We stayed with Catherine the whole weekend. The first night I tried to eat dinner, but my stomach turned again. The second night, it was the smell. Later that night, Catherine brought me saltines, saying it would help my stomach. It helped, and I was then able to go to sleep. In the morning, I had to fight Gabriel to go to work. Catherine came and went during the night, taking my temperature, but I never had one, which, oddly, almost seemed to make her happy. Odd, but she was so helpful, I ignored her expressions. Maybe she was just happy to put her mothering skills back to use.

For the rest of the weekend, I worked on the files, learning as much as I could in-between being sick. On Monday, I had to get out of the house, so I told Catherine I was going to go out shopping. I knew I wouldn’t be long, but I needed the fresh air. She agreed so long as I came back after lunch. We had an appointment she wanted me to come along on.

Catherine wanted me to take Vin with me, but I refused. I wasn’t going far, and I felt the need to be babysitter-free.  About an hour in, I called Brittany and asked if she wanted to meet me for an early lunch. My stomach was finally settling after another morning episode with the toilet. We agreed to meet at a bistro a couple of blocks away from me.

After a little more shopping, I walk towards the bistro when a man comes up from behind me and aggressively grabs my arm. He shows me a gun and says not to make a scene, saying if I don’t go with him, he will make me sorry. He also says he has a man with Gabriel. I go with him peacefully and I’m thrown into a van, where there is another man waiting. He ties me up and holds a gun to me. We drive for what seems like forever; at least two hours. When we stop, I’m then shoved out of the van. Disoriented, I notice a small, old looking house and lots of trees, nothing else. I am at a secluded location, and I have no idea where we are. They quickly throw me into a room with only a mattress on the floor. I scream for them to let me go, but they only laugh while they shut the door. I then hear the dreadful turn of the lock. I continue to scream until another scream catches my attention; it’s a woman’s scream, and loud crying. Where the hell am I? Who else is here, and why?

I get a call from Brittany, asking if Fallon is with me. I tell her no, and she proceeds to tell me Fallon had called her and arranged to meet her for lunch, but she never showed. She states she has been waiting for over half an hour and has tried to call her, but it keeps going straight to voicemail. I ask her to wait for a while longer, that I’m sending Vin out to look for her. She gives me the names of the stores Fallon last went shopping at. I hang up, sitting with a strong feeling of dread. Finally, I call Vin.

Vin calls me about an hour later, saying there is no sign of Fallon, but he did find her purse, as well as her car. I call Zander and ask him to pick up Gabriel. I tell him to bring him straight here, it’s an emergency. I don’t want him driving here knowing anything is wrong; not until I have my boys here, safe at home.

Knowing something has happened to her, I also call Liam home. She wouldn’t just leave, not without her purse and car. I call in a few favors to put feelers out for any suspicious moves being made. I also call my girls and tell them to be on the lookout.

Now waiting, I’m wondering if there is any reason for my family to be under attack, or could it possibly be? That son-of-a-bitch! If he touched her, I'll kill him! That’s if Gabriel doesn’t first. How do I explain it, if he did have something to do with Fallon’s disappearance? No, he wouldn’t. How could he know? I know he asked about her, he said her face was familiar. The way he kept asking. I just kept putting him off.  Could he have figured it out? Shit, please, Lord please, don’t let it be so.

I hear noise from the entryway, but I’m frozen; I can’t bring myself to go to it. I have been sitting here waiting and praying to hear any news from my associates, but nothing yet. Gabriel is going to go crazy.

“She’s in her office,” I hear Liam say.

They all walk in, seeing the devastation written all over my face.

Immediately, Zander asks, “Mom, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

Finding my voice, I ask, “Boys, I need to know right now from any of you, would there be any reason this family would be under attack? Think hard.”

Gabriel yells, “What the fuck is going on?”

“Gabriel, I need to know if there is anything I am not aware of. Anything at all, even the smallest disagreement.”

“No, Mom, none, you know everything. The only problem I’ve had was personal.”

“What personal problem, Gabriel?”

