The Abduction

The Abduction
NICOLE 

I haven't slept the whole night.

There's way too much going on in my mind. Ever since I received the news that Angus passed away, I've been unsettled. Hell, he seemed fine. I thought he would've survived. Everyone seemed to be hopeful, too. 

I don't know what to think of this. Or how to process it. 

After the things he said to me, I'm more terrified than ever. If he were still alive, then I would've felt like the situation was under control. But he's dead. According to him, his son killed him. 

I need Roman with me. I feel like if he were standing right beside me, I would know how to confront this situation. Right now, I don't have the slightest clue where to begin. How do I even get access to Leonardo? I don't know jack about him. Not where he lives or what he does all day. Besides, how can I go up to a man who poisoned his own father and most likely killed someone else, and confront him about all this?

What would the best approach be?

I don't know. I don't know. 

The phone rings and when I pick up, expecting to be Roman, it's actually the porter informing me that there are police officers downstairs who want to speak with me. 

I panic and refrain from answering for a long time before telling him weakly to send them up. My nerves are shot to hell. 

What do they want from me? For once, I don't know. There could be many reasons why. 

I open the door for them and welcome them with a nervous smile. There's a detective and two police officers with him—a man and a woman. 

"Good morning. I'm Detective Francis and these are officers Murray and Walker. We'd like to ask you a few questions about Esmeralda Garcia."

My heart genuinely drops to the pit of my stomach and I feel sick. I nod and say, "Sure. That's no problem at all."

"May I ask what the nature of your relationship with Miss Garcia is?"

"We were friends."

"Were?"

"Yes."

He grabs a notepad and scribbles something on it. The other two officers look at me pointedly and I feel even more nervous. Am I going to get into trouble because of what happened to her?

"And what was the reason for your falling out?"

I have a feeling he knows some of the story, so I tell him the truth, explaining that Esmeralda is carrying my husband's child.  

"I see. And what was your reason for paying her a visit?"

"I wanted to talk to her."

"About what? Could you specify?"

"I wanted to ask her what she planned to do after the baby was born," I say before looking down at my hands. "I also wanted to ask her to stop pestering my husband."

"And she didn't take it well?"

"No. I was leaving when she called me back and thanked me for visiting her. Then, she slashed her wrists and I tried to stop the bleeding."

"Yes, that much was evident."

I look at his face for a long time. "Am I in trouble?"

"No. We're just trying to rule out everything else. This is a...simple check to get the facts right. We also interviewed the housekeeper and she said the same thing you did."

"Right."

When their visit ends, I sag against the door and feel the urge to cry, but I don't. I'm so glad that didn't amount to anything. 

What if I went to jail for, I don't know, provoking or arguing with a pregnant woman with a fragile mind? I don't even know if that's a felony. It could be. 

But I have a feeling Esmeralda planned the whole thing. Or rather, she planned something similar. That's why she thanked me for showing up. 

Maybe she thought Roman would hate me if she did that to herself. 

She was wrong in that regard, too. 

Now that the officers are gone, I push this to the back of my mind because I have a more urgent matter to take care of. I don't know if it's the exhaustion mixed in with the sheer stress of the last few days, but I can't think clearly about anything. I need someone to break this down for me. 

I need Roman. 

Today, we're going to figure out whether or not they'll set bail. I hope they do. The thought of him spending the night behind bars is the reason why I didn't sleep at all. 

Things could go so wrong for us. I don't even know if Leonardo planned for Roman to be there to frame him, or whether it was all a big misunderstanding. It's impossible to know. I guess we won't know until Leonardo is confronted, or he ends up paying for his crimes. 

But how?

And what will I do about Dan, who's out there with the intention of killing my husband? I don't even know if I should call the police and have them search for him. 

It truly must have been an elaborate scheme because the authorities don't seem to know about this, or everyone would have been notified. 

I need Roman. I need him to help me with this. I need him to help me figure out what we're going to do because there's a high chance we're not out of danger. 

Anyway, if they set bail, then I'll be there to bring him home. 

I grab my purse and wash my face before leaving the penthouse. It's all I have time to do. My heart is slamming against my chest. I'm so anxious that my palms are sweaty. Actually, I'm sweating all over and my stomach is upset. 

I reach the parking lot and reach for my car keys. I should look up and look around—in fact, when I left the elevator, I told myself I'd look around because I never know. 

But I didn't. 

A car parks beside me and a man dressed steps out of it and heads toward me quickly. I don't know if it's the lack of sleep, but I react way too slowly for my own good and end up being dragged to the vehicle with smoked windows. I let out a strangled cry before being shoved into the backseat, where one other masked man is already seated. I'm shoved between him and the grabber, and then the car speeds off. 

Leonardo is seated in the passenger's seat, and he eyes me smugly through his dark sunglasses. Hatred fills me, turning my insides to pure acid. 

What now?