Chapter 2

Approximately 30 minutes after Jack left for his law office, Erica retouched her makeup and gathered her papers for her meeting. She slipped a long ivory jacket over her bright pink sleeveless dress and checked her reflection in the large mirror in the foyer. Perfect, as usual. Well, maybe not perfect, but all things considered, she was pleased with the way her appearance had withstood the ravages of time.

She was gathering her car keys, phone and purse when the doorbell rang. She glanced up and frowned when she saw a uniformed delivery man through the glass of the front door. She wasn't expecting a package, but perhaps Jack or one of the kids had ordered something. She put her things back down on the table in the foyer and went to the door.

"Delivery for Erica Kane," the man said, looking down at his clipboard. A large box was on the ground beside him.

"Yes, that's me," she said. She noticed that he was wearing a hat that matched his uniform, but other than that, she didn't bother to even glance at the man's face as she reached out to take the clipboard from him. He was just a delivery man, and she assumed he needed her signature.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, the man's hand shot out toward her, and she felt a fist slam into her abdomen. She doubled over in pain and shock as the breath was knocked out of her. She gasped but was unable to catch her breath fast enough to scream before his hands reached for her shoulders and shoved her backward. She lost her balance and fell back onto the hard tile floor of the foyer.

The man silently bent down and picked up the box before he stepped into the house and closed the front door behind him.

Erica landed hard on the floor, wincing as pain shot through her hip. She clutched her stomach as she attempted to get back on her feet, silently cursing as her stiletto heel slid on the tile and her ankle twisted underneath her.

She had barely staggered to her feet when a hand grabbed a fistful of her hair. She screamed both in pain and fear and tried to turn so she could at least hit or kick at this unknown assailant, but his arms were around her, and she could barely move. She screamed for help, as loudly as she possibly could, praying that a neighbor might hear her and realize something was amiss. A foul-smelling cloth was forced over her nose and mouth. She clawed at the hand over her face, but it was no use – eventually she had to take a breath, and when she did, the room began to go dark around her, and she lost quickly consciousness.