Author's Note: You guys are the best. Thank you for the wonderful reviews as well as the new follows and favorites. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. The beginning italics are a flashback/memory. I have a question for you all. I have two possible ways for Carter to contact her family again, one involves Taylor and the other Grant. I want to know who you guys would prefer to see. I'm leaning towards Taylor because Grant has a large roll in this chapter but I want to hear from you all. Thanks for sticking with me through the story so far, only a few chapters left! Happy reading.


Everything was a fog. People rushed by him but all he saw were blurs of color. There were conversations all around but white noise is all he heard. He knew that someone was guiding him into a private room, he could see their hand on his arm, but he didn't feel the touch. His entire body was numb.

As he sat in the cold, metal chair he tried to convince himself it was all a terrible dream. Things like this happened to distant people on the news, not to him, not to his family. But there he was, in a room at the police station to answer questions. At least he was aware enough to know that.

He rested his head in his hands but only moments later was startled into sitting up right as a detective made his way into the room. The man was young and David wondered how much experience he had.

"Mr. Wilson, thank you for coming in, it was a little chaotic at the scene. This is calmer. I know this can't be easy, so I'll make this as short as possible so you can get back to your family."

David nodded in response as the watched the man pull out a voice recorder and hit the record button. A file folder and notebook soon joined it on the table. The detective started with questions that allowed him to rule out him and Elizabeth as suspects. He agreed to let them look into any records they needed to as well. Eventually they moved in a different direction.

He knew the questions were coming, but hated knowing he wouldn't have any answers to give. Nothing he thought would help to get his little girl back.

"Do you have any idea of who might have taken your daughter? Anyone suspicious that may have been hanging around this morning or the past few days?"

"No, I have no idea. There was nothing strange, no one out of the ordinary," David replied.

"Is it possible that someone is doing this for ransom?" the man asked.

Slowly he began to shake his head. "I suppose it's possible, but I'm a writer. Elizabeth is just starting out in her career. We have no money that anyone would be after."

He could have continued. Could have explained how they were barely keeping their heads above water trying to juggle the mortgage, car payment, and the expenses of twins. There was no money. But he let those details remain with him.

"I understand," the detective replied as he jotted a note down on a sheet of paper. "Do you or your wife have any enemies? Someone that might want to get back at you for wronging them in the past?"

It was this question that knocked the wind out of David. Everything suddenly became clear and he found himself unable to breathe. The words "get back a you for wronging them in the past" echoed over and over, and her face popped into his head.

He remembered the way her warm, loving, chestnut eyes began to well with tears and fill with hurt as he told her he wasn't going to leave Elizabeth. He could picture the way she jerked away from his touch as he had tried to reach out for her. He had hurt her. Betrayed her trust. Rebuffed her love.

The more he thought of her, the more he began to question himself. Those questions ran rampant in his mind. She couldn't possibly have taken Lyndon, could she? What did she think she would gain from it? Him?

An internal battle began to rage within him. If he said her name, pointed the police in that direction, would his initial plan to leave with her get back to Elizabeth? Would Elizabeth find out he had continued to see her even though the were in a committed relationship? If she wasn't the person that took Lyndon, and all this came out, he would lose the rest of his family. He couldn't afford that.

David's thoughts began to sway and he realized one final thing. He wasn't even sure what name to call her by. When he was with her, she had gone by Hannah. When she started working down the street, she introduced herself as Janet. There was too much confusion and he wouldn't drag them into it.

"Mr. Wilson?" the detective asked pulling him from his thoughts.

"Hmm…"

"Anyone from the past?"

"Uh, no," he shook his head while answering. "We're good people. We've never done anything to anyone. Please, you need to find her."

"We're going to do our best."

At the man's reply David placed his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands. The detective closed up his notes and shut off the recorder, knowing that they were finished for the day.

"I'll have an officer drive you back to your house."

"Thank you," David said looking up to the now standing detective.

