Restoration III: Life after 25 years

Chapter 82: They found her!

Being able to have a good night's sleep at the hotel for two days now, Belle treated her worst experience like a dream that she never wanted to go back on. She woke up so early today and when Belle went down to the lobby, she saw the man who looks like Paul Breckmann doing the check-out procedure. Even if that person is considered not to be Paul, she feels uncomfortable with the man and so, she hid herself so that he won't see her. Her phone in the pocket suddenly rang and it was Kevin making a call. She wondered why he would make a call because they had this agreement that no one will contact her until the vacation she had planned is over. Maybe the call is important and when she answered it, what Kevin told her made her curious.

"Honey you have to go home! I need to tell you something very important"!

"What is it Kevin? Why don't you just tell me here on the phone"?

"I can't and I don't know where to start. Please pack your bags and go home. I will explain everything later when we meet each other in our house! This is an emergency honey! You got to hurry and we will be waiting for you"!

"Ok, I'll be there in an hour. I'm going to pack my bags and leave this hotel"!

Belle quickly went back to her room and packed all of her stuff. She can't think straight and started being paranoid. She doesn't like the feeling of getting worried. She thought about bad things. What if something bad happened especially to Ashley? Is Kevin talking about Ashley? If it's not about Ashley, is he talking about their son Skyler? He might be in trouble or something because of suffering from depression. Being in a vacation for 3-4 days is already enough especially if we will be talking about family matters. Her heart beats faster and it was like going to give her a heart attack anytime and anywhere. She can't explain the feeling that she is having right now. Belle was bewildered as she approached the front desk employees to do the check out at the hotel. She froze when she was already outside. She doesn't want to leave. She wants to stop a vehicle but something is stopping her from doing it and she has no clue. Belle wants the clock to freeze as well so that the whole world will. Belle doesn't know if she can handle a bad news coming from Kevin. What will her reaction be if she finds out that Ashley is in great danger? The worst nightmare that a parent could have is to lose their own children and nothing more. When she arrived in their house, a sad face greeted her coming from her dad Morgan Harvey. Her dad is in silence as well as her husband Kevin who are just waiting outside the doorstep.

"Oh! My dearest Belle, let's go inside for a while before you and Kevin leave". Morgan said in an unexplainable expression of words.

"Mom, I'm so glad that you're home"! Skyler said while wiping his own tears.

"Honey, take a sit and we need to prepare in a few minutes. We don't have much time left"!

"I don't understand what's going on here! Can anyone of you please tell me?! I've been away for four days and something came up important as you told me on the phone? What kind of an emergency is this? To be honest, I don't want to go home earlier because I was thinking of a bad news! Is there a bad news that you want to tell me"?

"The reason why I ask you to go home is because Detective Ryan Cole and Detective Michael Sanders called me on the phone earlier before I made a contact with you".

"What do they want and why did they call you on the phone"?

"They already have a lead on where our daughter Ashley is"!

"Have they seen Ashley?! Is she alright? Where is our daughter? What happened to her and how did they find her? Kevin, you're going to tell me that everything is ok right? Please tell me that nothing happened to our daughter! Please! Please! Please"!

"I need you to calm down honey and everything is going to be ok. I want you to promise me that what I'm going to tell you won't let you feel like it's the end of the world for our family. I want you to stay strong ok"?

"Why should I stay strong? I really don't get you honey"! Belle starts to cry with a nervous feeling about Ashley.

"They already found our daughter Ashley"!

"We should be happy that finally our daughter will come home"!

"She's gone honey"!

"What do you mean by gone"?!

"Our daughter was murdered and they found her dead body in the woods"!

"Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!! My daughter is not deeeeeaaaaaaddddddd!!!!! Ashley is still coming back! What you are telling me is a lie"!

"They said it was her honey and if it's the truth, we should accept it and move on with our lives".

"I want to see her! I want to see our daughter if she is really dead! I won't believe you or anyone else here telling me that she is already dead unless I see it with my own eyes! Let's go to that woods and I want to have a confirmation! Please Kevin, I'm begging you"!

"Honey, we will go right now".

"Go ahead Kevin. I don't think I'm going with you. I'll just stay here at home with Skyler! I will never be ready to see the dead body of my granddaughter Ashley"! Morgan Harvey said walking back and forth in the different areas of their house and so confused.

Belle didn't utter any word after hearing about the sudden death of their daughter Ashley. She went with Kevin to the woods where Ashley was said to be found. When they arrived at the place, many people are scattered everywhere staring at a dead body that is believed to be Ashley's. Detective Ryan Cole and Detective Michael Sanders has just arrived when Belle and Kevin did. The dead body of the girl that was found earlier lying down on the woods had its back turned on them. Its body shape is similar to Ashley's and so, it could really be her.

"How sure are you Detectives that this girl is really my daughter"? Kevin asked for a confirmation.

"To be honest, we are not sure and we will find out at this moment if it's really your daughter". Detective Ryan Cole responded.

"Who gave you this information"?

"A woman in her late 20's did using a phone nearby in this area. She told us that this girl lying down on the woods is Ashley"!

"So, there is a slight possibility that this girl is not our daughter"!

"Yes, you're absolutely right Mr. Reynolds! For us to confirm if this girl is really your daughter, I need to turn its back in front of us and see its face".

Belle and Kevin moved closer to Detective Ryan Cole as it turned the back of the dead girl for them to see its face. The girl is full of blood and it was obvious that someone stabbed it several times. Belle kept on praying and was hoping that it's not Ashley. She is hoping that they were just mistaken on its identity and when they saw the girl's face, Belle and Kevin was glad because it was not their daughter. Everything is just a false alarm which means Ashley is still alive somewhere and their search will continue. They will still be having a long journey before they find Ashley because until now, they don't have any leads on where she is.

"I'm sorry for this inconvenience Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds! We should have confirmed it first before making a contact with your family. This false alarm only made you worried and we do apologize for it".

"It's alright Detective Ryan Cole. Even if we received the wrong information, at least we have found out that our daughter is still alive and well somewhere".

"Please Detective Ryan, do everything you could just to find my daughter Ashley"! Belle said who is glad to know that Ashley might still be out there waiting for them.

"We will do our best Mrs. Reynolds"!