Author's Note:

I'm back! This is the longest I've gone without having a story out but there has been so much going on the past couple of months that I needed to take the time to bring myself back into writing. For one thing, school has started yet again and thankfully I am back in the game. I'm working with high school students now and there are times that I feel like I'm twiddling my thumbs because, let's face it, high school students feel they don't need the help. Anyway, I have a lot of down time on my hands so writing things down has been a good thing. But there have been some moments in the classroom that were very emotional, stressed, crazy, you name it. I won't go into them but I'm sure you get what I mean. Also August tends to be an extremely busy month because of our anniversary and our oldest daughter's birthday only being nine days apart (with school starting for me in between). Yeah, it's been crazy and I'm ready for down time. I also took the time to reread Best Served Cold and I must say that I am disappointed in myself. I had so many issues that I didn't even realize they were there until I reread the story. I am so sorry if I had confused people with the errors I found. If a discrepancy does come up with this new story, I will make it a point to let you know. I do want to mention something now though. I had said that Carson Drew had green eyes at some point but it's not the case. He has blue eyes (which is where Nancy gets hers) and Kate had the green eyes (which will come into play in the story with descriptions). As of right now, I don't know if I will go back and revise BSC. As a result of my previous issues, I have been very carefully writing the beginning of this story. I have written the prologue several times and with different characters but I felt that this version was the most basic to tell what happened in the past. The main body of the story begins not long after the epilogue of Best Served Cold and we will go from there. As for updates, I will try to get one chapter out a week but you know how it goes. But I don't want to span this out too long either. Just be patient with me. I hope that you enjoy the first part of what might be the end of the journey through the Beginnings saga (not sure yet). If you will, please leave a review to let me know what you think! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts and constructive criticism if any. Have a great day and God bless!

Prologue

Kate ran aimlessly through the streets, the rain pelting her as she went along. She had to get away from them. It was the only thing she could do to protect herself and her unborn child. Thankfully the men who held her for a month still had no clue that she was pregnant though she wasn't sure as to how none of them figured it out. But she wanted to keep it that way just in case she was able to escape.

Her chance came when she was finally able to open the window in her room. Kate climbed down a rain spout to the ground before scuttling off into the night. The grounds were patrolled by guards but she knew where to go without being seen thanks to a guard who gave her instructions on how to get away. One day Kate would make sure she repaid the man who helped her but her thoughts were on one thing: her family.

The woman abruptly stopped, her chest heaving from exertion and anguish. Her family… That horrible man told her they were dead, killed in a car accident days after the explosion. But then again he could be lying just as he did when he told her his name. Kate knew from experience that he was lying about his name, his mannerisms giving him away. But he didn't give away anything when he said her family was dead. He believed it himself but she wasn't about to give in until she knew for sure.

Kate looked around her, wondering where she was when her eyes landed on the one thing that could help her. A red phone booth rose out of the gloom like a beacon of hope. She ran over to the booth and quickly dialed for an operator. In what seemed like forever she was finally patched through to the American phone number she gave the operator. Her heart dropped moments later though when the sound of a disconnected line blared through the receiver.

"No!" she cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. "It can't be!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the operator stated in a sympathetic British accent. "I cannot connect you to a disconnected line. Is there another number you would like me to call?"

Leaning her head against the window pane, Kate thought about who else she could call. There was no way of knowing if Fenton Hardy was still alive from the explosion and she if everyone thought she was dead then maybe she should remain that way.

"N..no," Kate finally stammered closing her eyes. "There's no one."

"Do you need me to call a constable?"

The question took her by surprise. The operator thought she was in trouble but she didn't know who to really trust anymore, even the police in a foreign country. Kate knew she had to do something to avenge her family and calling the constables was not going to help her in any way.

"No," she said firmly. "Thank you."

Kate quickly hung up the phone and stepped out into the rain once more. She looked up at the darkened sky and closed her eyes and the rain drops pelted her once more. Kate said a prayer, vowing to find everything she could on the man who took her life away. His phony name was the start but suddenly a thought crossed her mind as if something was urging her. Her unborn child was still alive and growing. She had to find a way to have the baby without him knowing about it and hide the child away for their own safety.