The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular piece of paper. "Here's my card if anything comes to mind. It can be the smallest detail, don't hesitate to call. Anytime of the day."

David took it and the detective left, leaving him twirling the card in his fingers. His focus on two people, his little girl and the woman he had once loved.


David flipped the old, worn out card over and over between his fingers. It had been ages since he had last taken it out of his wallet, where it had resided everyday since the young detective had given it to him. But each time he looked at it, vivid memories came back to the surface.

There had been many times in the couple of days after it was given to him that he had considered calling, but every time he had decided against it. Now all he could do was wonder how different things could have been had he spoken up.

A loud knock from the other side of his office door brought him back to the present. He opened the small drawer to his right and set the card inside before acknowledging the person outside.

"You can come in," he said in a raised voice. He fully expected it to be an agent with questions about or information on Carter, but his face visibly fell when Toby walked through the door. "Oh, Toby…"

"Don't be so thrilled to see me," he replied. Toby perked up as he walked deeper into the office after setting his bag down on the floor near the door entryway. "I like this though. You behind your desk, sitting in front of a computer, looking like you were deep in thought. This is good."

David let out a heavy sigh and dropped his head. Usually he was grateful for the constant pestering. He knew it was the only thing that had kept him on schedule for his last two books, but frankly he was fed up. Toby had been callous and not very subtle in his suggestions that they could both be thrown back into the spotlight because of Carter's second abduction.

"I wasn't writing," he explained, his voice dry, suggesting he wasn't in the mood.

"Oh… well maybe this will inspire you," Toby replied, ignoring the hint and tossing a USB drive onto the desk.

David looked down at the blue USB and then back up to Toby before cautiously picking it up. "What's this?"

"That is what's going to make us a whole lot of money." His response was met with a weary, questioning look from David and so he continued to explain. "Do you remember when Carter first returned, I asked if there was a possibility of getting an interview with the kidnapper? Well voilà!"

David's eyes went wide. He felt his heart rate speed up and mentally had to tell himself to remain calm. The initial surge of curiosity at what the interview was like was quickly replaced by anger.

"You spoke with Lori Stevens," he said. The way it came out, David wasn't sure if it was a question, statement, or insinuation.

Toby's phone buzzed in his hand and he pulled up his email, scrolling through them as he answered. "Yeah. I figured you were never going to get around to it, so I gave her a call and asked a few questions. Don't ask where I got the number from, it's a confidential source. Honestly it's not the best quality, but it will work."

"When?"

He glanced up to see David struggling to wrap his head around all the new information and set his phone aside while taking a seat in a chair across from him.

"About a week and a half ago. I was going to tell you sooner, but then all of this happened and I wanted to let everything settle before dropping this in your lap."

David jumped up from his chair, the wind from his sudden movement causing a few papers to fly off the desk. He was livid. A combination of anger towards Toby, Lori, and himself bubbling over.

"So you thought giving me a week would be long enough for things to "settle"? A week!" he yelled. "She is still gone Toby. Things aren't going to be settled until Carter is back home… I can't do this until she's back."

His final sentence softer than all the others.

"Listen David," Toby started, his voice more gentle than usual. "We can't sit on this. We need to strike when everything is still hot. There is money to be made. And let me remind you that Finding Carter still hasn't been published yet. You need this. I need this."

Toby's own thoughts travelled to the money. The money he needed to get to Lori. The money he would only get if David cooperated. Those thoughts reiterating how badly he needed the extra cash.

Both men fell silent in the office. David walking back and forth from the left side of the desk to the right and then back again. Toby remained seated in the chair simply watching. They remained that way for minute, David cooling down and Toby giving him space, before he tried again.

"David, I know I'm coming off as an insensitive ass, but I only have you and your family in mind. And when you get Carter back you are going to thank me because you won't have to worry about anything financial."

