Fleeting Hope

Chapter 1

Raven's POV:

I sat in the nursery, holding the blanket I made for my daughter as tears rolled down my cheeks. It had been three days since someone broke in and stole my daughter from her room, and we still had no leads.

I have left the shell of the person I was before, aching for my daughter's return. And Damian hasn't been home for much more than an hour since that night, always looking for Emma. I wanted him to hold me and comfort me, but he couldn't even look at me.

My whole life was falling apart around me, and I felt alone.

"Raven," Donna's voice called from the main room. "Where are you?"

I didn't bother to answer because there was only one place I could be. One place I have been for the past three days. And that was in my daughter's nursery. Holding the few reminders of my daughter in my hand like they were a lifeline.

"Raven," Donna found me, walking into the room. "You need to eat something. You need to take a shower and get some rest. It's been three days."

"I can't," was all I could manage to say.

"You have to," Donna came over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You need to be healthy so that when we get Emma back, you can take care of her."

"I should have been able to keep her safe," I shake my head. "What kind of mother can't even keep her own child safe?"

"You are an amazing mother," she assured me. "We will find Emma and ripe that sun of a bitch to pieces for what he did. But you need to be strong. For Emma. For Damian. For yourself."

"How can I be strong? I... I don't have anything left. Emma... she is gone." I cried as the words felt more real than ever before.

"Don't say that," she shakes her head. "You have Damian. We will find Emma. You have so much to live for."

"Damian hasn't even spoken to me in three days," I shake my head as I look away. The tears felt like boiling water on my cheeks. "He can't even stand to look at me, and I just know he blames me for what happened. I am the mother. I should be able to keep my baby safe."

"Damian doesn't blame you," Donna shakes her head. "He loves you so much. He is just running himself ragged looking for Emma. He doesn't think that this is your fault."

"Of course he does," I shake my head. "Just leave me alone, Donna. I want to be left alone."

I sit down in the nursing rocking chair and clutch the blanket to my chest as I close my eyes. The scent of my own baby fades from the blanket, but I still take a deep inhale, wanting to remember Emma. Remember my smiling and perfect baby.

Donna doesn't say anything for a few minutes, but I can hear her footsteps fade away. Then I am left to cry myself to sleep as I wait for news of my baby's return. But, like the other days, nothing comes.

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Damian's POV:

It had been three days since my baby girl was snatched up, and there were still no leads on who could have done this. I had my suspicions, but there was no proof to back me up, and I was starting to believe I had gone crazy.

But I couldn't sleep. Not with the thought that my daughter could be out there, crying for her mother or I, in the arms of a bad person. That thought alone was enough to fill me with rage.

But at the end of the day, no matter what person I beat up or what bush I shredded to piece, I felt numb the second I walked into my room. I couldn't even speak to my wife because I felt such shame for not being able to catch up to my daughter. I should have stopped the man before he even left our room. But I hesitated.