Uncomfortably Victoria shifted on the seat in the back of the black Mercedes. In her hand she still held the opened letter she had received only a few days ago. She stared at the small handwriting as if she would find an answer in it – as if she was her 15-year-old self again desperately looking for someone to tell her what to do. She had never had anyone in her life who had guided her during her years of adolescence and maybe even her childhood. As long as she could remember she had had to make all of her decisions alone not being able to ask for advice in any matter of her life. At a time when she was still more of a girl than a woman, she hadn't been able to shoulder that burden anymore and she had turned to Sister Rebecca. It had been a last measure to escape that vicious circle of being a girl full of potential, but not having much of a perspective for her future life due to her personal circumstances. And after 20 years of fighting for her current position in society, she had found herself sitting on the same bench asking Sister Rebecca for help again.
"Victoria, I'm glad that you came. I thought that maybe my letter wouldn't reach you." Sister Rebecca faced the girl whom she had once helped and noticed that she had turned into a self-assured woman, but still held that look of sadness in her dark brown eyes.
"I don't know what to make of it, Sister Rebecca." Victoria lowered her gaze feeling the emotions from 20 years ago rushing through her body again. "I think you have heard what my family is currently going through."
"Yes, I have." The older woman answered recalling the moment when she had learnt about Victoria Harper's marriage to Conrad Grayson and their recent involvement in the David Clarke trial. "I have never broken my promise to you. I didn't tell him anything about you or why you left him here."
"Hm." Victoria absentmindedly played with a streak of her hair not sure if she was relieved about the woman's loyalty to her or disappointed that maybe she would never meet her firstborn son.
"If I can be honest with you, Victoria, I still think it is for the best." The nun began to explain calmly while she laid a hand on Victoria's knee. "Like you say, you are in the middle of a crisis and you are also with child again. Introducing yourself to your son considering those circumstances would only trouble you and also him all the more. This is not the right time to get to know each other and say the things that need to be said."
"I don't know, sister. I don't know." The brunette was torn between her heart and the nun's rational suggestion. "I feel responsible for him, like I owe him at least that bit of the truth. How did he seem to you when he was here?"
"He was a 20-year-old boy looking for his mother. He is probably confused and searches for his identity. But I assure you that time of his life will pass once he grows older."
Victoria was painfully reminded of her own confusion and anger during her time growing up, but she also remembered how she got stronger because of it. "Thank you for your advice."
"There's no need to thank me. I didn't want to keep you in the dark." Sister Rebecca gave her a reassuring smile.
"I think it's for the best to keep him out of it all…"
Suddenly the car came to halt and irritated Victoria looked around through the dark windows.
"We have arrived, Mrs Grayson." Frank informed her from the passenger's seat and scanned the parking lot. Under one of the only street lamps, he recognized a person in a black leather jacket stepping form one foot to the other and nervously turning his head.
"Is he there?" Victoria swallowed feeling her stomach turn at the thought of being so close to the child she had abandoned two decades ago. After all, he was her flesh and blood, no different from Daniel and her unborn daughter. Nevertheless, she had decided to take Sister Rebecca's advice and keep her son out of her life. To make sure of that she had told Frank that she needed him to help her meet with him and pay him 5 Million dollars that would stop him from further investigating about his birth mother. However, she had insisted on being present – which in this case meant hiding in the car - when Frank handed him the check to secure that he really received it.
"Yes, I have located him and I'm ready to go if you tell me to." Frank assured while he kept focusing on the young man who stayed near the street lamp and didn't approach the car. They hadn't informed him that he would only receive a large amount of money, so it was very likely that he expected his mother to step out of the Mercedes.
"Go, please." Victoria said seriously, praying that her son would accept the money and would just disappear.
Frank obeyed and approached the man who now seemed to be scared by the tall stranger walking towards him.
Seconds felt like hours after her henchman had left the car and Victoria decided to close her eyes slowly breathing in and out to keep her pulse from racing. But no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop imagining how her son would react to Frank's words, how he looked and if he was alright. Suddenly her eyes shot open again and without thinking about it too much Victoria moved to the other side of the car in order to look out of the window and catch a glimpse of the scene outside.
