by Emma Quinn
“What are you talking about?”
“Money...” she whispered. “It talks. Do you know how many people would pay to get their hands on that information?”
“Don't... Don't you dare go to the press, Mila.”
She let out a demonic cackle and strutted toward the door.
“What can I say? I'm a daring girl,” she laughed. “And what did you say I was? Crazy? What if I crack and spill the news, huh?”
She laughed again, her voice piercing my head.
“Well, I better be on my way,” she said in her painful sing song voice. “Have a nice day.”
And with that she slinked out the door and down the hall.
“Bitch,” I seethed under my breath.
I wanted to run down the hall and wring her neck.
Calm down, I told myself. She's a crazy bitch, but she wouldn't do something as malicious as tell everyone about Luca, would she?
My chest felt as though it was stuck in a vice grip as I felt the stress rise.
Walking over to the window, I opened it up and let a breeze drift over my face.
Fuck, what do I do? What if she tells the papers about Luca? What if Ethan finds out before I get the chance to tell him?
What if Emily's right and he goes for full custody?
Shit... This can't be happening. You can't lose your son? You can't put him at risk like this.
The last thing I wanted was for the press to get hold of his identity. No child deserved to be thrust into the limelight like that.
The only thing I could think of doing was to leave LA as soon as possible and return to our normal life in New York. With Ethan's case over, there was no reason I couldn't go back.
That's what I'll do. I'll go back to the apartment, pack all our things and get on the first flight out of here.
I'll forget all about Ethan if I have to. Anything to keep Luca safe!
But I knew that was going to be impossible. Just as I put my plan together, my phone buzzed. Looking down, I saw a message from Ethan appear on the screen.
I had such a good night last night. Wanna meet up tonight? Xxx
In a panic, I did something I wish I didn't have to. With my fingers quickly moving across my phone, I blocked Ethan's number and shoved my phone back into my pocket.
“You're doing the right thing. You have to forget about him. All you have to do is think of Luca.”
But the sadness of it all welled up inside me and I couldn't stop the tears from falling. I was never going to see Ethan again. Was never going to feel his arms around me or hear him tell me he loved me. And he was never going to know just how much I loved him.
But leaving him behind was the best thing I could do for Luca. Even if it was tearing my heart in two.
24
Ethan
Two weeks later
I
arrived at the studio for a rehearsal and expected to find Gary waiting for me in my dressing room ready to go over the routine for our next stunts. What I found instead was a worried looking Jules holding a business card in his hand sitting in my makeup chair.
“Hey,” he said as I entered. “You okay?”
“Yeah... Why wouldn't I be?”
“Because you've been walking around for the last two weeks with a face like a smacked ass.”
“Aw, thanks very much.”
“But it's true. You've been on a real downer since that chick split with you.”
A downer. That was an understatement. I felt as though I was moving around underneath a black cloud. Felt as though I'd gained twenty pounds and the weight was lying on my shoulders, dragging me down and down into the earth. It felt as though my heart had turned black and rotten.
“I'm fine,” I lied, but Jules knew me too well.
“Shut the hell up. You're not fine.”
“Honestly, I'm okay. Since when do I get hung up on chicks anyway? I'll have another model in my bed by the weekend. Maybe even tonight if I play my cards right.”
But he could see right through my bravado. The heartache was as visible on my face as my signature tan, but what exactly was I supposed to do?
The night me and Sophia spent together was the best of my life. I'd never felt so close to someone as I had with her. I didn't even think it was possible to feel so in love. Yet I had been as naive as to think she felt the same way too. Which she obviously didn't considering she had blocked my number. And when I'd arrived at her office looking for her, I was told she'd left her position in the McSweeney and Sons LA office and was making plans to move back to New York.
All I could do was accept she had finished with me. Maybe it was her way of getting back at me for what I'd done to her all those years ago. I wouldn't blame her, but did she have to be so cold? Did she have to tell me she loved me then leave me like that?
“Look, I can see you're suffering,” said Jules, handing me the business card. “Which is why I'm suggesting you call this therapist. They're the best in the city. They can help you.”
“I don't need a therapist,” I replied, aghast as I flung the card back at him.
I needed Sophia back and no therapist was going to be able to bring her back to me.
“Why do you have to be so awkward?” moaned Jules, leaving the business card on my desk. “And you know what? I knew you'd be like this. Which is why I took the liberty of tracking someone down to help you.”
“Wait... You tracked someone down? What the hell does that mean?”
“It means people are noticing you moping around here, and Gary's been complaining you've not been training as hard as you used to. If you're not pushing yourself then the studio chiefs are gonna get all pissy with not just you, but me too.”
I stared at him wondering if he cared more about me or what the studio wanted.
“So I called a few favors and got my hands on a good private investigator. And with him... Well, the rest is history.”
“Jules, man you're freaking me out. What the hell have you done?”
He looked apologetically down at his shoes then let out a long regretful exhale.
