Strangers

Missing

During his breakfast, Joe always read the news since he usually didn't have time for it in the office,and he wanted to know what was going on in the world.

That Thursday was no exception. Sitting down with his traditional English breakfast and strong coffee, he began leafing through the news feed.

His attention was caught by the most recent article with the caption "murder in office of prominent firm, updating"

The man furrowed his brow and began to read, suspicion building in his heart with each word

"...It is also reported that the victim was with her boss, the well-known businesswoman Taylor Allison Swift, who did not come home last night as planned. It is unknown if she is alive or dead. The police put out an APB on her and our source tells us that Swift herself was most likely the target. Taylor is the ex-wife of famous British actor Tom Hidleston and they have a daughter. We contacted the actor's team but we still haven't received any response..."

It seemed unreal. Like a dream. Joe had talked to Taylor the day before yesterday afternoon, and today she was fucking missing.

Immediately he dialed her number, but of course she was out of range. He also had Zoe's number, but there was no point in calling her.

Joe had never encountered anything like this before, though he knew that such practices undoubtedly existed. But damn it, this was the 21st century.

He didn't know what else to do; he no longer had the numbers of anyone connected with Taylor.

"I see you already know about Jenny's mom?" Michael's voice came from behind him.

Joe flinched "you scared me. What do you know?"

"Not much," shrugged Michael "Jenny texted me in the morning when they found the body. She doesn't know anything herself except that her mom's assistant was killed and Taylor is missing."

"Where's she?Does she need help?"

"Her dad came as soon as he found out. The cops had already interviewed them. They said if it's a gang thing, there's a threat to Jen, too. So she'll be on the next flight to London with her father and stepmother-to-be."

"Good. At least she'll be safe"

"Yeah, but it's terrible. I'm trying to support her as best I can."

"Right. Poor girl, first the accident and now the murder and Taylor missing. God,I really hope she's alright."

"Let's hope for the best, huh, Dad?"

"I'm afraid that's all we can do."

Michael went about his breakfast, not letting his phone out of his hands, but Joe had lost his appetite altogether, so he got up from the table and went to get dressed.

~~~~~~~~

Taylor woke up with a terrible headache. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see almost nothing. She was in total darkness, with only a small candle in the corner, which illuminated a small piece of the room she was in.

After coming to her senses a little, Taylor looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

The room wasn't very big. It was cold and damp. From the looks of it, it was a basement of some sort. Taylor was sitting in a chair, her hands behind her back and handcuffed. She was still wearing the same office clothes. And she was covered in blood.

It was as if Taylor had been struck by a flash. Zoe's bloody body, her lifeless eyes. They killed her...killed her right in Taylor's office.

Taylor finally realized what had happened.