FROM THEN ON

Chapter twenty six

Robert's POV

I drove as fast as I could towards the airport. On my way there, I kept calling Sabrina's phone several times but she still wasn't answering. I was about to call her for the umpteenth time when Ryan's call cut in. ''Hey man did you get through to her?'' I asked nervously. ''I did.....but....'' Ryan said hesitantly. ''What happened?'' I asked as my heart began to race. ''I don't know........all I know is that I was talking to her and then I heard a loud bang and after that noise..........I couldn't hear her again,'' Ryan replied. ''I called her name several times but she didn't respond,'' he added. I was quiet for awhile as I tried to not let my emotions overwhelm me and then I said, ''I'm on my way to the airport, I'll let you know what's going on when I find out,'' I replied as I tried to regain my composure. ''And the cops?'' Ryan asked. ''Well I told them....but let's just hope by the time they get to her, it's not too late,'' I said. ''And hey man.....I'm sorry for not telling you earlier....I just didn't want to put anyone else's life in danger,'' I apologized. ''It's alright man, I've got you, no matter what,'' he replied. I was almost at the airport when I saw that people had gathered around the sidewalk by the road. ''Hey what's going?'' I asked a passer-by. ''There was a car accident here a few minutes ago,'' he replied before walking away. When I heard this, I was drowned in fear. ''Get it together,'' I pep talked myself before gathering every bit of courage left in me and got out of my car. I rushed over to where the accident had taken place to see that the cops had already barricaded the area. I squeezed through the crowd and when I finally got to the front, I saw it....a brand new black Audi car which had been completely smashed and somersaulted and my heart sank. Then, right at the driver's seat, I saw blood spilled everywhere. My heart began to race again and then I walked over to one of the policemen and asked, ''Excuse me...please where's the lady in the car?'' ''She was just picked up by an ambulance. She's being taken to St. Martin's Memorial Hospital,'' he replied. I quickly ran to my car and sped off to St. Martin's which was only a few blocks away. When I got there, I ran into the reception and asked the woman sitting behind the counter in an anxious and agitated mood, ''Excuse me, please my girlfriend was just involved in an accident, I was told she was brought here..please is she okay?'' ''Calm down sir,'' she said noticing how tensed and anxious I was. ''What's her name?'' she asked. ''Sabrina Welton,'' I replied quickly. She scrolled through the computer in front of her for a second and said, ''I see.....well your girlfriend is in the emergency award right now but not to worry, the doctors and nurses have got it under control.'' She then smiled reassuringly but I was still feeling uneasy. She handed me a form to fill and then asked me to wait in the reception. I was to anxious to sit down so I just kept pacing back and forth. Just then, I received a call from Alana. ''Hey Robert, I think I left my sweater at your place....I tried reaching Sabrina but she's not answering, can you please hand it over to her for me?'' she asked casually. I paused for a few seconds...not being able to bring myself to tell her what had happened. ''Robert? You there?'' she asked. ''Alana....'' I began and then the tears started to flow. ''Robert what's going on? Why are you crying?'' she asked confused. ''It's Bree......s-s-she had an accident,'' I stammered through the sobs. ''Oh my God,'' she gasped. ''Where are you?'' she asked. ''I'm at St. Martin's Memorial Hospital,'' I cried. ''We are on our way,'' she said and hang up immediately. About twenty minutes later, Cecilia barged into the reception and ran to the counter. ''Hi please my daughter's here...she had an accident.....I'm her mother I need to see her!'' she shouted. ''Calm down Miss.....what's your daughter's name? Wait let me guess, Sabrina?'' the woman behind the counter asked. ''Yes....how did you...'' Cecilia asked but before she could finish her question, the woman pointed to me standing agitated with my back against the wall. ''Please fill this form and take a seat, the doctor will see you soon,'' she said and handed the form to Cecilia. While she filled it, Alana rushed to me and asked, ''Robert what happened?'' she asked worried. ''She...'' I cried but I was to overwhelmed to anything else. I just began to cry and Alana pulled me into a hug. About two hours later, after we had all calmed down, a young man wearing a white lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck walked into the reception flipping through papers in a file he was holding. ''Robert Stenson and Cecilia Welton?!'' he announced. Cecilia, Alana, Rick and I immediately rushed to the doctor's side. The doctor, who probably thought he was about to be ambushed, said, ''Woah....are you all related to Sabrina Welton?'' ''Well technically.....we're not blood related....she's my girlfriend,'' I spoke up. ''But he deserves to be hear like any other one of us,'' Alana added before Cecilia could open her mouth to say anything that could get me kicked out of our little meeting. ''Okay well then you should know that Sabrina is in a very critical condition. She has multiple injuries including a dislocation of her spine and a serious brain injury......'' the doctor started. Cecilia just began to cry and Rick comforted her. Tears began to flow down Alana's cheeks and I placed my hands on her shoulders. I wanted to cry, to scream, to run to her side, but I needed to be strong, so