“Just come with me to the cafeteria. You'll see.”
Before I could ask anymore questions, he walked away. Following him across the lot to the cafeteria, I wondered what the hell was going on.
“This way,” he said, opening the door and pointing toward the back corner of the room.
At first, all I saw was a room full of people queuing up to get their lunch. I passed a table of grips who were rowdily debating the merits of Star Wars while behind them, three dancers from a musical being shot next door loudly moaned about the director.
“Over there,” pointed Jules through the busy tables.
At first, all I saw was a sea of people, but through them all, I could just about make out a hunched shape leaning on a table. Then slowly they turned toward me.
“Jules is that... Is that...”
The face was covered in a gray beard now, but I recognized it instantly.
“Is that my dad!”
I ran over, winding my way through the tables.
“Son,” he said, rising slowly from his seat.
He rested against a walking stick as he stood, his whole body weighing heavily against it. It looked as though it was ready to snap any second.
“Dad... What are you... How did you... Why are you here!”
“It's nice to see you too, kid,” he said. “Are you not going to give your old man a hug?”
I hesitated for a second, overwhelmed by shock. Then I threw my arms around him and squeezed him tight.
“I'll leave you two alone,” said Jules from behind us.
His footsteps disappeared into the distance, and when I next looked around, he was walking out the door giving me a wink and a thumbs up as he left.
“Dad, I don't believe it. What are you doing here?”
“That agent of yours. Funny fella, ain't he? Anyway, he tracked me down. Said you were going through a bad time. That you were depres
sed.”
“I'm not depressed,” I scoffed. “I'm just-”
“You're just still in love with Sophia.”
He looked me deep in the eye and slapped a hand on my arm.
“Son, I've had a lot of time to think since I saw you last. After you left town I realized just how badly I'd treated you. And just how much I took you for granted. Your mother too.”
He gazed solemnly down at the table and rested his eyes there as though he was imagining a scene being replayed across the wood.
“I loved your mother more than anything. She was my soul mate. She was my everything and...”
He stumbled over his words as his voice broke, and glanced away, embarrassed.
“She was everything to me and when she died a big part of me died with her. I was filled with so many regrets. There was so much I wanted to tell her. All I wanted to do was hold her, tell her I loved her but...”
His words were replaced by tears, and as he turned to me, I saw his eyes were filled with raw pain.
“Dad, it's okay. I understand.”
“No... You don't, Ethan. What you had with Sophia. It's the real thing. I knew it was since you were first together all those years ago. And when I heard she'd popped back into your life like this... Well, it just felt like fate. It had to be!”
He reached over and gripped my arms tight.
“If you love her, Ethan. If you truly love her, you'll find a way to get her back.”
“But she doesn't want anything to do with me. She made that pretty clear.”
“Find a way to get her back,” he said. “Love can't be squandered. You have to grab it!”
There was an intensity in his eyes that almost scared me. I tried to peel his fingers from my arms, but he only held me tighter.
“Ethan, I never told you this. But I'm so proud of you. I always was. I guess all the times I told you you could never be an actor was me not being able to tell you how I really felt. That I was scared of losing you. That if you became famous you'd leave me. And you did...”
“Dad.. I never meant to leave you. I didn't think you wanted me around.”
“Of course I did! I love you, son.”
“It never felt that way.”
He slapped a leathery hand to my cheek as his bottom lip wobbled.
“After the accident and I injured my back, I wasn't myself. I was in pain. Couldn't cope with how I was feeling. I couldn't work. Could barely move. Had to rely on you for everything. It was like I wasn't even a man.”
A thick tear trickled down his cheek and it felt like my insides were filled with lead. There was nothing worse than seeing your own father cry.
“I never meant all those things I said to you back then,” he explained. “My God, Ethan I love you more than anything. You're the best thing I've ever done with my life.”
At last, he released his grip from my arms and pulled me into a hug.
“All I want is for you to be happy,” he said. “You have to get Sophia back. A life without love isn't a life at all.”
As I sat in his arms, I suddenly felt like a kid again. Like a little boy who thought of his dad as a hero. He was right. I couldn't let love slip through my fingers. I needed to get Sophia back.
25
Sophia
I
pulled up outside the school gates and waited. Usually Luca was running at speed toward the car by now squealing with his coloring book in his hand. But today he was nowhere to be seen.
Thinking it was peculiar, I climbed out the car and ventured inside the building. Maybe he was just chatting to his friends or talking to one of his teachers.
But as I walked toward his classroom, I saw he was nowhere to be seen. Approaching the door, I saw his teacher, Miss Sullivan sitting at her desk marking homework.
“Hey,” I said, knocking gently.
“Oh, hello,” she smiled, looking up. “It's Sophia, isn't it? You're Luca's Mom. He talks about you all the time.”
“Oh, he talks all the time full-stop. Say, you don't know where he is, do you?”
A look of concern fell across her face and she frowned.
