Mistaken victim. The kidnappers did not take Denny, who returns home unharmed. They took Hector, the son of Ramon, the nanny's undocumented boyfriend. The kidnapper then sends a recording of Mark refusing to pay for Hector, and Sam warns that its release would destroy Mark with Latino voters. Dayle offers to have the kidnappers killed, and the Kimballs agree to pay the ransom, postponing it until sunrise.
The rescue. Mark goes to the exchange, and Affleck shot the trip as a long aerial journey from the Westside to Skid Row and the LA River. A third abductor advances on him and is killed by an unknown shooter, who turns out to be Ramon, who had followed Mark. Ramon saves both Mark and, by extension, the rescue.
The aftermath. Mark is not redeemed. He uses the rescue in speeches and interviews, stressing "my money" and the risk he took, while denying presidential ambitions in a TV interview. Affleck has said that sit-down interview is the most symbolic scene. The film leaves some questions open, including Dayle's real role, which some critics suspected was complicit.