It should have been a moment of pure joy for Angelina Jolie. But on March 19, as she prepared to fly her newly adopted son, Pax, home from Vietnam, she heard some terrifying news: Her security team had learned of a plot to kidnap the 3- year-old once he and his famous mom returned to the United States.
Brad, 43, and Angie, 31, have faced threats before, many of them baseless. A rep for Brad says there's no truth to the story, but an insider close to the couple's security team tells Life & Style that this plot was credible and meticulously planned by a deadly gang that has pulled off kidnappings and extortion plots in the past. "They're highly skilled operatives with little regard for human life," the insider says.
Indeed, the specifics of the scheme -- which Brangelina's bodyguards first learned about from British security sources -- are chilling. "Information came out that leaders of the gang ordered their LA members to devise a plan to kidnap Pax before demanding a ransom of $100 million -- equal to the profit from a year of drug dealing -- for his safe return," the insider says. "Brad and Angie would have a number of days to hand over the money or risk the boy's life."
Brad and Angie's terror
After an investigation deemed the threat "credible and serious," Brad's security team informed the star that Pax was in legitimate danger. "The life drained out of Brad when he heard that," says a friend of the couple. "He was a wreck. He didn't want to tell Angie the extent of the threat, especially not until she returned stateside. But he had no choice. She needed to know so she could take the necessary precautions."
When Brad (who had remained in LA with Shiloh) finally told Angie the terrible news, "she sobbed that she'd die if anything happened to Pax," the friend says.
Angie puts her kids first
When it comes to her own safety, Angie sometimes seems as if she doesn't have a care in the world: She recently told Newsweek that she goes on trips on behalf of the United Nations without any security.
But when it comes to the safety of her kids -- Maddox, 5, Zahara, 2, Shiloh, 10 months, and now Pax -- she takes the hazards to heart. The last time she learned of a specific kidnapping threat, when she and Brad were warned not to shoot A Mighty
Heart in Pakistan because their kids would be targets for terrorists, Angie had trouble eating for weeks. She became increasingly frail and suffered from fainting spells.
Her fear about the kidnap plot against Pax is already taking a toll. "She isn't sleeping and barely eats," the friend says. "She doesn't let the kids out of her sight. She seems on the verge of a breakdown."
As if Angie weren't stressed enough, a British paper claims that Pax's birth mother is a heroin addict who never signed papers to give up her son and may demand money from Brad and Angie or even ask for her son back. The orphanage from which Angie adopted Pax has reportedly said that the adoption was legal and there's no chance of Pax's biological mom regaining custody.
Brad takes no chances
Meanwhile, Brad's reacting by going into "total lockdown mode," the friend says. "He's added manpower around their LA home and has told security he doesn't want Angie or the kids leaving the house without at least five security people."
Luckily, Pax is oblivious to the danger. On March 22, Angie and her new son bonded inside the family's multimillion hillside compound in the Los Feliz section of LA, while armed guards patrolled the gates. And Brad's putting on a brave face. "When you talk to Brad about Pax," says a Pitt family insider, "he laughs and says, 'I still have a few more spots to fill on my soccer team.'"
Still, Brad and Angie's fears linger. Deep down, says their friend, "they're both petrified."
Angie (with newly adopted son Pax Thien Jolie in Vietnam on March 21) is having second thoughts about taking the kids to high-risk locales.
"Brad is Angie's rock right now," says a friend. "He's helping her through this tough time."
ANGIE'S WASTING AWAY FROM THE STRESS!
Since her mom died in January, Angie "has not wanted to eat," her brother, James Haven, says. Worry over her kids' safety has made things worse. "She's pale and gaunt," says a friend. "She looks malnourished!" Angie's brother, James, says he has to remind his sis to eat.
They've had other scares!
SECURITY SLIPUP AT SCHOOL
A photographer was arrested for trespassing last June 22 after he allegedly jumped over a fence and hid in the bushes outside the Malibu day care center Maddox was attending. The charges were later dropped.
MOBBED IN MUMBAI!
Their Oct. 8 pedicab ride with Maddox in India was intended to be fun, but frenzied crowds swarmed the family, forcing Brad and Angie to flee to their hotel.
GANGSTER THREAT!
"I won't say where," Angie told a British paper, "but some gangsters planned to kidnap me and extort a massive ransom. I was warned at the last minute and managed to escape."
BRAD AND ANGELINA'S HOUSES ARE FORTRESSES!
MALIBU
While Brad and Angie were in Namibia awaiting the birth of Shiloh, Brad had a new high-tech security system with multiple cameras installed in his Malibu home. The couple recently put in a similar system at their home in nearby Los Feliz, and security guards are always on duty to protect the family.
A team of five to six guards watches Brangelina's home around the clock.
NEW ORLEANS
Brad and Angie spent $500,000 to install a security system that monitors every inch of their $3.5 million home in the Big Easy. Another bonus: A police precinct is just blocks away. "There are police on every corner," says an insider, "so they're very safe."
The house looks accessible, but a high wall surrounds it.
They're well protected!
Brad's always hiring new bodyguards, but the staple of his security force is Mickey Brett. He formerly served as Nicole Kidman's bodyguard, and while he's clearly effective, he's been accused of roughing up reporters and photographers while guarding Angie and her family in Namibia and India -- and threatening to "put someone in the hospital" if they got too close!
Security guard Mickey is never far from Brangelina or the kids.
These stars survived kidnap threats, too!
PLOT AGAINST POSH
Five men were charged with planning to kidnap Victoria Beckham in 2002. As a result, she and husband David Beckham increased security.
DAVE'S SON WAS AT RISK
Kelly Frank was arrested in 2005 for threatening to kidnap David Letterman's son, Harry, if he didn't get $5 million. He was later convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
RUSSELL'S OSCAR THREAT
The FBI informed Russell Crowe that it believed a purported plot against him by al-Qaida was serious -- and agents guarded him at the 2001 Oscars!
MADONNA KEEPS SINGING
Madonna canceled a 2004 concert after threats were made against her kids. But she ignored reports of a 2006 plot, refusing to call off her tour.