As if answering her prayers, Kate heard the bells of a church tolling nearby, her green eyes shooting open. There was her answer: a church. They would know how to help her.

Following the sounds of the bells, she saw the cathedral from a distance just as the final chime reverberated off the walls of the small town. A squealing of tires echoed around her, causing Kate to stop before she stepped out onto the street. A black sedan and SUV stopped just feet from where she stood in a darkened alley, barring her way to the church. She had to find a way there before his men found her.

"Find her!" Kate heard him order.

Her heart dropped when she saw the man who held her for weeks. He was handsome, around the same age as her. His hair was slicked back away from his face revealing the bruise she had given him earlier in the day. He tried to come on to her after revealing the real reason as to why he faked her death. He was intrigued by her, interested in knowing who she was and if he could convince her to change sides. The only thing Kate knew was that she wanted nothing to do with him.

A man made his way toward her hiding place as she shrank back into the shadows. Kate couldn't see his face to know if he was the man who helped her and she didn't want to take the chance if it wasn't him.

Her heart pounded as she waited. She breathed slowly through her nose trying to calm herself down. The muzzle of a gun came into view right next to her and Kate held her breath.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed. Kate looked up to see the man who helped her earlier standing above her, his eyes full of anger and concern. "You need to get out of here! Now! I think he knows that ones of us helped you escape. Now go!"

"Why are you helping me?" she asked cautiously as she rose from the ground.

"Because I don't like to see others get hurt," he stated, his voice barely above a whisper. "I...this isn't what I signed on for. Now, get out of here before someone else comes down this way!"

Kate nodded and ran off away from him but also away from the church. She had to find another way there without getting lost.

A loud gunshot cracked through the air and Kate came to a sudden stop. She turned back toward the alley but knew if she lingered for even a moment, someone would catch her. Kate took off running and went down another street just as two men exited the alley she was hiding in. Shouting erupted and she ran faster, her side and belly starting to ache as she pushed herself forward. She didn't think anyone saw her but she remained in the shadows as she finally caught sight of the church once more.

Not taking the chance of being seen by pounding on the front door, Kate went down beside the church and found another door. She urgently knocked on the door and waited, checking both ends of the street as she waited. After what seemed like hours, the door finally cracked open revealing a man in black clothing, a white clerical collar at his neck.

"Is there something I can do for you, my child?" he asked solemnly.

"Yes! I…I need help!" Kate hissed looking back down the alley again.

The cleric stepped out into the alley and followed her gaze. He could hear the sounds of men shouting and footfalls coming towards them. The man quickly pushed her into the church and closed the door before locking it.

"How did you get messed up with them?" he quickly asked guiding her through the empty church. "Those men are not ones whom I'd like to quarrel with."

"They…they…" but Kate stopped as her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed. The priest caught her just before she hit the ground and gently laid her down. He knew not to call the constables for there were rumors that they were bought by the criminals of the streets. He had to help the woman somehow without anyone knowing.

"My…my baby…" she mumbled, her face hot from fever.

"Oh, child," the priest whispered. He said a silent prayer before he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the parish.

"What's this, Mathias?" a woman asked as he came into the room. She was about 50 and dressed in plain clothing. The moment she saw the woman she ran to get towels.

"She was at our side door, Constance," he explained as he laid Kate down on a bed. "I believe she was trying to escape several men."

"You don't mean…"

"Yes," Mathias nodded. "And we cannot turn anyone away. That is not what we are here for. She needs our help and I believe she is with child. She mumbled something about it before she passed out."

"Oh, dear," the woman gasped. She stepped forward and began to look Kate over.

Mathias left the room and returned with a bowl of warm water and wash cloth. The woman was still working when he returned, her hands cupping Kate's growing belly. After several minutes, she stopped and turned to Mathias who looked at her expectantly.

