~*~Chapter 9~*~

“Okay, Lucky, I know this is hard, but we need to know exactly what happened this morning,” Mac says gently. They are sitting in Lucky and Elizabeth’s living room. Luke, Laura, Emily and Nikolas are standing nearby, their faces all streaked with tears and worry, and Taggert is standing behind Mac, taking notes.

Lucky sighs and runs a shaky hand through his hair. “She slept late this morning because she had a hangover from last night. I brought her breakfast in bed, but she was too sick to eat anything. We stayed in there for a few hours, just talking and enjoying the time off. Then she remembered that she promised to pick up some fabric from Chloe, and got up to get dressed. I tried to talk her out of going since she wasn’t feeling well, and offered to pick it up myself, but she refused. She was determined to go, and promised to be right back. About two hours after she left, she still hadn’t come back and wasn’t answering her cell phone, so I called my dad.”

He pauses to take a breath, then looks at Mac before continuing. “We went to the fabric store, and her car was still there. The fabric she bought was inside, so she had obviously gone back to the car, probably with the intention of coming home. The only other thing we found was that necklace that dad gave you. It was an anniversary present from me. She wouldn’t have taken it off, it had to have broken off during a struggle or something. Mac, who would do this? Who would take her?”

Mac sighs as he finishes jotting down some notes. “I have no idea. The likely suspects, Helena and Faison, are dead, so I have no clue who else would want to hurt your family. The only explanations are a random attack, or she left voluntarily.”

Lucky looks up in horror. “No! Elizabeth would never do that. We were happy, she was happy! Why would you even suggest that?”

“It’s only a theory. We found no prints or other evidence of a struggle in the car, besides the broken necklace. Plus, you said yourself that she insisted on going, even though she wasn’t feeling well. Was there anything strange or different about the way she said good-bye when she left? Did she seem sad, or say anything that struck you as odd?”

Lucky thinks for a minute and shakes his head. “No, nothing. She promised she’d hurry home, gave me a quick kiss like usual, and left. She seemed happy, a little woozy from the hangover, but still happy. There’s no way she left on her own, no way!”

“Okay, you’re probably right. Don’t worry, we’re going to do everything we can to find her, Lucky. If she’s out there, it’s only a matter of time before she turns up.” Mac stands up and nods at the rest of the Spencers, then leaves the house with Taggert.

As soon as the door closes, Lucky lays back on the couch and covers his face with his hands. “Where are you, Elizabeth?” he says, anguish filling his voice. Luke and Laura rush to his side.

“We’ll find her, Cowboy, don’t worry. I’ve already got Sonny and Jason on it too. Whoever took her can’t keep her hidden for long. Just sit tight, and don’t give up hope,” Luke says, looking at his wife helplessly.

“He’s right, honey. Someone will find her. Until then, we’re all here for you, whatever you need, just ask,” Laura says, smoothing his hair out of his eyes.

Lucky takes his hands away from his face and looks at his parents. “Thank you, but I’d really like to just be alone right now. I promise I’ll call if I need anything, okay?”

Luke and Laura look at each other fearfully. They don’t want to leave him like this, but they also know that he’s too stubborn to argue with. If Lucky wants to be alone, nothing they say or do will change his mind. They stand up reluctantly and join Nikolas and Emily at the front door. “We’ll be home if you need us,” Laura says softly as they leave.

Lucky leans back and looks up at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to do. He stands up and goes over to the fireplace, where all of their family pictures are lined up, and picks up his favorite, their wedding picture. Not the professional one from their church wedding, but the one Audrey took in the hospital. He smiles at how beautiful she looked, even though she was so sad that day. A tear falls onto the glass, and he gently wipes it away, then sets the picture back down on the mantel, turning around to look at the room. The house seems so empty now, as though it knows she’s gone.

~*~

“Well, what do you think?” Mac asks Taggert as they drive back to the police station.

“I don’t know, this is a strange one. Normally, I’d blame the Cassidines, but with Stefan so heavily-guarded in the penn, and Helena dead, that theory doesn’t fly anymore. And Tom Baker is still locked up as well, so that rules him out. Do the Spencers have any other enemies we’re forgetting?”

Mac shakes his head. “Not that I’m aware of. If I didn’t know the two of them so well, I’d say this was a classic case of a runaway, but not with them. Lucky and Elizabeth are so in love, there’s just no way I can imagine her leaving him.”

“I agree. I was at Luke’s last night, and they were so happy. If she was planning on leaving, there would have been some sort of sign, right?”