It seemed like Frank had just begun talking to the young man who stood there with a lowered head and his hands buried in the pockets of his jacket. While Frank started talking Victoria noticed her son raising his head seemingly in disbelief at what he was hearing. At the same time she tried to take in as much of her child's appearance as she could in the darkness. As if she was hypnotized she couldn't stop staring at him finally being able to look at her firstborn child after all those years of wondering what would become of him. The missing light outside didn't allow her to see much, but she noticed that he was tall and that his hair was lighter than hers and tied up in a messy bun at the back of his head. Fascinated by him, Victoria almost didn't notice how Frank held the check up in her son's face who seemed to not accept it and instead began arguing.
It was then that it hit Victoria. Outside of that car stood her long missing piece of heart. The moment she had given her baby away, it had felt like she had abandoned a part of herself, a part that would always leave a hole inside of her and make her wonder what would have happened if she had made a different decision. The young man standing only a few feet away was the same boy she had given birth to, she had nursed, she had rocked to sleep and she had sang to just like she did to Daniel. He had once been the only reason why she hadn't lost her will to live, why she had continued to fight. It had been all for him - before she had made the irrevocable decision that had changed both of their lives for good. She wasn't sure if the pregnancy hormones added to her emotional state, but all of a sudden she couldn't bear hiding behind the dark windows of her car anymore while her son, who had believed that he would finally get to know his birth mother, was now being disappointed again. It had probably been a stupid idea to accompany Frank to the meeting point in the first place, but in that moment it seemed to Victoria that everything made perfect sense. That fate had led her to that place in order to meet her son and finally become whole again. So, not caring about her original plan, Victoria pushed open the door of the car and stepped into the cold winter night.
At the sudden sound Frank instantly turned his head to see Victoria coming closer to them.
"Mrs Grayson." He tried to keep her from directly approaching her son who already seemed very upset by the fact that his mother had tried to bribe him.
"Patrick." Victoria breathed throwing a hand against her mouth when she finally looked up into her son's face for the first time in 20 years. Naturally tears began streaming down her cheeks when she was overwhelmed by her emotions. Victoria felt small against Patrick's stature while she remembered how tiny he had been the last time she had seen him. His face looked familiar but at the same time it seemed so strange. She didn't know why she had always assumed that he did - but he didn't look anything like Daniel, his hair was a dark blonde and his facial features hardly bore any resemblance to his mother's. Only his brown eyes and the sad expression reflected within them made him look like his mother's son. Victoria wasn't sure if she felt scared by the fact that he had inherited more from his father, but she reminded herself that it was only his physicality and that she still had to get to know him as a person – as her son.
"Mother." The 20-year-old replied frozen in a state of shock and astonishment when he locked eyes with the human being he had been longing to meet for his whole life.
The sound of his voice made goosebumps form on Victoria's skin and she had to let out a sob. The moment seemed so surreal making the whole world spin around her so that she didn't notice how Frank tried to interfere with the situation. As if to prove that she was not caught in some kind of dream, Victoria slowly reached out her hand to caress Patrick's cheek. She knew it was him from the feeling that started to fill her heart. It was her son, it was her Patrick, she had no doubt.
At the touch of her hand the young man flinched pulling his head away – after all, the woman standing in front of him was nothing more than a stranger.
Pulled back to reality by his rejection, Victoria apologized. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I was just..." Her voice broke when she faced her son's confused look and how he seemed to scan her body wrinkling his forehead when he realized that she was pregnant.
"Mrs Grayson." Frank stepped up behind her whispering. "It is not a good idea to stay out here for too long. Let me escort you back to the car." The agent understood that it was impossible now to carry out the original plan of just handing Patrick the check. He blamed himself for the situation, because he hadn't been professional enough to tell Victoria that it would only mess things up if she accompanied him. She had insisted and he had sort of fallen for her. Now he had to deal with the consequences and make sure that she would stay safe and would not get into too much trouble with Patrick.
"Do you want to talk Mr Osbourne?" Frank addressed the young man sternly since both mother and son seemed to suffer from a lack of words.
"Yes." He nodded receiving an insecure smile from his mother, because she had absolutely no idea what she could tell him and if she could answer all of his questions.
Wearing his favorite yellow and blue hoodie Nolan entered Teddy's Arcade in Brooklyn. Instantly he recognized many familiar faces standing behind the video game consoles or talking in one of the sitting areas. This place almost felt like home to him ever since he had discovered it on a day he had been forced to make a long detour to avoid the bullies who were making his life seem like hell. He only hoped that his deep connection to the place would work in his favor that night.
When he looked around he immediately noticed the young Asian woman already playing on one of the Street Fighter consoles with a determined expression on her face. The sparkle in her eyes showed that she was ready to win, but Nolan didn't let himself be intimidated by that and instead placed his coin above the control panel.
