"No, I need the cake in two days. Yes, the filling has to have chocolate, but not a lot."
Emilia would like to say that that is how her day begun - talking about cake fillings.
It did not.
She woke up at an ungodly time, because Naomi had a big case, and in between taking care of it and whatever had her so on edge, she was driven to a mad frenzy of multi-tasking; her alarms were always on at 5 o'clock.
This particular day, Cassius had kept her up late.
Emilia could not find it in herself to curb her irritation.
So, by 7 o'clock they already had two mild arguments and one nasty fight. Naomi had promptly shut herself away in her office.
By 9 o'clock she was tired enough to kill a baby unicorn, use its magical blood and become an undying creature of the night.
As soon as she finished with the cake, Cassius padded out into the kitchen. At least, he was tired enough to not do much except sit at the table and eat his cereals.
Her phone rang again. It was the venue.
"Ma'am there has been a problem with the décor, it seems an employee was smoking in the break room and everything caught fire. We deeply apologize for the mishap; the employee has been fired according to regulation - "
"Okay, but what about my stuff? The birthday is in two days. I don't care how or what you guys do but when I come tomorrow to see it, it better be presentable. Thank you for your time," Emilia tacks
"Mommy I don't like it!" Cassius screams, shoving the bowl away and spilling the milk on the floor.
"Ok, no need to shout. I'll change it for you."
She was in the middle of mopping the last of the milk when her phone rang again.
It was the security team they hired.
"What do you mean half the team is incapacitated? No, I need a full team."
Emilia rubbed the bridge of her nose. She put the mop away and nearly jumped when a loud crash came from the kitchen.
On the floor cereals were spilled, the bowl having not broken, luckily.
"Cassius what is the meaning of this!? Time out. Now."
Emilia forgot about her phone and only remembered a good 5 minutes later.
"Sorry, my son. Well, regarding the issue, can you not find other people to replace them?
Oh, you can. That's great, thank you. The only good news so far, honestly."
Cassius' 4th birthday was not to be a small affair. They had been planning it for two months straight. Yet, the closer it got to the date; the more things seemed to go wrong.
There had been at least 3 issues with the venue. The bakery she hired had twice as many things go awry. It was strange, and Emilia had an inkling on who exactly was trying to ruin her baby's special day.
Emilia was in the middle of sweeping the floor, her phone rang again.
With a long-suffering sigh, she picked it up again.
"Aunty, how can I help?"
"I heard you're doing a birthday party, but I see not a shadow of my invitation."
"Don't worry aunty, it was sent via email. You should find it there. Cassius!" Emilia screams hurriedly, even though Cassius is doing nothing more than watching his favourite cartoon.
"Sorry aunty, Cassius is getting up to mischief. You'll find all the information in the email; I have to go. Bye," Emilia hangs up quickly.
The rest of the day continues in such a fashion. On one hand, she's running around after Cassius, and the other she is busily directing people.
It does not get better after she puts her little baby to sleep. Instead there are work emails to deal with, and guests she rather not have there but she must, because they're family.
An email stands out.
The email address is unknown, and the content leaves her quivering.
I hope you like my gift, baby girl.
Emilia is tempted to delete it. It is evidence that Naomi might use though, so she cannot.
Besides giving her a good fright and increasing the stress burdening her shoulders, the message also makes Emilia more determined to have the best birthday party ever.
She runs herself ragged for the next two days, getting things finalized and ready.
On the day of the birthday party, they surprise Cassius awake with pancakes and chocolate syrup.
They dress nicely and head to the venue, Cassius cannot stop exclaiming over everything there; the many balloons, fairy lights, banners, sparkling snows flakes hanging from the ceiling and more. It is a child's wonderland.
The guests trickle in and soon it's a full house, kids running about and adults mingling in the middle of the room, watching their kids with one eye.
Everyone that walks in must go through 3 security checkpoints and searches. It is a bit much.
The day keeps rolling, things going perfectly. Cake cut and divided among all the guests, presents given and opened. Naomi is relaxed like she hasn't been in the last 6 months.
They let their guards down.
Emilia is high on happiness, giddy with her son's delight. The headache behind her eyes forgotten, until she dazes off in the middle of a conversation. It could be the topic, droll and boring. Politics have nothing to do at a child's birthday party.
Still, Emilia excuses herself to the bathroom.
She splashes cool water on her face and taps delicately around her face, trying not to smudge the waterproof make up; you can never be careful enough.
Another woman comes in, and Emilia smiles at her awkwardly; she cannot remember her.
She turns to the door.
She never makes it, the next thing she knows, she's on the floor, head throbbing.
Emilia groans, turning over and watching the woman through blotchy vision.
She is holding a steel bar, her red handbag abandoned on the floor. Emilia only notices now; the woman is all red from her hair, to her makeup, and even her clothes. That is not how you dress to a child's birthday party.
She opens her mouth, to scream, but the woman is on her in a second, covering her mouth.
Emilia lies back, docile.
"Good little dolly. I can see the appeal now. You are entirely like a doe, the best kind of prey," she whispers in her ear.
Emilia shudders, glaring at the assailant.
"Oh, it must be that look in your eyes!"
Emilia bites her hand.
"It makes me want to break you," the red woman giggles, hysterically, "but I promised Ronnie I'll bring you back in one-piece, sweet thing."
She rummages in her handbag, hold lax, taking out a cloth, no doubt soaked in something to knock her out.
Emilia waits.
"You see, this beauty here - "
Emilia strikes then, buckling the woman off and snatching the bar from her. She hesitates a second, enough for the red woman to scramble forward and try to take the steel bar from her.
They grapple on the floor. The woman takes the steel from Emilia.
Emilia smirks.
She surges forward, with the last of her energy, and smoothers her with the cloth. The woman in red struggles for a few seconds, and only stops twitching after her eyes roll.
Breathing heavily, Emilia throws her off.
She staggers to the door, calling out weakly.
People swarms her, colours blurring. She's being lifted and deposited somewhere else. People are shouting.
The only thing Emilia can think of is Cassius.
"Cassius, where is my Cassius?"
Emilia can feel the pause in the air on her skin. She stands up straight, grabbing the nearest person and shouting.
"They were here a second ago," someone mumbles.
The mad search begins then. Emilia can feel the tension in her go higher and higher.
She is on the peak of a mountain and the nearest breeze will throw her off into the abyss.
They don't find Cassius.
They find Naomi.
Battered and bloody, stowed away in a corner of the storage room.
"Call an ambulance. The rest of you spread out, find my boy!" Emilia instructs her security team.
They find nothing.
Naomi is rushed to the hospital, wounds critical.
"I tried my best...I couldn't...I'm sorry."
Naomi comes in and out of consciousness and whenever she is awake for more than 5 seconds she bursts into tears. Emilia had not been able to stop crying either. It feels like someone took a hammer and made a hole in her chest.
She allows the doctor to fuss about her only for long enough for him to decree she has a mild concussion before she attempts to take to the streets to search for her baby.
Nicolas does not let her.
He is a wall of muscle and strong hands. He's words soothing but sharp.
"He attempted to kidnap you not even 3 hours ago. You are at risk. What good will you do your son if you get kidnapped as well."
"But how can I sit here and wait, knowing that my baby is somewhere out there. How can my heart not scream and cry when I don't know if he's safe?"
When she's taken home, Emilia finds a phone on her bed. Nicolas takes it away from her.
He is at a disadvantage; he wants to get the upper hand. Nicolas tells her.
Fine.
Emilia will play this game.
She will get her son back and have that bastard pay.