I couldn't sleep... damn you jetlag lol... so I decided to update now :-)
One thing I can give away is that neither Christian nor Ana were having a nightmare... Were John or Gail helping Elena? Actually, at first I wanted to go with John, but I couldn't make it work, so it's someone else.
Is Christian dead? You have to read to find out...
Oh and by the way, I loved the theory many of you had about faking Christian's death, so Elena would couldn't try to hurt him again... but if that was the case they would have told Ana or otherwise she would never talk to Christian again...
Elliot
As I walk down the hallway of the hospital to Ana's private room I feel numb. I would give all that I have to wake up from this nightmare, but it is reality. My brother is gone. Fuck, even thinking it brings fresh tears to my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. My family is a mess. My mom is just sitting in his childhood bedroom refusing to leave the room and Mia... shit I don't think she has stopped to cry since Taylor stopped by to tell us what happened. My Dad... he is trying to keep it together for Mom and Mia, but when I wanted to talk to him yesterday evening I found him sobbing in his study. So, I have to keep my family together.
I wanted to visit Ana yesterday, but when I was just about to enter her hospital room I heard her scream hysterically and then all hell broke loose. Doctors and nurses rushed into the room because Ana couldn't breathe. They had to sedate her and she slept until this morning. The detective who is assigned to the case called me that he would visit Ana this afternoon to ask her what happened. I told him that I wanted to be present and he agreed. I need to know what happened. I need to know how exactly my brother died. More so, I need to know if the fire was just a freak accident or if someone, namely Elena, set the cabin on fire. If it was her, I will make it my life's mission to hunt her down and kill her myself. If she murdered my brother, prison is not enough for her.
"Mr. Grey?" I turn around see Detective Clark and wait for him.
"Detective Clark. Are there any news?"
"Yes, sadly there are. It was arson. Well, let's see if Miss Steele can shed some light about what happened." he says and we enter Ana's room.
She looks up and it's like she isn't even seeing us. Her eyes are empty there is no live in them.
"Ana?" I ask but there is no reaction and Ray steps forward.
"Detective Clark, my daughter is in no condition to answer your questions. In fact she has not spoken since the sedative wore off this morning."
"Mr. Steele, I am truly sorry, but I can't give your daughter any more time. We found out that it was arson, so now this is homicide and your daughter is the only person who was there..."
"Wait, are you telling me that my daughter is a suspect now?"
"I know this is hard to hear, but yes, for now I have to see her as a possible suspect." Clark says and both Ray and I are about to let him have it when we hear Ana's hoarse voice.
"I want to see Christian... please. I need to say goodbye." she whispers and tears are streaming down her face. Fuck, I have no idea what to do.
"Miss Steele, I am Detective Clark. I need to ask you a couple of questions about the fire at the cabin."
"Can I see Christian, please?"
"We'll see. Please Miss Steele, can you recall the night of the fire for me?" he asks and Ana nods.
"We went to the cabin as our first date. Christian flew us there with his helicopter. We had dinner, we talked and... we... made love. Christian fell asleep first. I watched him sleep for a while and then fell asleep too. When I woke up the cabin was already on fire. I tried... tried to wake Christian up, but he wouldn't wake up. I checked if he was still alive and his heart was beating. I tried to wake him again, but he just wouldn't wake up. I grabbed my cellphone and put it between my teeth. Then I pulled Christian out of the cabin. About twenty feet away from the cabin my legs couldn't support me any longer and I fell into the grass next to Christian. I managed to call Taylor and then I passed out. Can I see Christian now, please?"
What? No, this can't be right. I look at Carla and Ray, but they look as confused as I am.
"Miss Steele, please. This can't be what happened. You see, while the firemen found you passed out outside the cabin, Mr. Grey's body was found inside the cabin. He was burned beyond recognition, in fact we are still waiting for the final confirmation, that the body we found is Mr. Grey. Is it possible that you tried to pull Mr. Grey out, but he was to heavy and you decided to safe your own life?"