I held back my tears and waited for the doctor to continue, ''Also....someway somehow, a piece of metal from the body of the car pierced her chest which led to excessive bleeding but luckily, it did not get to her heart,'' the doctor added. ''Oh thank God!'' Cecilia said as she clasped her hands together and looked up into the heavens. ''It affected her breathing though, which went on to affect her heart rate....but she's stable now,'' the doctor continued. ''So can we see her now?'' Alana asked anxiously. ''You can.....but there's one problem,'' the doctor said hesitantly. ''Sabrina is in a coma,'' the doctor blurted. ''Oh God no,'' Alana cried. I pulled her into a hug and as she cried into her chest, I closed my eyes but that didn't stop the tears from coming out of my tear glands. ''Do you know when she'll wake up?'' Cecilia cried. ''Unfortunately, no...but I should warn you, what happened to Sabrina is very critical and there's a possibility that.....she might not wake up.....and even if she does, there's a high chance that she might have amnesia,'' the doctor said. ''You mean...she won't be able to remember anything?'' Rick asked trying to choke his tears down but even he wasn't strong enough to stop it. ''Yes sir, I'm sorry...but don't lose hope though, miracles can happen. Now Sabrina is still in the emergency ward, so you can go and see her, but after today, she'll be moved to our Intensive Care Unit,'' the doctor said before handing the file to the woman behind the counter and walking away. When we got to Sabrina's room, Cecilia just broke down. She sat by Sabrina's bed, and cried her heart out. When I saw her, I just stood there staring at her almost lifeless body. I felt like my heart had just been ripped out of my chest. There she lay, peacefully, with a bandage around her head and chest region. She had a cut on her lip and cheek and a bruise on her left arm yet she was still the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. How I wished I could have saved her. How I wished that it was me instead of her. We were still staring at her when two police officers walked in. ''We are looking for Mr. Robert Stenson?'' they asked. ''That's me,'' I said and stepped forward. ''You are the one who called us about the attempted murder of Sabrina Welton?'' they asked. I looked at Cecila's face then to Rick's then to Alana's and they all had the same expression written across their faces: Confusion. ''Yes,'' I replied. ''Can you please step outside with us? We would like to ask you a few questions,'' one of the police officers said. ''Robert what are they talking about? Did someone try to kill Sabrina? I thought this was an accident,'' Alana said confused. ''I promise, I'll explain everything to all of you when I get back,'' I said before stepping out of the room. I walked with the police officers to the parking lot of the hospital. As soon as we were out, they did not let a second go by before they began asking. ''When you called, you said someone was about to kill Sabrina,'' the first cop said. ''Who is this someone and how could you possibly know that Sabrina was about to get killed?'' the second cop asked. ''It's....Lucy Nessler,'' I began. ''She's my ex-girlfriend. She tried to kill me once after our break-up. She got arrested but wasn't sent to prison. She was sent to a psychiatric rehabilitation centre,'' I continued. ''And how long ago was this?'' the cop asked. ''About five years,'' I replied and then the first cop wrote something down in a small notepad. ''Go on...'' the second officer urged. ''A few months ago, my two personal assistants were kidnapped....and she was the kidnapper. She used them as bait to get me to her. She threatened to kill all of us if we told the police or anyone else,'' I said, regretting ever listening to Lucy. ''And do you remember when exactly this took place?'' the officer asked me. ''It was last year, around September I think,'' I said as I tried to remember. ''I wouldn't have listened to her though, I was planning to call the police right there and then, but then she threatened to kill Sabrina and I couldn't let that happen,'' I said bitterly. ''And what is your relation with Sabrina?'' the first cop asked. ''She's my girlfriend,'' I replied. ''And these two personal assistants...what are their names?'' the second cop asked. ''Rita Ramirez and Linda Ashton,'' I replied. They wrote something down again before asking, ''So what changed? Why did you decide to come to the cops now? And how did you know she was going to attack today?'' they asked. ''We had a deal, I give her all the money she wants in exchange for my life, Sabrina's, Rita's and Linda's. But see this Christmas, Sabrina was supposed to travel to Washington to see her family but a few days before she left, she received a threatening message from Lucy,'' I went on. ''And what did this message say?'' the second cop asked. ''I don't remember, all I remember is that she was planning to do something to Sabrina on her way there so instead, we decided it would be best if Sabrina's family rather came over,'' I replied. ''And did they?'' the first cop asked. ''Yes,'' I replied. ''And these threatening messages.....has Sabrina been receiving them consistently from Lucy or was that the first one?'' they asked. ''Well I wouldn't say consistent, but that was definitely not the first one,'' I replied. ''I see,'' the second cop said and jotted something else down. ''And have you also been receiving threat messages from Lucy?'' they asked me. ''Yes...and that's how I knew she was going after Sabrina,'' I replied and then showed them the last message Lucy had sent