"She needs a doctor or she'll die along with the child," Constance stated grimly. "I can go retrieve Harland and be back within ten minutes. Just keep her comfortable until we return."

With that, the woman was gone, leaving Mathias to attend to Kate. He knew she was American by her accent but wondered why she was mixed up with the men chasing her.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a ringing bell coming from the front of the church. A few minutes later a knock came at the parish door. Mathias answered to find the church groundskeeper standing at the door, his face grim.

"What is it, Julian?" he asked though his voice cracked somewhat. Mathias kept his body in front of the opening to ensure that Julian could not see inside the room.

"There are men at the door wanting to speak with you, Sir," Julian replied gruffly.

"What do they want?"

"They are searching for someone and wanted to know if she was 'ere."

Mathias shook his head quickly. "No, I haven't seen anyone. Turn them away. It is too late for me to see anyone. And you can go home too, Julian. You have a family to tend to."

Julian's eyes narrowed and he pushed Mathias out of the way to reveal Kate lying on the bed. The priest didn't think that the man would turn them in but when Julian whirled around to face him, the priest feared the worst. The groundkeeper's eyes burned in alarm and Mathias knew if he let Julian return to the men at the front door, the woman was as good as dead. He quickly pushed past Mathias again only this time the priest grabbed a hold of the man's arm.

"Please, don't do this," Mathias pleaded. "She needs help and those men out there will kill her if you tell them she's here."

"That is not my concern," Julian snarled shaking off Mathias. "Unlike you, I 'ave a family to fink of. If those men should ever find out about 'er being 'oused 'ere, all of our lives are done for. I cannot let my child die because of one person."

"But what about her?" Mathias cried pointing to Kate. He stepped in front of Julian, his eyes blazing. "I believe that she is pregnant and those men out there will kill both her and the child. Do you want that on your conscience when you go to heaven?"

Julian took a step back, his mouth open in surprise. He looked at the woman lying in the bed, beads of sweat rolling down her face. His wife had issues with getting pregnant and the complications she had when their only child was born. He couldn't let those men kill an innocent child no matter who the woman was. He bowed his head in defeat then looked back at Mathias.

"I can turn them away but they wanted to speak to you," Julian replied. "If I tell them to go away, they might not believe me because of my background. If it comes from you, they might believe it. But mark my words, Sir, if anything 'appens to my family, I'll kill you."

"Nothing will happen to them, Julian," Mathias assured him placing his hands on the man's shoulders. "God will protect them."

The priest walked out of the parish leaving the groundskeeper behind to stay with the woman. Mathias took a deep breath before entering the sanctuary where two men were waiting, both looking uncomfortable in the church.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Mathias said calmly, looking innocently at the men.

"Yeah," one of them nodded. "We're looking for a woman. Have you seen her? Reddish hair, green eyes?"

"No, I can't say that I have," the priest shook his head. "Have you tried the train station? Or maybe a boat?"

"She was spotted in the area recently so might have come in here without you knowing, Father," the man replied.

"I assure you gentlemen that no one has come to the door," Mathias replied solemnly though his heart was pounding.

"The train station is close," the other suggested glancing at his colleague. "And it might not have been her that I saw."

"Then why would you shoot your gun off the way you did?" the first one pointed out. "If it wasn't her, that was a pretty stupid thing to do. We can't have that kind of publicity coming our way. And besides, who's side are you on, Lincoln?" He looked back at Mathias. "Are you sure you haven't seen her?"

"Again, she's not here."

"You know what will happen if you're lying to us."

"I am a man of God. Why would I lie?"

"Then you wouldn't mind us looking around, would ya?"

"Not at all," Mathias smiled. He gestured for the men to pass in order to search the church before following them.

The two men were thorough, searching every inch of the sanctuary, pulpit, altar, and finally the parish. Mathias was concerned when they arrived at the door of the parish, so much so that the one of the men gave him a skeptical look before bursting in. What they found surprised even Mathias.

