped it in panic. It showed a picture of all the Cahills that were reported missing. Everyone in the photo had seemed unharmed, as that was something good to know. At that moment, the phone buzzed. It had received a text message.

Good to know that everyone is ok? Ensure it stays that way. Find the treasures we ask, and your friends will stay alive. If you don't listen, they will die. -V1

Amy had confirmed: this was the Vespers' doing. That made everything worse now.