“I had a problem with Angelle. She refuses to accept Fallon as my wife. She said I embarrassed her whole family and swore I’d be sorry.”

I’m quiet, trying to place all this information. Would the Senator risk my wrath over his daughter's broken heart? I don’t think so.

Vin walks in with Fallon’s purse and the keys to her car. He whispers to me that he had another guard drive the car and he found Brittany. He had her brought home, since she was devastated.

Gabriel yells out, “What the hell is Vin doing with Fallon’s purse and keys? Mom, what the fuck is going on?”

“Gabriel, sit down.”

He sits, holding on to Fallon’s purse.

“Fallon was taken. She went shopping and never returned. I had Vin go look for her, and he found her purse and car.”

All my boys stand at full attention.

“What? She was taken? By whom?” Gabriel hollers.

“I don’t know, son. That’s why I asked if we could be under any attack. I called in some favors, and I have people searching. I also have some feelers out for any movement on the streets.” I walk over to him and gather him into my arms. “We’ll find her, Gabriel. I promise, son.”

“I have to do something.”

“No, you and your brothers have to stay here. We don’t know what’s going on yet, and I don’t want to risk my children. I have done everything I know possible. We will find her, just be patient, please, boys; be patient. It’s only been a couple of hours. If someone wants to get to us, she is worth more alive than dead.”

I decided to wait till later to tell Gabriel about my suspicions. Maybe it’s not what I think. I pray it’s not.

How did this happen? I know Mom isn’t saying something. I know her enough to know something else is going on, but I’ll leave it for now. I do trust she is doing everything in her power to find Fallon. She would never let this go. So, I’ll sit back for now and be patient.

Mother sends all the servants home, then she orders in extra security and she tells me to call the casino. I make arrangements for the managers to be on watch for any out of the ordinary activities.  After my phone calls, I leave the office and rush to the nearest bathroom, feeling like I can't any longer stand. I break down. I slam my fist into the mirror, screaming from rage. I can’t lose her now. I just wasted so much fucking time being stubborn, not wanting to love her, scared of shit that was all in my head. I love her; I do so fucking much.

I stay in the bathroom for a long time, going back and forth over the shitty ways I treated her in the beginning. I let my emotions out, cry secretly, and scream at the top of my lungs. If something happens to her, I won’t forgive myself for not protecting her.

When I finally walk out, I see Zander leaning on the wall, waiting for me. I know he knows what I was doing in there; he seems to have been standing guard, protecting my privacy.

He stands fully and slaps my back. “I got you, brother. We will get her back.”

Nodding, I’m too emotional to speak. He leads me to the kitchen, where Mom’s cooking our dinner.

I still haven’t heard anything, so I decide to cook for my boys. If we are under attack, I don’t trust anyone else to do it. That’s why I sent the staff home. I have extra security here, just in case. They will be led by Vin, who I trust with my life. He is like a son to me. I raised him from a boy, and I know he would never hurt me or my family.

Zander walks into the kitchen with Gabriel. We all sit, myself, Vin, and my boys. My whole family is here, just like the old days, but I wish it could be under better circumstances.

After dinner, I retire for the night but sleep never comes. I keep going over all the different scenarios of what could have happened. I just keep going back to him.

The next day, I contact my people, seeing if they have any word; none has come through with anything helpful, at least not yet. I decide I’m going to tell Gabriel everything, but before I can, Gabriel comes into my office with questions.

“I want to know what you’re not telling me, Mom. Before you can say there’s nothing, Fallon told me how you found her at a diner. What the hell was the great Catherine Stern doing in that part of town? Huh, Mom? Why would you go there to find me someone? Unless you already knew there was someone there? You were looking for someone, weren’t you?”

“Gabriel, close the door.”

He does, and I wait for him to sit.

“I didn’t want you to find out like this, but yes, you’re right; I was looking for her, for Fallon.”

“Why? Why Fallon?”

“Gabriel, there is a lot you don’t know about me, but I’m going to tell you, and I hope you can understand. When I was a young girl, I was abandoned by my mother and put into the system. I was all alone and scared to death, until one day I met Laura.”

