Mackenzie had both her children dressed in thick black coats - a small preparation for the cold outside - by the time the security details arrived at her front door. It had been warm for a few days, but the weather that afternoon could almost be described as freezing. Calista wore around her neck, a red and black printed muffler, the red matching the color of the frame of her glasses. Cameron loved the dark blue color, so his muffler was dark blue. Tucked under Calista's right arm was a painting, specially done by her, of the sun and the garden they had met. She was certain her grandfather was going to love it. The security details helped put Cameron and Calista in the back seat of the car with Mackenzie. The driver turned on the car's heater before he started the engine. They started the journey to the hospital. The car came to a halt at the hospital's exit door. Chase had stationed himself at the hospital's exit, making sure it was well guarded. His most trusted guards, yet you
Chase and Mackenzie strolled out of Richard's ward into the quiet hospital corridor. As they walked, Mackenzie found herself tucking her fingers into her coat at seconds intervals. The weather on its own was cold, but being close to Chase seemed to heat her up, causing all the cold to rush to the tip of her fingers. "Uhh. Why don't we just order a coffee?" She asked. There was a nervous edge to her voice, one she hoped Chase wouldn't notice. He did. He looked down at her and managed a small smile. Mackenzie knew she should have looked away in that moment, from his eyes that always threatened to suck her in, but she didn't. It wouldn't hurt once to let her guard down and be completely drowned in his gaze, would it? "I just wanted time alone with you." Mackenzie's eyes widened, sparkling with delight. Her stomach churned from thousands of butterflies. She turned away immediately, chuckling from the shivers that rushed down her spine. "I guess that much." She replied, digging her
Mackenzie and Chase returned to the Richard's ward, laughing with a cup of hot chocolate in each hand. As Chase moved to push the door open, Mackenzie started to walk in, still laughing. Her laughter came to an abrupt halt immediately she caught sight of Eleanor in the room. She was seated on the bed, beside Richard, running her fingers through Calista's blonde hair. Eleanor smiled as Calista continued to playfully pinch Richard's bearded chin. Mackenzie stared at Eleanor, her blood drained from her face, and her limbs lacked the ability to move. She hated seeing her daughter with the old and conniving woman. Innocent Calista was not aware of how callous the woman was. She turned and smiled at her innocently as they chatted on. "The shareholders are thinking of revolting, Richard. The stock prices are plummeting, what are you going to do about it?" When Richard remained silent, Eleanor made sure to continue. "The company needs a better leader, Richard. Listen, I know Chase is the
FEW DAYS LATER That morning, Mackenzie dropped the kids at the door of their daycare center, as was part of her regular morning routine on weekdays. The security details had escorted them to the school premises on Chase's orders, to make sure they were safe at every step of the way. She lowered herself by squatting and held both their hands. Both Calista and Cameron blinked rapidly as they smiled at her. "Your daddy has promised to come pick you up from daycare today." She said to them. Both the kids jumped up in glee, oval eyes glittering with delight as they embraced their mother and followed their teacher into the building. Mackenzie also made sure to show the teacher a picture of Chase, letting her know he would be the one to pick the kids up from the daycare later that day. Chase had told her he wanted to know what it felt like to pick his kids from daycare. "He'll be here a few minutes after the kids close, so they can't leave with anyone that isn't him." Mackenzie instruc
Mackenzie sprang up to her feet immediately, ignoring her wobbling knees and the dire urge in the pit of her stomach to puke. Her mind was racing fast - too fast for her own good, and there was nothing she could do stop it. She paced about the tiny living room, tapping her trembling fingers against her hips continuously. "What am I going to do?" She cried. "What should I do?" She turned to look at Felicity. Her friend stood at the distal end of the room, saying nothing. Felicity's round eyes held a lot of sympathy, but that was the last thing Mackenzie needed. She was on the verge of losing her daughter, her entire life was slowly falling apart. "Breathe," Mackenzie advised herself, sucking in a deep breath. She stood still, closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh."My kids need me right now. I can't…I can't afford to mess things up." "Mackenzie," Felicity walked to her and placed both hands on her shoulders. Mackenzie chuckled dryly, forcing herself to swallow the lump in her
He brushed her loose strands of hair to the back of her eyes. With his thumbs, he erased her tears from her cheeks, and tilted her face up with her chin, so he could kiss her cheeks without going too low. "We are searching for the people who took Calista away right now. My men are on to them. I was in the office when I was called that the kids school was on fire, and the CCTV camera caught someone taking Calista." "Oh my God!" Mackenzie exclaimed. Her hands flew to her mouth as she cried. Chase's heart shrunk in his chest. She had no idea how it broke him to see her like that. He held her hands and pulled them away from her face. "Look at me, Kenzie." But she couldn't, not when her both eyes were flooded with tears. "We caught sight of the plate number, and my men are tailing the car down as we speak. We would get Cally back, Mackenzie. I promise you." She wanted, no…she needed to trust him, and she knew this. He was hurting as much as she did, she could tell from the redness of
Mackenzie's jaw dropped in horror. She glanced down at the phone that rested on her thighs, before raising her gaze to meet with Chase's dark ones. Her throat had gone dry immediately she heard the mention of death and daughter IN THE SAME SENTENCE. She held the phone up and frowned at Chase, panicking. "Why did you end the call? We could have been able to…" "We can't track the call. Whoever it is, the person was smart enough to make use of a burner phone." Chase replied, turning to look at her. He could see her panic stricken eyes dance all over his face. She was losing her mind, and he knew it. He needed to hold himself together for her, for Cameron too. Only the heavens knew how badly he wanted to punch the glass windows of his car until they all shattered into pieces. "Oh God." She muttered underneath her breath, throwing her head against her seat and sinking further into the leather. Chase sucked in a deep breath, before placing his right hand on hers. He squeezed her knuckle
The world around Mackenzie was crumbling at an alarming rate. She tried to hold onto something - Chase's legs, the window, the driver's seat, but nothing was enough. She sat up, forcing herself to suck in deep breaths while Chase continued to bark orders into his phone's speaker. The roof of the car began to spin around her head. The car was moving so fast, she thought she would have to throw her head out of the window and puke on the road. Hyperventilating while tears burned her eyes, she didn't know what to do. She buried her face into her palms and fought hard to muffle her scream. Sweat poured from her face and formed a nasty pool on her neck. She threw her head backwards and closed her eyes, parted her lips and forced herself to suck in air. "Chase…what are we going to do? You…you heard them…" Her trembling fingers reached for his right leg and she tapped on it continuously. He turned to look at her, his eyes were a dark shade of red, and she could see his tears glitter in the