Constance was lying in bed, her eyes closed and a cloth over her forehead. Julian stood nearby, nervously wringing his hands while he watched the doctor who was bent over the bed. The doctor was checking Constance's pulse while looking at his watch. He didn't look up until his was through, his eyes full of concern.

"Mathias!" he cried. "It's a good thing you contacted me when you did or poor Constance would have died!"

"Harland, thank you for coming," the priest answered, not missing a beat. He pushed past the two stunned men and moved into the room. "How is she doing?"

"Much better," Harland replied then winked slyly. "She'll be back on her feet in a few days. Who's with you?"

"These two gentlemen are looking for a woman," he explained turning toward the door. "But I'm sure that they are satisfied that whomever they were looking for is in fact not here."

"I'm sorry, Father," Lincoln bowed his head. "We were just following orders. I…I hope she gets better, whatever is wrong with her."

"Thank you," Mathias nodded. "I will see you to the door then." He turned to Julian and Harland. "I'll be right back to pray over Constance."

Several minutes later, the priest returned to the parish, confused as to what was going on. When he opened the door Constance whirled around, her face etched in worry.

"Were they convinced?" she asked.

"They were," Mathias chuckled. "Heck, I was too. How did you hide her?"

"Very carefully. It's a good thing they didn't check the bathroom," Harland replied. The woman was now lying back in bed, her eyes closed and her face still beaded with sweat. "This woman is going to have to stay here for at least a week. I don't want to move her again until I know the child will be fine. So far, the child is strong and alive just like the mother. Once the fever is gone and she's awake, we'll know for sure. I'll be back daily to check on her. I suggest that Constance keep her head down for the next few days in order to keep up the charade that she's sick."

"I understand," the woman nodded. "I'll stay here and tend to her for now."

"Thank you, Constance," Mathias smiled. "And thank you, Harland, for coming by to help. We may not have known what to do."

The doctor nodded. "Just keep her safe for now. I know those men will continue to look for her so she may have to stay longer until everything dies down. Do you know her name?"

"No, she didn't have the chance to tell us," he shook his head. Mathias turned back toward the woman in the bed. There was not much else they could do until she was awake once more. But he vowed to make sure she remained safe until she was healthy enough to move. It was his duty and he was going to make sure he kept his vow.

Twenty years later…

Mathias bent over the papers as he studied them. He was still the parish priest having turned down several new appointments over the years. He felt it was his duty to remain with the town he practically grew up in especially with its current state of decay. He held up a check and smiled. It was from the woman he helped so many years before. She sent cashier's checks to the church every few months, a thank you to the church helping her in her time of need. He sat reminiscing the friendship they'd had over the years.

Sighing, Mathias placed the check in the deposit bag and sealed it to be taken to the bank the next morning. He wondered where she was at that moment. After she awoke days later, she told them all her story. Katherine was her name. She was a United States citizen who was kidnapped weeks before. Her family was killed in a car accident or so the ones who took her said. Mathias could tell she was leery of him at the time, her trust having been spent though he continued to assure her that she was safe. He was going to get her to safety if it was the last thing he did…and he kept his promise.

About two weeks later, a friend of Mathias' took Katherine to a convent in France. It was there where she had her child though she didn't tell him or anyone else if the baby was a boy or girl. She felt she couldn't trust him just yet but after a while, she finally warmed up to him. The two became good friends and they agreed for the safety of those at the parish and the child, Katherine would keep the child's name and gender a secret.

Mathias missed her though. She did not normally return to the small town in England where he was but he did visit the convent she was sent to every so often. Katherine did not stay there long after the birth nor did she convert but she frequently used the location as a place of safety when she needed it. The majority of the time, Katherine stayed low, using the resources around her to keep her alive. Her child was raised by her in secret then was sent to a school in the United States for safety. At least, that was what Mathias was told.

Although he had finally entered the 21st century by getting an email and even a smart phone, Katherine remained stoic in her ways. She used burner phones that were untraceable, stayed away from the news and events of the day, and didn't use an email or the internet for fear being tracked by the wrong people. To get a hold of her was to leave messages with the nuns or call the burner phone if she gave you the number. Katherine laid low, keeping to the shadows around her which was why she didn't know about the young woman from the United States who was kidnapped months before.

