Chapter 26:

Christian knew his wife had not fared well over the last three weeks. She took time off work, leaving the publishing company to her staff to run in her absence. She had lost weight and seemed to walk about in a daze. She smiled at times, but most of time she was lost in despair, pain, and guilt! Christian was at a lost. He knew she needed help but she was adamant that she did not need Flynn or any other charlatan. She just needed time to adjust to the fact that she was a parent-killer. He held her close at night when her sobs woke him up. She didn't fight him then, but accepted his comfort. Christian reached out to Raymond Steele, Grace, and the rest of the family for advice, but nothing they did seemed to help. If anything, his precious wife fell deeper into despair!

At six weeks, Christian took a harder edge with his wife. He demanded that she return to work or he was going to sell the publishing company. He hoped that work would bring her back so they could deal with this situation. He had hope when she said she was returning to work after the weekend and true to her word, she was up, dressed and having breakfast with him. They kissed each other goodbye before entering different cars. Christian watched as Sawyer, who was recently rehired drove Ana to work.

*"Text me when she gets to the office." Christian sent to Sawyer. "Do not fuck this up…your last chance!" *

There was no reply since Sawyer was driving.

An hour later, there was still no reply. Christian knew that she was at work, the GPS on her car showed that she was at 3P or Grey Publishing, as it was being rebranded. He was anxious, but forced himself to let her be. Flynn said that his hovering could make this situation worse and to let Ana have her space. As ten thirty am came and went, Christian could not help himself.

*"Where is Ana?"* He texted to Sawyer.

* "Sir, Mrs. Grey is still in the car in front of GP."*

* "Is she alright?"*

* "No, sir. You better get over here. She knows that I have communicated with you and is getting upset."*

Within twelve minutes, Christian was knocking on the window of his wife's car. His smile faded when he saw her tear-stained face and trembling lips. He opened the door, slid in beside her, and pulled her into his embrace with one fluid motion. "Baby, why didn't you call me? Why are you sitting in here crying?"

"I can't do it, Christian. I can't walk in there and …and…they all know what I did. I killed my mother in there. I can't…I just can't…" She began to sob uncontrollably. Her wails were painful to hear.

Christian looked to Sawyer. "John Flynn." He mouthed to her driver. "And quick!"

Six weeks ago…

Luke Sawyer stood in front of Jason Taylor's desk. He had been terminated after the horrible event of Carla Adams trying to assassinate her own daughter. Through the CCTV at the publishing house, the security team could see the major flaws that let a mad-woman get so close to the Mrs. Ana Grey. Carla had used the service entrance and disguised herself as one of the vending machine attendants. She had used the stairs, keeping close to the walls trying to avoid being seen on the cameras. She seemed to know her way around the building. No one questioned her being on the executive floors being that she was in uniform and she went on her merry way without interruption. When she got to Ana's offices, Hannah was not there and Sawyer was not to be seen. It was later learned that Sawyer had to go on a bathroom break.

"You fucked up, Lukey boy…"Jason Taylor growled. "We never let "the Mrs." go without some kind of security about. You know how the boss is with his wife. Why in the hell didn't you call for someone to take your place?"

"I tried, Sir, but no one in the security suite would answer me and it was an emergency."

"Next time, Luke…shit your pants! You are never to leave her side!" Taylor slid a packet across the desk to Luke. "You have been rehired…Ana will not have anyone but you as her CPO, but I swear…if you fuck up…nothing "The Mrs." can say will keep me or "The Boss" from terminating your ass on site!"

Now six weeks later, Luke is standing before Taylor once again in an empty office of Flynn's building.

"Explain." Taylor said lowly.

"She wouldn't leave the car. She wouldn't let me call you…she just sat there." Luke knew he had fucked up once again, but when the boss lady tells you not to call anyone or text…well…he was put behind the 8-ball! "So, I stayed with her with the doors locked and let her be. I hoped that she would calm down and I could take her home or to "The Boss". When Mr. Grey texted and she saw that we were communicating, that's when she went bat-shit crazy." Sawyer wiped his golden brown curls from his face. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Fuck, Luke…who knows? She fucking shot her own mother!" Taylor bellowed. "She did what you should have done…if you had been where you were supposed to be! You are trained to do that shit…she isn't!"

