I couldn’t believe my eyes when she appeared in the doorway of that cabin, her face contorted into a wicked grin. Hannah—my former best friend, but now my foe.As I held Owen closely hugging him tight, my heart began racing. I wanted to scream and cry out, or better yet fight back, but there was no way out.We were trapped inside with this crazy woman who could do anything she wanted and for all I knew it would be something terrible.“Well well well look who we have here,” Hannah said stepping further into the room with a frigid and mocking voice“Anna you’re harder to get rid of than I thought.”Glaring at her body shook from both fear and anger that the whole time was evident on my face“Hannah, why are doing this? We used to be friends why not leave us alone?”She laughed as if she were possessed sending shivers down my spine“Friends? Is that what you thought? Oh, come on Anna! You’ve always been such an innocent naive person. It was never about any friendship; it was always about
Owen was shaking beside me, gripping my small hand while we were sitting down on the cold floor inside the cabin.He looked at me with his wide eyes full of tears demanding answers, comfort, or rather anything that could erase this nightmare. But they were not there.All I am able to do is keep him calm despite being frightened myself.“Mommy, why did they take us?” Owen asked in a hardly audible voice. It was trembling and sounded full of fear.“Are we going home?”These words were enough to break my heart into tiny pieces. If only I could assure him everything would be alright; that soon we’d be back home safe and sound.But how do I know? The next thing is unknown which frightens me even more than anything else. For him, I must be strong while inside me; all seems lost.I drew him closer with my right arm around him tightly. “We’re going to be okay baby,” I said trying so much to sound very confident.“There must be a way out and I assure you I will find it.”Owen sniffed and burie
3rd Party PovAt that time, Navian was seated at his desk, gazing at his phone. For more than twenty-four hours, Anna and Owen had left for their vacation. Normally, Anna would send him a brief message or even call to inform him of their safe arrival. Occasionally, Owen would ring Navian just so that he could tell him about trivial things like what he saw along the way or how much fun he was having since Owen loved Navian so much. But now there was nothing- no call, no text, and no update.Navian attempted to self-convince that perhaps they were just having fun. Perhaps not having thought about it; Anna wanted to spend quality time with Owen instead of checking on them but however deep inside, he knew differently.This is uncharacteristic of Anna who takes responsibility very seriously, especially when it comes to Owen.He drummed his fingers across the desk leaving a glistening sound in a serene room. He picked up his phone again and sent another message:*Hey, just checking in. Hop
Navian had been on edge for days. He couldn’t shake the worry gnawing at him since Anna and Owen disappeared. No messages, no calls—nothing. It wasn’t like Anna to leave without a word, especially with Owen.The police were still saying it was too soon to file a report, but Navian knew something was wrong.On his own, he had been looking for a hint by making hotel reservations, visiting hospitals, and even just driving around aimlessly. But his anxiety increased with the amount of time that passed.Elena was the second thing that had been worrying him lately.Elena had always been straightforward with him. They’d been together for a while now, and she had never kept secrets before. But recently, she had been acting… strange. It started small—whispering on the phone, leaving the room when he entered, or cutting conversations short when he asked her what she was talking about.At first, he thought maybe she was planning a surprise for him or something harmless like that. But now, with A
Navian’s fingers drummed nervously against the steering wheel as he drove down the empty road. The pressure that was growing with each passing day was causing a discomforting feeling in his stomach.Anna and Owen left for their trip and it had already been more than a day, and he had not received any kind of communication from either of them. That wasn’t like Anna.She always checked in. And Owen? He loved calling just to tell him the smallest things.The silence was unsettling. Too much time had passed, and the police didn’t seem concerned, but Navian knew better. Something was wrong.As the hours went by, his anxiety only worsened. He couldn’t just sit around and wait anymore. He needed to act.Anna had mentioned the location they were headed to, and Navian had been able to track their likely route. Even if it meant getting things done on his own, he was determined to find out what had happened. A glow of silver in the woods far away made him stop in his tracks after what seemed li
Gazing at the evidence strewn all over his desk, Navian sat in his office. It was becoming apparent that Anna's absence was not merely a case of unplanned abduction.Beneath it all was something far darker, and the more he dug, the more uneasy he grew. The authorities had already received the video of Anna's burning car from him, but they were moving incredibly slowly.Restlessly tapping his fingers on the desk, Navian decided he couldn’t wait around any longer. He had to dig deeper himself.His mind raced back to the people Anna trusted. There was one person who knew her better than most: Mikel. He had saved Owen from that near-fatal car accident a month ago, and Navian remembered how close he and Anna were.Mikel would know if there were any places Anna might have gone if she had ever felt unsafe—or if he had any suspicions about who could be behind all of this.Without wasting another second, Navian picked up his phone and dialed Mikel’s number. After a few rings, Mikel answered, h
Navian walked through Anna’s quiet house, his mind racing with thoughts of her disappearance. But the fact was that it had been days since he had heard anything from her and he got worried more and more waiting for the night. He had gone around asking his friends, visited the places that she preferred to frequent, and gone around the town asking people whether they had seen either Anna or Owen. Growing more frustrated, he went back to Anna’s house, believing he may be lucky enough to discover an item that would lead him to Anna. This strange sensation came over him as he crossed from her living room and then into her bedroom.There was something out of place. His keen vision looked around and then he found something that made his hair stand on end; there seemed to be a subtle scratch across the floor to the side of her wardrobe.His heartbeat raced as he bent down to take a closer look at it. He then carefully opened a compartment that he did not know existed before. Within this wa
His mind raced with everything he had just uncovered about Anna’s family. He could never have thought that they were related, especially not in such a manner. Owen filled his mind, and he could not help doing so at every given second. That boy was close to him from the beginning and he only realized now why that was so. There was something that went beyond friendship, beyond anything that he could have ever expected. Navian’s lips twisted into a grimace, “I have to tell Rita. ” He took out his phone and called her number, he prayed she answer the call.Rita was Anna’s best friend, and she had the right to know it. Moreover, he wanted and had to share this burden with someone. He had to come out with it… He could not keep it within him any longer. The phone buzzed for two rings before Rita answered the lines."Navian? Have you heard anything?" she asked, her voice filled with worry. She had been just as anxious as he was since Anna and Owen had disappeared."Rita, I need to talk to