Thank you so much for all the reviews – I was absolutely terrified of reading them but I'm glad I did. I really appreciate all the comments. Everyone in work must have wondered why I was walking around with such a big smile on my face – not usual behaviour for me on a Monday morning!

Chapter Two

Six weeks earlier

Lena Redman hated her job. She hated her colleagues, her office, her desk, her chair, her employer, the coffee in the machine, the view from the window... everything. Most of all, of course, she hated her salary, which, though generous compared with similar companies, simply wasn't enough to give her the lifestyle she craved. Things had only got worse since she'd met and married Dan. Now, faced with the reality of a life of debt, she was desperate. It hadn't helped that today, working on Tracy Industries' accounts, she had discovered that Jeff Tracy had finally made the leap from multi-millionaire to billionaire. It just wasn't fair. On the dot of five she left her office and began the slow journey home through the rush hour traffic. At least Dan would be waiting to take her mind off things for a while.

As her car crawled along she thought bitterly about Jeff Tracy. Not that she'd ever really met him. She was just one of several unimportant junior accountants toiling away on one of the lower levels of Tracy Towers. But she'd once got into a lift with him. The executive lift had broken down and he'd had to travel with the ordinary people. It was her big chance and she'd treated him to her brightest smile, glad she'd worn one of her shorter skirts that day. He hadn't even noticed her, of course, another reason to hate him. She was an attractive woman and he hadn't even looked at her. The romantic fantasies she'd entertained since starting her job a few months previously faded away. It was true what they said – the man still mourned his wife. The only passions he had now were his business and his family.

His family... five boys, the eldest just sixteen. They'd never want for anything she thought resentfully. No second-hand car and cramped apartment for them. No window shopping in the best stores of New York for the Tracy boys, longing for all the things they couldn't have. No, just daddy's credit card and a life of luxury. It really wasn't fair.

Her frustration continued throughout the evening, especially when she opened her own credit card statement and saw just how much Dan had spent the previous month. They'd never be able to pay this off. If she didn't love him so much she'd have challenged him, but why shouldn't he have what he wanted? Why shouldn't she?

"It's not fair, you know," she said suddenly, startling her husband who was on the verge of falling asleep.

"What?" he asked. As far as he was concerned, life was just fine. Lena was a beautiful woman who was willing to support him whilst he played drums with his band at night and slept during the day. He'd never been the nine to five type and whilst he didn't expect this marriage to last forever, he was enjoying being a kept man for a while. One day the band would get a break or he'd find a rich woman to take him on, but in the meantime he was happy.

"Jeff Tracy's a billionaire. A billionaire, Dan! How is that fair? How can one person be allowed to have all that money? Why can't we have some? I work all day for him and for what? To make him even richer!"

"What did you have in mind?" He rolled over and ran his hand along her thigh. "Steal his car? Hack into his bank account? Kidnap one of his sons? How much do you think we'd get? A million? Ten? Twenty?" He laughed, waiting for her to respond to his touch. Instead she pushed him away and sat up, her eyes shining.

"Why not?"

"Okay. What car's he got?"

"Not his car. Why not take one of his sons? He'd pay to get them back. Everyone knows they're all he's got. He'd never put money before them."

Lena's idea didn't shock him. He'd done plenty of shady things for money before, even ending up in prison for six months after a series of robberies. But kidnapping – that was something else.

"Oh, come on, Lena. Even if I took you seriously, it would be impossible to get one of those kids. They don't even live in the city. Yes, Tracy's loaded, but that means he'll be able to move heaven and earth to get his kid back and find out who did it."

Not if we're careful. I've had it with this life, Dan. Come on, we'll get away, make a new start. I can make sure they'll never trace the money. Tracy won't even miss a few million. What do you say? The kid will get over it. Let's do it."

"I'll think about it." Dan actually liked the idea. A bit of excitement with a cash reward at the end of it was just his kind of thing.

