•Night Angel•

CHAPTER II - THE KIDNAPPING

January 1995. 19:05. Paris, France.

It was a cold afternoon in the outskirts of Paris, the place of the Dumont residency. January 1995, was still the snowy season in the country.

Getting the bags in the car, Antoine and Victoire were getting ready to go on a business trip to Germany. Unfortunately for them, they had to leave little Sophia in the care of her 20-year-old nanny, Juliette, and several more housekeeping women and men that worked for the family.

-Devez-vous vraiment me quitter? (Do you really have to leave me?)- Asked little Sophia while watching her mum put on her coat. She had a frown in her little face while pouting to her mum.

-Oui, mon amour, mais ce ne sera que pour quelques jours (Yes, my love, but it will only be for a couple of days)- Said Victoire at the same time she was buttoning up her coat. She squatted in front of her little girl, putting her hand on her cheek and then giving her a kiss to the forehead.

- Victoire! La voiture est prête! (Victoire! The car is ready!) - Her dad's voice resonated from downstairs, announcing that it was time for them to get going.

She ran down the stairs as fast as she could, not caring if she fell and rolled the remaining steps to reach the floor. Once she was at her father's side, she grabbed onto him, hugging him as tight as she could. She didn't want her parents to leave. She wanted them to stay with her. Everyone thought it was because she didn't want to be alone with just her nanny, so they thought it was a cute gesture.

Truth is, she didn't want them to leave, because the last time someone left on a business trip, they didn't come back. She was scared that the same thing that happened to her godparents, was going to happen to her parents. Of course, this was not the first trip they were going to make after what happened to Howard and Maria. They had travelled plenty of times before this, but something in her little gut told her that something was going to happen. Not necessarily bad, but not something good either.

-Oh, ma princesse, tout va bien. Nous reviendrons avant que vous ne le sachiez, je le promets (Oh, my princess, everything is fine. We will be back before you know it, I promise) -

Antoine was a weak man when it came to Sophia. Don't get me wrong, not weak in a bad way. He would do anything for Sophia, she was his princess, he would do the impossible just to see her happy. When they were able to have a baby and Sophia was born, he promised to himself and to her that he would not let his job be an obstacle to spending time with his daughter.

He promised he would be a present father, and to be there every time she needed him, to be there in every step she took, every achievement or goal she accomplished, every time she was sad, or angry, or excited or happy, he would be there. He would protect her from harm's way, he would scare off her boyfriends (just the thought of his little girl having a boyfriend made him lose his mind), he would be the best dad in the world, just for her.

-Promets-tu de rentrer bientôt à la maison? (You promise you will come home soon?)- Her grip in her father's jacket was strong, which just made Antoine laugh at how her tiny hands were trying to prevent him from leaving.

Kneeling in front of Sophia, Antoine pulled out his pinky finger for her to latch on to his

-Je promets (I promise) - And with this simple yet important act, Sophia was certain that they were going to come back home. Only thing is, they would come back way sooner than she or they expected.

Once Victoire and Antoine were ready to leave, they both said their goodbyes to Sophia, Juliette and the house management and hopped on their car with Manuele (the family chofer), and made their way to the airport.