Chapter Seventeen

“Mom?” I called with my ear still pressed against the phone, even though I knew that she had hung up the phone. “Mom, I really do have the money. I’m not going to call the police.”

“What did she say?” Damien asked me, noticing that my mother had hung up the phone and I was practically talking to a ghost now. He walked over to me and took the phone, looking at the screen to make sure there was nobody on the other side.

“Call her back. Maybe you can let her know that we have the money. She doesn’t seem to believe me. She probably thinks that I’m just trying to trick them so that I can get them arrested.”

Damien wasted no time in dialling the number and placing the phone against his ear, rubbing my shoulder reassuringly.

“She’s not responding,” he reported, dialing the number again, frowning the second time as he looked at me. “It’s not going through anymore. I really think we should go along with my suggestion and really get the police involved if you