"What? Are you crazy? You think I would leave Christian in a burning cabin? Mom... Dad... Elliot please, you know I would never do that! Please, I pulled him out, I swear I did. Oh my god, it was her... Elena. Don't you see what happened? She took him, Elena must have kidnapped Christian while I was unconscious!" Ana is screaming at this point completely hysterical.
"Miss Steele, please calm down. As I understand only very few people knew that you were going to that cabin. How would Mrs. Lincoln even have found out that you were there? Did Mr. Grey and you get into an argument?"
"You think I killed him?" Ana just stares at the Detective while my thoughts are running wild. Fuck, what if she did pull him out? What if for the last two days, while we were all convinced the body was Christian that old bitch has kidnapped him. Fuck!
"Detective Clark, how much longer does it take until the identity of the body is confirmed?" I ask.
"As you know we had problems getting excess to Mr. Grey's dental records, because his dentist was out of town. They arrived here about thirty minutes ago. So it won't take much longer." he says and I sit down on the edge of the bed and take Ana's hands in mine.
"I believe you, little one. Tell me, was there anything else suspicious in the cabin, before the fire?"
"No, I just couldn't wake him up. Elliot, I wouldn't have left him in there. If I wouldn't have managed to pull him out I would have stayed with him. Please, tell me you believe me." Ana sobs and I pull her into my arms.
"Yes, I know. I believe you. Just do you think he didn't wake because of the fire?"
"I don't know..." Ana stops and looks deep in thoughts until her head shoots up and she stares at me in horror.
"Can I use your phone, please?" She asks and I hand it to her. I watch her dial a number and she puts the phone on speaker.
"John Flynn."
"John, it's Ana."
"Ana, I am so sorry... Christian was..."
"Please, John there is something I need to know. Did you give Gail a bottle of wine for Christian and I, or did you stop by the cabin and put the wine in the fridge?"
"Ana, I have no idea what you are talking about. What bottle of wine?"
"There was a bottle of white wine in the fridge with a note, saying that you put it there for us."
"No, I am sorry, Ana, but I didn't do that."
"Thanks" Ana murmurs hangs up and dials another number.
"Gail, it's Ana. Did you see a bottle of white wine with a note from John when you arrived at the cabin?"
"Yes, it was on the kitchen counter. I thought it was very nice of him, to drive there just to put it there. Oh Ana... I can't believe that Mr. Grey is gone."
"Gail, please send Taylor here to see me" Ana says and hangs up.
"Christian had two glasses of wine from that bottle. I didn't drink the wine. If John didn't put it there who did? What if someone placed it there and put something in it, so we wouldn't wake up from the fire?" Ana says and my eyes widen in horror. Fucking hell, somehow Elena must have found out. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up to high, but for the first time in two days I have hope that my brother might be alive.
"Did you hear that Detective Clarke? Don't you want to do something?" I snap at him and he glares back.
"Mr. Grey, I agree that this looks suspicious and we will look into it. But for now my main concerns are to find the arsonist and to find out if the body we have found in the cabin is your brother."
"Meanwhile that old bitch can torture or kill Christian. You have to start looking for him now, it's been almost two days!" Ana yells through her tears.
"Miss Steele, please don't tell me how to do my job..."
"Really, you don't want to go there. First Elena ran from the cops while they were in the same building, then she came onto my parents estate and killed three of your men, but still the police didn't catch her. You know what, the police is completely useless! I am going to find Christian myself!"
With that Ana tries to leave the bed, but Ray tries to hold her back.
"Dad, please take your hands off me, I need to leave!" I look at Ana and I almost don't recognize the girl I am looking at. She is no longer the desperate, sobbing girl I saw when I entered the room. This Ana is on a mission and she doesn't look like she is going to waste any time.
"Elliot there is a bag in the closest, please hand it to me. I need to get dressed so I can leave once Taylor is here." she says and I get up to get the bag.
