There are more blurs then Vincent's face. "Come home," he says then ends the call.
Tears stream down my face as I stare at the blank computer screen.
I shake my head.
I expected Vincent to kidnap me at some point.
I was prepared for it.
I didn't expect this.
What am I going to do?
Cooper clears his throat.
I look up at everyone waiting expectantly in the doorway.
"He's got Brooklyn," I say, crying hysterically. "He's got Brooklyn."
Brooklyn comes to, the drug working its way out of his system.
"Tell me where she is," Vincent orders him. "I need to go get her."
"Where am I?"
"You're on set. Filming will commence as soon as we have our costar. She knows I have you. I know she's been manipulating the press, so that I will think she doesn't love you. But I know better. I suspect she will be coming home soon." He pauses to add some drama. "Of course, that's not necessarily a good thing for you."
"Why not?" Brooklyn asks, groggily, things not really making sense. He has no idea where he is or how he got here, but he does recognize Vincent. He can see he's in some sort of concrete room with no windows.
And he knows it's not good.
"I know you know where she is."
"I won't tell you," Brooklyn says.
"Then your time here will be filled with pain," he says, backhanding his captive.
What follows is a night of complete chaos.
Fits of anger.
Calls with Garrett.
Pacing with worry.
Calls with my family.
Uncontrollable crying.
A call to B's dad.
As if I wasn't already feeling guilty enough, his dad flat-out blamed me.
Yelled at me.
I tried to explain, but it didn't matter.
And it doesn't.
He's right.
It's all my fault.
By midnight in California, Brooklyn has taken a fair amount of beating.
And still hasn't talked.
Vincent lets him know that he will die soon anyway, gives him another shot, then leaves the safe room.
By three in the morning East Coast time, Damian and Peyton have fallen asleep on the couch, Aiden is pacing across the living room floor, and I'm sitting in a chair across from Cooper trying to convince him that I should do exactly what Vincent wants me to do: go home.
My phone rings with a call from Garrett.
I quickly grab it off the coffee table and answer with, "Did you find him?"
"No, we haven't. I'm sorry," he says.
By this time, I'm done crying. I'm just straight pissed.
"How am I supposed to believe that you'll be able to keep anyone I care about safe?"
"I can only do so much, Keatyn. Brooklyn refused security the whole time he was in Malibu. And, believe me, we tried to talk some sense in him. We even did as you asked and watched the house and followed him wherever he went."
"Were they watching him today?"
"Sort of."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Brooklyn called the cops on them a few hours before he left for dinner. My men were at the police station getting things sorted out."
"Why would he do that?"
"I don't know. Did the two of you fight?"
"Yes. He was really upset when I told him I wasn't coming there."
"You were planning to?"
"Yeah. He wanted me to go with him to meet his mom. When we found out about Kiki, I called him. Begged him to reschedule. Told him it wasn't safe. He wouldn't listen to me. Then I suggested that it could be a set up. That's when he hung up on me."
"We located his mother and interviewed her."
"So it wasn't a set up?"
"No."
"What did she say?"
"That they talked. That she was so excited to see him but that it was more awkward than she imagined. I think she had grand images of the little boy she left rushing into her arms."
"Do you know the real story?"
"Brooklyn's father said she's bipolar. That, back then, the disease wasn't as widely understood. They diagnosed her with depression but she wouldn't take her medicine. When she didn't, she was all over the place. Crying for days, then, the next, getting dressed up and maniacally shopping. She'd have fits of anger, too. In one of those fits, she pushed B down the stairs. He was fine, just a broken wrist, but that's when his dad knew he had to do something. He had her charged with child abuse, filed for divorce, and got the court to issue a restraining order."
"That's sad. But I can see why his dad just let him think she left. It was easier than trying to explain everything else. We have to find him, Garrett. As soon as I get off the phone, I'm heading to the airport. I'll see you soon."
"No, you won't."
"I won't see you?"
"Keatyn, would you like me to use every resource I have available to search for Brooklyn?"
"Yes."
"Then I need you to go back to Eastbrooke."
"I can't go back there."
"Yes, you can."
"But everyone knows who I am. I'm still the one Vincent wants. I can't put Eastbrooke in that kind of danger. I can't go back!"
"We successfully kept everything off social media. Vincent would've already gone there if he believed you were there. It's safe. That's why we sent you there in the first place. And I can't do my job if I'm worried about you. I need all our manpower focused on finding him."
"But you have the police. I sent you the screenshot."
"Keatyn, the screenshot doesn't really prove anything. You didn't get any photos of Vincent. Had you recorded the call it would be a different situation. We would have some proof. All we have is a photo of a young man lying on a mattress. It doesn't prove he was kidnapped. It doesn't tell us who kidnapped him. It helps that his dad believes you and reported him kidnapped, but since there is no proof of that either-"
"What kind of proof do they need?"
"They interviewed the staff at the restaurant. No one saw a struggle. No one saw anything or anyone remotely suspicious. The police see a young man who is upset with his father and didn't come home. Now, the fact that his motorcycle is still at the club helps us a little, but the police work at their own pace."
"I thought you had guys following Vincent. Where the hell is he?"
"We don't know."
"What the fuck, Garrett? How can you not know?"
"Our men report that Vincent has been in his home since you fired him."
"We know Brooklyn is with Vincent. So, if Vincent's home, someone got Brooklyn and took him to Vincent. They're probably in his house! Go get him!"
"We tried that. I called in a favor with the police. Got them to agree to question Vincent. They went to his home, but Vincent didn't answer."
"So they just left?"
"The police can't search a property without a warrant unless they have just cause. When they looked in the windows, they reported seeing a room trashed in a way that indicated a struggle. They suspected Vincent might be hurt, so they broke the door down and went in."
"What did they find?"
"Nothing."
"Did they search for clues?"
"They didn't. But after they left, one of my guys may have had a look around. He came up empty. There wasn't one shred of evidence that would suggest he was obsessed with you or your mom. No photos. No magazines. Nothing. Which is a bit unusual in cases like these. Do you remember anything from your video chat? Did you see anything or notice any details that could give us a clue as to where he was. What about sounds? Could you hear a city? The ocean?"
"When he swung the laptop around I saw a blur of colors and images. Pictures, I think, on the walls."
"That would make sense. Wherever he's holding Brooklyn is his base. The place where he keeps his obsession hidden from the outside world."
"Like a secret apartment or something?"
"Yes, and we've got to find it. If we find it, we'll find Brooklyn. We're meeting with a judge in the morning to request a warrant to search all of his properties."
"Technically, I own some of those properties now, right? The business ones?"
"Yes, we've already scoured the county records and have compiled an extensive list of both personal and business real estate holdings."
"You have my okay to search anything owned by the company. He is obsessed with making the movie, so it would make sense that he might do it somewhere there's already a set."
"We'll start searching the company's properties now. On one condition."
"What's that?"
"You go to Eastbrooke while we do."
"And if I don't?"
"I quit and you can let the police handle it."
"You're not serious."
"Oh, yes. I am. And just so you know, if you decide to accept my resignation, even with your family connections, it would be at least 24-48 hours before you could get another firm on board. Do you want to lose that time?"
"No."
"Then here are my terms. You and Cooper are going back to Eastbrooke. You will give me seven days to find Brooklyn before you threaten to come to Malibu. And you promise that during those seven days you will not set foot off campus. No getting your nails done. No pizza dates. Nothing. I will be sending additional guards to the school's entrance. They will be under orders not to let you leave. Am I clear?"