“He left about ten minutes ago,” she said.
“He left? With who?”
“She said she was his nanny. Emily I think she said her name was.”
“Emily picked him up?”
She never told me she was going to do that.
“Okay, thank you,” I said, backing out the room. “We must have got our wires crossed.”
I fumbled for my keys in a hurry as I reached the apartment. Something just didn't feel right. Call it a mother's intuition or just paranoia, but I knew something was wrong. Emily would never have picked him up without telling me.
Pushing my way into the hall, I listened out for the sound of Luca's laughter, but heard only silence.
“Hello? Luca? Emily?”
Only an eerie quiet came back as a response, and immediately I was filled with a sense of dread.
“Luca!”
I dashed into his bedroom first and saw he wasn't there. Then I ran from room to room only to find each one empty.
“Luca! Where are you?”
It was then that I heard a faint groaning coming from the back of the kitchen.
“What the fuck?”
Stopping in my tracks, I listened out for a second, gingerly walking past the stove.
The sound seemed to be coming from the storage cupboard beside the fridge.
“Hello?”
I approached it with my heart beating like a jackhammer. The voice was muffled like it was coming from far away, but there was no mistaking the pain behind it.
Landing my hand on the door handle, I held my breath for a second and braced myself for whatever lay beyond.
Ripping the door open, I hoped to God Luca was in there and he wasn't hurt.
But it wasn't Luca at all.
“Emily!”
A length of rope was jammed between her teeth and around her head as blood poured from her nose. Both her arms and ankles were tied so tight giant red burns poked out from under the rope.
“What happened!” I screamed as I ripped the rope out from her mouth.
Tears ran down her face and mingled with the blood.
“He made me do it!” she sobbed. “I'm so sorry! I didn't realize they were going to take him. I had no idea!”
“Emily, what the fuck are you talking about? Where's Luca!”
I struggled to untie the ropes from around her wrists and yanked impatiently at them. When they finally fell free, Emily threw herself at me, holding onto my arms for dear life.
“He had a gun,” she said.
“Who!”
“This man. He turned up at the apartment. Said he would kill me if I didn't collect Luca. Said he would kill you too! But when he tried to take Luca I tried to stop him. He kicked the shit out of me, Sophia! I fought as hard as I could but I couldn't stop him.”
Her tears soaked through my dress as she sobbed. Her whole body shaking as she spoke.
“I'm so sorry!”
“I'm calling the police,” I said, standing up. “Why would anyone kidnap Luca!”
I reached for my phone, but to my surprise, before I could dial nine-one-one, it rang in my hand. The number was unknown, and there was a feeling in my gut that I needed to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Don't tell a soul,” came the mechanical voice.
“Who is this? Where's my son!”
“He is safe. For now... Bring twenty million dollars to the Adelphi building on the west dock. Tell the cops and he's dead.”
The phone went dead and the sound of the dial tone pierced my ear.
“Who was it?” asked Emily. “What's happening?”
“Someone has Luca,” I gasped, incredulously. “They're holding him to ransom.”
26
Ethan
“ D
ude, I can't thank you enough. Getting hold of my dad... If you told me you wer
e going to do it I would have killed you, but I'm glad you did it.”
I'd never hugged Jules before. He was the sort of guy who was more worried about his suit getting crumpled than showing his emotions. But right now I almost hugged the life out of him.
“Hey, my shirt,” he moaned.
“Ah, fuck your shit. Come here.”
He awkwardly slapped his hand against my back to signify he wanted the hug to end.
“Don't worry about it, kid. I'm not a bastard all the time, you know. Anyway, I just wanted to cheer you up. It was really no bother.”
“Well, I'm delighted. Really think my dad and me are gonna be okay. Gonna work things out, you know.”
“Glad to hear it, now get in the chair. Cynthia will be here any minute to do your makeup.”
“Urgh, I hate getting my makeup done. Especially for rehearsals. Anything worse than sitting in a chair for an hour getting poked and prodded with brushes?”
“I can think of a whole lot of things that are worse. Now get in.”
I sat down but felt like a kid at Christmas and couldn't stop wriggling in my seat. After seeing dad, he'd returned to his hotel room that Jules had checked him into. I'd see him later on tonight, but that felt like years away. I wanted to hang out with him now. There was so much we'd missed out on in each other's lives and I wanted to tell him everything.
“I've never seen you smile like that,” laughed Jules. “You look like you've won the lottery.”
“I almost feel as though I have.”
“Almost?”
“I've still got one thing to win.”
“Sophia?”
“You got it. But... Shit, I don't know what to do. She blocked me, Jules. She obviously wants nothing to do with me.”
“You don't know that. People do things for different reasons. If anything, she's probably thinking of that kid of hers rather than you.”
“You think so?”
“Yup. I bet she'll be thinking, that boy of mine is the only man I want in my life. I don't have time to date guys.”
“Well, when you put it that way...”