“What does this have to do with Fallon?”

“Everything. Just listen, son.”

“Laura and I became fast friends. We were the same age. We were living together with a family, and it was hell, Gabriel. The father used to touch me and Laura.”

The memories flood back as my tears start to flow. However, I must continue telling my son about my horrid childhood.

“Gabriel, please, I don’t want you to look at me like that. I need you to understand that is not me anymore. Let me tell you without your pity.”

He nods, but I see he doesn’t like what I’m saying.

“When Laura couldn’t take any more, she asked me to run away with her. I was scared, but it had to be better than what we were living through, and besides, she was my world. The only person I had in life. We ran one night and escaped that house. For days, we didn’t know what to do, or how to live on our own. Then we met Billy. He helped us, taught us how to pickpocket, and how to scam people in the French Quarter. We managed to live like that for years on the streets of New Orleans. Laura and I used to dream of how one day we would meet our Prince Charming, and he would sweep us off our feet. Imagining one day we would have everything, and our children would never go without.”

“Mom, what happened to Laura?”

“I happened, Gabriel; I destroyed her.”

My tears fall on my face, tears I haven’t cried in many years.

“One night, I met your father. He was so handsome and strong. He followed me around the Quarter for days, thinking I had no clue he was there. It’s funny now, looking back on it, how he stalked me. Finally, he approached us with a bag full of burgers. I guess he knew we were hungry living like we were. He wanted to talk to me. He said I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and that he wanted to take care of me. I turned him down, but he kept coming back. I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t want Laura; she was so beautiful with her full dark hair, but I knew Billy would never let her go. He was in love with her. Finally, your father offered to pay for me. He made a deal with Billy that if I went with him, he would give them twenty thousand dollars. I didn’t want to go, but I saw the hunger in their eyes as Billy held the money in his hands. Laura said this was my chance, my chance at my Prince Charming, and with the money she would be fine. She wanted me to go and be happy. She insisted Billy would watch over her and I wasn’t going to ever get another chance at happiness.”

I start to laugh through my tears. Happiness; what a cruel joke.

“That day, I left with your father. He was older, and he wanted a wife. So, I became Mrs. William Stern. A trophy wife in every sense of the word. I didn’t love him, but I was content, and he didn’t love me, he just wanted a pretty face, a warm body. I became pregnant with you right away, then later Zander. By the time I was pregnant with Liam, Laura found me. She said it took a while for her to find me, and she needed my help. Billy was still around, but he was willing to let her go if I would help her. So, I agreed and asked your father if she could stay. He allowed it, but I kept her away from him. I was always scared he would do something, I don’t know what, just something. She stayed with me through my whole pregnancy, and months after. We became best friends again, like time never passed.”

Needing a break, I reach into the top drawer of my desk to retrieve my cheap little rosary. I begin to roll the beads between my fingers.

“This rosary was Laura’s. She and I used to say the rosary every night before we fell asleep. Do you recognize it, Gabriel?”

“Is that the rosary you gave to Fallon to wear on our wedding day?”

“Yes. I wanted her to have something of her mother's with her that day.”

I watch as Gabriel pieces together what I’m telling him.

“Laura is Fallon’s mother? Who is her father?”

“This, my son, is where the story gets worse. Laura went missing one day. I searched for two days for her until your father came home, stoned out of his mind. He confessed that Billy had come and wanted money for Laura. He wasn’t interested in Laura, but he knew someone who would be. It took me a few days to find her, and when I did...oh God, Gabriel, it was horrible. She was my friend, she needed me, and I failed her. My guys found her in an old house. She had been beaten so badly, you couldn’t recognize her, and she had repeatedly been raped. I got her out of there as carefully as I could. She had so many broken bones. I brought her to a doctor I had paid off to be quiet. I even set her up in a secret apartment. It took months of healing. One day, the doctor told me she was pregnant, and I knew I had to protect her. I hid her as well as I could and begged her to keep the baby. I kept telling her this was her chance at true love. I would take care of her and the baby forever. I did everything I promised. She had the baby, a girl she named Fallon.”

