Chapter III

Pine Valley, PA

It had been a week since the memorial service at the Wildwind Chapel, and Dimitri still couldn't accept that she was gone.

He went riding, out of fear that he would go mad waiting in the hunting lodge. Waiting endlessly for the phone call from Lieutenant Frye that would tell him that everything that happened on the boat that night had been a horrible mistake.

He pushed his horse to go faster, thinking it would clear his mind.

He whipped the reins, "Come on, run! Show me what you can do!"

The horse went faster and the icy cold of the late fall wind chilled Dimitri to his bones. No matter how fast the horse ran, or how cold he became, it didn't numb the pain.

When the ride was over, he led the exhausted horse down to the beach and dismounted.

He remembered someone had told him once that the saddest two words in the English language were "What if?"

What if I had gone outside to the deck with you that night?

What if we had never attended that pointless party?

What if there is something else I should be doing, some clue that I should be looking for and I just don't see it?

What if….?

He looked at the sky above him. A sky that was slowly losing its battle to hang on to the light of day.

Dimitri spoke aloud into that sky.

"Help me darling, please help me find you. You can't be dead. You can't be…because, because I never had a chance to say goodbye. I never had a chance to tell you one more time how much I love you. Oh God, please come back to me…"

Then he lost his voice, cupped his face in his hands, and sobbed.

Brynn Wydd, Wales

Charlotte was able to follow her daughter's every movement from the comfort of her own office, thanks to a hidden camera that scanned the entire room where Alex was held prisoner.

Justin Black entered her office, just as Charlotte watched Alex sleep.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked Black. "Alex threw up twice this morning? We're not giving her any drugs. Why would she be ill?"

Justin shrugged. "Maybe it's the jet lag, or the after effects of the sedatives, who knows. I imagine you are going to see her today."

Charlotte nodded, "Yes, I will. I have several other things to take care of first. In the meantime, I want you to make sure nothing is wrong with her."

"Would you like me to call a doctor?"

"No. Not yet. Just leave her be. Stay in the control room and keep an eye on her via the cameras and let me know if anything changes."

"Of course Ma'am."

Charlotte got up and left the office, her mind on the meeting with Prime Minister Blair this afternoon. She hated these last minute, high-priority meetings. Aside from filling her property with Secret Service agents, which was always a nuisance, calls from the PM always made her feel as though she was at the beck and call of a higher authority, something which did not suit her at all.

Earlier that morning, Alex had woken up feeling nauseous and afraid. The handcuffs had caused one of her wrists to start bleeding and she tried, in vain, to position herself in a way that would provide some comfort. At first, she had no recollection of where she was and then she vaguely remembered Charlotte's earlier visit. She tried hard to remember the series of events that had brought her to Brynn Wydd, beginning with the night of Ryan Lavery's party on the yacht in Pine Valley. It was a chilly night, with light rain.

She remembered Dimitri, looking as regal as only he could.

Then she remembered feeling light headed in the warmth of the crowded gallery inside the boat.

"I'm just going to go outside for some fresh air."

"Are you alright?" he had asked her, "Shall I come with you?"

She had shrugged him off with a smile, "Don't be silly, I'll be right back. It will give you chance to say hello to Erica alone, so I don't have be to be pleasant with her."

He had grinned, "Very clever. Don't be long, or I'll come and hunt you down."

The remark had made her laugh, "Is that a threat or a promise?"

She remembered going out on the deck, and then nothing. She sat up and shook her head. 'That's not it.' She thought to herself, 'There is something else. Something I was going to tell him that night. Something important…"

Suddenly a wave of nausea overcame her and she ran towards the door she desperately hoped was the bathroom. And when she came out, she remembered exactly what it was that she was going to tell him.

"Darling, I'm pregnant."