There was silence until a loud knock followed by a familiar voice came resonating through the door. "Brian, hey bud. Your secretary told me you had been locked in the office for three days now. Open the door, please. Let me talk to you and see if you're alive." A rustling sound could be heard from the other side. Then, the lock tumblers could be heard falling into place. Ryan opened the door. What he saw was heartbreaking. Brian sat in his chair, slumped over the desk. His hair a mess, his face was scruffy, his clothes were disheveled. Brian hadn't slept or showered in three days. Food containers were shoved into the trash. "Brian, come on, this isn't you, man. What happened?" Brian lifted his head, and sorrow was obviously plastered on his face. "She is pregnant, its mine. She left me." Brian began to tear up. "Wait..she's pregnant? And she left you? Brian, are you sure about this?" Brian sat up and looked Ryan in the eyes. Ryan saw as all emotion was leaving him. The light that nested its self in his eyes since Chloe has been around suddenly died. "She told me four days ago that she was pregnant. I was so stressed out from the letter we had received that I didn't stop to think about how she felt. I yelled at her and told her I didn't want the child. Before I could apologize, she ran off, leaving her phone. I called everyone I could think of. Then, the next morning, I received this." Brian gave him a letter written by Chloe.
Ryan read the letter and reread it. "Brian, when did you get this? Like, exactly when?" Brian looked at Ryan with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Three days ago. Why do you know something? Did she speak to Sam?" Ryan gave a look of concern. "I don't know what it means, but three days ago, Chloe left a note which gave Sam the cafe. She said almost the same exact thing here in this letter. Sam and I didn't think too much of it since we hadn't heard from you. We thought you guys had eloped. That is until I got a call from your secretary saying you'd locked yourself in here. " Brian gave a look of disbelief. "How could I be so stupid? I actually thought she would leave me. I gave up on her. I bet that psycho has her, and has all this time. Ugh. I should have known better. Why didn't I investigate after I read it?"
Ryan watched as fire for revenge flickered in Brian's eyes. He stood mere inches away from Brian and once he saw his eyes, he slowly took steps back. He didn't want to be in range for what was about to come next. Brian grabbed his stapler off the desk and threw it into the wall. "Calm down, Brian. We will find her. I would ask Sally, but she quit, and no one can get ahold of her. Have you tried her old place? Maybe she's there." Brian headed to the door then stopped suddenly. "You said Sally has been missing as well? Since when?" "Yesterday, she quit her job without notice. Sam has been covering for them both. Why?" "Because it's suspicious. The first letter, Chloe, the cafe, and now Sally? Something is not right here. Come on were headed to see Nathan. I bet he knows something."
Brian frantically drove to Chloe's childhood home. When he arrived, the front door was cracked open. Brian barged in yelling for Nathan when he found him lying on the ground. Brian rushed over, shaking Nathaniel, trying to wake him. When Nathaniel began to stir, Brian became aggressive. "Nathan, where is she? What happened? Who did this? Was it Sally?" "Brian, calm down and let him breathe." Ryan ran interference. "Nathan? Hey, man, can you hear me?" "Argh. My head hurts. What happened?" Nathaniel opened his eyes, seeing Brian. "How long have I been out? Did I die and go to an alternative world?" Ryan laughed. "No buddy, here sit up and tell me what happened?" " Not much to tell. The girls left to go somewhere, and I was cleaning the kitchen when someone came from behind and hit me over the head."
"Girls? Which girls?" "Chloe and Sally." Brian raged with emotions. He shouted. "I knew it! I knew that conniving bitch had something to do with it. When I find her I'm going to make her wish Phillip would have killed her!" "Brian, calm down. We don't know that for sure. Nathan, did Chloe say anything to you about leaving town? Did she say she was taking Sally with her?" Nathan rubbed his head, trying to remember. "No, she said Sally invited her somewhere and that she would be back later. Something about needing to call Brian." Brian looked depressed again. "Okay, thanks, Nathan. The ambulance is on their way. They should be here soon. We have to go find Chloe."
"Thank you, master Ryan. Oh, and master Hughes? Chloe is starting to remember the accident. I found out today that you haven't told her that you saved her life. Why?" "Because I didn't save her life that day. She saved mine. After I got better, I tried asking my parents about the girl, and they wouldn't give me any information. I later found out that her father had paid my parents to keep their silence. I guess he was afraid they would press charges. After they passed, I found the records of the payments that her father kept paying them. When I worked up the courage to talk to him, I found out they had passed too. So, I attended the funeral and saw Chloe there standing beside you for comfort. I watched as she even shined while death was near. She was a beautiful beacon that shined on my dark soul. I knew then what I know still. I fell in love with her that day. I then began to follow her for a little while. I found out she had someone and backed off. But then I found out she went to their graves every year alone. I had to see her. So, I did secretly. Then, one day she was much sadder than usual. Her light was growing dim, and her soul was dying. I had to do something. So I waited until the cafe was closed and pretended my car and my phone had died. But no, I never told her because I never wanted to scare her off. I was worried about how she would take it." After hearing the story, Nathaniel urged them out before the ambulance arrived. "I'll handle this you go find her." Brian rushed home to clean up. "Okay, let's go to the office and call him in. I need him to find Sally. If we find her, we find Chloe.