Theo's gaze was on the papers in front of him but he didn't see any of the words typed in blank ink. He was in a meeting with the manager of the hotel Mort Quincy. Short with a stocky build, he put the fear of God in the other employees ensuring a meticulous working environment. For the past hour, he had been going through the figures and suggesting new ideas but everything he said went in Theo's one ear and out the other.

"Mr Sullivan? Sir?" he placed his hand on Theo's arm. He jerked upright then looked at him like he hadn't realized the man was still there. "Pardon me for asking but are you okay? I don't think you've heard what I said at all"

"Do me a favor" Theo snapped standing up.

"Anything sir"

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't know what you were doing. I trust that you have good judgement and won't let me down. So only come to me when you need my signature. Otherwise don't bother me at all"

"But sir what about all these new plans? You have to approve of them before we go ahead with.... "

Theo cut him off "Then Fucking do it. Signatures Quincy. Don't forget that" he propelled his chair around blocking the man out and signaling the end of the meeting. Mort got up and shuffled outside. His boss was definitely getting worse. Just a few weeks ago, the man had been smiling from ear to ear then three weeks ago he came in looking like he had stayed up all night. If he had to guess he'd say woman problems. Not that he hadn't heard the rumors going around about how shameless his wife was. He forbade the staff from gossiping but he couldn't watch them every second of the day. Poor man. Mort only hoped that Theo solved whatever problem he had soon. If not then it would be up to him to keep the hotel running smoothly. After all Marcus had taught him everything he knew.

Theo felt like his life was meaningless. He had been stupid to think he didn't feel anything for Eleanor. The second he'd seen her, something had changed. Instead of turning that change for the better, he'd made it worse. What had he been thinking, recruiting his friend like that only to become jealous and claim Eleanor before telling him? They could have solved their differences somewhere else then when he was sure Eleanor wouldn't be hurt by his actions told her the truth. Why couldn't he have done that? His phone vibrated in his pocket. He wanted to ignore it but what if it was important? Or Eleanor? Taking it out, his hopes evaporated when he saw Brad's name flashing on it. If his brother wasn't keeping an eye on Marjorie, Theo would have ignored him. Swiping right he asked "What!"

"I can't find Marjorie anywhere" Brad said frantically.

Theo shot up from his chair "What the Fuck do you mean you can't find Marjorie?"

"Bridget tried to leave with her but I caught her and we got into an argument. Marj was sitting on the stairs but when I looked up she was gone. I've searched for her everywhere but she's not here"

"Dammit Brad. I gave you one task. Look after her when am at work. How hard is that?"

"Theo.... "

"How long ago did she disappear?"

"An hour give or take. The staff are still looking for her but I don't think she's here"

Theo left his office grabbing his keys. "Clearly she's not if you can't find her. Where would she go Brad?" he asked desperately

"I think she went to find Eleanor"

"WHAT? She's seven. Where would she start looking for her?"

"I don't know. But she kept telling Bridget she didn't want to go with her and that she wanted to wait for Ella. She believes Eleanor will still come back"

"Fuck! Am on my way." he said crossing the lobby of the hotel in a hurry. If Marjorie didn't turn up soon he was going to kill Bridget. God help her but he was going to strangle the life out of her should any harm come to his daughter.

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Bridget packed her bags in hurry. She was so sick and tired of everyone in that house. They had been moping around for three weeks just because that Fucking bitch had left. And worse Theo had served her with divorce papers last week. Who the heck did he think he was? Did he think she would accept the measly amount of money he offered her in the settlement? Son of a bitch. She would die before she took the cheap change he threw her way. It was half or nothing. And Marjorie would help her get what she wanted. Thank God she'd gotten pregnant even though it wasn't planned. She had wanted to have an abortion but Neil, her lover at the time had made her see how she could take advantage of the situation. He was the one who'd told her she would get whatever she wanted if Theo knew she was carrying his baby. But then the moron had left her when she'd gotten fat saying she was ugly and that soon her breasts would sag due to breastfeeding. How she'd been satisfied with the look on his face when she'd met him a year later after giving birth.

She'd worked her ass off at the gym and she looked even better than before. And she had a new man on her arm too. She was proud for proving him wrong. Now Theo was another case. He didn't want her but he complained when she found someone else to satisfy her needs. Whatever he wanted, she didn't know but she was tired of trying to figure it out. She was going to leave and take her daughter with her. That little brat will be her insurance policy. Theo would do anything for Marjorie therefore what she demanded in the name of Marjorie she would get. "Get up we're leaving" she said entering Marjorie's room. She was lying in bed with the dog which by the way wasn't coming with them.

"Where are we going?" she asked getting up. Bridget pulled her tiny suitcase from the wardrobe and started throwing clothes in there.

"Far away from here. Hurry up and help me pack"

"Is daddy coming?"

"No. It's just the two of us this time now stop asking me stupid questions and find your shoes" ugh how annoying she was. If she didn't need the money her father was going to give them, Bridget would leave her behind.

"Then am not going with you. I wanna stay with daddy and Ella"

Bridget grabbed her arm "Listen to me you little shit. You will do as I say or I will be forced to hurt you. Don't test my patience" she let go of her and Marjorie stumbled back almost falling. Artie barked at Bridget but she just zipped up the suitcase then dragged Marjorie outside. When the little girl went to take Artie Bridget slapped her hands away from the dog. "Don't even think about it. He stays"

Marjorie cried all the way down the stairs saying she wanted to stay with Ella but Bridget wasn't hearing any of it. At the bottom, they bumped into Brad and Bridget wanted to scream in frustration. Just her bad luck.

