Choking On Sapphires

77 It Makes No Difference

The raw chaos that swept across the estate could be felt in every pore of every body that lay within it. Alfie took control of the house and those in it like he was in the war again, shouting with his deeply worried face out orders to search and destroy.

After the entirety of the land was searched, there was still no Genevieve to be found. All that was left besides the necklace was a champagne flute by the back hedges that still contained some liquid. A brave girl brings it forth to Alfie who has it taken from his grasp by Claire who sniffs it's contents deeply.

"She was drugged." she says with a face that hadn't flinched since the nightmare scenario began. "That's how they got her without anyone knowing." she says as her grip tightens on the glass, her muscles tense and vibrating in anger and sorrow in shifting waves that she couldn't control.

"I've called Ollie. We're touching base with every spy we got. I've got the Shelby's reaching out with their men to check the pubs for gossip. I've got every lad I have out searchin'." he mutters, mostly to himself so he can know he has in fact done all he can. It didn't help the rage that was now interwoven into every cell of him, a feeling so undiluted and grievous he thought he'd never feel it again after he came home from the war.

Aggie rubs Claire's shoulders, it all she knew to do. She kept running to the linen closet and hyperventilating and crying before coming out to face reality again. She knows that Claire isn't the type for physical comfort, but she couldn't comfort Alfie as he was huffing and puffing and moving around with hard and heavy steps with his face set into a deep scowl. His body moving tightly with tension as his mind worked endlessly to figure out who took her behind his wild eyes that were almost hidden under his heavy brow.

As the staff busies themselves, some cleaning up from the party, not knowing what else to do, they all stop and freeze as Claire suddenly throws the glass that she'd been staring at like it would give her answers, Gen's lipstick stain still on on the rim. It shatters against the wall, as she lets out a gut wrenching scream. She felt like a failure, like she'd lost a sister, how unfair it all felt bubbled up as she started to panic in a hunched pose. Everyone stops and stares with no manners in sight. The one person that always held it together was broken, and they felt all hope was lost.

"C'mere." Alfie says moving to her and holding her sternly by the arms.

"I failed her." she says, eyes glazed and far away.

"No. No one failed anyone."

"It's not FAIR!" she growls, a blood vessel popping in her eye as spit stays on her chin, unnoticed in her mad state.

"Is it not Claire?" he shouts loudly in her face.

Her eyes go wide as it snaps her out of her own self pity.

"You know what lives we lead. Gen knows what lives we lead and what comes with it. No one failed anyone. This is just our reality, yeah? I know you've never dealt with a situation like this before but we are now, yeah? We are in it and we are going to deal with it do you understand me? You goin' off right now with no direction for it innit gonna help no one. Especially not her. So why don't you go into her office and see if there's anything that can help us figure out who did this?" He speaks with over annunciation, a calm pace that is the opposite of how he feels inside.

She swallows noisily and takes deep shaky breath before shoving his hands off her.

"That's better." he says with a stern nod. "You're one of me best men, yeah? We can find her. Get her home if we play our cards right. She was taken, if they wanted her dead she'd already be dead." He harshly states but Claire appreciates the hard truth.