Danny kept on dialing the hotel room, but there was still no answer. Where could they have gone he thought? He had told Michelle to stay there to make sure nothing happened to her. He hung up the phone and cassie started to worry.
"Still no answer?" She said worries filling her voice.
"I don't like this....I don't like this at all." Danny muttered as he kept driving.
The visibility wasn't very good anymore. Seemed like another storm was on its way.
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Billy sat in the driver's seat and Mac hoped in the back with Michelle. She stared at him inquiringly as he closed his door. He glance over at a very weak Michelle sitting beside Mac. The young girl was holding Michelle by the shoulders and tried to keep her awake.
"What are we doing now?" Mac asked, fears arising in her eyes and voice.
Billy kept silent for a while not even knowing the answer himself. Then Michelle stirred a little, in pain and Mac helped her up a little. They were all soaking wet and Michelle was freezing. Her face was pale under the traces of blood and her voice was weaker than ever before.
"I...Danny..." she whispered trying desperately to keep her eyes open.
"We can't stay here that's for sure." billy said starting the car.
"Where are we going?" Mac asked.
At this moment, Michelle took Mac's hand and place the Santos cabin key in it. Mac stared down at it before Michelle weakly whispered something almost incoherent about the secluded cabin in the woods.
Mac and Billy exchanged a frightened look.
"What?!" Mac hurried him. "What are you waiting for?" she asked.
"Do you have any idea what we are getting ourselves into?" Billy said turning around in his seat.
"I have a pretty good idea yeah!" Mac answered.
"This is Michelle Santos Mac! Santos...." he emphasized.
"Yeah and you're a Abott. She'd do it for you...." Mac replied.
"How do you know that!? You don't even know her! And the Abotts have their faults - and many of them, but we are not breaking laws everyday!" Billy answered.
"Well if you leave her here you'll be breaking the law. " she told him. "And they could have gotten us sent home you know....they're not stupid! They know we ran away....take a look at her and tell me you would be able to just take off leaving her here. These people have been nothing but nice to us...and I don't need to know her to see that she wouldn't turn her back on us." Mac said convincing him.
Billy looked down as Michelle moved a little. Mac tried to wash away some blood with the sleeves of her sweater. Billy turned around and stared ahead on the blurry road. He quickly started the car, took one last look at the hotel and took off.
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When Danny and the others arrived at the hotel, panic overtook them at the quietness of the place. There was noone at the front desk and the entire building was silent. Danny rushed up the stairs followed closely by Eric and they both stormed inside of Michelle'S room.
Nothing.
Danny ran to Greta's room in hope of finding both girls laughing over something very silly. He would tell her how scared he'd been and they'd laugh about all the panic they had gone through rushing here. But when Eric pushed the door open, the sight that graced them was none they really wanted to see. Danny's eyes filled with tears instantly. He swallowed them back as he looked inside the room. There were drawers lying on the floor, clothes spread across the bed and a shattered statues and furniture.
"Michelle?!" he shouted as he and Eric rushed to the bathroom.
At that moment, Cassie rushed in, breathless.
"Danny! the kids are gone too." she exclaimed.
They all went straight to the next bedroom and found the room in the same state as the other. Danny glanced over at the window and his eyes fell down on the floor. Shattered glass and some trace of blood were the only thing left from the quartet. The broken window was letting the strong rain into the room.
"What happened here?" Eric exclaimed.
Danny stayed silent, anger and panic arising inside of him. Worries for Michelle, guilt for himself.
"Damnit!!" He shouted as he hit his fist on the wall beside the window.
At this very moment, the phone rang. Everyone froze and a startled realized that it was his cellphone. He picked it up, without saying a word. His face froze in a very angry position at the sound of his mother's voice.
"Danny?" she asked. "Danny is that you?"
"Of course mama...." Danny coldly answered. "This is my cellphone."
"Danny I just wanted to know how your stay in Paris was going so far?" Carmen asked somewhat in a happy tone.
"Why do you ask?" Danny asked her.
"I learned about you and Michelle meeting friends in Paris and was just wondering when you intended to come back home." she replied.
Danny didn't answer and Carmen continued.
"Rick told me that you were helping some of Michelle's friends there...."Carmen added.
"Mama I can't talk to you right now...ok?" Danny said annoyed.
He hung up and stared at Eric, Cassie and Jason.
"Damn her!" he shouted throwing his cellphone on the wall.
"What did she tell you? Where did they taken them!?" Eric demanded.
"She acted all nice and polite....If she did anythign to them...." Danny whsipered to himself as Cassie walked towards him.
"We're going to find her...." she said putting her hand on his shoulder.
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Mac helped Michelle sit on the couch while Billy tried to get his cellphone to work. He went in the corridor and left Mac and Michelle in the living room.
"Are you ok?" Mac asked her as Michelle painfully sat down on the couch.
She simply nodded, trembling. Mac was also freezing but all she was thinking about right now was Michelle and making sure nobody followed them.
Billy finally got it to work and dialed Danny's cellphone number. The operator told her it was disconnected, so he tried the hotel room. Jason picked up the phone and Billy asked to speak to Danny.
"Danny it's for you. It's Billy." Jason said and Danny grabbed the phone.
"Billy?! Where are you where's Michelle?" Danny quickly asked.
"She's here with me and Mac. We're at the Santos cabin..." He added.
"What do you mean you and Mac? where is Greta?" Danny replied regaining his tray of thoughts.
"We don't know....they took her with them."
"Who?" Danny asked as Eric started panicking beside him.
"We don't know they just broke into our rooms and we tried to get away but they got greta..." he started.
"Are you ok? How's Michelle?!" he worried.
