Hidden Temptations

Chapter Ten

“Adeline Marten, I’m Dr. Brown and I’m here to take you for your X-rays.” He says that without looking up from the papers he is holding, not noticing she wasn’t there.

“Oh, another Dr. took her already.”

“Oh, and you are?” He instantly looks up confused.

“I am Adeline’s mother, Kim.” Standing up I shake his hand, but confused.

“That's odd. What was this Doctor's name?”

“He said his name was Dr. Jones.” I cross my arms. How do people get this messed up at a hospital?

“We, uh.” He walks to the phone that was on the wall of the hospital room. “Hey, Deana, do we have a Dr. Jones working today?” He pauses. “We have a Code Pink.” He hangs up the phone.

“Code pink? What the hell is a code pink?”

“Ma’am, we don’t have a Dr. Jones on staff at this hospital. Code pink is for a missing child.”

“What are you saying!?” I’m starting to panic, what has happened to my daughter?

“I’m saying I believe your daughter was taken by someone who made you believe they were her doctor.”

Taken. That word, it terrifies me. Why? What reason would someone want to take my daughter? I start to pace around the room.

“The police have already been called, we are having security watch the video feed.” He places a hand on my shoulder. “We just need you to stay calm.”

“STAY CALM?! My daughter is missing! Don’t tell me to stay calm!” I take my phone out and dial a friend from work, Mark Delgado, he specializes in missing children cases. He doesn’t answer. What do I do? I start to cry, it’s hitting me, someone has taken my baby, what if they hurt her? Where is Adeline?

All I could feel was how cold it was and how much my head hurts. There goosebumps on my neck all the way down to my ankles. What happened to me? I can’t see anything. Did I get kidnapped? Did I do something wrong? What was the purpose of anything anymore? I couldn’t hear much, my ears covered by the blindfold that was put on me. I felt something wet roll down the side of my face. Am I bleeding?

/drip, drip, drip/

There was water. Trying to imagine where I had been taken to, I lived in Seattle, there wasn’t a day that had gone by in 3 months that it wasn’t sunny. Which is very odd for Seattle, it always rains here. Did it rain when I was taken? Why is it so cold? It’s the middle of June. It was dark, I couldn't see a thing, not even a peek under the blindfold. I was somewhere cold, dark, wet and my head was throbbing. What is happening, why is my nightmare coming true, I've had this same nightmare twice.

“I told you if you didn’t talk I was going to make you.” I’ve heard this voice before, it sounds like Dr. Jones. I can’t see to confirm it though, but I am 90% sure.

“What did you do?!? Why me?!?” I struggle to get to loose, it doesn’t work.

“I’ve been watching you for a while now, Addie.” I felt his hand on my shoulder, I jerked away, but he didn't move his hand. Both of his hands on my shoulders, I feel his breath on the side of my neck. “You strike my curiosity, much like your dad did.”

“My dad?” I start to cry, how does he know my dad? Was it really a car accident that killed him? Did this man kill him? I cry harder. Am I going to die? I’m not even 18 yet, I don’t know how long I have been here, wherever I am.

“He was surely an interesting man, his accident, was sudden.” He lets out a giggle.

This man is psychotic, I can’t stop crying, I am scared for my life. “Don’t cry my darling. You’re too pretty to cry.” I feel a finger on my cheek, run across my jawline, I snap back.

“Get away from me!” I scream, I want my mom, I wish this was all a dream. I hang my head, knowing there isn’t anyway out of this.

“Get comfortable Adeline. You’ll be here a while.” I hear wet footsteps, they are heavy, they are fading away.

Addies Moms POV

“I am Officer Turner, I'm going to need a description of your daughter Mrs. Marten.” The cop stands in front of me with a notepad and a pen, waiting for my response, I respond through tears.

“She... she’s about my height, so 5ft 6, she has, blonde.” I can’t continue, my heart is ripping from my chest.

“Please, take your time, it’s okay Mrs. Marten.” He places his hand on my shoulder. I wipe my nose with tissue handed me by this police officer.

