Chapter Twenty-Six

Brady slanted another long look at Hope before he responded to her verbal prompting. His hand reached for the top of the box and he lifted it off, setting on the kitchen table by the side of the box. His brows drew together in puzzlement as he pulled a folded note out, which was lying upon layers of white tissue paper.

"A letter?" Greta asked, intrigued by the object Brady was holding in his hand. Her eyebrow arched curiously while she wrinkled her nose. A note was not what she was expecting to be in the container. Maybe the box wasn't quite as menacing as she thought, Greta mused to herself quietly, hopefully, before asking Brady while she leaned in to get a better look at the contents of the box, "What does it say?"

Brady carefully unfolded the letter, breathing in deeply before he started to read the few lines slashed boldly and mockingly across the cream-colored paper. Hope and Greta watched breathlessly as his expression changed from one of total astonishment to livid fury. Their twin gasps of concern and worry caused him to finally lift his eyes from the offensive note and to meet theirs. His eyes showed them plainly the raging depths of his anger brought on by the note in his hands. Brady flung the short note on top of the table as he bit out furiously, "Shit! Read it." He scooted his chair back and stood up from the table, running his hands through his hair. Brady closed his eyes against the painful information he had just received in the note, as well as the other contents he had yet to see in the innocent-looking white box.

Greta placed her teacup on the table and walked gracefully over to Hope, who was now holding the note in her hand. She glanced over Hope's shoulder as they both began to read the short but potent note silently.

Brady Black, (the note ran)

Enclosed in the box you will find a few articles that my daughter no longer needs or desires. It is with great pleasure that I return them to you.

A stamp of the phoenix rising from the ashes served insultingly as the closing for the note. Greta and Hope looked at each other with wide-eyed concern after viewing the note's contents. They then turned their twin gazes on Brady simultaneously, who was standing insolently with his hands upon his hips.

After he gave a curt nod of permission to her, Hope's hand traveled slowly to the white box. She carefully searched through the tissue paper, looking for any object that had been alluded to in the note. First, she pulled out a small envelope. She opened it quietly as Brady and Greta watched her actions. Hope gasped when she pulled out her diamond bracelet, the bracelet she had willingly leant Chloe for her "something borrowed" on the day of her wedding. "My bracelet!" she gasped out loud, holding it aloft in the air for all of them to see.

Greta began to suspect the other objects that the box would contain. Even though she was afraid to find out what else was in there, she finally reached into the box and withdrew another small envelope. Inside the envelope were the music note diamond earrings she had given Chloe as a bridal gift right before the ceremony should have started. "Shit!" she swore quickly under her breath, clutching the earrings tightly within her grip. She felt a single tear travel down her face in sorrow over her sister's fate.

While Greta was carefully and lovingly laying the earrings on top of the kitchen table, Hope took the initiative again and reached back inside. This time she found a long, plain box, the type that would usually hold a necklace. Brady watched through unsmiling eyes as Hope focused her attention on it. She slowly opened it, dreading what she would find on the inside. Hope gingerly disentangled the necklace from the box and held it up for the three of them to see. "Oh, Brady," Hope moaned slightly as she recognized his mother's necklace immediately. After all, she could never remember seeing Chloe without it once they had reconciled. "I am so sorry." She held the necklace to her chest as her face reflected her sadness.

Greta saw an exposed tiny container, hidden slightly among the remaining tissue paper. "There's something else," she announced lowly as she brought the last container into sight. She flipped open the lid and nearly cried aloud when she saw what was in it. "It's Chloe's engagement ring," she whispered brokenly, using her free hand to cover her mouth in dismay.

Brady merely turned his back on the two women in his kitchen after they revealed the contents of the box, not wanting to see their expressions of pity or concern. He couldn't share the overwhelming grief that had overtaken him with them, or with anyone else, for that matter. His nightmarish fears regarding Stefano DiMera's reasons for taking Chloe had just been confirmed. DiMera had succeeded in closing Chloe off from everyone who truly loved her and cared for her.

