"Tommy!" Melissa jolted up opening her eyes wide. Still, by the phone waiting for a call probably from the kidnappers or anyone who may have seen Tommy, she fell asleep. With her hand on her stomach, she stared at the phone as images of Tommy being plucked from her arms played in her mind.
"Melissa, what's wrong? You were shouting Tommy's name."
"Aunt, did they get any news yet? Where is Lisa? Is this phone even working? Why are they not calling?" She was exhausted and afraid. Her son was all she had.
"Calm down honey." Betty rubbed her back soothing her. "Someone called and told the police that they saw a white van. Now the police are reviewing all the traffic surveillance cameras to see which way they went or if they left the town. They will surely find them. I also asked Lisa to go get some rest when you fell asleep."
"Aunt, I can't lose Tommy. I can't lose my son."
"You won't lose him honey, we will find him." Betty soothed her afraid of what would happen to her.
"It's been hours and no news. I'm afraid they might kill my son." Looking at her son's picture on the table, she wiped her eyes taking the picture in her hand. "I'm going to look for him. I can't stay here anymore doing nothing."
"No! Melissa honey, you can't just walk around alone at night, it's very dangerous."
"He is barely four, out in the cold all alone. I can't stay here. I need to find him." Just as she took a flashlight heading for the door, Mark walked in with four of his bodyguards.
"Mark, did the police find anything? Where is he? Where is my son?" She run to him demanding answers as everyone kept their mouth shut giving her pitiful looks.
"Please calm down Melissa, they are still looking. I promise we will find him." She gazed at his haggard face hating herself more for keeping his son from him.
"It's been hours since he went missing, all you ask is for me to calm down but I can't do that anymore. I'm going to look for him, I have to get my son back." It was almost midnight and no news, she couldn't sit and cry anymore.
"No Melissa, I can't let you go out. Just sit here and wait." With his hand on her elbow, he stopped her from walking out.
"I have to find him. Mark, he is alone and scared."
"I know. We will find him, but I need you to be safe." Pulling her in his arms, he wrapped his arms around her waist as she hugged him raining tears on his shirt.
"He is my life. How can I sit here when he is in danger?" She questioned pulling back slightly.
"I need you to stay here. We will get him back, just be strong." He gazed into her eyes and touched her cheeks wiping the tears that trailed down wetting her shirt.
It broke his heart to see her in so much pain yet he couldn't do anything about it.
"Please stay here." As he spoke his phone rang. Noticing it was a call from one of his men, he placed a kiss on her lips before excusing himself.
With Mark walking away to answer his phone, Melissa paced anxiety getting the better of her.
"Ma'am please calm down, I can't let you leave. It's not safe to go out on your own." One of the officers tried to stop her but she managed to run from the house.
"Melissa!" Her aunt ran to the door calling for her but she was so stubborn no one could persuade her to stay.
"What's going on? Where is Melissa?" Mark came back only to find Betty and a few officers by the door.
"She left. I'm afraid she will run into danger, please go after her." Betty turned to Mark asking for his assistance.
Melissa had not introduced them but seeing how close he was to her and the resemblance to Tommy, she knew who he was.
"Don't worry aunt, I'll take care of her." Leaving the house Mark went after Melissa. He knew she was worried about their son as much as he was and though he didn't want her roaming around alone at night, he knew getting out of the house would do her some good.
Getting in the car with one of his bodyguards driving, they left the compound followed her closely, and caught up with her a few blocks from her aunt's home.
"Melissa!" Driving slowly beside her, he called but she didn't respond nor did she stop.
"Get in the car I'll take you home or do you plan on walking around at this time of the night?"
With nothing on her mind but her son and the possible places they might take him, she walked aimlessly down the road with no clue of where to start looking.
"Don't talk to me like a child, you don't know how it feels to lose the people you love." Ignoring him she spoke more to herself. "I lost my parents which almost drove me out of my mind but Tommy came and changed my life. If I lose him this time I will surely die. Can't take this pain all over a gain."
"Just have faith, nothing bad will happen to him. Please get in the car and we will ho look anywhere you want." With him promising to do all she wanted, Melissa got in the car giving directions to some abandoned buildings.
Taking the wheel as his bodyguard got into another car, he drove with her seated beside him.
"Mark where are you going? Did they find him?" Ending a call he got from the police chief, Mark made a u-turn as Melissa questioned.
"The chief just called. Someone spotted a white van heading to the forest an hour ago. They are checking the area and trying to confirm if it's the same van they transferred Tommy to." He informed her driving to the location.
"Oh God thank you." It was the only news she got since her son went missing and it gave her hope. "Please hurry." With her hands holding the car seat, she urged him as beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
With every passing minute, Melissa felt anxious. Placing her hand on her chest, she touched her necklace which her father had given to her on her eighteenth birthday praying for them to protect her son. Their grandson, believing that they always looked after her.
Getting to the location, all Melissa wanted was to see her son but on the contrary, they found the police all over the forest.
"Where is my son?" As the car came to a stop she rushed towards the cabin but was stopped by some of the officers.
"Sir, ma'am." The officer in charge met them instructing his subordinates to let Melissa through.
"We found the van and we are confident it's the one used to transport your son but unfortunately we didn't find them." He explained the situation.
With so many police and Mark's security combing the area, Melissa wondered why they were not able to bring back her son. Though it was midi night, they were lucky it was a full moon night not as dark as it usually was, helping them move around with ease.
The van was their main lead. The only way they could track the kidnappers but those men had abandoned it making it difficult to find Tommy.
"Any sign of our son." Holding Melissa's trembling hand, Mark asked though he knew the answer.
"He was kept in the cabin for a while but unfortunately we came too late. I'm sorry sir, they were gone by the time we got here."
"No! What will happen now? Where did they take my son?" Hearing his words, Melissa lost all hope.
She felt she would never see her little boy again. Pulling her hand from Mark's hold, she went into the cabin and saw a handkerchief near the bed. Without a doubt, it was Tommy's with his initials on it. Staring at the cloth her lips curved up remembering how happy he was when she gifted it to him. It was like the court of many colors that Joseph was given by his father and Tommy always carried it around with him, since that day she had it made for him on his third birthday.
As the smile turned to a frown, she sat on the bed holding the handkerchief to her heart. If she never sees her son again she would only have this handkerchief to remind her of her little boy.