“Does Fallon know any of this?’

“No, Gabriel. Let me tell you the rest. Laura and Fallon stayed in the apartment for about a year. Your father found out what I was doing, and he demanded I get rid of her. When I said I wasn’t going to abandon her, he beat me, Gabriel.”

I lifted my blouse and showed him the scar I received that night at the hands of his dad. I never wanted my sons to see me as anything other than strong, but I needed him to know how hard I tried to save them.

“Your father threw them out of the apartment.  Later, I found out he killed Billy, so there was no witness to their transactions. For years, I looked for them, then I thought Laura and Fallon were dead, too. But one day, Laura got in touch with me and said she no longer could handle Fallon. She was eighteen now, and she didn’t want her anymore. She sounded mean and drunk, but then her voice weakened. It trembled as she asked me to take her baby and try to do a better job with Fallon than I did with her. She told me to protect her. When I saw her, I knew you would be the one to protect her. I just had to convince the both of you.”

“Who is Fallon’s father, Mother? Who raped and beat Laura?”

“It was Senator Rollins. He’s Fallon’s father.”

Gabriel stands and starts screaming. “That motherfucker! I’m going to kill him!”

Zander, Liam, and Vin all rush into the room, looking at each other.

“Stop, Gabriel, wait, we don’t know if it’s him. All I know is he started asking a lot of questions about Fallon.  He recognized her face and her eyes, those striking eyes. She looks a lot like Laura. I found out right before the wedding that Laura had been murdered. We have to be careful.”

The phone starts to ring, making us all jump with alert. I nervously answer it, listen, then hang up.

“That was Theo. He said he has Richard Shaw Jr. with him, that he’s been bragging about buying some girl to make his slave. The description is one that sounds too close to Fallon to ignore.”

“Where the fuck does he have him?” Gabriel asks.

“Come on, I know where,” I tell them. “Gabriel, this is sensitive. We have a lot of dealings with Richard Sr. Please let me handle it. If we’re wrong, there will be repercussions. Vin, Zander, if your brother tries to interfere, you will take him out of there. Understood? Please be good, Gabriel. I owe it to Fallon to bring her home safe.”

I don’t care what my mother says; I’m going to kill them all. I’m going to find my wife and bring her home, no matter what it takes.

We decide to take two cars and drive to the secluded building. Mother exits her car looking like a cross between a trophy wife and a badass bitch. She’s wearing her trademark pencil skirt and heels. Catherine leads the way like she has been here before.  Knowing all she has gone through makes me fear her even more. If she could live through all of that and still become the loving mother she has always been, then she deserves all my respect and love.

We enter through a side door and are greeted by Theo and his son Teddy; they have Richard Jr. sitting in a chair, simply waiting for us. His father is a very important man in Texas, and Mom’s right, we don’t want to piss him off. Besides, I don’t think he wants to fuck with my mother either.

Mom and Theo sit across the table from the dickhead, while Vin, Zander, Liam, Teddy, and I all stand guard. She crosses her long legs and starts.

“My, my, look how you have grown. I haven’t seen you since you were just a boy. How is your father, and how have you been?”

I start to fidget. Why is she so calm? We don’t have time for this shit. I go to say something, and she quickly looks my way to shut me up. Once she knows I’ll be quiet, she starts again.

“I hear you bought yourself a pretty little thing. I’d like for you to tell me all about her.”

“No offense, Mrs. Stern, but I don’t see why you brought me here and want to discuss my newest slave?”

“Oh, Dicky boy, no offense taken, yet. Nothing happens in my city without me finding out, so I need to know who she is. Along with who sold her to you. Once you give me the information I want, you will be free to leave my city.”

He starts to laugh. “Your city? Fuck, that’s rich. You know who my father is, and you know you can’t fuck with me.”

Mom starts to tap her long nails on the table. She uncrosses her legs, then yells out, “Vin, Teddy, grab him. Put him on his fucking knees now!”