"Damn it, Jason…I know…I know that I fucked up, but this is not dealing with the problem. She needs help. You didn't see her in that car. She was shaking…shaking so hard that I could feel it in the front seat. And, her eyes…oh shit those eyes were full of tears, full of fear…and when she began to cry…it fucking broke me, man! I couldn't do anything to give her comfort…"

Taylor sighed as he watched Sawyer pace about. "Are you in love with her?"

Sawyer's eyes turned hard. "Fuck, Taylor…are you nuts? She is my responsibility. I admire her. I think she is sweet, but you know I'm tapping Andrea." He lowered his voice. "I think of Mrs. Grey as a little sister."

"Just checking." Taylor replied. "Alright, let's get back and see what's going to happen."

"Do you think she will have to be hospitalized?"

"Fuck, I hope not…that would destroy "The Boss"…he can't live without that woman!"

Christian sighed heavily as he sat at his desk at Grey House. He had no reason to go home. Ana was in retreat at a super exclusive, super private resort that catered to the very private and rich who were having problems. According to Flynn it was the best clinic in the nation and dealt with all kinds of mental issues. She was dealing with an all-consuming guilt of performing patricide. Nothing that Christian, Dr. Flynn, her father, or the rest of the family said seemed to reach Ana and the guilt was eating her alive!

Christian knew that he had to uncover why Carla Wilks Adams had tried to kill her own daughter. There were so many questions that had been left unanswered. How did she get to Seattle without Christian's security knowing about it? Where did she get a gun? How did she know how to get around Grey Publishing? With Taylor, Barney, and Welch, they examined and reexamined the security tapes. They could see how she tried to avoid the main cameras that were seen, but whoever helped her did not know about the hidden cameras. They also could see that security at Grey Publishing was not as tight as they thought. There were too many "holes" in the security protocol. For example, while Carla was sneaking through the hallways, there had been no one watching the monitors. It was after-hours and only one guard was on duty to watch over the banks of monitors. Christian felt that he had let his wife down. He had failed to keep her safe. With Ana in therapy, 3P was now fully branded as Grey Publishing and with the Grey name came all the new security reforms. More uniformed guards, a few un-uniformed agents patrolled the building. A new security suite was reformatted with the highest and newest security gadgets. Every member of the security team had to go through classes to learn how to use the new equipment, be certified to have a side-arm, and be armed when on duty. All entrances, including the service entrances were manned with security, more security cameras, metal-detectors, and one needed a Grey Publishing Security Pass to even enter through the service entrances. All vendors had to be investigated and vetted to be secure. It was a bother to the vendors and other service providers, but security was now the highest concern of Christian Grey.

Christian sat back in his chair. He missed his wife and he wanted her back. He missed her smile and her giggle. His eyes went to the photograph of her that he kept on his desk. He had taken that photograph while they were on The Grace one afternoon. The sun was setting and a lovely reddish golden glow made Ana look like a goddess. She was smiling shyly at the camera. Christian loved that photograph because he loved the woman in the photograph! He missed his wife.

"Sir, Can I have a word?" The deep baritone of Jason Taylor brought Christian back to his office. He motioned for Taylor to come in and approach the massive desk where he ran his empire. "Sir, after careful examination of Mrs. Adams finances, we have found that someone was depositing substantial amounts of money into her private account…over half a million dollars."

"Who?" Christian growled now knowing that Carla was paid to kill her daughter.

"The money comes from an off-shore account, Sir…actually…one of yours." Taylor stared hard at his employer. His dark eyes was considering the man sharply.

"What the fuck are you talking about? I don't have any off-shore accounts…A Swiss account…but not off-shore!"

"Sir, it is an off-shore account in the name of a computer components company called Justin Christian Inc. It is buried well, but it is a legitimate company under the GEH umbrella."

"I have never bought or secured a computer components company under that name." Christian said mentally going through his A&M files. "Where is it located at?"

"The company is located in Portland, Maine."

"I know that I never bought any company in Portland, Maine. Fuck," Christian stood up as his hand swept through his copper curls. "Taylor, I think I am being set up."

Taylor's face was grim. "Sir, I have to agree…I think you are the true and intended target."