David looked over to the other man and stared. There was something off about the way he was speaking, like there was more that his agent wasn't telling him. He was used to Toby insisting he write something because in the long run it benefitted him as well, but this was different. There was an ulterior motive that he couldn't place, and it worried him.

"I don't think…" David started to reply, when there was a soft knock on the already open door. They both turned to see Grant standing in the doorway, something in his hand.

"Hey Grant, come on in," David said waving him in, grateful for a reprieve.

Grant only took a couple of steps in before hesitantly replying. "I…I don't want to interrupt."

"No, no you're not. Toby was just leaving," David said, shooting his agent a look that couldn't be misunderstood.

"Yeah, I was just on my way out. David listen to that and then seriously think about what I've said. I'll get in touch with you later," he said. Toby stood from the chair and shot Grant an uncomfortable smile before brushing past him, slowing only to grab his bag off the floor on his way out.

"What did Toby want?" Grant asked moving closer to the desk.

"Oh just some work related stuff. It's not important. How was school?"

"Lots of staring," he replied with a heavy sigh.

David shot his son a sympathetic smile. He knew the feeling all too well. It had been his idea to send Taylor and Grant back to school, so they could have some sense of normalcy back. That day had been their first day back, and seeing how exhausted Grant looked, both mentally and physically, he wondered if it had been the right choice.

"What have you got there?" David asked, noticing the cream colored envelope in his hand.

Grant held it out for David to take and he could see it was addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Wilson".

"It's a letter and progress report. I need one of you to sign it so I can turn it in tomorrow. I would have asked mom but she's talking with a whole team out there so…"

David only nodded in response as he opened the envelope and started skimming the handwritten letter. It offered thoughts and prayers for their family. It stated that she understood if it took Grant a little while to get back into things. But it continued on to say she was concerned with his science grade, that it had been suffering long before Carter had been taken.

It only took a moment before the memory came back to him. A small smile appeared on his face as David recalled the attempt Grant had made at making Max more comfortable. He had told them all he was failing in science and yet he and Elizabeth never did anything to follow up. They had been more concerned with Max and Crash, Taylor and Carter, that Grant had fallen off to the side once again. A large pang of guilt swept over him.

"Grant we need to work on getting this grade up. Failing a subject isn't going to fly around here, understand?"

The boy nodded in reply and David pulled a pen from the drawer before signing at the bottom of the report.

"And no using Carter as an excuse for not pulling this grade up," he added as he handed the paper back.

Grant had a look of mild shock on his face and David found it tough to determine if it was from the assumption or the fact that his plan had been spotted. After giving it a moment, and knowing how cunning and witty his son could be, he figured it was the later.

"I'm serious Grant, no excuses. What would Carter think if she knew you were using her to continue getting out of school work?"

He watched as Grant seem to mull over the question before answering.

"Given her track record at school, I think she'd be pretty proud."

David let out a small chuckle at the witty answer. "You might be right, but promise me you're going to work on getting this grade up."

"Promise," he replied. "I'm going to go play some video games before dinner."

David nodded and Grant turned to leave the office. He attempted to stuff the newly signed paper into his back pocket, but his hands fumbled and it fell to the ground. Grant furrowed his forehead as he saw the progress report land next to another scrap of paper and picked them both up in a single swoop.

His dad's office was one of the neatest rooms in the house, everything had its proper place, and a stray note was certainly out of the ordinary. As he brought the paper closer he instantly recognized the hand writing as Toby's. He had become acquainted with Toby's writing from all the awkward birthday's cards he had received over the years.

"Da…" Grant began to say, turning back around, but trailed off as he could see David was already on his computer, headphones in listening to something.

He exited the office, shutting the door behind him, and stood in the middle of the hallway. All of his attention on the note held between his fingers. There was a long string of numbers followed by the initials L.S. His thoughts drifted to the conversation he walked in on and wondered if this had anything to do with what Toby and his dad had been discussing.