"Danny...she's not good. We didn't know what to do ....." Billy said and Danny stopped him.
"We'll be right there." he said before hanging up the phone.
"What happened to Greta? What is it Danny?!" Eric asked fear rising in his voice.
"Greta disapeared." Danny started. "Stephano and my mother probably took her some place....the others are at the cabin."
"What else is there Danny? I don't like your expression.....What happened to Michelle?" Cassie asked terrified at the simple thought of it.
"If they did anythign to her I swear....." he muttered as they all rushed out of the room.
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Dietz walked into Pilar's hotel room, and at the sight of his face, tears welled up in her eyes.
"They weren't able to get away." Dietz whispered.
"Damn you mother." Pilar said turning to the window.
"Pilar...." Dietz started.
"How did she learn where they were? How did she get there? " Pilar cried out. "I will find out what her big secret is...." She added furious.
"They only took Greta.....but Carmen didn't stop there. She has vowed many times to get rid of Michelle Bauer. she won't stop there." Dietz said certain of himself.
"Why didn't you stop her? Why didn't you tell me? we could've warned them...." Pilar started.
"I didn't know about it. Your mother and her new friend Stephano made last minute plans and i only learned about it now." he defended himself.
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What was next? what would happened? None of them had realized how big a secret they were uncovering when they arrived in Paris. They hadn't seen the danger that came along with digging into the past.
Danny couldn't help to feel guilty. There was this pain inside his throat that kept him from breathing. He had told Michelle to stay at the hotel to protect her and she had been the one getting hurt in the end. If he had only let her come..... he thought.
Danny rushed inside the cabin and his entire body became weak as he saw Michelle lying on the couch, bruised and seemingly asleep. He slowly walked to her and sat beside her on the couch. Tears welled up in his eyes at the thought of what they had done to her. He carefully reached his hand out and caressed her fragile face. She stirred a little and weakly opened her eyes. His wet curls stuck to his forehead and tears mixed up with the rain on his face as she looked up to him. She couldn't help a small tear to roll on her cheek as his hand shook on her soft skin.
Guilt was spreadin all across his face and Michelle closed her eyes in pain. He bent down and softly breathed near her face, sighing in relief. Michelle felt a flow of tears coming to her and she tenderlu lifted her arm and wrapped it around Danny's shoulder, sobbing into his wet shirt.
Eric stood, his arms crossed staring outside at the falling rain. The storm was approaching more and more and still the storm inside of him was already blowing his heart out. He looked down as he felt his heart tremble at the simple thought of Greta in danger. He should have stayed with her.....he should have been there for her. He had grown very affectionate of her and the thought of her scared and hurt somewhere sent shivers down his spine. so much debt, so much worries and so much heartache filled his eyes a pierced the soaked scenery outside.
A tall man held her back as she screamed and kicked him. Everything flowed around her in slow-motion as her cries rang in the night. The room around her started to spin and she closed her eyes in pain. Not physical pain but her heart was bleeding. Her head had always believed love wasn't true. But she had seen it, she had felt it. The man threw dragged her inside and locked the door from outside. Greta hit her fist on the door and soon rested her head on the small window, her tears calling for Eric's help.
Jason slowly walked to Cassie, sitting at the kitchen table. She had her hair in a mess and she was holding her head as though it was going to explode. He quietly sat beside her and handed her a cut of coffee. She lifted her eyes to him and he saw the fears and worries in them. He softly took her hands into hers and simply sat there with her, in the empty kitchen, as she bent her head down and cried a few tears. The touch of Jason's hands brought back some strength in her that she thought she had lost. She sighed and Jason leaned over to her and took her in his arms for what seemed forever.
A rare gesture, a soft touch....Dietz placed his hand on Pilar's shoulder as they both stood near the window. Pilar closed her eyes, unable to bear the pain of what her mother was doing to her family. Alone she would have cried but with Dietz by her side she simply stared at the road outside, cars passing by, splashing water on the side....She placed her hand over Dietz's in a comforting way and both of them just stood there.
The fire illuminated Mac's face as she sat beside a freezing Billy. Her serious face softened and she handed Billy a dry towel. She wrapped herself with hers and so did he. He looked at her and both of them stared at each other for a while. She then turned her eyes away and looked down on the floor, listening to the sound of the rain on the rooftop. They had known these people for not more than a day and still they could see straight into each and everyone's hearts. They both sat there, silent, side by side as the wind blew the trees and houses all around Paris.
Jason held Cassie in his arms that night. Fear for their life, fear for Greta and fear of the secret they had fell upon taking its whole on her. She burried her face in his shoulders....
Mac couldn't help shaking and Billy slid closer to her and wrapped what was left of his own towel around her shoulders. She looked up to him with wet eyes and he smiled to her softly before looking away.
Carmen was standing outside of Greta's room with Stephanoe by her side....inside the room, greta was lying on the small bed, her arms wrapped around one of the pillows. her eyes were fixated on the wall beside her and a few tears fell down on her soft skin and finally fell down on the back of her hand.
Eric looked down at the tear who had just fallen on his hand and he closed his eyes. The rain outside seemed to be making its way to his heart. Greta had to be fine.....
Michelle held on to Danny with all the strength left in her. Her arms wrapped up around his shoulders and her head burried in his neck. He couldn't help a few tears as he sighed and surrendered to all of his emotions. Michelle felt his body shake. The fear of her being hurt had riped his heart out and Michelle's touch was slowly putting the pieces back together.Michelle's face twisted in pain as a small drop of blood fell from her forehead to Danny's shirt. He held her weak body in his arms and softly laid her back on the couch, where she closed her eyes and took his hand into hers.