The Next Chapter (Sequel to A New Story)

4 ~Maria & Daniel~

The meeting was almost finished when Daniel felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He ignored it, knowing that those closest to him were aware of the protocol when he was in meetings and that they also knew to call back immediately if it was an emergency. When the call came through a second time, his phone automatically rang instead of vibrating.

"I apologize, but if it's ringing, it's an emergency. Pardon me," he said with an apologetic smile toward the executives across the table before pulling the phone out of his pocket. He took a quick glance at the caller ID before answering. "JP, what's going on?"

"Daniel, I need you to listen carefully. There's been an incident, and Maria is in an ambulance on her way to the hospital."

Daniel stood, pushing the seat back so fast it almost tipped over. "An incident? What sort of incident? What's wrong? How is she? What hospital?"

He heard JP release a shaky sigh over the phone. "Katie and I got to Maria's house for the meeting and... and there was a man there. It looks like she fell down the stairs, but we're not sure. I chased after him, but... I lost him. The police are after him. She's unconscious and has a big gash on her head. They're taking her to St. Luke's. I think—I think you should get there fast."

"JP," Daniel gasped out, just hanging on to any semblance of calm, "JP, is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know." JP, who was both his assistant and his best friend, hesitated in his answer. "All I know is she was pretty banged up—"

"I'm on my way." Daniel hung up the phone before JP could say anymore.

He froze in panic as he ended the call.

"Daniel, what's going on?" one of the women across the table asked him. Even she was trying to remain calm after only hearing one side of the conversation.

"Maria... she...," he stuttered out through the shock, "Someone attacked her... or something... there was a man in her house... she's unconscious... on her way to St. Luke's." There was a long pause. He stared down at the phone still in his hand, then attempted to shake himself out of it. "I'm... I'm sorry, but I have to go—"

"My driver is downstairs in the parking garage with my car," one executive said as she stood. "Come on, I'll take you there and he'll drive you to the hospital."

Once they arrived at the private parking garage in the building's basement, the movie executive gave instructions to the driver of the black sedan that was waiting. As Daniel got in the vehicle, she spoke, "Please keep us updated, Daniel. You have all our thoughts and prayers. If there's anything else we can do, please, let us know."

**--**--**

Just over a year ago, Daniel Statten swore to his assistant he'd never marry again. He swore he'd remain a bachelor for the rest of his life.

Now—as the black sedan sped through the New York streets rushing him to the hospital where his fiancée, bestselling author MJ Blakestone, was being wheeled into the emergency room—he considered himself a changed man.

Before they had ever met, the words in her first book had captivated him just as much as his presence on screen had charmed her. But his whole life changed after meeting her. He looked back on the first time they met, at a celebrity charity event in England. He could still close his eyes and see her face—that day, it held the worries of a woman unused to fame, not ready to face the world and all it meant to be a celebrated novelist. That day, he came to her rescue—with something as simple as a pair of his mother's reading glasses.

The second time, she returned the favor—and the same pair of glasses she had providentially kept with her for almost two years. In her nervousness she had insulted him; and, in his own nervousness, he had flirted a bit too much. Had it not been for their daughters' budding friendship, they might have never met again after that night. But she was determined to mend their own friendship to maintain their daughters'. And continue their friendship they did, even if it was under the guise of their girls' getting together outside of school once a week. What neither of them expected was the simultaneous deepening of the attraction they felt toward each other.

Admitting those deepening feelings came a little easier for Daniel than it did for Maria. His divorce had left him broken; but, once he realized the love he had for Maria, he knew he had no choice but to welcome it with open arms. The death of her husband years before had left her guarded and closed to the possibility of love again. It took more encouragement from her friends and family and a healthy measure of self-realization on her own part before she opened up to the idea that she was lucky enough to have found love a second time in her life. Once she did, their commitment to each other grew with each passing day.

And now, on the day they had promised each other they'd finally set a date for their forthcoming wedding, everything seemed as if it might slip away from him again. He felt himself slipping into deep, painful, gut-wrenching sadness at the thought of losing her. Could he survive that loss? Could he move forward in caring for their family—because it no longer felt like 'hers' and 'his' to him—their children were just that—theirs. He couldn't imagine not caring for her children.

A sob escaped him as the thought of life without her washed over him.

As the car pulled up outside the emergency department entrance, one final thought filled his mind. No. She can't go. She has to survive.

He jumped out of the car without speaking to the driver or anyone else and ran through the sliding doors. Thankfully, one of the first faces he saw was a familiar one. "Where is she?"