Everything inside Grace went cold at the threat. The children… they were really in danger, weren't they? Hannah and Annie locked in a dungeon, Molly being silenced by some… well, the word man didn't even seem applicable. Anyone capable of kidnapping kids traveling in a foreign country wasn't human—they were a monster. All of a sudden, her nausea peaked in a way it hadn't before, and she raced to the restroom, dropping to her knees and heaving into the toilet. Back in the room, meanwhile, Oliver was barking into the phone. The police, she was sure. Or, maybe the Prime Minister. She didn't care who he was speaking with—she just wanted the girls—and Michael—to make it out safely.

"Where do we even start from here?" she asked once she was finally feeling well enough to head back into the main room. Tired, not feeling well, she wanted so badly to find it within her to get a second wind so she could join her husband in the rescue mission. At the moment, though, she could tell it would probably slow them down, and he sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm waiting to hear back from Winston," he said. "I told him that we needed to know any and all properties Darlene has. Hopefully, he gets back quickly. Until then, we just have to wait—we can't drive aimlessly, we have no idea which direction we need to head."

"Punjab and the Asp have car phones, don't they?" she bit down on her lap. "Maybe they can divide and start going South and East, at the very least. They have a good sense of direction, I trust them to find the castle."

"Grace," he sighed. "I trust them, too, but something tells me this isn't going to be an easy location to find. If she can kidnap children without raising suspicion, it's not going to be right off the road. It'll be hidden in the woods. Or, worse, in a completely different country altogether." He sat down, rubbing his forehead. "Dammit. Why didn't I put a stop to this when it first started? If I'd have just gotten rid of them as soon as they started with their ridiculous scheme, the girls would be safe."

"At least we know they're resourceful," she said, softly, both wanting and not wanting to ease Oliver's mind off his blame at the same time. Of course, he couldn't have foreseen a kidnapping resulting from all this. That wasn't his fault. But he'd been seduced by the idea of more family, and though she couldn't blame him for wanting to know what could've been, she wished he'd have been more cynical. It figured, the one time he wasn't, disaster erupted.

"There is that," he agreed, regretfully, shaking his head again. "However Molly's handling this, she's doing it right—we wouldn't have been thinking about Darlene for a good day or two if she hadn't found the phone. Michael seems tough, as well. And, obviously Annie and Hannah—they're so protective of each other. They'll be fine, it's not them I'm worried about." He sighed. "I just hope we can find them before Darlene can do too much damage."

She reached for a peppermint candy. "When they call, you should go alone," she said.

He sat back, surprised. "I'd have expected you to race out to the car the second the phone rang."

"I won't be of any use if we need to move quickly," she said. "I certainly won't do us any good if I wind up getting sick all over the car. I need to be here, I can handle making any calls you need me to. This time, you will take the car with the phone. You'll have Punjab and the Asp—I know you can take care of everything, probably better without my constant nagging."

He sighed. "I wish I could say we could make it work," he said. "I know the girls will want to see you."

"They will when they get back here," she assured. "We just need to get them safe, first."

The phone started to ring now, and the pair exchanged a glance. Oliver crossed over, picking up the receiver.

"Winston?" he asked, nodding as soon as Grace heard another voice sound over the line. "Yes. Yes, I know where that is. You think so? Okay, I'll get there ASAP. Thank you, Winston."

He set the receiver back down, looking at his wife. "They've found the property that matches the description Molly gave," he said. "She has many homes—only one castle. It's just a little ways out, in the countryside. We won't be there for several hours, but it's something."

She sighed, relieved that at least they knew where they were heading. "Be safe," she whispered, standing so she could hug him. "Bring them home safe."

"You know I will," he kissed her forehead. "Don't fret, we have the power of the entire English government on our side."

"You and your connections," she laughed a little. "I never imagined them coming in handy quite this much with our child."

"That girl will never see the light of day without us at her side for at least a year," he kissed her forehead again. "I love you. I'll be back. I promise, I'll make sure they're alright."

She gave a simple nod, crossing her arms over her chest as he started towards the door. Leaving through it, she was soon left alone, and once she was, she tilted her head upwards, whispering a silent, desperate prayer.

Give me back my daughter. Give her back safely.

Please.

…

"What do you mean, they took Molly?!"

Annie was expecting nothing but good news to result from Molly and Michael's mission to find a phone. Through their years at the orphanage together—not to mention all the escapades they'd gotten into since being adopted—she knew Molly could handle this. Molly was smart. Molly would get them home.

She was not, at all, expecting to hear the fact they no longer knew where Molly even was.

"I tried to stop them," Michael answered, the same panic in his voice. "I told them to take me instead, but they didn't listen. They said she was going to get it if we kept up with this—that's when I came back to you."

"Your parents are really going to kill us," Hannah moaned, wringing her hands. "What do we do? We have to find Molly, we can't let her get hurt! We have to get out of here."

"There has to be another exit," Annie said, peering through the grate again. "Michael, do you see anything?"

"No, it's all just concrete. There's nothing on your end?"

"No," she kicked the wall, wincing as pain surged through her foot. "Who uses dungeons anymore? This is the twentieth century! There has to be something we're missing."

