Captive in Plain Sight

Treizecisinoua || Rogue

What in the world was happening? 

The room was tense and dead silent. Even the rythmic pacing of the grandfather clock faded into the background.

Mila sat flabbergasted, watching as Celine and Gerard interrogated Alec, or whoever he was.

"Where is my son?" asked Celine, her voice now holding an edge. Whatever pleasantries she'd put on before were long gone.

"We know he must be alive." Gerard said. "You wouldn't have access to--"

"We'd like to organize an exchange," Celine interrupted her husband. Gerard didn't mind, in fact he seemed used to his wife interrupting him.

Alec looked at them with a neutral face, but she could tell he was grinding his teeth. That's how she knew there must be truth to what they were saying. She could see it in his mannerisms. In the way he became more still. His words slowly formed, but when he spoke it wasn't the Alec she knew. 

"And what might you have to exchange?" he said, in a thick eastern-European accent.

Mila's jaw dropped. Celine and Gerard both pushed back from the table as if it were suddenly boiling hot. 

Their reactions amused him, and he interlocked fingers, waiting for them to gather themselves.

How dense was she to have never noticed? This entire time she'd been living with an imposter without a clue.

Celine and Gerard were as stunned as she was and hadn't managed to reply.

"And why would I consider this?" he asked.

Celine gathered herself and cleared her throat. "Because, if you don't, we are prepared to contact the FBI and tell them everything. We've noticed the interest they've shown in this new business acquisition of yours and think they will be interested in what we have to say. We know how you people work. In order to get our son back alive it's best to keep the authorities out of it."

He smirked. "What proof do you have?"

"DNA," said Celine. "Yours, to be exact. We've been collecting it. You might look and sound like my son, but you don't have his DNA. If you do not hand him over within the next two days, we are also ready to go to the media. You won't be able to make it outside of the city, and you'll never be able to go anywhere again without being recognized."

Mila looked back and forth between Celine and the imposter. It was bizarre and oddly satisfying to watch him in the hot seat.

"I don't enjoy being threatened," he replied. Though, it seemed he was mulling it over. "If I were to actually consider this, what would you have to exchange?"

Celine glanced her way.

"The location of the Black Family."

Mila froze.

"What do you mean?" Her adrenaline got the best of her, and she was now standing.

Her letters must have gotten to Cordelia. She hadn't heard from her family in a while, but she had no idea they'd been out of Alec's reach.

She thought back to early mornings in the office. How she'd managed to send two letters to Cordelia before Daniel got in. Getting caught the one time only temporarily discouraged her, and until now, she'd had no way of knowing if they'd reached her.

Cordelia was supposed to hide them so she could escape, not use them as leverage. Mila realized that once Cordelia found out what was going on with Alec, she must have made other plans with the Laurents.