Song: "Bring Me Back To Life" by Evanescence

Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold ... until you find it there and lead it back home ...

Henry ordered maximum security at the hotel that night. There was a guard at every possible entrance. And once morning arrived, we cut our trip short and headed straight to Chicago.

After using the restroom in the plane, I walked back to my seat, only to find Henry awake now and looking out the window in deep thought. He hadn't slept a wink at all last night, his mind concentrating on something he wouldn't divulge to me.

I wondered what he was thinking about. My hand reached over for his arm, and I leaned my head onto his shoulder.

His face turned down to me, and he smiled.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes, I was just ... thinking about some things."

"Can you tell me then?"

"When we get back to Chicago, I have a safe place for us to go."

"What do you mean, Henry?"

"We can't go back home. Not yet. It's too dangerous for us, especially you."

"Henry—"

"I don't want you to get hurt, Ally."

"We can't hide forever. They're going to find us one way or another. They found us all the way across the ocean. By hiding, it's just showing them that we're afraid. We can't do that. Please ... can we just go home?"

Henry stayed silent, contemplating my request. I could tell it he was having a hard time. "Alright ... we'll go home." He wasn't too happy about the decision. "But I've got to take extra measures."

"That's fine with me. Do what you have to."

When we landed at O'hare in the evening, we were met by a few black vehicles. They were the bodyguards Henry had hired to accompany us home.

The SUV pulled up to our house an hour later and like the trip home, there were bodyguards in black suits stationed around the house everywhere, front, back, sides. Wherever anyone could get into the house. Cameras were installed at each and every corner of the whole house.

It felt like a prison.

I didn't like the feeling of being heavily guarded twenty-four seven, but if it was going to make Henry feel more at ease, then I had to deal with it. It was me who wanted to be home.

After showering and changing into pajamas, I noticed Henry wasn't in bed when I walked into the bedroom.

Wandering around for my husband, I found him in his office, staring intently into his laptop, talking to someone on the mic.

"I have to go now. I'll talk to you in the morning." He closed his laptop as I padded over to his desk.

"Are you coming to bed?" I walked up to him and sat down on his lap, my hands moving up to his shoulders.

"Not yet, honey. You go ahead without me. I've got to sort some things out tonight, so I'll be turning in late."

"Don't work too hard. You haven't slept much in the last few hours. I don't like seeing you stressed like this."

"I know."

"Do you have any leads?"

"We have a few persons of interests, but it's turning out to be a much bigger situation than I imagined, both business and personal matters."

"Business and personal?" I asked worriedly, wondering what Henry meant.

"It turns out some people I know ... aren't who they really are. That's as much as I can divulge to you, honey."

"That's okay." I kissed his cheek and bade him a good night before leaving him alone to his work.

After climbing into bed and pulling the duvet over me, I looked toward Henry's empty side.

From what I could tell, my husband didn't want to tell me everything he knew, and I wasn't sure why. It was probably for my safety I didn't know all the confidential details.

Maybe Henry was afraid I wouldn't be able to accept it.

I thought back to Henry's words. "Some people I know aren't who they really are."

But what if it wasn't me they were after?

What if it was ... Henry?

I couldn't fall asleep that night. My mind couldn't shake off the idea of Henry getting hurt. It terrorized me just thinking about it.

Who would want to hurt Henry?

The time ticked 2 a.m. and my eyes finally became heavy.

.....

Looking down at my feet, the warm sand between my toes, I found myself standing on a beach.

I looked up and stared at the fading sun in the beautiful horizon, noticing the silhouette of a man standing on the white deck with his back to me.

He, too, was staring out at the orange sunset.

A smile spread on my face.

I knew him.

I had seen this man countless times in my dreams.

But the smile on my face slowly disappeared when I noticed him walking on the dock to the the white boat waiting at the end.

"Henry!" I yelled at the top of my lungs to get his attention, but it had no effect on him. "Henry, wait for me!"

"Ally."

"Henry!"

Immediately, I woke up from the melancholy dream to the real Henry sitting beside me.

I launched myself up from the bed and clung onto him, afraid to let him go, afraid he would disappear from my sight just like in my nightmare.