"The coin line is short, so let's get straight to it, Edith." He said trying his best to sound cool and self-confident.
"Are you ready to lose, Tony?" Edith stared at him as if she wanted nothing more than to destroy him, so that Nolan had to gulp.
"Like I said, we'll see about that." He then took the place next to Edith dramatically stretching his fingers before he could begin to play.
"Ready?" Edith rolled her eyes at her opponent's childish behavior.
"Whenever you are." Nolan answered his eyes already focusing on the screen in front of them.
The moment she started the game Nolan was surprised how good she was at it. He hadn't expected that and felt his hands getting sweaty when he noticed that it wouldn't be too easy to win actually.
In the end, however, his Street Fighter skills didn't let him down and he threw his hands up in the air cheering at Edith's defeat.
"Who is the loser now?" Nolan gave himself a high five relishing in his win and laughed at Edith's grim face. "So I get access to your computer now!"
"Whoa, easy." Edith stopped Nolan's enthusiastic outburst. "The deal said that I show you the stuff I normally do at the IT department."
"Right." Nolan remembered to stay calm and not to get into things over his head. After all, his plan so far only included getting Edith to show him her work and not receiving the information how she forged the documents for the David Clarke trial. He still had to come up with an idea for that flaw in his plan. "Well, how about we start right now? Nighttime is my favorite time to work actually."
Edith raised a brow at Nolan and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Are you serious?"
"Yup." Nolan tried to look as self-confident as possible, he couldn't lose any time.
"Alright, let's go." Edith replied and practically stormed out of the arcade while Nolan followed her and soon found himself walking next to her on their way to the nearest subway station.
Triumphantly he strolled down the street silently celebrating his victory. He was so close to finally being able to help David and he had achieved it almost all on his own. He turned to the side to brag about his skills to Edith again. When he was about to open his mouth, all of a sudden he felt arms being wrapped around his waist from behind and a hand in gloves pressing onto his mouth. He tried to scream punching and kicking the person who was pulling him into a side alley. Too late, Nolan noticed the chemical smell creeping into his mouth and nose and the next second he began to lose his conscience.
Impatiently Daniel Grayson stretched his head to take a look out of the window in his grandparents' car. They had been stuck in traffic for what felt like hours to the boy after they had finished dinner at that fancy restaurant with the name Daniel didn't understand. His mother had to giggle every time he tried pronouncing it. The only cool thing was that it was already past his bedtime and he could stay up just as long as the adults. Outside people were aggressively honking although it made absolutely no difference, because the cars could not move forward while Daniel almost felt like he was going blind by the bright flashing lights everywhere he looked.
"What the hell is going on out there?" Edward Grayson yawned annoyed by the fact that the ride home from Le Bernardin to the hotel took almost as long as the ride to the Hamptons.
"I'm afraid there has been an accident and the road is closed now, Mr Grayson." The driver informed them.
"Hmpfh." Edward commented making use of the mini bar installed inside of the limousine.
Leaning his head against the window Daniel began to think about what Amanda was missing. He had assumed that she would go with them on the short trip to the city and he had even been upset by that because for once he wanted to be alone with his grandparents. But when he had learnt that Amanda would stay home, he had also begun to feel sorry for her. While she was alone in her room, Daniel could enjoy the perks of being a Grayson – going ice-skating, eating all the sweets he wanted, having breakfast in bed and his grandmother also promised that they would see Cats on Broadway. Sometimes Daniel even wondered if Amanda's dad would ever come back to her again and do all those nice things with her. He knew that her father did something bad and that was why Amanda was living with them now. However, Daniel didn't quite understand that because David had always been so nice to him during the time they had spent together in summer.
"Hmmm." Daniel sighed exhausted from the long day and his confusing thoughts. He couldn't imagine living without his dad for such a long time and then again Amanda didn't have a mother either – another unimaginable circumstance for the 6-year-old. On the one hand, Daniel really found Amanda's company annoying and hated how she got along so well with his mother. On the other hand however, he would never want to be in her shoes and felt very sorry for her.
"Daniel, dear, what's wrong?" Eleanor Grayson asked her grandson worriedly. "You look so sad."
"I feel bad because Amanda had to stay home." Daniel confessed truthfully turning to his grandmother who sat beside him.
"Oh, don't worry about her, Danny." Eleanor soothingly caressed the boy's face. "She's fine. Isn't this just a great family trip?"
"Yeah." Daniel sighed. "But Mommy and Daddy are also not here. I miss them. They don't have time for me anymore."
