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Sabrina’s heart sank as she listened to Patrick explain the dire situation. His words echoed in her ears, each one hammering home the gravity of their predicament.
Holly stepped forward, her brow furrowed with concern as she looked at Sabrina. “I thought it was strange, too. I’ve gone over the financial reports multiple times, and the money just isn’t there.”
Sabrina’s mind spun, trying to process this new information. How could a successful company like Taylor Industries not have enough cash to meet the ransom demands? Something didn’t add up.
“But how is that possible?” Sabrina asked, her voice trembling slightly. “I thought TI was doing well financially.”
Patrick ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in his every movement. “We should be, and we are... Kind of. Our contracts are solid, and we get paid well, but when Holly suggested we need a human resources department and a public relations person, I dug a little deeper.”
Holly nodded, her expression grim. “The company has some high expenses. Greg walked us through it and showed how the majority of what comes in, goes back out to cover the business’s expenses and everyone’s salary, along with all the insurance and benefits that come with a company like this.”
Sabrina felt a chill run down her spine. “Are you saying Taylor Industries isn’t on strong financial footing?”
Patrick shook his head. “No, not at all. We are profitable and have no worries about the budget. We just don’t have much extra.”
“I’ve always let Greg handle the accounting. We’ve never missed a bill or paycheck, and the business has great credit,” Nathan chimed in.
Patrick glared at him. “But we can’t take out a loan to make a ransom payment.”
The room fell silent as the weight of this revelation settled over them. Sabrina thought about how excited Freddy had been just the other day when he showed her how the bots could handle bigger and more subjective commands.
That was it! Sabrina squealed as the pieces suddenly fell into place. Her eyes widened with the realization, and she felt a surge of adrenaline course through her veins. She knew how to find Freddy.
“I have an idea,” she blurted out, interrupting the tense silence that had settled over the room. All eyes turned to her, a mixture of hope and skepticism on their faces.
She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to say. “I can use our testing bots to search for Freddy. With the new command sequences he just tested, we can send them out to scan multiple locations quickly.”
Patrick’s brow furrowed. “How would that help us find him?”
“Nathan, you said you heard a train during the ransom call, right?” Sabrina asked, her voice filled with urgency. Nathan nodded, and she continued, “If we focus the search on areas within earshot of train tracks between here and where Ellie and Josh live, we might be able to locate him.”
Holly’s eyes widened with understanding. “But Sabrina, using the bots like that... it’s not exactly legal. DS technically owns them.”
Sabrina nodded grimly. “I know. That’s why you’ll need to fire me afterward.” She looked at each of them in turn, her determination evident in her gaze. “Tell DS I acted alone. With my history, it shouldn’t be hard to convince them. You should be able to keep your contract that way.”
Patrick opened his mouth to protest, but Sabrina cut him off. “It’s the best chance we have of finding Freddy quickly. I’m willing to take the fall for this. I was already planning to be fired yesterday.”
The room fell silent as the weight of Sabrina’s proposal sank in. She could see the conflict in their eyes, the battle between desperation to find Freddy and the potential consequences of her plan.
Sabrina’s heart raced as she watched the expressions on the faces of the Taylor family shift from shock to reluctant acceptance. She knew her proposal was risky, but the thought of Freddy in danger overrode any concerns about her own future.
As she began setting up the bots for their search, Sabrina’s mind wandered to the consequences of her actions. Losing her job at Taylor Industries would be devastating. She’d worked so hard to get here, to find a place where she felt valued and could use her skills. The thought of giving it all up made her chest tighten with anxiety.
But then she remembered Freddy’s kind eyes, his patient explanations, and the way he made her feel seen and understood. He was worth any sacrifice.
As she input the final commands, Sabrina’s thoughts turned to her mother. The tornado had left Ma with nothing, and now Sabrina would be jobless, too. Maybe this was the universe’s way of telling her it was time to go back to Nebraska, to help her mother rebuild.
The idea of returning to the place she’d fought so hard to escape from made Sabrina’s stomach churn. But as she watched the bots on the screen swirl and swarm together to form tiny drones flying across the Appalachian landscape to begin their search, she realized that sometimes life had other plans. If finding Freddy meant losing her job and returning to help her mother, then so be it.
Sabrina took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come. She’d face whatever challenges lay ahead, knowing that she was doing the right thing. For Freddy, for her mother, and for herself.
Chapter 27: Freddy
Freddy tried to hold in the contents of his stomach as Josh’s phone rang, the number lighting up the screen. He’d already thrown up once, after an especially vicious punch to the gut. He didn’t want to repeat the experience. When Josh read out the area code from his phone, Freddy’s stomach dropped. He knew that area code like the back of his hand—it was Sabrina’s.
“Don’t answer it,” Ellie snapped, her eyes narrowing. “We can’t risk them tracing the call.”
But Freddy’s mind was already spinning. Sabrina was smart, resourceful, and determined. If anyone could find a way to gethim out of this mess, it was her. But he didn’t want her to get involved. He couldn’t bear the thought of her getting hurt because of him. Still, it wasn’t like he was in a position to do anything to stop her. Even if he were, she was so fucking stubborn, he wouldn’t likely convince her. Just like he knew, deep down, it would be a struggle to convince her to stay, now that she’d made up her mind to move back home. That was why he had his back-up plan ready to go. He’d move to Nebraska with her. Almost all their work was remote anyway. The two of them could work together, and Sabrina could be there for her mom. He just needed to get out of this fucking chair first.