“Right, which leaves only one other option: a random kidnapping,” Mac says ominously.

Taggert sighs and nods in agreement. “That’s what I was afraid of. The random ones are the hardest to find.”

~*~Chapter 10~*~

After trashing her room, Liz had fallen asleep in a chair. She wakes up to the sound of her door being unlocked, and for a brief moment, forgets where she is. She looks around the room, as the previous day’s events come flooding back.

Helena walks in and glares at the state of the room. “Now, my dear, you shouldn’t have done this. I’ve so graciously given you this beautiful room, how could you be so disrespectful? Now I’m going to have to get someone to clean up after you.”

Liz glares back at her. “You can’t possibly expect me to respect you after you’ve taken me away from my family and forced me to live here? Are you completely insane?”

Helena chuckles and approaches Liz. “Oh, my dear, I am perfectly sane, I can assure you of that. Now, like I said last night, I have a big day planned for you, so hurry up and get dressed. I was going to offer you breakfast, but after seeing this room, I’ve changed my mind. Consider it your punishment. I will return in twenty minutes for you, so make sure you are ready.” She turns and leaves the room without another word, locking it behind her.

Liz groans and walks over to the bed, where Helena had laid out a dress for her. It wasn’t something she would normally wear, but it was still pretty. The dress was very breezy, very Grecian-looking, if that was even possible. She puts it on, knowing that angering Helena so early would be a bad idea. She then goes into the adjoining bathroom and washes her face and brushes her hair.

“There, that’s going to have to be good enough,” she mutters, taking one last look in the mirror before walking back into the bedroom as the door opens again.

“Ah, that’s much better,” Helena says approvingly, waving Liz to the door. “Come on, follow me. I’ll give you a tour of the house, then it’s time for your first surprise.”

“Oh, goody,” Liz mumbles to herself, following Helena out of the room. She hates to admit it, but the house really is quite beautiful, and Helena makes sure to show her nearly every inch of it before finally taking her into a small study. She motions for Liz to sit down, then goes over and sits at the desk.

“Now, you are probably wondering why I have brought you here. That bit of information is not for you to know right now. Just have faith that I have my reasons.”

“I do know why you’re doing this. It’s revenge against Lucky for winning, against Luke for getting him out of your prison and trying to kill you. It’s so obvious, it’s not even funny!”

Helena smiles and shakes her head. “Why does everything always have to be about revenge with you Spencers? No, my reasons are much more.... complex.”

“It doesn’t matter why I’m here, Lucky will find me,” Liz says, glaring hatefully at Helena.

“My dear, what makes you think I would take a chance like that? Don’t you think I would have taken precautions against that?”

Liz’s stare wavers. “What... what do you mean?”

“I couldn’t take the chance that your devoted husband would uncover your location, now could I? What do you think I did?” she answers with an evil chuckle, folding her hands in front of her triumphantly.

Liz shakes her head. “No, no, you couldn’t have. He’s not...”

Helena shrugs and stand up. “Believe what you will, but know that I do not leave loose ends, and Lucky was definitely a loose end!” She walks to the door and speaks to someone outside while Liz tries to digest the meaning behind her statement. She couldn’t have killed him, this had to be another bluff, another stunt like last time. Lucky had to be alive somewhere, she would know if he were gone, she would feel it!

“Now for the next surprise,” Helena says from behind her. Liz stays in her chair, not wanting to turn around, knowing whatever it is, she won’t like it. “Elizabeth, I would like you to meet Sergei Cassidine, your new fiancee.”

Liz spins around in horror, unable to believe that Helena could actually expect her to marry another man. She looks at the young man standing in the doorway and gasps in shock. “Nikolas?”

Helena shakes her head and laughs. “My dear, are you losing your hearing? I already told you, his name is Sergei. He is Nikolas’s twin brother.”

“But, Nikolas doesn’t have a twin!”

“Not one that he knows about, but in truth, Laura had twins. She was too drugged to remember, and I allowed Nikolas to be raised by Stefan, while I had Sergei raised in secret. Granted, I had no idea about their true paternity until recently, but even if he is a Spencer by blood, he has been raised a Cassidine, and will serve my purpose just as well.”

Liz narrows her eyes at the woman. “What purpose?”

“Why haven’t you figured it out yet? Your sudden disappearance, being brought to this house, staying in that room, being forced to marry a Cassidine? My dear, you are here to repeat what happened to Laura, except this time, there will be no one to rescue you.”

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