"Anastasia Rose Steele, you nearly died not even two days ago! You need to rest, you are not going to leave the hospital." Ray says in his most stern voice, but Ana looks at him without any emotion.
"Daddy, I love you and under any other circumstances I would do as you say, but not now. My boyfriend is somewhere out there in the hands of a fucking psychopath. The police doesn't do shit to find him and I am not going to wait any longer to start the search. I'm sorry, but I will not rest until Christian is safe back home." Ana takes the bag from my hands and Ray, Detective Clark and I turn around quickly as she just takes the hospital gown off.
"I'm decent again." Ana announces after a minute and I look at her. She is dressed in jeans, chucks and a hoodie, her hair is still a mess, but she just pulls it back in a ponytail.
"Elliot, once Taylor is here we will go back to Escala. Call your Dad..."
"Ana, look I believe you, because the alternative is just to heartbreaking for me. But please wait to tell my parents until it is a hundred percent sure that the body they found in the cabin is not Christian."
"Okay." Ana says and starts to pace until three minutes later Taylor comes in.
"Taylor, I need you to get a team together."
"What is going on Ana?" he asks clearly confused that she is giving him orders.
"I pulled Christian out of the cabin, he was right next to me when I passed out about twenty feet away from the cabin. So he can't be the burned body they found. Also there was a bottle of wine with a note from John, only John never brought it to the cabin for us. So, someone has placed it there and seeing that I couldn't wake Christian up the bottle must have been spiked. Christian is somewhere out there, most likely kidnapped by Elena. We are going to find him and then I kill that bitch myself" Ana says showing no emotion whatsoever.
"Miss Steele, you can't say something like that in my present" Detective Clark scolds and Ana snorts.
"Really 20 minutes ago you accused me of murdering Christian, so since you are utterly clueless and useless, just go and stop wasting my time!" Ana hisses and just as he is about to answer his phone rings.
"That's the coroner" he mutters. "Clark... are you sure... understand... sure I'll be there in 5 minutes." Clark hangs up and I am holding my breath. Please God, I know I haven't been in church or even prayed for a long time, but I promise if this is not my brother I will become a better person. I send this silent prayer to the heavens and stare at Clark who is shifting from one foot to the other.
"The body we found in the cabin is not Christian Grey." he finally says. Oh thank you, thank you lord!
Ana
I stare at Clark and though I want to give him some piece of my mind I just don't have the time.
"You heard him, Taylor Elliot we are leaving, we need to find Christian. Taylor, I want Welch and the rest of the team waiting at Escala for us as soon as we arrive. Elliot call your Dad, I want the investigator who followed Elena on our team." After giving my instructions I leave the hospital room without even looking who is following me and in the garage of the hospital Taylor opens the door of the SUV for me.
I hear them make their phone calls, but continue to stare out of the window. I need to keep my emotions in check, if I have a breakdown now I am useless and so I focus on the one thing that is really important right now and that is to find Christian and bring him home safely.
Arriving at Escala Welch, Sawyer, Ryan and Reynolds are already in Christian's study.
"Gentlemen, I asked you to come here, because as it turned out today the body that was found in the cabin was not Christian. For all that we know Elena Lincoln has kidnapped him. Why? I am not sure, but it is your job to find him. If anyone has a problem with taking orders from me then now is the time to leave this apartment. For those of you who decide to stay I want to point out that if you thought working for Christian is a pain in the ass, well you haven't worked for me so far." I pause giving them a chance to leave, but to my great relief they all stay and look at me expectantly.
"Good, so first we need to find out with whom Elena Lincoln was working, because this person is most likely the body we have found. Welch, contact John Flynn. He offered Christian his cabin and Christian found a bottle of wine in the fridge at the cabin with a note that he thought was from John Flynn, but it wasn't. When I woke up because the cabin was on fire Christian wouldn't wake up, he was most likely drugged from whatever was put into the wine. Ask John Flynn to give you a list of all of his patients, if he refuses that get it anyway. I don't care how. Also I want someone to check John's office for any hidden cameras or something like that. I don't want to believe that he helped Elena, but if he did it is your job to get him to talk." I take a deep breath and look at Sawyer, Ryan, Reynolds and Taylor.