I breathed heavily in and out, trying to catch my breaths and calm my heartbeats down.

The thought of losing Henry tormented me so much. I couldn't bare it.

Even when he was in front of me, holding me in his embrace, it wasn't enough to rid my mind of that dreadful possibility.

The more I thought about it, the more I became paranoid. I had a bad feeling in my gut that my dreams were telling me something else, something darker, and I didn't want to know what that was.

At the corner of my eyes, I saw the yellow bold numbers on the clock — 3:45 a.m.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Henry gently asked, his arms tight around me.

"Yes," I uttered, still shaking as I held onto Henry. "It was disturbing even though the setting was so beautiful."

He released me, staring into my eyes in the dark room, holding gently onto my hands. "Tell me about."

"I—I was yelling your name ... for you to turn around to face me ... but you didn't. You kept on walking ... to the white boat. When I lost my father, and also our baby, I had that same dream. I'm afraid, that—"

He softly placed a hand behind my neck, consoling me. "That something bad is going to happen to me," he finished my thought.

I nodded. "I always fear of losing you ... forever."

"The same fear runs in my mind toward you." He kissed my forehead.

"Promise me, you'll take care of yourself."

He nodded. "It's only a dream. It's not real, baby." His hand caressed my as he smiled. "I'm here right now. There's nothing to be afraid of."

I faintly smiled before sinking back into his arms, hearing his heart beat close to my ear. "Did you just come to bed?"

"Yes, sorry being late. I just finished with a phone call regarding some matters."

"What matters?" I looked at him for answer.

"Work matters, but you don't have to worry about it, okay?"

"Alright, if you say so. I'll try not to, but—I can't help it if I do."

"I know." Henry slipped under the silk duvet cover and held me in his arms.

I laid my head near his warm, safe chest and closed my eyes, feeling a relief of comfort for the first time tonight.

But a corner of my mind still felt uneasy.

Henry left a kiss on my forehead before I drifted back to sleep in his arms.

.....

When I woke up in the morning, I realized this morning was different than the others before.

I felt it inside, and a sadness overcame me.

Nana was no longer downstairs cooking in the kitchen, no longer sitting in the living room watching television.

She was no longer here.

Henry was fixing his tie in front of the mirror.

I got out of bed and walked over to where he was standing. My hands snaked around his waist, and I leaned onto his back.

"I miss her," I told him. I buried my face onto the back of his shirt.

"I miss her, too."

"Are you going into the office this morning?" I asked.

"There's a meeting this morning I have be present for." Henry turned around to face me, my hands still locked around his waist. He leaned down and kissed my lips softly. "And then I'm having dinner with Nick later."

"What about me? Why didn't he invite me?"

"Sorry, he only invited me."

"Can I come, too?" I asked.

"Are you sure about it?"

"Of course, I'll be on my best behavior."

Henry lightly chuckled. "I think it's best if you stay home, honey."

"Please. I'll do whatever you say."

Henry thought about it for a while. "It's too dangerous for you."

"And isn't it for you, too?" I challenged. "Don't you know how worried I am when you're not with me?"

Henry pulled me into his arms. "I know. But I can't risk you getting hurt. Please, Ally."

"Alright."

Henry had breakfast with me and left shortly for the office escorted by a few security guards.

God, please let him be safe. Every thought of him getting hurt unsettled my mind and left me apprehensive. I felt like texting him every hour just know know he was still breathing.

After Henry left, I walked around the house, looking something to do. I needed a project to distract me from my own thoughts.

My feet found their way to Nana's room, and involuntarily my eyes became watery, knowing she was not inside.

I slowly opened the unlocked door to her empty bedroom. Her bed was still nicely made. Her clothes still hanging in her closet.

On the nightstand were photos of Henry's family with Nana.

I smiled upon their memories.

Studying the pictures, an idea popped into my head. I recalled the room full of portraits that I stumbled upon, the one that held the portraits of Henry's family.

I forgot about it up until now when I saw these photos Nana had on her nightstand.

I went back to the room and searched around for tools to put up the portraits around the house. I found them in one of the dusty drawers that must not have been opened for years.

