As he got close to the park, there was a road block and there were dozens of news vans grid locking the road even further. Charlie abandoned the car and began to run. He still couldn't see what was going on, but he had a knot of dread deep in his stomach and he just knew. This had to be something to do with Georgie.

He wasn't scared for his own life as he sprinted towards the park entrance. There was a police cordon across the main entrance and he tried to get through but they wouldn't let him. The police were armed and his stomach turned over as he realised the situation had to be gravely serious.

Anxious members of the public were being quickly escorted away from the area but he dodged through the crowds, trying to find a break in the cordon. He just had to see for himself what was going on - if nothing else, for reassurance that it was nothing to do with Georgie. He was going mad at the thought of what might be happening to her. Being out of control was not something he found easy to deal with. Every time he found an entrance to the park it was being guarded. He stepped back and looked around, trying to find a weak spot he could break through without attracting the attention of the armed officers.

Eventually when he was sure nobody had eyes on him he ducked in to some thick, high bushes which formed a boundary on one edge of the park. He quietly found his way through, he needed the element of surprise and he did not want the police to think he was a terrorist. When he got to the edge and he knew he was in the park, he peered through the bushes at the area beyond. It was crawling with armed police, he could see counter-terror officers and the atmosphere was very tense. There was a further cordon about 200m away, and he couldn't see from his location what they were looking at.

He crept through the bushes towards the direction of the cordon. There were too many officers in the way, he still couldn't see. Fuck it, he thought, and leapt out of the bush and ran towards the second cordon. It was a few seconds before anyone noticed him coming towards them, and by then he was going quickly enough to get close without being caught. As he reached the second cordon he felt strong arms being wrapped around him but they couldn't get him away quickly enough - as they took him down to the floor he caught sight of what they were looking at. It felt like his heart stopped dead for a couple of seconds as his eyes fell on the crumpled figure on the floor.

...

1 day before

At first Georgie thought she was dead.

She tried to open her eyes but everything was black. She tried to sit up but there was something in the way. She was so weak but she managed to find the strength to feel around the darkness, and it was then that she realised she was in a box. She panicked. Had the bastards buried her alive? She smashed her hands on the sides of the box but nobody answered. Everything was quiet except for the sound of her own gasps and screams. She writhed around, trying to kick her way out of the box but it was so strong and she was so tired.

She wondered how long she had been in there already. There was not a single chunk of light in the box, and that meant it was either night time, or the box was completely sealed. She tried to stay calm as she panicked at the thought of slowly dying in this box. Her throat was so dry again and her head was pounding. She couldn't control her breathing and it felt like she had no oxygen.

Eventually she gave in and shut her eyes, and managed to slow her breathing. She knew that there was nothing she could do and she just had to try to distract her mind until it was time to go. She thought about Olly and Charlie. She thought about the happiness she felt on their first Christmas together, just hours after they brought Olly home. She thought about the love she felt for Charlie when she saw what an amazing Dad he had become. She thought about how safe she felt when they cuddled up like spoons in bed with their bodies and hands entwined, and his hot breath on the side of her face.

She was too dehydrated for any tears, but she felt her eyes prickle at the realisation she was probably never going to see Charlie and Olly again. They would never get the chance to have another child. She would never feel Charlie's gentle touch or see the love in his eyes again.