"I know, Danny, I'm sorry." The older woman was surprised by his emotional confessions and unbuckled his seat belt to pull him onto her lap. "Your parents are very busy at the moment, it has nothing to do with you. They still love you very, very much. Soon they will be there for you again. And until then, isn't it fun that we can do so many things together? Just us three?"
"Yeah, it's cool Grams." Daniel replied and snuggled up in his grandmother's embrace. "I just want everything to be normal again."
After that Eleanor and Edward exchanged a look realizing that not only strangers were affected by the effects of the David Clarke trial, but also their very own family.
Being bored Amanda finally jumped out of bed again. Mr Grayson had made it clear to her that she had to stay in her room, because he had people over for some important Christmas dinner. To Amanda however it didn't feel the least bit like Christmas. Usually she would decorate the house together with her father, they would bake cookies and sing Christmas carols. The Graysons didn't seem to do any of that - at least not by themselves. They only had some staff set up enormous decorations inside and outside of the Manor. Amanda especially liked the reindeers with the slide in the garden and the light chain she was allowed to have in her own room. Still, nothing could replace the precious time she used to spend together with her father. Depressed the girl pulled the photo of him from under her pillow.
"I miss you Dad." She said and looked in his smiling face. Christmas is for family. He used to say when just the two of them sat next to the Christmas tree and unwrapped their presents. Amanda missed her father so incredibly much and staring at this picture of him just wasn't enough. She needed him to hug her and kiss her good night and tell her how much he loved her.
Being too stirred to stay calmly in her room, Amanda decided to snuck into the corridor and enter Victoria's room, because she knew she would be downstairs the whole evening.
Nervously the 9-year-old switched on the lights and determinedly made her way to Victoria's dressing room. She had been in there multiple times playing dress up with her clothes, her millions of shoes and her jewelry. One time Amanda had noticed how she had hurried to put some photos back in the jewelry box and that was what she was looking for now. Easier than expected the box stood on top of the dressing table and could be opened without any problems.
Carefully Amanda placed the first layer of silver sparkling necklaces and bracelets to the side. Underneath it, the girl found what she had been searching for – a pile of photos showing her dad. She took them all in her hands when she noticed a ring dropping to the floor which must have been hidden between the photos. Quickly Amanda picked it up and realized that it was the ring she knew her father had given to Victoria when they had still been on the road together. It relieved her to know that Victoria had kept it and also the memoires of her time together with David. The girl was curious to flip through the photos and longed for some closeness to her father so that she decided to crawl onto Victoria's bed and make herself comfortable. She lay down and immediately smelled Victoria's now familiar scent lingering in the sheets. She had to admit that it almost made her feel at home while at the same time it still felt strange to her to think that over the course of the last few weeks the woman she had once so heavily distrusted, had become the one person she always confided in.
With a heavy heart the 9-year-old now looked at the portrait of her smiling father on top of the pile of photos. The next photo showed a laughing Victoria who sat in the shade of a big tree putting her bare feet on top of a wooden bench. She seemed to be genuinely happy flashing her dimples to the person taking the photo of her. Intrigued Amanda flipped to the following photo, but when she turned it around, she realized something was written on the back of it:
May 28-30, 1992. The first weekend of having you all to myself. I cherished every minute of it. Love, David.
So her father and Victoria had spent weekends together without her noticing it? Amanda was surprised that she had never paid attention to her father's absence. Where had she been and where exactly had Victoria and her father gone? She didn't recognize that garden or the house that she saw in several of the pictures. The only explanation was that she must have stayed at the Porter's. She remembered the weekends she sometimes spent over at the Stowaway and on the beach with Jack and his father. Maybe her dad had used that time for his secret escapes with Victoria. Fascinated Amanda flipped further through the photos and had to smile at how carefree the two of them looked. They seemed just like a normal couple and the girl began to imagine what it would have been like if they were a real family and things weren't that complicated. The 9-year-old had to laugh out loud when she discovered a photo of her dad obviously swearing because he had poured tomato sauce all over the kitchen apron.
August 30, 1992. David trying to impress me with his cooking skills.
Was written on the back of it.
Another one showed Victoria obviously asleep sitting on a couch.
June 2, 1993. I still love you- although you fell asleep while I was talking to you.
There was also a picture of the two of them together. Apparently her father had turned the camera around so that he would capture both of their grinning faces. They were wearing sunglasses and David had a scarf wrapped around his head.
