Chapter 28

Paige woke up the next morning very excited. She went to the gym, ate breakfast and got ready for work. She drove to the coffee shop she frequented and ordered her usual latte. She noticed a new barista and greeted him. She paid for her drink, making sure to tip extra for the new staff member, bought a newspaper and waited for her latte. She noticed a man watching her. He was wearing a black sweater, a long black coat, jeans, boots, gloves and a hat. He was very tall and was very large in stature. He gave her the creeps. She immediately went to get her drink when she was told it was ready. She left the shop and walked briskly to her car, locking the doors the minute she got into it. She hurriedly drove to her office.

When she arrived, she parked in her usual spot, took the first sip of her latte and walked to the entrance. As she walked, she had a feeling that someone was watching her. She looked around and noticed the same man from the coffee shop was following her. She decided to turn around and face him.

"I apologize, but we aren't open for two more hours. You'll have to come back at another time," she shouted at him, turning around and walking briskly to the office door. She was right in front of the door when he shouted back at her.

"I have a message for you, Paige Everett," the man shouted at her. She turned around to face him again.

"What's the message?" she said. If this was Nathaniel's idea of romantic, she was going to break up with him. This was really scary.

"Wait here a moment," he said, retreating to the parking lot. Paige did not stay there. She went in her office, told the security guard she might need help and to wait by the door and watch her. She dropped the coffee and newspaper along with her bag off and walked back outside. The man was approaching and he was holding flowers and a briefcase.

"These are for you," he said, handing her the bouquet of flowers. Paige hesitantly took them. It was a bouquet of black dahlias. Paige looked at the flowers and then looked at the man, confused and frightened.

"What's the message?" she asked. She suddenly felt very tired. She was struggling to keep her eyes open and her limbs felt sluggish.

"That coffee kicked in right on time," the man muttered as Paige fell to the ground. As he said this, two security guards charged out of the building at him. One was calling the police. The man tried to pick Paige up but the security guard that was the fastest tackled him to the ground.

Sirens could be heard by everyone but Paige, who was still unconscious. The scene as the authorities arrived was one of chaos; the flickering lights from their vehicles illuminated the shadows that the morning sun hadn't reached yet. The officers were talking into their radios and they came out of their vehicles with their guns in their hands, unsure of what the situation was. A van drove over the curb of the parking lot, attempting to get away from the police, and two vehicles followed it.

Carrie arrived to work early, getting out of her car and running to the front of the building. There were a dozen police cars and they were taping the building up with yellow tape to block it. There was also an ambulance. She saw paramedics over someone on the grass. She couldn't see them, but ate had a terrible feeling. She ran faster until she got to the tape and an officer.

"Ma'am, you can't come in here, it's a crime scene," an officer said, stopping her.

"I work here and I'm a social worker, so I need to help my clients that live here process this. What happened?" Carrie demanded and showed him her badge. He nodded and let her through.

"One of your female colleagues was almost kidnapped. We are transporting her to the hospital now," he said, gesturing to the paramedics. They had just finished getting the woman on the stretcher and moved to lift her when Carrie saw Paige's pale face and went numb. They were hurriedly pushing her into the ambulance to leave.

"I'm her next of kin and MPOA. I'm coming with you," she said, climbing in after them.

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Nathaniel was in his car, on his way to work when he received a call from Marshall, his head of security.

"Mr. Donovan, sir, there's a situation at Second Chances that you should be apprised of immediately. I've also contacted Mr. Hernandez for a statement to the press," Marshall stated in a rushed voice. Nathaniel was immediately on edge.

"What's going on, Marshall?" Nathaniel said in his cold voice.

"Sir, we received word that a call was placed to emergency services at 0627 this morning stating that there was an attempted kidnapping and police and an ambulance were dispatched to the scene," Marshall stated. Nathaniel was panicking internally.

"Who did they attempt to kidnap?" Nathaniel demanded more than asked.

"A woman in her early twenties was taken to Liberty Hospital via ambulance. The police are still at the scene and doing a thorough investigation. I believe that it is Miss Everett, but they haven't released the identity of the victim."

"Take me to Liberty Hospital immediately," Nathaniel ordered his driver. His phone beeped and it showed a call from his assistant, Rhonda. "Marshall, I want to know who did this and why. I'm worried this is a situation similar to my father's. Use whatever means necessary to find out. I need to go," he said hanging up and taking Rhonda's call.

"Rhonda?" Nathaniel questioned.

"Mr. Donovan, I have a Carrie Daniels on the line. She says she's Miss Everett's MPOA and that it's imperative that she speak with you," Rhonda stated.

"Send the Deputy CEO to all of my business meetings, reschedule anything personal and put her through," he said icily.

"Yes, sir," Rhonda said. "Carrie Daniels, you are on the line with Mr. Donovan. Have a nice day." Rhonda disconnected and the voice of an older woman with a thick Texan accent came through.

"Mr. Donovan, I'm Carrie, Paige's next of kin. She is at the hospital right now and she's not doing well. You might want to come," Carrie said. He could tell that she was crying.

"I'm on my way to Liberty Hospital now. What's going on?" Nathaniel said, worry evident in his voice.

"She was drugged and she's having a bad reaction to it. Her heart's acting funny. I haven't had an update but they keep rushing in there. We're in the Emergency Room, bed 56," Carrie said sadly.

"I'm a few minutes away, but I will be there as soon as I can," he said firmly. His whole world felt like it was falling apart.

"See you soon, Mr. Donovan." She hung up.

Nathaniel felt sick. He was thinking of when he publicly could have shown affection for Paige except for the dance, and they were masked for the most part. His guilt changed into murderous rage quickly, wondering how soon Marshall would find out who did this. The person responsible would pay, and Nathaniel would ensure that it would cost them something precious.