me. ''Looks like we need to confiscate your phone for our investigation,'' the second cop said as he pulled out a clear plastic bag and was about to put my phone in it. ''Wait a minute,'' the first cop said and took the phone from the other cop. He reread the message before handing it to him again. ''Lucy said here that the last words Sabrina said to you were...I hate you, what did she mean by that? And how did she know that?'' he asked. ''Before Sabrina left my house today, we had a bit of a misunderstanding,'' I replied. '''And how did Lucy know that?'' the cop asked. ''Because she caused it,'' I replied. ''She sent a picture to Sabrina that made it look like I was cheating on her,'' I said. ''Okay....but you still haven't really answered my question. How did Lucy know what Sabrina's last words to you were?'' the first cop asked. And at that instant, it was like lightning had struck my brain. How did Lucy actually know that? How did she even know that Sabrina was travelling to Washington. Unless......''She's been following us,'' I whispered out loud as the realization hit me. ''Don't beat yourself up for not realizing it sooner,'' the first cop said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. ''Now in addition to your phone, we are going to need Sabrina's phone too to see whether we can trace the IP address from where she sent these texts,'' the first cop said. ''Sabrina's phone was with her in the car when the crash happened,'' I said. ''Well then it looks we'll have to go and retrieve it,'' the first cop said as he jotted something down. ''Now just a few more questions and we'll be out of your way,'' the second cop said. ''Did you know that Lucy's plan was to kill Sabrina in a car crash?'' the second cop asked. ''What? No. All I knew was that she was in danger. I tried calling her phone but she was too mad at me to pick my calls so I made my best friend Ryan Delgato call her instead,'' I said. ''So Ryan knew about Lucy?'' the first cop asked. ''Only the first time.....he didn't know that she was the one who kidnapped my assistants. I only told him she was back in town today so he could warn Sabrina,'' I replied. ''And was he able to get through to her?'' they asked. ''Well..yeah but he was in the process of talking to her when the crash happened,'' I replied. ''So Ryan was the last person Sabrina talked to?'' they asked. ''Yeah I guess so,'' I replied. ''Do you think that maybe the reason why Sabrina crashed was because she was talking on the phone and driving at the same time?'' the first cop asked. ''No, of course not. I am very sure that at the time Sabrina was driving, her phone was connected to the car's audio device via Bluetooth,''' I replied. ''And what makes you so sure of that?'' they asked. ''Because for one, the few times I have seen her driving, she always does that and two, I bought her that car so I know that her phone automatically connects to it,'' I explained. ''You said the few times you've seen her driving. Does it mean Sabrina doesn't drive much?'' the first cop asked. ''Well not really, that is, until I bought her that car'' I replied. ''And when was this?'' they asked. ''Last Christmas,'' I replied. ''So this car, it's brand new?'' they asked. ''Yes it is,'' I replied. ''So could it also be possible that maybe Sabrina wasn't used to driving that type of car and that's why she crashed?'' they asked. ''What? No,'' I replied unable to believe what I was hearing. ''I am telling you, this is Lucy's doing. Why won't you believe me?'' I asked getting frustrated. ''Calm down Robert, we are just doing our job,'' the second cop replied. ''Looks like we're done here. Thank you for your time Robert, and if you remember anything that could help us in the investigation, be sure to give us a call, okay?'' the first cop asked. ''Will do officer.....?'' I asked trying to figure out his name. ''Jones,'' he replied. ''And this is my partner officer Dunlop,'' he added. ''See you later Robert and be careful out there would you?'' officer Jones asked as the two of them got into a squad car. ''I will,'' I replied as I waved them goodbye and walked back into the hospital, thinking about what I was going to tell Sabrina's family. As soon as I walked into Sabrina's room, all eyes were on me. ''So...are you going to explain or what?'' Cecilia asked. I let out a loud sigh before narrating the whole story for the second time today. When I was done, Cecilia walked slowly to me and then slapped me. ''You imbecile!'' she shouted. I just stood there stunned and trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Cecilia just slapped me. I was still recovering from the sting of the first slap when she stroke again. ''This is all your fault!'' she shouted. She was about to slap me a third time when Rick rushed from behind and held her hand. ''Let me go Rick!'' she shouted. ''Not until you calm down,'' he said calmly still holding on to his wife's arm. She tried to break free while shouting at the top of her lungs, ''You are the reason why she's in this mess! You put her in this mess! Get out!!!'' she shouted. I stood there completely confused. '' I said get out!! And don't you ever come near my daughter ever again!!!'' she shouted angrily. At this point, her face had turned red with anger and she began to cry again. ''Maybe you should just leave,'' Alana said softly as she avoided eye contact with me. Not wanting to cause a scene at the hospital, I complied and sadly walked out. Cecilia was right. This was all my fault. If it wasn't for me, this would never have happened to her. I knew it was too late to reverse the clock......but it wasn't too late to