"You need to boost me up this time," Hannah said, worry clear in her eyes. "It'll be tight getting out, but I think I can do it. It has to work, we're losing time."

"Are you crazy? And leave me here alone?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"I need to be the one who gets out," she said, decisively. "No offense, but you get too… Hannah in emergencies. She needs me. I can find where she is, I'm sure, I'm good at tricking adults. And I bet they're not even that smart—I've got this."

"Oh, no way," Hannah folded her arms. "You are not leaving me alone. Not with these snakes!"

"Well, one of us has to go! We can't both stay here, and you can't be the one who gets out."

"I'll have Michael! He's smart."

"Then, he should have another smart person with him."

"Are you saying I'm not?"

"I'm saying you panic, Hannah. You get all caught up in your head, and then everyone's worse off because of it. I need to get out, we'll come back for you. Just don't go near the snakes, they're in a pit. They can't get out."

"Guys…" Michael said. The girls, though, were too deep in their conversation to hear him.

"Maybe I panic, but at least I don't just immediately go with whatever idea floats to my head first. That's what gets us most in trouble, Annie. You don't think things through, and then we get caught up in a huge mess. Molly got a concussion because of you!"

"We're back to that now?"

"We never left it! I just ignored it because there were so many other things going on," Hannah scoffed. "I'm going, not you. I'm not arguing on that."

"Guys—"

"I'm not letting you mess this up," Annie retorted. "You don't have guts. You get scared, it won't help!"

"I'm not going to let Molly get hurt because I'm scared," she narrowed her eyes. "I'm going."

"No, you aren't."

"Yes, I am!"

"No, you—"

"Guys!"

This time, Michael's hushed whisper cut through their argument. Both looking towards the grate, Annie's stomach sank at the worried look on his face.

"I can hear Molly somewhere down there," he said. "She sounds hurt. The guy who took her was talking, too. He said something about not seeing the light of day again. Someone needs to try and get out, we need to get a move on!"

Annie and Hannah exchanged a glance, neither wanting to budge from their previous stance. Sighing, though, Hannah begrudgingly bent to her knees, cupping her hands out so Annie could step into them. "Come on," she said. "If you're going to go, go fast! And don't leave me here with the snakes for long!"

Annie sighed gratefully, nodding as she headed over, placing her hands on the wall before stepping into Hannah's palms. Up at the grate, Michael started reaching down so he could pull her out. The space was, indeed, tight, and Annie very nearly got stuck, but after a couple minutes of pushing and tugging from Hannah and Michael, she managed to get out.

"Okay," she said to Hannah, peering back into the dungeon. "We'll be back—I promise."

"Hurry!"

She nodded, standing up and looking at Michael. He held out a hand to her, which she took, and as they started racing down the hall where Michael had heard Molly, they stopped short when they came face-to-face with Marlene and Darlene both.

"Well, well, well," Darlene sneered, a whipping stick in her hands. She slapped it against her outstretched palm, raising an eyebrow at Annie and Michael. "I see Little Miss Rich Girl found herself a boyfriend on her trip, didn't she?"

"Where's Molly?!" Annie demanded. "Let her go, right now! She doesn't deserve this!"

"Oh, but I deserved to be ignored by your father?" she scoffed, coming close to Annie's face. "You brats aren't going to leave this place until he's given me sufficient payment for the years of emotional damage his departure has left on me! Get used to it, princess, you aren't special anymore."

"Daddy isn't going to give you a cent," Annie sneered. "He doesn't negotiate with bad people."

"Is that so?" Darlene laughed, whacking the stick against the cement wall. "Well, let's see who's right and who's wrong. For now, though, I suggest you both go back to where you came from. Wouldn't want to let poor little Molly hit her head again, would you?" she smirked. "Heaven forbid she forget about her mommy and daddy again."

"Leave her alone!" Annie clenched her fists. "You're not going to win!"

"Oh, but haven't you noticed?" Darlene laughed. "I already have."

Annie was ready to lunge forward, wring her arms around Darlene's neck, although she wasn't quite sure how that would work. Michael placed a hand on her shoulder, though, as though to stop her before she could, and she let out a heavy breath, crossing her arms.

"You leave Molly alone," she said. "Don't you dare hurt her!"

Darlene just laughed. "We'll see, Princess," she said, pointing back down the hall where they'd come. "We'll see,"

Annie glared at her, a nasty retort lingering on her tongue. Before it could make its way out, though, the sound of sirens blasted through the air, and Annie's heart swelled.

"Daddy Warbucks!" she yelled. "See? I told you, you weren't gonna win! Daddy always takes care of us!"

"Nelson!" Darlene shouted, panic crossing her face. "Nelson, get these brats hidden! They're here, you'd better not let me down!"

The man quickly reappeared, coming almost out of nowhere. Annie jumped at once, ready to fight just as she'd been with Darlene, but he was too quick for her. Clutching onto her by several tufts of hair, grabbing Michael by the ear, they both were dragged back to a separate dungeon—this time, one without any lighting whatsoever.

"The boss is not nice when she's upset," he sneered. "Good luck, lovebirds."

The door slammed shut with this, Annie and Michael now encompassed in complete darkness. Worse yet, they couldn't even hear the sirens anymore, which meant the room was soundproof.

Even if they shouted now, nobody would be able to hear them.