Day One
7:05 pm
Stephanie McMahon-Helsmley was numb. All she could think of was that this was a nightmare. A terrible, surreal, not-at-all-happening nightmare. And any second now, she would wake up and everything would be just fine. That her six-month-old Rhys was back in her arms.
But she opened her eyes, and reality hit her hard. She could hear her mother�s inconsolable sobs, her father�s raging rants, and she could see numerous, neatly-dressed men and women walking frantically to-and-fro in front of her. FBI agents.
One of the neatly-dressed women hunkered down in front of her, trying to smile. Stephanie leaned back on the sofa, as if getting as far away from the concerned face peering at her.
�Mrs McMahon-Helmsley?� the woman was saying, her voice sounding as if coming from far away. �Can you hear me, Mrs McMahon-Helmsley?�
Unsure of what to say, Stephanie nodded slightly, staring at her. The woman nodded back, her smile widening slightly. �That�s good. Now, Mrs McMahon-Helmsley, I realise that this is a terrible time for you,� she continued, �but we need to ask you a few questions.�
�You have no idea,� Stephanie replied hoarsely, regaining her voice and her thoughts. She stood up from where she had been frozen for the past few hours. �You have absolutely no idea what it�s like to have your six month old baby taken from you, so don�t sit there and pretend like you do!�
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that all those within hearing distance had stopped and were staring at her. A sudden sob escaped from the back of her throat, and Stephanie turned away, racing out of the room.
*
Hunter Helmsley knew that this day could not get any worse. Not only had he just found out his ex-girlfriend was going out with his bestfriend, but he had been stuck in traffic for the past two hours with no way to contact Stephanie and tell her that he was going to be late. She was going to be furious with him.
The first thing he noticed as he turned into his street were the numerous vehicles parked around his house. Hunter�s heart dropped, and he parked haphazardly beside a black van with darkened windows. Leaving the engine running, he raced towards the front door, but was physically stopped and tackled to the ground by several large men.
�Get off!� he screamed at them, struggling desperately against them. �This is my house!�
Obviously they weren�t listening to him as he felt a knee press painfully against his lower back. He could hear some shouted orders coming from above, but couldn�t make out the words.
�Damnit, my name is Hunter Helmsley!� he tried again, though his voice was muffled against the green grass. �I live here! This is my house!�
However, he was held down a few seconds longer as unbidden thoughts raced through his mind. When they finally got off him and tried to help him up, Hunter angrily pushed them away. He raced into his house.
�Steph!� he shouted frantically, noticing that his house was swarming with neatly-dressed people. He recognised none of them. �Stephanie!�
Something bumped hard against his right side, and he reached out instinctively to keep whoever it was from falling. It was Stephanie. Her hands were covering her face, and violent sobs were shaking her shoulders.
Hunter sighed with relief to see that she was safely at home. He pushed back her hair, trying to get a closer look at her face. �Hey, it�s me. Steph?�
She looked up at him, and he was stunned at her appearance. Stephanie was extremely pale, making the red in her eyes stand out even more distinctly. For a few seconds they stared at him, through him, then, they cleared and she focused on his face.
�They took him,� she whispered raggedly, collapsing against his chest. �They took my baby.�
Hunter had been wrong.