MAKE THINGS RIGHT. I got into my car and drove as fast as I could. I didn't know where I was going, but I was about to find out. I called the last number Lucy used to contact me. ''Robert.....I've been expecting your call....'' she said slyly. ''This has gone too far Lucy!'' I shouted angrily. She just laughed wickedly and said, ''Too far? Honey I'm just getting started.'' ''Where are you?'' I asked, my face turning red. ''I'm afraid I can't disclose that information,'' she replied. ''But....I will bring you to me. Tonight at 7pm. I'll send you the location....and if you don't want things to get worse than they already are, then you better come alone,'' she added and hang up before I even got the chance to protest. I called her number back about three times and I always got the same response, ''This number does not exist.'' After the third try, I decided to call Ryan. I told him what happened at the hospital with the police and with Cecilia and then I told him about my conversation with Lucy. ''You're not really thinking of going alone are you?'' Ryan asked. I didn't say anything. ''Robert are you crazy? This girl is dangerous. She almost killed Sabrina....and you want to meet her alone?!'' Ryan asked shocked. ''I just don't want to hurt anyone else,'' I replied bitterly. ''Ah....I see what this is about,'' Ryan realized. ''So you made a mistake man......we all do....but this, this isn't the way to solve it,'' he advised. ''So what do you suggest I do huh?! Sit back and watch?! Leave it to the cops and do nothing?!'' I shouted angrily. Ryan was silent and then I apologized, ''I'm sorry.'' ''It's just.......every time I think about my past, I immediately regret it. All the things I have put all the girls I've dated through...but no matter what I do, there's no way to reserve it and I don't know how to make it right....and now because of me.....because of the mistakes I made........the love of my life is in a hospital right now fighting for her life,'' I said frustrated. ''I can't go back and make things right Ryan, but this......I can make right. So please....let me do this on my own,'' I pleaded. ''I understand......just do what you gotta do....but please don't do anything you'll regret,'' Ryan replied and then I said, ''I won't...I promise.'' That evening, after Lucy had sent the location and insisted I walked to the place, I ended up at an abandoned warehouse. I entered and the place was completely dark. ''Hello?'' I shouted and it echoed and then out of nowhere, the lights on the warehouse ceiling switched on. I turned around to see who could have possibly turned it on...and then I saw her. Lucy Nessler, standing a few inches away from me. ''Welcome,'' she said and smiled slyly. ''So this is where you've been hiding?'' I asked as I took in the scene before me. At the far corner of the warehouse was a small bed and a wooden table and chair at the opposite corner. ''It's not much but...I make it work,'' Lucy replied. ''So what do you want Lucy?'' I asked. ''I should be asking you the same question,'' she replied. ''Oh don't play mind games with me,'' I said annoyed. ''You're the one who called me first didn't you? So what do you want?'' she asked. ''I want to know why. Why would you do this to Sabrina?'' I asked softly. ''I thought we had a deal,'' I continued. ''We did.....but that deal expired,'' she said casually examining her finger nails. ''Expired? What do you mean by expired?'' I asked confused. ''I mean.....I had it all planned out...the perfect way to get my revenge for what you did to me. I was going to drain every single penny out of your bank account until you were left with nothing. Until you became nothing. Then, I would make you pay,'' she explained with hatred in her eyes. ''But then I had a change of heart,'' she perked up as if she wasn't angry a few seconds ago. ''I decided to forgive you,'' she said sympathetically. ''Then why did you want to kill Sabrina?'' I asked confused. ''Well my forgiveness comes at a price Robert,'' she smiled coyly. ''But that's not the only reason why I wanted to kill her......the other reason is because I wanted her out of the picture,'' she said mysteriously. ''What picture? What are you going on about?'' I asked even more confused than before. Lucy rolled her eyes clearly annoyed and asked, ''Are you always this clueless?'' ''I am in love with you Robert and I want you!'' she shouted. ''That's why I had to get rid of Sabrina. I knew that with her in the picture, there was absolutely no way you would look in my direction......but unfortunately, she survived. I should have hit her harder...'' she said critically. I did my best to try and keep my cool despite the fact that not only had Lucy just confessed that she attempted to kill Sabrina, but the fact that she didn't regret. ''Come with me Robert...we can run away and start a new life together,'' Lucy said, desperately holding my hand. I broke free from her grip and asked, ''Are you insane?'' Then I paused realizing I was asking a very stupid question. Of course she's insane but before I could utter another word, we heard the sound of sirens blaring from a distance. ''You called the cops?'' she hissed and began to panic. ''What? No,'' I replied as the sound grew nearer and nearer. ''We gotta get outta here,'' she said and began to move up and down the warehouse, packing her belongings into a duffle bag. ''Excuse me we? I am not going anywhere with you,'' I replied. ''I had a feeling you would say that,'' she smirked and suddenly, I felt something hit against the back of my head. I felt a sharp pain for a few seconds before I fell and everything went dark.