I hoped Henry wouldn't get mad because of this. It was long enough these portraits were in storage; it was time they were brought back out.

It was Henry's family.

I didn't want him to forget them.

I grabbed a small frame of the four family members with the tools and walked out of the room to find a place for it.

I found a good spot for the photos in the hallway on the first floor.

After securing the nail into the wall with the hammer, I held up the portrait to hang it. I steadied the frame, trying to find the hook, but it slipped out from my hands and fell onto the floor.

The glass shattered on the marbled floor as I watched in shock. I quickly cleaned up the mess, careful not to leave any shards of glass, and continued hanging up the rest of the frames.

After the pictures were hung up in the hallway, the house seemed more livelier than it was before.

I couldn't wait for Henry to see it.

By the time night rolled around, he still hadn't returned back home from dinner with Nick.

Maybe he was held up with something. But the time was already ten and he would've called to let me know not to wait up for him. It was very unlikely him.

I didn't want to be worry about him, but I couldn't help it. It was a natural instinct.

Sitting on the bed, I snagged my phone from the nightstand and dialed Henry's number.

The phone rang with no answer and went to straight to voicemail. I called again and it went to voicemail again.

Where are you, Henry? Please call me once you get this. I'm worried about you. I left the message after the fifth time calling with no pickup.

Holding my iPhone tightly in my hands, I decided to dial Nick, in case my husband was still with him.

"Hello, Ally."

"Nick, sorry to bother you this late. Is Henry with you? He's not home yet. I'm just a little worried where he could be."

"No, he isn't. He said he had to go back to the office to do something. He hasn't come home yet?"

"No. I thought he would be home by now." My phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number. "Hey Nick, somebody's calling me. Thanks for your help."

"Okay, let me know when he does come home."

"I will." I hung up the line and accepted the unknown call. Hopefully, it was from Henry from someone's else phone number. "Hello, who is this?"

I could feel my heart beating, anticipating the voice of the person.

"Ally, this is a Victoria."

"Victoria, what's going on?"

Her voice seemed different, as if she was worried and anxious. "Ally, listen to me—Henry—Henry's in danger. Grave danger. You need to help him."

"In danger? What do you mean?"

"It's has to do with my father. I don't have the details, but he's taken Henry. You need to help him."

"Tell me where my husband is."

"I'll message you the location. Come as quickly as you can."

I hung up the line, and a text message popped up from my phone with the place screenshotted by Victoria. 

What if she was lying to me? 

It couldn't be, I tried to convinced myself.

She was changed now. She had to be telling the truth. 

If Henry truly was in trouble, Victoria wouldn't lie about this.

As adrenaline surged through me, I made a quick plan. I snatched my phone and keys, and turned off the lights so the guards thought I was going to sleep.

I wanted to call Nick right away and alert him, but there wasn't time, I had to go through the guards first. Instead, I quickly forwarded the place to him with the text message, Henry's in danger.

With security at every corner outside the house, I snuck quietly from the house to the garage using the side door. Luckily, the guard went to check out some noise around the corner and I recognized it as my chance to run.

Once inside the garage, I quickly got inside the black Mercedes Benz and pressed the buttons for the garage and gate doors to open at the same time. As the doors opened half way enough for the car to fit through, I slammed on the gas and swerve out of the driveway to the street. 

I didn't care if Henry told me to stay out. I wasn't going to risk him getting hurt.

I sped down the freeway as fast as I could before the security guards could catch up.

Each second passed by excruciatingly hard, but I had to focus and keep calm.

I needed to save him.

When I got to the location Victoria gave me, I turned off my lights. There was an old, worn down warehouse down the street with a three cars parked on the side, two black SUVs and a white car.

It was dark so I couldn't make out much of the area, but I could tell the place looks abandoned and hadn't been used for a very long time.

I found a hiding spot to parked the car near the forest and quickly got out of the car with my phone in my hand, quietly walking to the warehouse, careful not to make any noise or draw attention to my arrival.

My heart beats increased the closer I got while my hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.

God, help me.

I tip toed along the side of the building and heard voices. When I made it to the edge, I slowly peeked out to catch a glimpse of the scene.

My heart dropped.