And so the planning began. Suddenly Lena found that she enjoyed going to work. Listening to the conversations and gossip of those around her she began to build up a picture of the Tracy family and their movements. Dan's big concern was location. The boys still lived in their father's old home town in Kansas. What they needed, he said, was to get one of the boys when they came to New York. But such visits were rare and there was unlikely to be an opportunity to snatch one of the boys under the watchful eye of their father. Then of course there was the next big question – which one? Not the eldest, they agreed. He was sixteen, tall and strong like his father. He'd put up too much of a fight. Not the youngest two either. The last thing they wanted was to have to deal with a whining child. That just left the second eldest and the middle child. Either would do.

August 1st

Lena looked at her watch. Time for a break. She'd arranged to meet her new friend for coffee. Laura Wells was young and naive and thrilled to have her first job working for the famous Jeff Tracy. Lena had latched onto her when she discovered that she worked in Tracy's outer office supporting Peggy Sullivan, Tracy's formidable PA. Laura was ideally placed to find out what was going on with the Tracy family, but Lena knew she had to tread carefully. Laura wasn't the type to get involved in anything like this. No, she couldn't be brought in on the plot openly. Lena was going to have to get information out of her without her realising what was going on. Fortunately, Laura was a natural chatterer and she was very enthusiastic about her new job.

Today she was prattling on about the presents Tracy had asked her to order for his middle son's birthday. Lena was only half listening, another wave of jealousy sweeping over her. There had been no top of the range remote control toys for her birthdays, or any top quality art materials. But Laura's next comment got her attention.

"Virgil won a painting competition a while ago and he's going to an art convention in Boston. They've got a special event for juniors but only the best painters in the country are invited. Mr Tracy's really proud of him. "

Typical, Lena thought. Daddy's money and talent as well. Not fair! But could this be the opportunity she and Dan had been looking for? She needed to know more.

"When's this?" she asked, trying not to sound too interested.

"In about three weeks. I've been making the travel arrangements. He's flying out from Kansas but then he's going to come back here and spend a couple of days with his father before they go home."

"How's he getting here? I bet Mr Tracy's sending his private jet." Lena held her breath as she waited for the answer.

"No, he's friends with one of the other artists who lives upstate and he's stopping over at his home on the way back. I'm arranging for a car to pick him up from there."

Lena felt a thrill of excitement. This was it, the opportunity they had waited for. In little over three weeks time Tracy wouldn't know what had hit him. She and Dan would be about to embark on a life of luxury. Lena didn't spare a thought for the twelve year old boy who would be caught in the middle.

Dan had been delighted by the news. He knew the area well, having a cousin who lived just twenty miles away. In fact, he thought, Luke might be well placed to help them. He was a keen fisherman who lived in a lake-side house miles from anywhere. Like his cousin he'd never had many scruples where money was concerned. It would be the ideal place to lie low.

Lena had to be convinced of the wisdom of bringing in another person, but as the plan began to take shape she realised that she and Dan weren't going to be able to do everything themselves. Of course, it would mean an increase in the ransom demand – she wasn't going to take a cut in her own share. They'd finally decided – fifteen million dollars. Not so much for a billionaire really, especially one who would do anything for his sons.

Lena and Dan spent hours refining the plan. Getting hold of Virgil was only the start. They needed to work out what to do about the money and how to avoid discovery. Once Tracy realised that his son was missing there would be a massive search.

"But we'll tell him not to go to the police," Lena argued.

"Don't be a fool – Tracy will do this by the book. He'll agree to all our demands then be straight on the phone. We need to be ready for them. As long as they don't know where to look we'll be okay." Dan was enjoying himself. He'd never really needed to use his brains before, relying on charm and looks, but he'd discovered a gift for scheming he didn't know he had. "This is what we do..."

And so the days passed, with Lena apparently casually gossiping with Laura about the Tracys whilst really probing for details of Virgil's journey. Luke proved to be an able accomplice, preparing his cellar for Virgil's captivity and adding his own twist to the plan. He had been dating the local doctor for the past few months and offered to obtain a supply of chloroform to subdue Virgil and the driver during the kidnap, plus sedatives to keep the boy quiet once he was in the cellar. Not that there would be anyone around to hear him, but they all agreed that the less fuss he made, the better. And so all was set for August 23rd.