When I woke up, I was blindfolded, my hands were tied to the chair I was seated in and my mouth was covered with duct tape. I tried to shift but my movement was seriously restricted. Then, I felt someone remove the cloth from my eyes. As soon as the light in the room came into contact with my eyes, I averted my eyes away from it and squinted for a few seconds before opening my eyes again. The first person I saw was Lucy who was standing right in front of me and then right beside her was a thick, tall scary man. He had tattoos on his left arm and a deep scar across his left brow. He also had a piercing on his chin and he was seriously well built. We made eye contact for a second and he growled at me which made me shift backwards in my chair. ''Easy.....Dante,'' Lucy said and he immediately calmed down. Lucy then walked towards me and ripped the duct tape right off my mouth. ''Oww!...'' I shouted. ''Oh quit being such a baby,'' Lucy said annoyed. ''Where are we?'' I asked, trying to figure out a location. We were at a motel that I knew for sure. ''Panama,'' Lucy replied casually. ''What?!'' I freaked. ''Quiet down...or else I'll put the duct tape back on your mouth,'' Lucy warned. ''What are we doing here?'' I asked curiously. ''Hiding,'' she replied. ''Thanks to you, I'm a wanted fugitive not only for the attempted murder of Sabrina Welton, but also for kidnapping one of San Francisco's biggest billionaires,'' she added, making air quotes around ''wanted fugitive'', ''kidnapping'' and ''billionaire.'' ''So you decided to come here?'' I asked. ''Well yes...I needed a place that was completely out of the country that we could get to within the shortest possible time,'' she replied. ''Wait how long have I been here?'' I asked. ''A few days,'' she replied casually folding her arms. ''What? You mean I blacked out for days?'' I asked shocked. ''Actually, we gave you GHB on the plane and then another one every time you're about to wake up,'' Lucy said like it was no big deal. ''You drugged me?'' I laughed as I realized how mentally deranged Lucy was. ''So what's your plan now? Lock me up in here forever?'' I asked. ''Not forever......only for a few months. Just until the heat dies down. Then we'll move to another country and start a new life together,'' she said cheerfully. ''But in the mean time, I'll be right here beside you....I'm not going anywhere Robert,'' she said seductively and placed herself on my laps. ''Oh God,'' I muttered, knowing I was in for the worst few months of my life.

Sabrina's POV

I heard a weird beeping sound and blurry voices before I weakly began to open my eyes. I squinted as light flooded my eyes and then finally opened them wide. I felt so heavy and I was in so much pain. I tried to move but it only made the pain worse. I let out a low moan and then I heard voices close by. ''She's awake!'' one voice which sounded so familiar cried out. ''Someone call the doctor!'' another familiar voice shouted. A few minutes later, a not so familiar face was hovering over mine. ''Sabrina, can you hear me?'' the man asked. ''y-yes,'' I gathered all the strength left in my body to say and then I heard people screeching and rejoicing. Two nurses helped me sit up and when I did, a woman walked up to me and asked, ''Sabrina......do you know who I am?'' she asked cautiously. I stared at her. She looked so familiar but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't quite place my finger on who she was. I looked at her one last time and then asked clueless, ''Who are you?'' As soon as I asked that question, everyone's smile disappeared and their faces fell. Who were these people and why were they here? Why was I here? Wait.....who am I?