Hope watched Brady carefully, correctly interpreting his defensive stance. DiMera has increased his pain and devastation to a whole new level, she thought as her eyes narrowed. She knew from experience what it was like to have that bastard mess with your life. She carefully stood up from the kitchen table and went to Brady, touching him hesitatingly on the shoulder. When he didn't respond immediately, she asked him softly, "Brady?"

Brady didn't have the strength to hide the pain any longer, just didn't have the energy to continually deal with it. "She's not coming back," he whispered hoarsely to Hope, still averting his face from Hope and Greta.

Hope couldn't prevent herself. She slid her arms around the younger man, holding him tightly, the way she would hold Shawn when he was in any type of pain. She was vaguely surprised when Brady didn't struggle. Instead, he brought his own hands up and held onto her hands, securing her act of comfort to him. Greta watched the scene in a continuing state of shock.

"Why, Hope?" Brady asked suddenly, turning around so that he could look her in the face. "Why would DiMera want to cause such harm to Chloe and to everyone who knows her? I keep asking myself that question, but I can't come up with a satisfactory answer."

Hope's heart broke in half at the look of intense agony and despair on Brady's face. She reached up and gripped his face soothingly with her hands. She took a deep breath before she attempted to explain her views of DiMera's actions. "DiMera doesn't need an excuse for anything he does. However, I know that he has two solid reasons at work here. One, he hates the Bradys and the Blacks, Brady. He would do anything, and I mean anything, to hurt any one of us. Two, Chloe is his daughter and she completely rejected him. In fact, she worked hard to put him away, behind bars, for the rest of his life."

"So, it's about revenge, then," Brady said, responding to Hope's analysis to the situation. He desperately needed to understand this horrible situation, in order for him to successfully deal with the pain that was consuming him.

"Not completely," Greta broke in suddenly, bringing herself out of her own astonished shock and entering the depressing conversation. "You see," she began to explain slowly, "I don't think it's a matter of simple revenge. I mean, Stefano is definitely pleased that he has taken Chloe away from all of us, that he has her in his possession. But, somehow, I don't think that's all he wants." She gestured to the white box on the table. "Take this box, for example. He sent this box to you, Brady, in order to gloat over his success." She stopped talking as she searched for the correct way to express her fears.

Brady eyed Greta warily, wondering what else she was going to add to her statements. He noticed how Greta was biting her lower lip, which was a sure sign of nervous anxiety for the beautiful princess. "I can see that," he answered her carefully, hoping to end her silence.

Greta sighed and decided to share her suspicions with Hope and Brady openly. "Stefano has planned every step of this scheme intricately. He knew exactly what he was doing, from the time he ordered Chloe's kidnapping to sending this box to you, Brady." She held up the box and announced, "He's not done yet. I know it. I'm absolutely certain of it. Something huge is going to happen. Something that he has manipulated. It's not over yet, not by a long shot."

Brady's eyes smoldered with a mixture of renewed anger and deep despair. "I have that gut feeling, too," he admitted reluctantly, running his hands through his blond hair again. "DiMera is not going to stop, not until he has achieved his goal, whatever that is."

While Brady lapsed into silence, Greta and Hope met each other's gazes. Greta stood up from the kitchen chair and approached Brady, offering him a comforting embrace. "Love ya, Brady," she whispered into his ear. Then, she pulled back in his arms and said, encouragingly, "Keep the faith, Brady, no matter how hard it is to do that. We love her, so much, and we will get her back. Some day, some way, somehow."

Brady nodded slightly in response to Greta's forced optimism. He could appreciate the sentiments, even if his heart had trouble believing it. "Thanks, Greta. I'm glad that you and Hope were here, when that fucking box was found." His eyes communicated the true depth of his gratitude.

Hope pushed Greta playfully out of Brady's arms, laughing slightly, and then took her place. "I've been there, Brady, that horrid place where you and Chloe are right now. And I came through, against all of the odds stacked against me. You and Chloe will, too. I believe it in my heart." She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and quickly left the kitchen, with Greta following closely on her heels.

Brady stayed in the kitchen. He reached down and picked up his mother's necklace and Chloe's engagement ring. "I'll get you back, Chloe. No matter how long it takes." His eyes glinted steely as he made the determined vow for regaining Chloe from the corrupt hands of Stefano DiMera.