Mathias only found out about it himself an hour ago after going through his usual nightly internet search. He found the article on a whim, though he believed it was God who guided him. As Mathias read the article, his thoughts immediately went to Katherine. The photo of the young woman looked exactly like her with exception to her eyes. She was also young, only mid-twenties, if that. She couldn't have possibly been Katherine but Mathias wondered if the girl was related to her.

He investigated more and found out that the young woman was the daughter of a powerful lawyer in the United States. She went missing several months before but the US government was only now shifting its focus to Europe. As to why it took so long to go the European route was beyond him. Mathias wracked his brain trying to remember what Katherine had told him about her family who supposedly died twenty years earlier. Closing his eyes, he recalled her saying that her husband was a young lawyer, a public defender waiting for his chance to move on. And her daughter, only three years old at the time, was a typical precocious child, one whom Katherine called her "mini-me."

Mathias grabbed his cell phone and dialed the latest number Katherine had given him, waiting impatiently as the phone dully rang. As the rings kept coming, he wondered if she had to change phones again and hadn't had the time to give him the new number. But after the fifth ring, she finally answered, her voice groggy and tired.

"What do you want?" Katherine grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Katherine," he stated nervously. "I didn't realize you were asleep."

"It's all right, Mathias," she replied. Mathias could hear her shifted in the bed and the click of a lamp coming on. "It was a moment of weakness anyway. I shouldn't be sleeping as often as I do."

"You should get some more rest, Katherine."

"Is that why you called me, Mathias?" Katherine asked annoyed.

"Oh, no," Mathias shook his head though she couldn't see him. "I...I'm just glad that you are okay."

"Why do you say that?"

Mathias sighed wondering how to tell her what was going on.

"Mathias?" Katherine sighed. "You might as well tell me what's going on or I'll have to hang up the phone."

"Wait, don't!" the priest finally cried. He then spoke softly, telling her everything that he had found in his internet news search. He could hear the intake of breath from Katherine when she realized what he was saying. When Mathias was done, there was an eerie silence on the other line as he waited for her to respond. "Katherine?"

"I...I don't believe it," she muttered angrily. "How can this be?"

"I don't know, Katherine. Maybe that man lied to you."

"He told me they were dead! He showed me the articles and news!"

"Katherine…" the priest whispered. "How…how did you not know your family was alive?"

"Because he told me!" she snapped startling him. Mathias listened as Katherine mumbled, her voice shaking. "I...I called the home number...it was disconnected. Oh, God. Nancy…my…my baby girl. I...I lost all those years with her!" Katherine paused and took a deep breath before addressing the priest. "Did the article say anything about Carson, my husband?"

"Well, yes," he nodded. "It says that he is a United States Attorney based in Chicago."

"He did it," she whispered proudly. Katherine growled in frustration. "Oh, why didn't I do my own searching years ago? I would have found out all of this and saved myself the grief I've been through! Why...why didn't I at least call Fenton? He would have told me!"

"But would you have gone home then?"

Katherine was silent, the only thing Mathias could hear was her breathing. He knew she was thinking about it. Would she really have gone home had she known her beloved family was still alive? What about her other child who was still out there somewhere?

"No," Katherine finally stated interrupting his thoughts. "I wouldn't have gone home. Not with the man who destroyed my life still walking around. He would have gone after me through Carson, Nancy, and..."

"Do you know who the woman is? The one who took your daughter? Genevieve Carter?"

Katherine thought about it for a moment before she spoke. "I don't think so but I could have come across anyone over the course the last 20 years. This infuriates me! I cannot believe that anyone would kidnap someone for their own gain!"

"What are you going to do?"

"What do you think I'm going to do?" Katherine made a noise and Mathias could hear her gathering things. He soon heard the metallic click of a weapon and he knew what she was going to say before she said it. "I'm going to find my daughter and get my life back."