I watch my mother give the order like a fucking boss. Vin and Teddy do as they’re told. She is incredible to watch in situations like this. Most people don’t ever get to see this side of her, but as my brothers and I watch her, we are in awe. Especially Liam; he has never witnessed my mother like this, and boy, is he in for a treat.

She stands and strolls over to him as he’s put on his knees. “Your father, Dicky, has nothing to do with what goes on in this state, do you hear me? You are in my motherfucking house now. You will answer my questions, doing so swiftly before I do call your father and tell him of your fucking disrespect. Maybe I’ll call him anyway; seems he hasn’t taught you the proper way to handle situations like this. You sure are going to be a huge disappointment to him. Now, tell me what I want to know. Who is she?”

“Mrs. Catherine, I didn’t mean any disrespect. Please, look, let me grab my phone. I have a picture of her.”

My mom tells Vin to grab his phone. I run to him and grab it from his hands. There she is, my Fallon – but she’s dirty, and it looks like she’s on a mattress.

I punch Dicky in his fucking face and yell, “Where the fuck is she, you bastard?!”

Zander and Liam come after me. They grab me and haul me back where I was. I yell for them to let me go, but they don’t listen.

Mother walks over to me; she reaches for my face and whispers, “We have her. Once this is finished, I will let you have whoever did this. But as for right now, this idiot didn’t know who she was. Calm down. You will have your revenge.”

She strolls back over to Dicky and picks up his phone off the ground.

“Do you know who this is?” she asks him.

“Just some slut. Why is she important to you?”

I scream and try to fight my brothers for release, so I can kick his teeth in.

“This, Dicky boy, is my daughter-in-law. You see my son Gabriel struggling over there? You just called his wife a slut.”

“Fuck me; I didn’t know. I promise. Gabriel, man, Mrs. Stern...I didn’t fucking know.”

“I know, boy. Even you aren’t that stupid to steal from me. Besides, your balls would have to drop first. Now that you know why she is important, tell me, who sold her to you?”

“Shit, I can’t do that. I’m really sorry, but fuck, he has dealings with my dad, and I can’t.”

“All right, we’ll play it your way.”

Mom goes to the table and reaches in her purse for her phone. Who the fuck is she calling? A few seconds later, I hear her talking to Richard Sr. She informs him of all that’s going on and tells him of his son’s disrespect. She asks him to hold on, then she walks up to Theo and takes his gun out of his holster. I hear him tell her something, which she ignores. She walks back up to Dicky with the gun in one hand, her phone in the other. She shoots him in the thigh. Dicky starts screaming.

She calmly tells him, “Your father sends his regards. He also says every time I have to ask the same question, to shoot you again.”

She starts to talk back on the phone to Richard Sr. She then laughs and says something about seeing him soon. Once the phone call is finished, she goes back to aiming the gun at Dicky.

Theo starts to laugh out loud and says, “Boy, I’d listen to her. She’s a great shot. I should know; I taught her myself.”

My brothers and I all look at each other, like what the fuck?

“Dicky, who sold my son’s wife to you?”

“The Senator. Senator Rollins.”

“What’s the address you have for pick up?”

He gives us the address to a small town on the outskirts of Lafayette.

“Gabriel, take your brothers along with Vin, and go. Theo will make sure I get home safely. Boys, be careful please. There will be men there watching her. Gabriel, hold up, baby!” She walks up to me and says in a low voice, “You need to be careful when you get to her. She could be hurt, and I think she’s...never mind.”

“What were you going to say, Mom?”

“I’m not sure, but I think she might be pregnant. She has been sick, and I recognize the symptoms. I meant to talk to her about it, but I never got the chance. If she is, she doesn’t know it. Just be careful with her, and Gabriel, do what you need to do. Just know, I never want to hear from him again, do you understand?”

I nod my head, knowing exactly what she means, then I become shocked and speechless. Is she pregnant? Is that why she’s been sick? The Senator is going to fucking pay with his life for this shit.