Cassandra stepped out of the SUV, happily stretching her cramped limbs. The private airfield was only a few miles from the estate, but she'd already spent most of her day in the sitting position. Now she'd have to endure a plane ride with more of the butt-numbing activity, only this time she'd have extensive legroom. The door to the aircraft was already opened, with its staircase descending towards the pavement. Her feet shuffled in the direction of the car parked in front of them. Even though the other staff members were already headed for the aircraft, she had an assignment: act like a friend, not the help. She decided a friend would wait for Jade.
She stood near the rear of the vehicle, crossing her arms over her chest. The evening air chilled her. Neither Jade nor Miguel had exited the vehicle yet. He was giving the staff time to get settled. She turned when she heard the driver's door open a few moments later. Jade's door was the closest to him, so she was let out fiGrace is the divine power that inspires virtue in humans and gives us the strength to endure difficult times. Grace Elizabeth Santos was born on June 29th at 3:17 pm. The first time Jade laid eyes on her, she believed her daughter was absolutely perfect in every sense. She never truly understood what love was until she laid her eyes on her daughter and cradled her tiny, pink body in her arms for the first time. It was the most magical moment she'd ever felt. Grace came out screaming, wide-eyed, and confused by the strange cold world, but the moment she heard the sound of her mother's voice, she froze and just blinked, listening for her. "I could lay here forever studying her features and adoring every little movement and noise she makes," Jade whispered as she softly hummed to Grace who was sleeping in her arms.&n
"Time keeps slipping away from me," Jade thought to herself, sipping on a cup of morning tea as she gazed out the window. Her drink had already gone cold. Was her memory failing her? How many days had passed? Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, she tried to count them all, but it was difficult—fuzzy like static on the television. At this point, nothing made sense. One moment it was two in the morning, and she was lying in bed next to Miguel, and the next, she was here, sitting in this chair, having a cup of tea. She didn't know what was real or which memories she could believe.She was losing her mind, just as her mother had.Miguel had to have known that there was something wrong with her, although she attempted to conceal it. There had been no way to explain to him how she ended up in the ocean, drenched from head to toe and nearly frozen to death. She couldn't explain it. She couldn't
The following day, Jade had been medically cleared to leave the hospital. After signing a mountain of paperwork and receiving follow-up care instructions, she began getting dressed. The clothes alone brought a comfort she had greatly missed. Miguel had run out earlier that morning to grab her something to change into for the flight home. She couldn't exactly leave there in nothing but a thin hospital gown, and the clothes she had been wearing were now somewhere in an evidence bag. "One pair of black leggings, slippers, and an oversized t-shirt," Miguel beamed as he placed the shopping bag on the hospital bed, proud of himself. Even if there wasn't currently an assistant around to fulfill the task, he was determined to get them both out of that hospital room. After she was officially discharged, a nurse wheeled her down the elevator to
Their reunion had been long-awaited, but as Miguel sat diagonally from her in an armchair in the corner of the room, sorting through the emails on his cellphone, she couldn't help but feel like there was a rift between them. She turned the television on to watch the five o'clock news. Lieutenant Davidson had mentioned that he would be giving a statement to the press that evening, and he'd even stopped by to ask her if there was anything she would or wouldn't prefer him to mention. She'd decided to give him her own brief statement to read.The top of the screen read 'LIVE' in big, bold red letters. "Are they really outside right now?" Jade questioned, seeing the camera was angled at the front doors of the hospital. Her room was positioned somewhere in the north wing. She wondered how many people had driven all the way to Pittsburg just to film this.She turned the volume up as
Lieutenant Lyle Davidson leaned forward in his chair, rubbing over the scruff around his chin. He was heading into his second double shift, and the week had only started. He flipped the page, scanning over the investigative report one last time. It was unfathomable that this woman was good for it. Her demeanor definitely had him fooled. When one of his detectives had first sent over the file to him, he thought, for sure, the boyfriend had something to do with it. Shit, wasn't it always the boyfriend in cases like these? At the time, it had seemed cut and dry. Some arrogant rich guy gets a chick pregnant, and then she suddenly turns up missing? Babies born out of wedlock could bleed a man dry, and money was one hell of a motive. Hell, it wouldn't be the first time he'd had a case like this come across his desk.A smile crossed his face as he snapped the folder shut. Between the physical and forensic evidence collected at the crime scene and Jade Meadows' affidavit, he had
The sounds of the hospital were unmistakable, and Jade recognized them before she even came to. Machines continuously beeped around her, footsteps paraded in front of the doorway, and an elastic band that was tightly wrapped around her abdomen monitored the baby's heartbeat— swish, swish, swish.She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, glancing around the small room. The walls were painted a flat pale blue, and the miniblinds on the windows let in a beautiful stream of afternoon sunlight. The tables and windowsill were lined with dozens of flowers, cards, balloons, and teddy bears. They'd been pouring in, all sent to her from strangers.The doctors had transferred her from triage to a private suite earlier in the day. From the moment she'd uttered the word 'kidnapped,' it was like she'd set off an alarm throughout the building. It felt like a million p