Grant read over the numbers one more time, lingering on the letters at the end. L.S… L.S… L.S… and then it hit him. Lori Stevens. It fit and she would have been something that Toby would want his dad to look into for his book. The numbers were the only odd part.

As he continued to think about what the note could mean, Agent Sands stepped into the hallway. His focus on the phone in his had, causing him to run into Grant. The contact startled both of them.

"Sorry bud, wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's alright," Grant replied, suddenly nervous in the agent's presence, and he could only attribute the feeling to the note in his hand.

Sands noticed the difference. In the week that he had been in the Wilson's house, never had any of them seemed uncomfortable around him, and he wondered why the young boy suddenly was. His eyes caught the paper Grant was fiddling with, he could only make out some numbers, and it piqued his interest.

"What have you got there?"

Grant could feel the panic begin to rise inside. He hadn't done anything wrong, but he felt like he had, and he knew it was because of what he had decided. He couldn't tell the man standing in front of him anything of what he had come across. Not of the note, the numbers, Toby or Lori Stevens. None of it.

Sure the FBI was doing their best to get Carter back, but they were failing. And he knew someone that wouldn't let herself fail. That wouldn't stop fighting. Their mom. She was the one he was going to share all of this with.

"It's just a cheat code for one of my video games," he lied, hoping the agent wouldn't question him further.

Agent Sands raised a skeptical eyebrow but let it go. "Alright. But don't stay in front of that computer screen for too long, it'll ruin your eyesight."

Grant nodded in return and slid past the man and into the kitchen where he had last seen his mom. He let out the breath he had been holding when he spotted her sitting at the kitchen table. She appeared to be reading through a stack of papers, ones he assumed had to do with Carter and Lori's possible whereabouts.

Quietly he made his way over and once he had reached the table he could see that it wasn't case files she was reading, but his dad's unfinished book. Questions continued to pile up in his mind but he pushed them aside as he pushed the scrap of paper in front of his mom.

Elizabeth glanced quickly at the note before looking up to Grant. She gave him a tired smile, an expression he was becoming used to seeing. It usually meant she had a lot on her mind, none of which she was going to burden him with.

"Is this from school?" she asked. It was then that he realized he hadn't spoken with her since getting back home. He shook his head in response.

"No. Toby dropped it when he was leaving dad's office earlier."

"Well maybe you should give it to your dad. He can call Toby and give it back to him. Looks to be an account number of some sort, it's probably important," Elizabeth replied, picking up the paper and extending her hand so Grant could take it back.

Grant only stood there and looked at the paper, internally debating whether or not he had looked into everything too much, but he was sure he hadn't. He had a hunch and so he took a half step back.

"I think…" he started but stopped.

"Grant, what is it?"

"I think those numbers have something to do with Lori," he blurted out. He pointed to the end of the numbers. "That L.S. could stand for Lori Stevens. And I overheard some of Toby's conversation with dad and it was all about his new book and money and Lori."

He wanted to say more but could see his mom trying to process it all. Carefully she traced her finger over the numbers bringing them to rest on the initials. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute. They could stand for anything but she had a feeling they meant exactly what her son thought they stood for.

The clue Carter had left for her over the phone came back in full force. David's writing had something to do with her kidnapping. Could it be that Toby was the connection? That he was a part of this?

"Did you show this to Agent Sands?"

"No."

"Well we need to get this out to the team, have them look into this," she explained. But as she went to stand up, Grant blocked her and forced her to remain where she was.

"No, you need to look into this. Carter isn't leaving clues for them to find, she's leaving them for you. She trusts you. We trust you. You're the only one that can bring her back. Please mom, don't hand this over. Do your own investigation."

Elizabeth found that she had tears welled in her eyes and she quickly blinked them back as Grant finished. She nodded. He was right, he usually was, and without hesitation she pulled her cell phone out from her back pocket and dialed a number she had become familiar with over the years.

"Kyle, meet me at the station. We have a lead."