Chapter 9
Marlena slowly opens her eyes as she sees a bright light. The light hurts her eyes as she squeezes them shut allowing them to get used to the sudden brightness. Then she opens them once more and blinks a few times, she sits up and looks around the room. She is confused for a moment.
"Where am I? What happened?" she asks herself.
Then suddenly it's like a light bulb is turned on in her brain, she realizes what happened to her. She was at home, on the phone when a stranger came into her house and drugged her. Stefano! Marlena begins to cry as her hand goes up to her mouth.
In between sobs, she looks around the room. There is another bed next to the one she is sitting on. There is a table with a television on it and a VCR next to it. There is a dresser with a bouquet of flowers in a vase on top of it. There is a closed door next to the dresser and next to her bed there is what she assumes is a bathroom. Next to the closed door is a small refrigerator. There is a small table next to her bed with a drawer in it. Marlena reaches down and tries to open the drawer but it's locked.
Marlena decides to get up and go to the bathroom so she can wash her face. Once she gets in the bathroom there are two towels hanging on the towel rack next to the shower, there is a robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door, there is toothpaste and a toothbrush on the sink as well as a hairbrush.
"Stefano really went all out didn't he? He planned everything down to the last detail, like he has been planning this for months." Marlena tells herself as she looks in the mirror.
The face she sees in the mirror is almost unrecognizable. Her eyes are red and swollen, her cheeks are wet and puffy, and her hair is a mess. Marlena picks up the hairbrush from the sink and begins brushing the tangles from her hair. She is interrupted when she hears the key turning in the lock and the door opening. She stops brushing as she holds the brush in her hand to use as a weapon. She comes out of the bathroom holding the brush above her head. As she walks further into the room, she sees an older woman with her back towards her, leaning over the table. Her gray hair is in a tight bun at the back of her head, she is wearing a floor length black dress and black shoes, and she is wearing a white apron. Marlena puts her arm holding the hairbrush down at her side as she approaches the woman. Just as Marlena gets close enough the woman turns around suddenly, which startles Marlena. She gasps and drops the hairbrush on the floor. It hits the floor with a thud. Marlena starts to bend over to pick it up but the woman stops her by grabbing her shoulder.
"Don't bother picking that up just yet, Dr. Evans. I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ruby. I am here to take care of you and your little girl."
Once Marlena hears Ruby say "little girl" her brain automatically thinks of Belle. She can't believe she didn't think of Belle before.
"Where is Belle? Where is my little girl?" Marlena asks her voice almost screeching.
"Now calm down Dr. Evans, your little girl is just fine. She is taking a nap in the other room; I will bring her in here to be with you once she wakes up."
"Don't hurt my baby, lady or I will hurt you!" Marlena threatens.
"Don't worry; I have no intention of hurting you or your little girl. I'm here to take care of both of you. Mr. DiMera said he wanted only the best for you and for no harm to come to either one of you."
Marlena steps back.
"I should have known you work for Stefano. He is the only one who would have me kidnapped and locked up in a strange place."
"Yes, I do work for Mr. DiMera. He is paying me very well to take care of you and your little girl. I won't let anything bad happen to either one of you. Mr. DiMera has a lot of wonderful plans for the three of you."
Marlena shakes her head.
"No! No! I want you to bring me my daughter and to let us out of here so we can go home. We don't want to be here!"
"I'm afraid I can't let you leave. That is not what I was hired to do and if Mr. DiMera found out I let you go well then there will be dire consequences, not just for me but for you as well and I know you don't want that to happen do you?"
Marlena shakes her head as the tears fall down her cheeks.
"Now I brought you something to eat and drink so you can keep your strength up. You need to eat so you can see your daughter. If you don't eat this food, I can't allow you to see your daughter so I would suggest you eat up."
Ruby heads towards the door.
"I will back in a little while to see if you have eaten and if you have I will see if Mr. DiMera will allow you to see your little girl. Enjoy!" she says with a mocking smile on her face.
And with that Ruby shuts the door and locks it behind her. Marlena gets angry as she yells and picks up the hairbrush and throws it at the closed door.
