A/N: Thank you MidnightSteele and TheOnlyMeThereIs for editing this chapter.
Welcome to all the new follower's of Ana's Shades. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
As always, the words in italics are the words of TheBitch. The bold and italics is an email.
CMA: OTB recognizes that the written matter published on this work, with any inference to, Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, belongs to the true owner being E L James. Character(s) from Crossfire series belong to Sylvia Day. Such 'fan fiction' material is considered 'not for-profit' thus, constitutes fair use, and that no copyright infringement was/is intended. Most characters are theirs but I have tweaked the characterizations to suit MY story. Also, sub consciously, I was influenced by another fan fic by BronzeGodess and it reflects in my writing.
Chapter 10.
Monday mornings are a bitch. Everything that didn't get done last week demands your attention. It's a crazy way to begin a week. I love it. It brings in a fresh bunch of challenges and gives me a respite from thinking the same repetitive thoughts. TheBitch has been silent since my meeting with Christian ended. It does feel peaceful in here. Not quite so on the outside though, where the pandemonium that is my office is moving as if on a drug.
I'm preparing for my next meeting with the editors when I feel my phone vibrating on the desk and answer without looking at the number.
"Steele".
"Ana, Bob here." Bob? That's unusual. In all these years, my mom's husband #4 has never called me. Never. Our only interaction is when I visit and at best, it can be termed civil.
"Hello, Bob. Is everything okay? How's mom?"
"Ana, I don't know how to say this, but I haven't heard from Carla since last evening when she went to her weekend candle-making classes. Some evenings she goes out with her friends and comes in really late. Since she has the keys, I hardly wait up for her. However, she is still not home. This is the first time she has gone without informing me. I was hoping you would have some news for me."
What?
I can't believe he's saying my mom hasn't been home since last night. It has only now occurred to him to check with me?
Calm down. He was probably checking all likely places first.
"Well, I haven't heard from Mom. Did you try her cell number?"
"Yes, but it's switched off. I don't know if it's because her battery died or if she is in trouble. I have spoken to her friends from her candle-making class. They say they just went out for a drink at a bar near their classes and parted ways from there. I even spoke to all her other friends and no one seems to know where she is. I hope she is not in some deep trouble."
"Okay, calm down, Bob. I will get my security to see if they can track her cell or something. I will call you as soon as I have some solid information. In the meantime, if you come across anything that can leads us to her, please call me. Don't worry how small the piece of news is or what time of the day it is. Just call, okay?"
"Yes, Ana. Thank you." I can feel the worry in his voice. Bob is not a man to be worried easily, so I know something is really wrong.
I call Luke Sawyer and he answers at the first ring.
"Luke, meet me in my cabin as soon as you can, please." In a breath, he is standing at my cabin's door.
"Ana, is everything alright? You look pale."
"Luke, Bob just called. Seems my mom hasn't come home after her evening class yesterday. I need someone to look into it."
"Don't worry. We will find her. Would you like to lodge a police complaint for missing person?"
"It's been a few hours. I don't think the police will lodge a complaint till it's been 24 hours. In any case, let's do a primary search. We'll involve the cops if our search doesn't lead us to my Mom. Right now, I would like to fly out to Denver and see what I can find out. I think we'll need professional help. I suggest you bring in two other people with us and have a few on back up. We'll call for them in case of need."
"Well, I can have Norma and Zubin fly in with you. Let's take it from there."
"Okay. Send Jena in and have the car ready for me. I will just leave a few instructions and then go home to pick a few essentials. Have Ranger Bird ready for me to fly out in the next hour."
I inform Jena of my emergency and need to rush. As soon as I have left instructions with Jena on rescheduling my meetings and on keeping me posted, I rush down. In less than ten minutes, we arrive at Escala and I rush to my room to pack some basic essentials. My cell rings on my way to the room and I answer in the first ring.
"Steele."
"Anastasia." Only one man calls me Anastasia. Only one voice could make me heel in this hour of rush and distress.
"Christian? I'm sorry I can't talk right now. I'm in the middle of something? Can I speak to you later, please?"