"As for you, it is your job to find Christian. I don't care if you have to tear this town down brick by brick, whom you have to threaten or bribe or how much it will cost, I want him found. Until Christian is not found, there are no breaks, no private phone calls, no nothing. I am convinced that Christian is still alive, Elena could have killed us right outside that cabin after I passed out, but she didn't. So, to me that means she wants us to believe that Christian is dead, once the news is out that the body wasn't him, I have no idea what she is going to do, so make sure you find him before that."
"Elliot, it is your job to talk to the cops, make sure they don't make a statement about the body not being Christian. I want to be updated every hour, we already lost almost 48 hours, we can't waste anymore time."
They all nod and get on it while I leave the study and walk into the kitchen.
"Is it true?" I turn around to find Gail behind me. She is in sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt. Her hair is a mess and her eyes are bloodshot.
"Yes, he is alive, we just need to find him."
"Oh thank the lord" Gail sobs, but I step back when she attempts to hug me.
"Please don't, I'm barely keeping it together. I can't allow myself to cry or I won't be able to stop. I need to focus."
She nods and straightens herself. "Good, can I get you anything?"
"An Advil and a glass of water please, my head is throbbing."
"Coming right up" she says and I think Gail is happy that she has a little distraction.
After taking the Advil I think about what to do next and find myself in the guest room staring at different pictures of Christian and I that I have on my laptop.
"I am going to find you. I promise" I whisper and close the laptop. I try everything to distract myself, but it is to no use. After an hour or so Christian's family arrives and we wait together until Gail rushes in.
"Ana, Mister Welch is on the landline in Mr. Grey's office." she says and we all hurry into the study.
"Did you talk to John, Mr. Welch?"
"Yes Miss Steele. His office was bugged and we found someone with a connection to you in his patient list."
"Whom?"
"Ethan Kavanagh, I am at his apartment building. A neighbor told me he has not come home for the last two days..."
What the hell? Why would Ethan help Elena?
"Welch, I want you to enter his apartment."
"Miss Steele I can't just..."
"Yes, you can now do it and call me back if you find something." I hiss and hang up.
"Elliot, can I please use your phone?" I ask and make a mental note to get a new one as I have no idea what happened to my phone.
When he hands it to me I call Kate. "Elliot, I am so sorry about your brother ..."
"Kate, it's me Ana."
"Ana, oh my god, how are you? I wanted to visit you, but your dad told me it's not a good time."
"Kate, when have you last spoken to Ethan?"
"Ethan... um ... last week I guess, he wanted to spend some time in my parents cabin. They bought it a couple of months ago, it's well... it's pretty close to where... you know."
"Kate I have to hang up, please send me the exact location of the cabin."
"Sure, but ..." I hang up and run upstairs. That bastard. For some reason he must have helped Elena... and now I know where she is.
"Ana what is going on... fuck... is that a gun?" I hear Elliot behind me when I get my gun out of the nightstand.
"Rule number one my Dad taught me, keep your gun always close." I murmur check it and hurry downstairs into the security office where all the car keys are and grab the first I can find.
"What is going on Ana" Grace's worried voice makes me pause for a second and I turn around finding all the Greys staring at me.
"Kate just told me that her parents have a cabin close to John's. Ethan wanted to stay there for a while. Could be coincidence, but I am almost a hundred percent sure that we will find Elena there and if she is there, so is Christian."
"Ana, we should call the police..." Carrick says and in just that moment Elliot's phone rings and he puts it on speaker.
"Miss Steele do you hear me?"
"Yes, Mr. Welch."
"You won't believe what I've just found..."