“She’s blonde, she has blue eyes, she has the prettiest smile. She is in a wheelchair with a knee brace and a cast on her wrist.” I need to sit down, my heart can’t take this anymore, I just want my daughter.

“Do you have an updated photo of her?”

“Yes.” I go through the photos on my phone, I pick the picture of my Adeline at her graduation. She’s so happy, smiling, holding her diploma, making that moment perfect for a picture. “Here, this is her.” I show the police officer the picture, he looks at it, at every detail of my daughter.

“Send it to the email on my card, we will get it printed on flyers, and we will send out an Amber Alert. Mrs. Marten. We will do everything we can to find your daughter.”

He missed the keyword, “Alive”. I send the photo, and within 20 minutes, my phone alarm goes off. It’s the Amber Alert. Adeline’s photo, her description and her last whereabouts are listed. It has gone out city wide. My body is a wreck, shaking, nervous, terrified, all around worn out.

ing, ring, ring/

My phone is ringing, it’s Sarah’s mother Samantha. I hold off a minute before I answer. If I say it out loud to her, it means that everything that is happening is real.

“Hello..”

“Kim, What is going on? I got the Amber Alert, is it true? She is all over the news!” I can’t fight the tears, it is true and that’s what breaks my heart. I can’t answer her, I can’t talk through my crying. “Where are you? Sarah is freaking out.”

“I.. I’m at the hospital.”

“We are on our way, we will be there in 10 minutes, you hold on until then.” She hangs up the phone, I drop to my knees, I haven’t cried like this since my husband died. This feels worse. Adeline is my everything and if she gets hurt, I don’t know what I will do. I haven’t told Adeline the truth. Her father's death wasn’t a car accident, it was staged to look like one, her father was murdered and the man who did it was never found. Could this be the same man? What if it is? Will it be my fault?

“Kim!” I look up from the floor, it’s Mark, the coworker I called a few hours earlier to get his help. “I’m sorry I missed your call, I got the alert as I was passing the hospital and saw the patrol cars outside. I thought you might be here still.” He helps me off the floor, he wraps me in a warm embrace, he makes me feel like I’m not alone in this.

“Thank you for stopping Mark. It means a lot.” I wipe my nose again with a tissue. The tears start to slow down. I need to be strong for Adeline, she needs me to be strong.

Sarah and her mother Samantha walk around the corner, Sarah sees me and runs right into my arms. She is just as heartbroken as I am. Her best friend is missing, after finding out Sarah was okay after the accident we thought our pain, our fear was gone.

“I am so sorry this is happening Kim. Is there any news?” Samatha gives me a short hug.

“No, not yet.” Just as I was saying that the security guard for the hospital and a police officer walk up.

“We have looked through all of the footage from the hospital around the time Adeline went missing. It seems like the man who took her knew where the cameras were placed. We couldn’t get a look at his face, and we lost track of them once he reached the basement floor of the hospital. But we have a lead.” That’s it. A lead, that all I needed to hear. There is hope. Samantha puts her hand on my shoulder, Sarah hugs me tighter and Mark grabs my hand.

“What is the lead?” I need to know.

“We got footage of a car leaving the parking lot from the direction of the basement loading dock. It is a dark suburban, only got the last three letters of the license plate, FLS.

“Did you say dark suburban?” I stand up straight, which leads to Sarah letting go, she looks straight at the police officer, has she seen it too?

“Yes, have you seen it before?” He takes his notepad out.

“Yes I have, it was following me back from the hospital after Adeline’s accident.” That is why she wanted me to stop, has it followed her before?

“That suburban was up the street from the coffee shop Sarah had her date at. Plus she has been getting these weird texts from an unknown number, ever since graduation.” Why hasn’t Adeline told me about this? “And, She got a note in her diploma booklet.”

“Do you know what it said?” Officer Turner had been writing notes like crazy, he needed every detail to help him.

“Something about her life is going to change? I’m not really sure I didn’t get a good look at it, but the note and texts really freaked her out.”

Why didn’t she tell me? She always comes to me. I don’t know what I did wrong to make her keep this a secret. I could have helped. This could’ve never happened to my Adeline.