"Anastasia, I'm aware of your mom being missing. Andrea had called Ms. Johnson for the appointment and Jena told her it wouldn't be possible to fix any appointment. And before you get upset at Jena for telling Andrea about your mom, please know that Andrea can be very persuasive when she wants to be. I'm calling to offer my help. If you need any thing, staff, resources, anything, I'm holding it on standby for you. So tell me, how can I help?"
"Honestly Christian, right now, I don't know. Thank you for your offer. Now, without meaning to be rude, I really must get going." I disconnect the call. Right now, my Mom is my only priority in life. God knows what kind of trouble she is in. I try calling her again and the number is switched off.
I pick my bag and meet Luke who is standing just outside my bedroom.
"The plane will be ready for us when we reach the airport. Zubin and Norma are on their way to the airport as we speak. The back up team is on standby."
"Good. Let's get there as soon as we can."
XXX
As soon as I step outside my plane, there is paparazzi–frenzy around.
"Is it true that your mom has not come home since yesterday?" "Has she been kidnapped?" "Has anyone approached you for ransom?" "How much money are they asking for?" "Will you pay the ransom?" "Is your step-father responsible for this?" "When was the last time you spoke to her?" "How is your relationship with her?"
It's an endless stream of questions till Luke has me safely tucked away in a black SUV, which he must've organized. Some of those questions had been playing in my mind. Has my mom been kidnapped? Do I trust Bob enough that I don't think he is behind all this? Will I pay if they ask for a ransom? At least that one, I know an answer to. If mom is safe, they can ask me for my life and I will give it to them, but if they hurt a hair on her body, I will make them pay. I will take them to my dungeon and they will experience pain like they have never witnessed before. They will beg and pray for death to take them, and I will not go easy on them. That is the kind of ransom I am willing to pay.
"Ma'am, we're here. There is media outside. How would you like to proceed?" Luke is maintaining his calm through all this. Thank God. Right now, I could kill someone.
"For now, I wish to get inside and seek as much information as I can. Later, we can have PR issue a statement for them."
As soon as I step outside, I'm safely covered with Zubin in the front, Luke covering me on right side and Norma is walking just a step behind me. Thankfully, the door is only a few steps away, though the paparazzi manage to throw a multitude of questions at me.
I greet Bob when he opens the door. I step in and we quickly close the door behind us. The paparazzi has ears to the wall and for now, we seem to agree to keep it as discreet as possible.
Zubin and Norma take positions inside, next to the door while Luke checks the house and once satisfied, stands right behind me. It's a small house with two bedrooms, an open kitchen and a living room that opens to the calm waters. On any other occasion, I prefer to sit outside at the deck with my mom, sipping and pretending to enjoy her crazy concoctions that she calls her cocky-tails. Today, all I want is to hug her. Hell, I'll even tolerate her crazy cocky-tails for it.
"Bob, please tell me all you know about Mom's schedules. When did she leave home? What time does she normally come in? Who have you spoken to, so far?"
"Ana. Wait. Listen. I have quite a few updates for you before you spring all these questions on me. I need you to patiently listen to me and not interrupt me, if you can help it. I'll answer all your questions after that. Is that okay?"
Okay? Is that okay? Hell no! But I don't have an option. Clearly he has things to tell me and I wouldn't know what it is until he finishes telling me. "Okay, though I can't promise not to interrupt."
A deep breath and then, "As you already know, your mom goes for these week-end candle making classes. I didn't mind since she seemed to be going through a tough patch. The doc said it was due to menopause and I needed to let her be. He had advised her to take up a hobby, and so she chose candle-making. It had seemed to help her since she again made some new friends. Occasionally, she would go out with them for a drink or two to a pub near her classes. If she were going to be late, she would message me.
"Yesterday, she and her friends went out for a drink. One of them remembers her saying she needed to leave soon since she had not informed me and the battery to her cell was out. You know how she keeps forgetting to charge her phone. Her friend offered her to use her cell, but she insisted that since she was going straight home, it didn't matter so much.
"She never came home last night. Of that I'm certain. This morning, when she was still not here, I called her friends and while they all confirmed that she went out for a drink with them, they insisted that she was about to take a cab home when they parted ways. Between then and now, I can't trace her.
"I logged into my email a few minutes before you came in. It was almost an impulsive thing to do. I have received an email, which has come from 'anonymous'. I have a print out in my room. Please wait while I get it."
