Chapter One

Patrick sat down on Anna's couch and looked around the living room. "This place is huge."

Anna just laughed as she held Emma on her lap. "I know but it gives Miss Emma here plenty of hiding places for our games of Hide and Seek."

"Yeah!" Emma giggled and then jumped off her grandma's lap. "You said you were going to let me pick out my own room."

"Yes I did." Anna stood up and took her granddaughter's hand. She looked at Patrick. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not." He saw Emma pulling Anna towards the stairs and stopped them. "Anna – your phone."

Anna saw that Patrick was pointing at her phone on the end table. "It's charging. If you wouldn't mind answering it if it rings – I'm expecting a call from Robert."

"Not a problem." Patrick waited until Emma was out of sight before he finally dropped his smile. The truth was that he needed to get out of the house for a while and visiting Anna at her new place was the perfect excuse. He stood up and walked over to the fireplace and stared at the picture of Robin and Emma sitting on it.

Sam and him had been engaged for a month now and it still didn't feel right. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, Patrick did not feel the same way about Sam that he did about Robin. Robin and him shared a bond and a love that he had never had with anyone else. He had been acting like everything was fine, trying to convince himself that Robin would be home soon, but the truth was that he couldn't shake this feeling in his heart that something was wrong with how Robin had left and why she was still gone. He gently ran his finger across the picture and stopped on Robin's face. "What is really going on Robin?"


Robin had been waiting for over a year for this moment. She took the syringe and quickly filled it with the sedative she had created and waited for the guard to bring in her food. While his back was turned, she quickly jabbed the needle into his arm and took the keys and his phone out of his pocket. Moving quickly, she crept out the door and headed down the hall.

Helena had gotten complacent, convinced that Robin was not going to attempt an escape after all this time. As a result, she had finally cut down the number of guards on Robin to one during the day and one at night. Once that happened, Robin created her sedative and waited for the best moment to get away. She was still in the planning stage yesterday until one of the guards came in and made a snide remark about her missing another one of her daughter's birthdays. Deciding that patience was a luxury she couldn't afford, Robin finished the sedative and made her plans to escape the facility.

She was moving cautiously and quietly down the hall. She thought she was making good progress until, when she was halfway down the hall, she heard someone start running down the hall after her. Robin took off running and ran around the corner and into a room, locking the door behind her. She pulled out the phone and dialed a familiar number.


Patrick was about to head upstairs to see what was taking Anna and Emma so long when her phone began ringing. Still the dutiful son-in-law, even after the divorce, Patrick did as he was told and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Patrick?" Robin was certain she had called her mom's phone.

"Robin?" Patrick couldn't believe that it was really his ex-wife after all this time. "Where are you?" He heard muffled voices over the line and they sounded angry. "Robin, what is going on?"

"Where is my mom?" It hadn't taken the guards long to figure out where she had hidden herself. Robin was trying to remain strong but the room she had run into did not have any windows and she didn't think the door would hold much longer. "I need to talk to my mom."

"Robin where are you?" Patrick could hear the panic in her voice – something was wrong.

"I don't know. Helena brought me here and I," the door cracked and Robin knew she didn't have much time, "I love you and Emma. Make sure she knows that I never wanted to leave her."

Patrick's heart sank at her words. "Robin, what do mean Helena?"

Robin was about to answer when the door burst open and she dropped the phone. She froze as a familiar face walked through the doorway and stepped on the broken door in front of her. "Little Robin, where do you think you are going?"

"Home Jerry. Home to my little girl." Robin barely got the words out before Patrick's voice came out loud and clear from the phone.

"Jacks! What the hell are you doing with my wife?" Patrick was now pacing the room. He about jumped out of his skin when Anna placed her hand on his shoulder. He put the phone on speaker. "What do you want with Robin?"

Anna was shocked by Patrick's words. Realizing that silence was important at the moment, she mouthed her question to Patrick. "Robin?"

He nodded his head, grateful that Emma had not come down the stairs with her grandma. He was about to say something else when Jerry's voice filled the room. "Hello Patty boy. A little late to be concerned about your ex-wife now, isn't it?"

"I swear to God Jerry, if you hurt one hair on her head…"

Jerry cut him off. "That's a laugh. You have just shown more concern for Robin in the last two minutes that you have in the last two years. Now, I need to get going but first I need to clear up a couple of loose ends. Say goodbye to your ex-wife."

Patrick and Anna listened in horror as Robin screamed. "Jerry – no!"

Moments later a gunshot went off and the phone went dead.