Two police cars are outside of Bethany's house. Inside, there are three police officers and Aaron. They are with Bethany, who sits at the dining room table with one hand on her forehead. She is crying and sobbing as Aaron stands next to her holding her hand.
"I assure you, Beth, I... Will do everything within my power to help find her... This, I promise."
"Where could she have gone?! And after what happened to you, I'm just fearing the worse...."
One of the police officers approaches them closer.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry. Nothing about this looks like she was just taken, it is possible she simply left. Is there a friend of her's you can contact? Maybe she just went out with a friend, or..."
Bethany looks up at the officer, shaking her head.
"My daughter doesn't have those type of friends. She's very distanced from people, all she has is classmates and acquaintances. Her only friend is right here with me trying to figure out what happened!"
Aaron licks his lips and looks at each officer with puzzled eyes.
"As strange as it sounds... Why would you say she didn't leave against her will? You said, yourself, that her bedroom looks like it was turned inside out. Surely that's gotta--"
"With all due respect, sir, we have no idea if her room has always been a mess. Besides, I'm not a detective okay? I'm a cop. From the looks of her bedroom, it would appear she was looking for something to wear before going out. But if you want to confirm or deny that, you might want to hire a private eye."
Another one of the officers steps forward in an attempt to ease the tension that his partner is feeding into.
"Or, you can just chill out for now. Wait it out till morning time and see if she comes back. She's probably out clubbing or something."
Bethany stands from her seat, now with both hands firmly planted on the table as her lower legs slightly push the chair back.
"Did you say 'clubbing'?!"
Bethany angrily objects to the suggestion with a breaking voice that carries the raspy tune of desperation and sorrow as the officer takes a small step back.
"My daughter does not do "clubs," officer. She's all about her family and school, and... Ugh! You know what? You're no help at all. Your entire police force is a joke! Useless! When Aaron went missing you people made no effort to find him! He, himself, had to call to tell you where the hell he was being held! Even one of your own investigators went missing and you STILL haven't found her! What hope is there that you will find my baby doll?! Huh?!"
Aaron rubs her shoulders. She lowers her head as persistent tears run down her face. She calmly sits back down and Aaron shakes his head with his eyebrows coming closer together.
"Beth, we'll find her. I don't care if I have to pour my conglomerate's entire net worth into the search efforts, we will find her."
The officers look at one another and then one of them hesitantly speaks to Bethany.
"I'm sorry your confidence in us has been challenged, ma'am. But we will help as much as we can. We've filed the incident report, so in the meantime check places she frequents, places she may go to when she wants to be alone, check the school and ask her classmates. If you haven't heard from her in three weeks, you may contact us to file a missing person's report."
Bethany scoffs.
"Three weeks?! Are you out of your mind with three weeks? If I wait three weeks, it might be too late! We'll be filing a 'dead' person's report by then!"
Aaron crouches down a bit and holds Bethany, making her head rest up against his chest.
"Don't talk like that, Beth. She'll be fine. These men are doing their job as best they can."
Aaron looks at the cops and takes a deep breath. He lets out a sigh of disappointment and shakes his head.
"Please keep us informed of anything you uncover."
One of the officers nods to Aaron with recoiled lips and the other two nod with a tilt of their hat to him. They proceed to walk away and they leave Bethany's house. Bethany is left crying at her dinner table with a very concerned looking Aaron rubbing her shoulder to comfort her.
"She'll be fine, Beth. I promise."
Bethany's lightly muffled sobbing against Aaron's chest resonate with confusion.
"I just don't understand! I stepped out for a few minutes, Aaron. Just minutes! And she never goes anywhere without her cellphone, anywhere, not even to bed, but it is still here, so I just know..."
Aaron removes Bethany's head from his chest and looks her in the eyes with confidence.
"Shhh... calm down, Beth. First thing in the morning, I'll call in every favor this city owes me and make sure even my lawyers get involved. But as of right now, you need to calm yourself. Let me make you some tea..."
Bethany shakes her head and wipes tears away from her cheeks. She takes a deep breath in an attempt to regain control of herself.
"No, Aaron. That's alright. I'll... I'll be fine. Look, it's almost two in the morning and you have a business to run so perhaps you should go get some sleep."
"How can I leave you here? All alone?"
Aaron stands beside Bethany who now stands up from her seat and pushes the chair in place at the table.