The few minutes it takes for him to go to his room and come out feel like an eternity. I almost snatch the papers out of his hand as he extends his arm towards me.
A quick glace at the paper and I gasp. How dare they!
Hello Ms. Steele,
As you have guessed by now, your mother is (not so) safely enjoying our hospitality. So far, we have managed to keep her under the impression that you are organizing a surprise for her and have asked us to take you away while you work at it. She is enjoying some wonderful locations.
It may however not continue this way for long. For one, the funds available to us are not quite as unlimited, you know. Also, we would rather hand her back (or dump her in a trash bin) before she gets suspicious of us.
To make the long story short, we would like for you to arrange for $100,000,000 by the end of the day. We will again be in touch with you, this time through another channel of communication. So keep your eyes and ears open.
You are a smart woman. You know the repercussions of involving the cops or not having the money ready. Don't make us do anything rash.
Your well-wishers.
They have really no idea how mad I am at this time.
Getting mad will get you no where. Clear your mind and think rationally.
For once I'm glad TheBitch is talking to me. I need an ally and couldn't trust any one else, right now.
I think about what I can do and create mental list of possible actions:
a) find out where this email has come from
b) reply to the email
c) arrange for the money
d) inform the police
e) involve a private agency
Then I run through each and look at the practicalities of each.
a) Find out where the email came from – easier said than done
b) Reply to the email – and say what? Option1. —I wont pay. Option 2. The funds are ready. Option 3. All the profanities I can think of. Really? Is it a practical option? Okay, not a practical option. Let's scrap it.
c) Arrange for the money – Most of my wealth is in the form of investments. I will only have a few million in my account. So, sell a stake in one of my companies, but that's time consuming. Ask for a personal loan from a bank. While it is less time consuming, it will still take some time. Do you have any suggestion? You could ask Christian. That's ridiculous. No. ridiculous is not being able to save mom. Okay, let's look a it as a last resort.
d) Inform police – are you nuts? It's a surefire way of telling the kidnappers to kill mom. Okay, scrap it.
e) Involve a private agency – we could do that. Yes, we should.
"Luke, find me a private agency to look into this matter. I want some one who is efficient and has a good track record at finding people. I think it goes without saying that it should be some one we can trust. Get them to sign an NDA. Ensure no one speaks to the media. Any questions?"
"Ma'am, I believe Mr. Welch, currently in employment of Mr. Christian Grey, will be a great resource. He can possibly track the source of the email and may even be able to track your mom, if she still has her cell on her."
So we are back to enlisting Christian's help. Hmmm… he did offer his help. Repeatedly. Let's speak to him and see where it goes.
I dial his number and he answers at the first ring.
"Anastasia. I've been waiting for your call. Any updates on your mom?"
"Yes, well, we've got an email, sent on my step-father Bob's email id but addressed to me. The email says they have her. They took her under the pretense that I am organizing a surprise for her and have asked for her to be whisked away while I prepare for it. They have asked for $100,000,000. As expected, there is a warning to not involve the cops. After considering all options, I have decided to involve a private agency. Luke tells me that your man Welch can help us by tracing the email and may also be able to trace my mom if she has her cell on her. Can he?" Fingers crossed.
"Well, I think for now, let's see if we can handle it between you and me and our resources put together. If by the end of the day, we still feel the need for it, I will recommend a private agency to you. Welch has done some phenomenal work in the past, so let's see if he can trace it. Can you please forward it to my email address?"
"Yes. Please hold on. Bob, can you please forward that email to this email add I'm writing down? Thank you. Christian, you should receive it shortly. And what about tracing mom's cell? The last we heard, her battery was out. Is it still possible to trace the cell?"
"Ana, there are a lot of ifs and buts to this. Message me her cell phone number, the IMEI number of her handset, if you have it, and if not, which model and which make was she using. I will get Welch working on this right away and will call you back as soon as I have any updates for you. In the mean time, if you find anything, please call. And Ana, don't worry about the money. We wont have to pay it, but if push comes to shove, I will have the funds ready for you. Take care of yourself, my brave girl."
MY Brave girl. He called you MY Brave Girl!
"Thanks, Christian, I will be waiting for your call."
A/N: What do you think is going to happen next? Leave me a review or PM me.
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