She falls onto the bed into a fit of tears. She cries until she has no more tears left. She then gets up and goes over to the table where the tray of food is. Marlena looks at it for a moment and realizes she is a bit hungry as she hears her stomach growl. She picks up the tray and takes it over to the bed and sits down. She sets the tray down in front of her as she picks up her fork and begins eating. Someone who works for Stefano is an amazing cook, because before she realizes it Marlena has eaten the entire plate of food. She downs the glass of milk and then wipes her mouth. She picks up the tray and stands up; she walks over to the table and puts the tray back on it. Now that she has eaten, she wonders how long it will be before she is allowed to see Belle. To be able to hold her little girl would be the most wonderful thing right now.
Marlena sits back down on the bed. She lies back on the pillow and stares at the ceiling. What is she supposed to do here? There is nothing to read, no radio to listen to music, there is a television and a VCR but no videotapes that she can see to watch. She gets up and walks over to the table with the TV and VCR on it. She turns on the TV and all she gets is static, she pushes the power button on the VCR and a blue screen pops up. She walks over to the dresser and starts opening drawers, in the first drawer she sees videotapes of children's shows. Obviously these are for Belle. In another drawer she sees coloring books and crayons. These are for Belle also. In another drawer there are shirts and pants, in another there is stuffed animals and then in the last drawer there are undergarments and socks. She closes that drawer and stands up. Despite the fact that there are things in here for Belle to play with, there is nothing in here for her to do when she is alone. No books or magazines to read, or movies for her to watch. What is she supposed to do here she wonders again?
Suddenly she is interrupted from her thoughts as she hears the door being unlocked. She looks towards the door as she sees the knob being turned. She gets a scared look on her face, not knowing who to expect. Her expression quickly changes when she sees Ruby carrying Belle in her arms. Marlena rushes over and grabs Belle from Ruby. She holds Belle and snuggles her against her. Belle wraps her arms around her mother's neck. Marlena cries tears of joy as she holds her daughter close. Then suddenly she stops and looks at Ruby with a serious look on her face.
"Ruby, how did you know that I ate the food that you brought me?"
Ruby just looks back at Marlena with no particular expression on her face.
"That's easy; Mr. DiMera has a hidden camera in here."
Marlena pulls her daughter closer to her.
"You mean Stefano can watch my every move, see everything I'm doing in here?"
"Yes, that's right Dr. Evans."
"First he kidnaps me and my daughter, locks us in a room, and now he is watching our every move?"
Ruby nods.
"You pick things up very quickly, Dr. Evans. I can see why you are a doctor, you are very smart. But you weren't smart enough to keep from getting kidnapped. " Ruby says with a sarcastic laugh.
She leaves the room with the tray as she locks the door behind her. Marlena is angry at Ruby for taunting her. She wants to do something to her but with Stefano watching, she knows she can't.
Marlena focuses her attention back on her daughter.
"Well Belle, it looks like you and I are going to be here for a while. Would you like to watch a video with mommy? I think they may have Elmo."
Belle nods.
Marlena sets Belle down on the bed as she goes to get a videotape out of the drawer. She finds the one she wants and then takes it over to the VCR, puts it in and pushes play. The video starts to play. Marlena joins her daughter on the bed. She picks up her daughter and puts her in her lap. While they are watching the video, Marlena thinks to herself.
"John if you can read my thoughts please come here and save us. We need you John. I was wrong to think I could live without you. If you come here and rescue us, I will tell you how much I love you. I would do anything to have you here right now. At this point I don't even care if Kristen is having your baby, I would rather have you by my side then spend the rest of my life here without you. Pleas e John, save us. Please."
Meanwhile back in Salem…
John is lying on the couch fast asleep. He shoots straight up and opens his eyes.
"Doc, I hear you! I hear you! I will do whatever I can to rescue you and Belle from that monster. Don't give up. Stay strong and I will be there as soon as I can. I love you, Doc!"
After John says this he gets up off the couch, takes a quick shower, packs a bag and then calls his best friend, Abe.
"Abraham, its John, pack a bag and meet me at the airport. I am having the private jet fueled up and ready for takeoff in an hour.
"But why John, what's going on?" Abe asks confused.
"I'm gonna go get Doc and you're coming with me, Partner."
Abe drops the phone receiver.
To be continued…
