Chapter 5 Where in the world is Chris?

Isabella's House - The Next Day

Isabella had a hard time sleeping that night. She had lots of dreams of Chris: the first time they met, their first kiss, the first song they wrote, the first time they made love, their first anniversary, Zak's birth..., and the last time they made love.

May 2008
"Love, I'm glad Zak goes to school. It gives us plenty of time to fool around in the afternoon", Isabella says as she kisses Chris's chest.

"Well, you know what they say about opportunity only knocking once...." Chris says as he kisses her.

"Izzy, I want you to always remember something. Sometimes I may not act like I love you or do things to make you wonder if I love you, but when I told you that I love you, I meant I'd love you forever. You and Zak are my number one priority and I'd do anything for you," Chris says.

"Love, that's so sweet! How much time do we have until you pick up Zak?"

"Thirty minutes"

"Well, that's enough time to do what I have in mind!" Isabella says with a wicked smile.

Then, Isabella thinks about the last time he kissed her when he told her that "everything I do, I do it for you". It reminds her of one of their favorite songs:

Look into my eyes - you will see, what you mean to me, search your heart - search your soul, and when you find me there you'll search no more, don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for, you can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for, you know it's true, everything i do - i do it for you, look into your heart - you will find, there's nothing there to hide, take me as I am - take my life, I would give it all I would sacrifice etc...

Was Chris trying to give her some clue? Isabella decides the best thing for Zak is for him to not go to school today. Later that morning, she wakes him up.

"Zak, it's time to get up!'

"Oh, it's you. I thought you were Dad", Zak says.

"Well, thanks a lot! Why are you so mad at me?" Isabella says.

"I heard dad talking on the phone. He said something about his past and because of you he had to leave us" Zak says angrily.

"Did you ask your dad about this?"

"I did. He told me it was none of my business and not to mention a word to you."

"Well, I don't understand why he said that"

"Due to the stuff going on with your dad, you're not going to go to school the rest of the week. Your aunt Jean will be here in a few hours. She's going to get a taxi from the airport"

"Good no school. I'd rather be with aunt Jean than you anyway!"

Zak gets up and Isabella makes him breakfast. She can sense that he's angry with her, but she doesn't know how to fix it. Before Jean arrives, Isabella goes through their financial records. However, she doesn't find any large purchases or anything out of the ordinary. She decides to call Chris's solicitor.

"Mr. Finley, I'm sure you're aware of the current situation with Chris. Could you please tell me if he's left me any letters or instructions? Also, has Chris made any changes to his will?"

Mr. Finley is thinking he won his bet with his partner. He told his partner that Isabella would be calling within 24 hours of Chris's death. He never liked her. He could fully understand why Chris would marry her - that face and that body would get any man hot. He knew why she had married Chris - to save her career and provide her with money. Not that Chris wasn't a charming, friendly man, but when a woman marries a guy that is 20 years older than her, there are two reasons she marries him - power and money.

"Due to the status of your marriage, I'm not at liberty to discuss any of Mr. Smith's affairs with you. Once a death certificate has been issued, I'll schedule a reading of the will and we can discuss matters at that time, Mrs. Smith"

"Thank-you for your time Mr. Finley", Isabella says. What a jerk! He never said that he was sorry about Chris. She never liked him - he could never get his eyes above her chest! However, he was a really good solicitor and would protect Chris's interests.

Isabella calls Chris's friend Chris, but no answer. So she leaves her a message with details on what she has done today.

Isabella has had to turn off the phone, it's been ringing constantly. People that know Isabella's address have been sending flowers all day long. The house looks like a funeral parlor!

Jean arrives at Isabella's house.

"Oh, Isabella, I'm so sorry about Chris. I know he hurt you, but I know how much you love him! Zak must be devastated!" She says as she embraces.

"Zak hates me. He blames me for his dad dying". Isabella doesn't tell her that Zak thinks that Chris's alive.

"The last time that Chris talked to you, did he say anything weird?" Isabella asks her.

"The last time we talked was in May. Chris asked me how you handled our parents' death. I'm sure that I didn't tell him anything that you hadn't told him. Although, I told him that because you love him so much that if he died you'd either go insane or it'd kill you. I told him that if Zak died, you'd feel the same way"

"What did he say?"

"He said that he'd have to make sure that it didn't happen. When you first told me what happened, I thought that something was medically wrong with Chris and he was trying to save you from all the pain. It makes no sense to me that he'd cheat on you. It's not in his character!" Jean says.

"Well, that's what I thought, too. Can you watch Zak for me? I need to go over to Chris's house to get some things" Isabella asks.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you? Isn't Suzy there?"

"No, she moved out yesterday. The house is empty. I'm going to bring the dogs over here. Maybe it'll help Zak to have his pets with him."

"What happened to Tim?"

"He died suddenly. I've already buried him. I told Zak about it. It's just another thing for him to hate me for"

Chris's House

Isabella makes her way through the media standing outside of her door. Of course, they follow her over to Chris's house. Isabella arrives at Chris's house and begins to search through his things.

Paris, France

Chris's friend is talking on her phone. So far, she hasn't had any luck finding Chris. She has searched through airports, bus depots, train stations, and no luck. She'd contacted some old friends and they had used their resources to try to find Chris. No one had found anything. If Chris was alive, he didn't want to be easily found.

She suspected that Chris was indeed alive. The convenient accident made it almost impossible for the police to confirm that the body in the car was Chris's and Chris knew how to fake a person's death.

He had planned to leave Isabella and Zak after he had confirmed that he had eliminated the threat to Isabella's life. Apparently, he had been a coward and not told Isabella of his plans. Tina had a feeling that if Chris had told Isabella, she would have demanded that he take her and their little boy with him.

Tina decided to call the big guns and see if they would help her find Chris. After all, Chris had more than once proved his value to them.

"It's Tina 7790"

"Tina, what's up?"

"I need help to find Chris Smith".

"Chris's dead."

"Come on, who are you trying to kid? Chris has served you guys well in the past. You owe him; he should be reunited with his family".

"He was paid very well for his services. The answer is no"

"Could you pass on this information to the director?" Tina knows that the director knows Chris and may be willing to help her get Chris reunited with his family.

"Yes, we will". The phone goes dead.