The back read: 15 July, 1992. You wanted one like in Thelma and Louise. It turned out I make a significant Susan Sarandon.
Behind that photo was another one of them in the same position, but in that photo Victoria had her eyes closed and nuzzled her head against David's with a satisfied smile on her lips.
15 July, 1992. I'm the luckiest man on earth to have found you.
They just looked so happy, Amanda found. She had never seen her Dad so in love and now regretted being jealous of what he and Victoria had and demonizing her. He really deserved that kind of love and it didn't mean he would love her as his daughter any less. It was a pitty she only realized that now.
Amanda also found some letters her father and Victoria had exchanged, but didn't read them because she felt that maybe she was invading their privacy too much already. Nevertheless, it felt so good to see all those pictures of her dad and pretend like he was right there with her. Amanda crawled under the fluffy blanket of Victoria's bed and found herself cuddled up between all of those pictures of her happy father which made her feel so close to him. It was like she was surrounded by him causing her to feel safe and protected. For a second she didn't pay attention while closing her eyes and immediately drifted off to sleep dreaming about her dad, and Victoria, and how much she wanted them to reunite and become a family. Maybe she would even dare to ask Victoria about the photos to find out more about the time she and her dad had shared.
The driver and Frank had left the car giving mother and son some privacy to have the talk they both had imagined a million times during the two decades of separation. When the moment finally came, however, neither of them found the right words to begin. Silently they stared at each other through the darkness of night until Victoria finally found the courage to speak up.
"Patrick…" Nervously she fumbled with the button of her coat being unsure how to address her son. "Is it okay if I call you Patrick?"
"I guess." The young man answered still irritated by the fact that that guy had offered him 5 million dollars and had told him to disappear forever. Nevertheless, he now found himself sitting next to the woman he had been so desperate to meet.
"Well, Patrick, I don't even know how to begin. Maybe you can tell me why you've come here." Victoria immediately realized the stupidity of her question.
"Because I wanted to meet my mother." Patrick said while he came to the final conclusion that his mother had really ordered the guy to give him the check so that she wouldn't have to deal with him herself. "And why are you here? Obviously not because you want to meet me." His words spilled with disappointment making Victoria regret all of her previous decisions.
"No, no, no." Victoria denied. "I do want to meet you."
"It didn't look like it when your guy threatened me and wanted me to never reach out to you again." Patrick felt the anger inside of him rising again. It was anger he had felt his whole life and to realize now that meeting his mother didn't magically made it go away, but rather fueled it, frustrated him all the more.
"I know, I'm sorry about that. It was not right, that's why I went to meet you. So, what is it you expect from me now?"
"I want answers." Her son expressed his wish driven by his negative emotions. "I want to know why my life had to be the way it was, well actually is. How a mother could leave her child to a life like this."
Inevitably Victoria had to swallow. She hadn't imagined him being so direct and getting straight to the point, but she had to accept how angry he was. "I was still a child myself, Patrick. I was only 15 years old. I know it's not an excuse, but I need you to consider that." Fearing his reaction Victoria faced her son meeting the hurt look in his eyes. "Every day was a struggle for me; I had nothing to offer to you."
"Loving me as a mother would have been something." Patrick remarked bitterly hitting Victoria directly in her heart.
"I did." Out of her desperation she inched closer to her son. "Don't you ever think that. I did love you more than anything in this world. "
"Then why?" Tears began to well in Patrick's eyes when he awaited the answer he had been looking for ever since he had learnt that his real mother had given him away. "Why did you abandon me? How could you have done that if you really loved me?"
"I.." Victoria buried her face in her hands feeling her skin burn because of her son's words. "I was so desperate and so lost and I just thought that there would be better people out there to look after you, people who could provide for you, who could offer you a real future." Impulsively she took her son's hand and squeezed it softly. "Someone offered me a scholarship to go to Paris to study and I was so torn in that situation, but I knew that if I ever wanted to make something out of my life, I had to take that opportunity. You have to understand that I didn't have anyone, no family to support me, it was just you and me."
For a short moment the 20-year-old closed his eyes processing the information. "And what about my father? What did he have to say about all that?"
That was the question Victoria feared the most and she instantly felt a cold wave rush through her body making her shiver.
"Did you even tell him about me?" Patrick angrily pulled his hand away from his mother's grip. "Maybe he could have taken care of me, didn't you ever consider that?"
Keeping the dark memories from flooding her mind, Victoria swallowed. "No, Patrick. It was never an option. Like I said, it was only you and me."