"Where the heck do you think you're going?"

"Get out of my way Bradley. I don't have time for this"

"Let go of her" he said indicating to Marjorie. When Bridget didn't comply, he twisted her other wrist until she dropped Marjorie's hand. "Sit right here Marj. Your mom and I are going to talk" he said then pulled her a few feet away from Marjorie. "What the Fuck is wrong with you Bridget?"

"Let go of me. She's my daughter and I can leave with her if I want to."

"Like hell you can. If you want to leave then do so but Marjorie isn't going anywhere with you" he finally dropped her wrist and she rubbed it with her other hand itching to slap him.

"You can't tell me what to do. Now get out of my way. Marjorie let's go" Bridget turned only to find out they were alone. "Marjorie?" where did she go now? That child needed some sense knocked into her. She went back upstairs to her room but it was empty. Not even the stupid dog was there. "Marjorie! I swear to God if you don't come here right this second you'll regret when I find you. Marjorie!" Bridget yelled all over the house but she didn't show up. She saw the panic on Brad's face when he realized she hadn't found Marjorie. Bridget inched downstairs slowly pretending she was looking for her daughter. The second Brad turned around, she hurried towards the front door. She was going to be long gone before Theo found out she attempted to flee with their daughter. Later she would hatch a plan to get back what was hers.

----------------------

Marjorie walked with Artie beside her like the loyal companion he was. She was determined to find Ella because she didn't want to leave with her mother. While she'd argued with uncle Brad, she had rushed upstairs, taken Artie, her music box, the doll her father gave her on her birthday and the bracelet Ella made for her. She always told her not to leave the house without it in case she got lost. It was made of tiny cubes with numbers written on it. She didn't know what they were but she wasn't going to leave it behind. Taking Artie, she tiptoed downstairs where uncle Brad was still arguing with her mother. They didn't even see her sneak past them. She kept walking not knowing where she was going.

At some point she got tired and decided to rest. She sat by the road watching as people and cars passed her. It was cold the sun having disappeared. "Come on Artie. Let's go" she said burying her tiny hands in his fur and scratching him. They kept walking until it turned dark and even then they didn't stop. She was determined to find Ella but now she couldn't see ahead. A car stopped beside her and a man got out. "Hey where are you going?" he asked looking from her to Artie and back.

"Am looking for my friend but I can't find her" she said tears welling in her eyes. She didn't want to admit it but she was scared.

"Do you know where your friend is? I can take you there" she shook her head no. The man scratched his neck. "Okay get in. I'll take you to the police. They are known to find missing people" Marjorie wiped the tears on her face and got in the car after Artie. The man got in and started driving. After a few minutes he asked "What's your name girl"

"Marjorie"

"Okay Marjorie. What is your friend's name?"

"Ella."

"Did she tell you where she was going?"

"No" Marjorie said then started crying again.

"Don't cry. I said I'll take you to the police and they will find your friend for you. Now will you please stop crying?"

"Promise?" she asked sniffing.

"Yes I promise." the rest of the drive was silent. At the police station they stopped one officer and the man explained what was going on.

"And did she tell you who this friend is or where she lives?" The police man asked.

"No. Just that her name was Ella." they both looked down at her and Artie then the cop went to the reception desk. He asked if any missing cases were filed today and when the man behind the desk said no, he came back to where they were standing.

"No missing cases were filed today so she'll have to spend  the night here until tomorrow. Maybe her parents don't even know she's missing yet." the cop said scratching his chin.

"I can't just leave her here." the driver protested.

"Then take her home and bring her back tomorrow because there's really not much we can do until someone has reported her missing" they turned again, looking at Marjorie who lifted her left hand to scratch her brow. The cop noticed her bracelet and grabbed her arm. "What's this?"

She tried to jerk her hand away "It's mine. Let go"

"Easy. I won't take it away. Am just looking at it" he said studying the numbers. Looking back at the man who brought her he said "I think it's a phone number. See the first three numbers?" he pulled her hand closer so the other man could see.

"Yeah. Should we call?"

"It wouldn't hurt to try." the cop said already having taken his phone out. He dialed the number and he smiled when the call went through.

"Hello?" a groggy voice asked from the other end.

"Yes hi. Who am I talking to?"

"You're the one who called me. Who are you?"

"Am a police officer and am standing next to a girl of about six or seven years old. She says her name is.... Marjorie" he said after the other man told him. "Do you by any chance know her?"

He heard shuffling then "Yes. Yes I know her. What happened? Why is she there?"

"A man found her walking on the streets alone with her dog. He brought her here"

"Oh my God. Where is she? Which police station, I'll come get her"

"I can driver her there. Just ask for the address" the other man added before the cop could reply. They wrote down the address and the police escorted them outside happy to have solved this case. At least 8 million kids go missing per year worldwide. While some are found, this cases can take months or years sometimes to solve them. Having found this child's parents so quick was actually a blessing. The bracelet that kid was wearing should be legalized, making it necessary for every parent out there to buy their children one. It would certainly make their work easier.

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So who do you think that number belonged to? Make a wild guess 😉

Fun fact: The bracelet Marjorie is wearing actually exists. I think all parents should buy their kids one.

Now let's Vote, comment, share then wait anxiously for tomorrow. I smell drama