Chapter eleven

Have you ever felt the earth tumbling down your feet as you watch with no idea on what to do? Have you ever felt so confused in the space of a moment that even the people dearest to your heart don't even matter because you're so consumed with rage and utter sadness?

That was how Vivienne felt when she got the text from Eva and the call from one of the staff from the Santa Monica branch.

As she heard the beep of the call that signified it had ended, she let her phone fall to the ground and her hands travelled to her hair, sinking into it and pulling with frustration.

On situations like this, she would have called Amelia to calm her down, Gavin not being in the books yet. Amelia would have come up with a smart idea to save the day and try to put everything in order.

But she couldn't. There was a connection between Amelia and the events that had been happening for quite a while now and including Gavin in it all was right.

Something was up.

But first of all, she had to get Eva released from her kidnappers before sorting other things out. Her secretary was really important to her and now that the truth was slowly begining to unfurl, she needed Eva by her side now more than ever.

Did she?

Vivienne needed no one. The level of trust she had for humans these days was fast depleting.

Weeks ago, she had spoken to Gavin about going to see the insurance underwriter to calculate the costs that would be used to insure the company at Santa Monica if anything happened but he had waved it off, telling her it wasn't really important right now and how they should leave it for later and attend to other important businesses.

Vivienne had been so gullible. She had believed all his words, floating in the glory of being lied to.

There was nothing to do than lay off her staff and shut the company for now while she attended to other crises. She was even sure that the news would be flying around and be all over the news stations. She was least worried about that.

With her car keys in her hand, she jogged out of her apartment, not forgetting to lock the doors behind her back. Her first stop would be at WPD, Woodland Police Department where she would ask to meet her friend and the Chief of Police, Marcus. And as she walked towards the elevator and tapped aggressively at the keys, she dialled his number, hoping silently that he would pick up her call.

The elevator doors finally opened and she hurried out, running through the lobby and past the security, not even bothering to spare him a greeting or a quick glance of acknowledgement. There were more important things to attend to.

Marcus' call went on voice mail and after she heard the beep, she began talking.

"Afternoon, Chief. Whenever you receive this message, give me a quick call. I am in trouble and in dire need of your help. "

She turned off her phone and slid it into her pocket as she hurriedly opened the door to her car. Slipping in, she shut the door with a loud thud and revved up her engine.

Vivienne swerved out of the parking lot and sped down the boulevard, shocked at the unusual speed she was driving at while hoping that she wouldn't be charged a fine for over speeding.

As she drove, she decided in her heart that she was going to call Gavin no matter how much anger she had to dispell. Her fingers were shaky as she bent to a side to slide out her phone.

Thankfully, she got to a traffic light that had its red lights on. Slowing her car to a halt, she dialled his number.

Gavin picked up at the third ring. Though, the background was noisy, she was still able to hear him speak.

"You told me not to make a fuss about getting an insurance!" She yelled. "Look at what has happened now. It's all gone."

"Easy there, sweets," Gavin said in a voice that sounded far from bothered. He was speaking like nothing was happening. "You might have to watch the tone with which you speak to me with."

Gavin was being incredulous right now. The fact that he was more concerned about the tone she was using in this current situation was maddening and it fuelled Vivienne's anger. "Fucking hell? You're more concerned about how I'm speaking to you? My company is burning to the ground and we have no insurance to cover the damages. What you're concerned about is the tone I speak to you with?"

There was silence for a while on Gavin's side as Vivienne ranted. Then he said. "Look, I'm sorry. You're overreacting. I heard the news and I am trying to figure out something here. You calling and yelling at me like I was the careless cook who forgot to turn off the gas before closing for the day isn't going to do any good. So, I want you to calm down. Come down to the office and let's discuss."

Vivienne took a deep breath. Though, she was suspicious of Gavin's movements and all, having someone by her side in this current situation was quite relieving and she leaned on him. The lights changed to green and she continued driving.

"I have to make a stop at WPD, see if I can talk to Marcus." She said, finally, in a calm tone.

"Why are you seeing the Chief of Police? There's nothing he can do about the fire."

"Eva has been kidnapped." Vivienne dropped the bombshell.

For a few seconds, the line was static, then his voice returned with a crackling before it became stable. "What?! How did you get the news of her kidnap?"

"She texted." A car honked behind her and she increased her driving speed.

"That's strange."

There was something in his voice that sounded far away but Vivienne was too tense and overly absorbed in the current situation to take notice.

"Sweetheart," Vivienne inclined her ears. "Can you make a turn at the intersection? Meet me at the office. Let's take care of all these."

"But I have to see Marcus. Nothing is going to stop me because Eva needs to be found. I wonder who ordered for her kidnap and why they have kidnapped her."

Gavin tried again. "In situations like these, you do not alert the police immediately."

"I have to admit," Vivienne started. "that this a stupe idea, Gavin. You alert the police in situations like this and Marcus is ever willing to help me."

"Reason with me, woman!" Gavin yelled. Vivienne frowned at the rash voice he just applied on her. "If you alert the police, the kidnappers would know, thereby having Eva killed. Alerting the police is not a smart thing to do in situations like these, Vivienne."

But Vivienne had made up her mind; she had made up her mind to make concrete decisions for herself. She was no longer going to listen to Gavin order her around or Amelia offer her stupid suggestions.

Maybe she was overreacting right now but she didn't care.

So, she entered the lane that lead to the Woodland Police Department building, swerving and maneuvering past cars. Gavin was still on the phone but she hadn't relayed a reply to him.

He spoke again. "Are you heading towards the office?"

In the space of a few seconds, Vivienne began to regret why she even told Gavin her plans in the first place. She had been so stupid to tell herself not to inform him of any developments, do her thing and so stupid to have told him everything. She wasn't going to make that mistake again, she hoped.

"I already told you where I was going and that's not going to change my mind in anyway. You'll see me at the office soon. But in the mean time, I want you to take care of everything."

Gavin sighed and cut the call without even giving her a reply.