"Thanks, but I'll be okay. I'll take a sleeping pill and try to rest. In the morning I'll start looking for her..."
He nods with a patient closing of his eyes and exhales.
"Whatever you say Beth. But be sure to call me if anything strange happens. Anything at all, okay?"
"Thank you, Aaron."
Aaron now walks and Bethany follows him to the door. As he leaves, she closes and locks the door behind him. She secures all locks and pushes the couch to block the door with it. She then goes around the house making sure all the windows are also locked...
Meanwhile, in a cold dark room, only the rythmless drip of a single water drop on a small puddle is heard. The silence of the room is interrupted by the grunt of a female voice, accompanied by the drag of a chain.
"Where the hell am I? What happened?!"
"This is your own fault, Sam. I just wanted to talk. You had to go and make things more complicated. Now look at us."
"Dad, you... ugh! I shouldn't even call you 'Dad'... Nathan."
"I understand why you're upset..."
"Oh really? You do? What gave it away? The fact that I'm tied to these damn chains in this wet dump? Or is it the fact that my only memory of you is watching your casket being lowered into the ground, yet you're here?!"
"Sammy, I--"
"I was only four, when you died! I remember growing up seeing nothing but pictures of my father. Mom talking to me about why she'll never remarry and how she'll always carry your last name. And now I find out that this whole time you weren't dead at all! 'Upset' doesn't begin to describe..."
"You don't understand."
"You're damn right I don't understand!"
At Bethany's house again, Bethany is in her bedroom, and she has her sleepwear on. Her eyes lowered half way, either tired from lack of sleep, or from the effects of drowsiness-inducing medicine.
"I don't understand..."
She opens up a small black box and pulls out a revolver from it. She makes sure the safety is on and slides the gun under her pillow.
"I was only out for a minute... Who can be doing this to us... And why?"
She puts the empty box under her bed and yawns. She lies down in her bed, turns off the lamp on her nightstand and covers herself up to the shoulders with her bedsheet.
The coziness of Bethany's bedroom is a far contrast to the cold room Samantha is in. Samantha's face can barely be seen through the opaque streak of light coming in through the upper wall. Her father, Nathan, cannot be seen at all.
"You're a worthless piece of trash, Nathan."
"Sam, I deserve that. But, listen, I thought I was dead too... for a few seconds after the crash, at least... Believe me, Sam. I wanted to come back! But after the sea took my plane, I was left stranded. I made every effort to come back but I was very far away. When I found out where I was, it was too late. You and your mother had already been granted access to my will and I knew you would be getting a lot of money, so I left it the way it was. I figured you were better off..."
"And we were. So why come back now? Huh?! Why come back at all?"
"To see you. I've missed you."
"Well nobody's missed you."
"I just want to be part of your life, Sam."
"Only when it is convenient to you, obviously. When I needed you, you weren't there. You think you can just hide from the difficult parts of being a father and then show up when your daughter is a grown woman and no longer needs you?!"
"Sammy it isn't that simple..."
"And what was the point of stealing the diamond necklace? If you were so concerned about where our money would come from, why steal from us?"
"Sam, I did not steal your necklace."
"No need to cover it up. Don't play stupid with me, you live the life of a hobo so obviously you need the money."
"Samantha, you're wrong."
"Oh please. You had keys to the house this whole time! See at least I understand why a broken man would want to steal his only daughter's expensive diamonds. You need money to survive the miserable life you're living. But what use can you possibly get from stealing all the letters Aaron sent me?! That part you just did or fun, didn't you?"
"Sammy, I did no such thing! I have no idea what you're even--"
A loud metallic clamping sound is heard, followed by the screeching of aging metal as door to the room opens. The blinding light from outside the room cause a painful cowering in Samantha. She fights the brightness and looks at the silouhette standing at the door but, out of the corner of her eye, she notices that Nathan is actually chained to the wall beside her just as she is.
"Dad?! You're... What the hell is going on?!"
The person standing at the door raises his finger to his own mouth, signaling a request for silence.
"Shhh..."
Nathan lowers his head as the silouhette standing at the door enters the room. Samantha stares at the figure as it approaches her. Once the haziness of Samantha's light-sensitive vision clears, she gasps...
"Aaron?!"
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Author's Note**
I am very open to any questions anyone may want answered in future chapters, or anything that you would like me to explain or go into more detail as well. Please don't forget to vote and fan me if you like my work :) Thank You so much for letting me share this with you. -GB