"Well, maybe it could have been differently if you had included him." Patrick didn't understand his mother's behavior and was disappointed by her explanations. This was nothing like he had imagined at all. "But I see your first mistake didn't keep you from reproducing at a more convenient time of your life. How many siblings do I actually have?"
"You are not a mistake, Patrick. I learnt what it meant to love someone unconditionally when I had you." Slowly Victoria began to feel helpless against her son's offensive attitude and questioned her decision to meet with him. "You have a brother, Daniel, he's six, and this is your sister." She laid her hands on her belly, but noticed Patrick's dismissive reaction to her words.
"So that's it?" Patrick couldn't hold back his boiling emotions anymore and raised his voice. "That's all there is to the story of my life? Some selfish teenage girl screws up her birth control and leaves the result of that behind to enjoy her live in Paris and never looks back? It must have obviously been worth it because now you sit here in your fancy car wearing those fancy clothes raising just another spoiled rich kid which has all the money in a world full of opportunities and never has to experience what it means to struggle your whole life, to fight." The words didn't leave his mouth without tears running down his cheeks. More than ever, Patrick was painfully reminded that life was just not fair.
"Patrick, I'm so sorry…" Victoria stammered her own emotions now also overwhelming her when she realized that the young man knew exactly what he talked about when he mentioned a life full of struggle and the need to fight. "I'm so sorry, you have to believe me. Please, you have to tell me about your life. I want to know everything about you. But at the moment there's so much going on and I don't want you to be in the middle of all that. It's just not the right time…"
"Yeah, like it never is with me." Patrick couldn't handle his mother's rejection and was deeply hurt by her words.
"Patrick, please. You have to understand" With a trembling voice Victoria tried to soothe her son. "You can still take the money if you like. I really want to help you."
"I don't want your fucking money. " With a derogatory grunt Patrick wiped the tears from his face and opened the door of the car to leave. What had he expected from the talk anyways?
"Patrick, please. It's for the best." Tears were blurring her vision when Victoria crawled to the other side of the backseat trying to hold back her son. Before she could grab his arm however she heard a clear and loud bang right next to the car. Grasping for air she began to panic and immediately felt the adrenaline rush through her body. The next second another bang followed. Those were definitely gunshots her brain told her and instinctively she ducked her head attempting to lay flat down.
"Patrick?" She whispered scared to her bones when she couldn't see her son anymore in the darkness. There was no answer. "Patrick?" She whispered again sobbing when she heard several more gunshots, but didn't dare to look up to see what was going on. The only thing she heard was her pulse rushing in her ears while she processed what was happening. Whoever those people were they would now be coming for her and she didn't have any idea how to defend herself. Fleeing was not an option either. "Patrick?" She breathed desperately awaiting his answer, but there was no sound. In a matter of seconds someone suddenly took the driver's seat and fumbled with the keys.
"Close the door and stay down, Mrs Grayson! I'm getting you out of here." It was Frank Stevens' voice sounding very much out of breath.
"But, no, Patrick! We can't leave him here!" Victoria cried out trying to get herself in an upright position again but she felt her back aching.
"It's too late. I have to make sure that you are safe." Frank managed to start the car and looked over his shoulder to see what was taking Victoria so long. In that exact moment someone crashed the window of the car with a baseball bat and then knocked Frank out.
With horror Victoria had to witness how his eyes rolled up in his head and blood began to drip from his temple causing her to shriek. In her panic she sat up straight again when all of a sudden she felt two big hands closing around her upper arms and squeezing them so tightly that she almost felt them going numb.
"No!" Victoria screamed fully aware that any resistance would be senseless. With a quick move the pair of hands pulled her out of the car backwards causing her body to overstretch. Because of that she winced in pain and naturally wanted to hold her belly but she had no chance to free her arms.
"You're hurting my baby!" She cried out when the man who was holding her didn't make any attempt to release her from the uncomfortable position of dangling in the air only being steadied by his arms. Suddenly another person in a black ski mask appeared right in front of her and pressed a hand to the back of her head forcing her nose and mouth against a white towel. Victoria tried to scream, but knew it was too late when she passed out and felt her body sinking to the ground.
Sooooo I hope you see now what I meant by saying that things will get messy for the characters! I'm sorry it took me longer than usual to publish and I promise I'll try to do my best to keep that pace up.
Also a big THANK YOU to DDLJ again, because she helped me with the draft for all of the upcoming chapters.
As always, please let me know what you think. I'm eager to read about all of your opinions.