Professional Disaster

Chapter 23

Kimberly sat in the home office, tapping away on her keyboard when her daughter entered. "Hello, Anwylyd. How can I help you?" She didn't look up from her screen as she spoke.

Arabella came and sat opposite her mother's desk, a sheepish look on he face. "Nothing,"

Kim looked up with squinted eyes. "I don't believe you. What is it?"

Ari hesitated. "Can we talk about what happened?"

Kimberly immediately powered down her computer and gave her daughter her full attention. "Is it playing on you again?" It had been two months since Parker and every day was an upwards struggle, but slowly and surely Arabellawas feeling better. She had taken a month off from school but had recently returned back for her final three months before graduation. It was a good sign that she wanted to go back. It meant that Arabella really was beginning to get better. Even if realistically she'll never be 'okay'.

Arabella fiddled with her fingers, almost as if she was afraid to speak her mind. "Oh, no, not that. I mean... when Jenkin and I were kids."

Kim froze. "What is it that you want to talk about? I thought you remember it all?"

She nodded. "My part. I was hoping you'd tell me how you got us back."

"You've never asked that before," Kim noted.

"I never wanted to talk about it before."

"And you're sure you want to talk about it now?" Kimberly couldn't help but feel uneasy at the request. What had happened caused Arabella to resent her parents for years. She didn't want to bring about those emotions again. It was un undiscussed topic in her house.

Arabella just nodded. "Okay, then I'll tell you."

Robert hung up the phone, done with whatever Lorenzo had to say.

Kim slipped Arabella off her lap and threw a blanket over the two children, She rushed towards the door, pointing for Cole to meet her at the entrance. She unlocked the hidden safe that resided underneath the television and grabbed a gun. She headed out the front door with Cole in tow.

Robert followed with a roll of his eyes. "He's not going to be out here," I called. "He'd never get his own hands dirty.

Cole and Kim stood side by side, guns aimed at the darkness with no one to be seen. "You should know it's unsafe to be out here with no cover." Robert caught up to the two blondes and took his stand next to his wife.

Kim rolled her eyes. "They won't even come out. They wouldn't dare take a crack at me."

"I sure wouldn't mind." The sound of Cole's palm coming in contact with Kimberly's jean-clad ass made Robert grunt.

"Go inside. I'll give Elijah a call, we'll get security plastered all around here." Robert grabbed Kimberly by her shoulders and turned her around, pushing her towards the front door.

But when they reentered their living room their kids were no longer there. Instead, a yellow sticky note lay in their place. Kimberly screamed out for her kids, but they were well and truly gone.

Their days were filled with searching. But soon enough days became weeks, and weeks became months. They had destroyed their house and built a new one on an island, yet they couldn't find their kids. Teams with machinery were sent into Lorenzo's territory, some not making it back alive. They were looking for something secret. Something hidden. It took three months to find a lead. They had found an underground base. In true villain fashion, he had an entire underground system. And yet another month for their plan to take action.