Cassie gripped the phone tightly as she frantically dialed Blaine's number yet again, even though she knew it would do no good. The last five times it had gone straight to voicemail. She knew she needed to be rational and relax, but she was a bundle of nerves and her feelings of anxiety were growing more intense. Desperate, she looked up the number to Reese's law office and called, but there was no answer.
She tossed down the phone in frustration and paced the floor. She couldn't stay here and do nothing. She couldn't push down these feelings that were overtaking her and put on a good face for the children. There was only one thing left to do.
She picked up the phone and dialed. As it rang, she begged silently, "Please answer." If she didn't get through she was sure she was going to end up doing something reckless.
"Hello."
The sound of the voice on the other end filled her with relief. "Can you come over?"
* * * * *
"Did you hear anything?" Joey asked Brooke as she returned back to her room after listening in on her mom from the hallway.
"No," she said with a frown as she quietly closed the door behind her. "She was talking to someone, but I couldn't hear."
"Do you think your dad is going to come home?"
"Of course he will! I'm going to make sure of it."
"How?"
Brooke reached under her bed and pulled out a thick book with a plain brown cover. It had no visible title on the outside and it looked old and worn. "My Gram got me this for my birthday. It's a book of spells."
Joey looked skeptical. "Get serious."
"I am. All of the women in my family have special powers," she declared as she reverently traced her fingers over the designs on the cover of the book. "I'm going to find something in here to get my parents back together and get rid of anyone who might split my family up."
She looked up at Joey and grinned. "Want to help?"
* * * * *
"Okay, this is it," Scot announced as they reached the alley at the side of the building. The others dropped the bags they were carrying.
Vince fidgeted, feeling a chill in the fall night air. He stood back from the others, eager for an opportunity to leave. "This is it? Then I can head out now?"
"Do you even know where we are?" Scot asked, raising his arms in the air as he turned to face Vince. "That building is my father's law office," he said pointing to the building next to them. "The thing he loves most in the world, next to maybe money. It could have been my inheritance one day and the money that it made," he scoffed. "But the old man would rather see me rot on the streets. Instead he can watch this place burn."
He reached into the bag and lifted out a bottle with a fuse while grabbing a lighter out of his pocket with his other hand.
"Thanks to your skill at forging his signature and my hacking skills. I got mine whether he wanted me to or not. All that's left is to get rid of the evidence." He started to light the fuse, then paused to look at Vince. He held out the lighter and the bottle. "You want to do the honors?"
Vince took a step back and shook his head. "No, no way. I helped you with the signatures, but this- this is way too far. I'm out."
Scot shrugged. "Suit yourself." He lit the bottle and threw it at one of the front windows of the building. As the bottle crashed through the window and exploded in flames, his buddies cheered.
* * * * *
Blaine leaned back from the laptop, raising his hands from the keyboard. "That's it, we've got it." He smiled at his daughter and was about to speak when there was a sudden crash and shattering of glass.
* * * * *
In the alley, the boys' cheers were abruptly cut short when they heard someone scream.
"Wait? Did that come from inside?" one of them asked nervously.
Scot went pale and quiet. "No one was supposed to be there. I swear."
"Oh man. Oh man!" he started to panic. "We've got to get out of here! Quick before someone sees us and calls the cops!"
As the three took off running, Vince wanted nothing more than to run away too, but his eyes were transfixed on the building. Someone was inside and he couldn't just leave them, could he?
He stepped closer to the building, looking into the windows as he made his way around the corner of the building. When he recognized a face at the window, he couldn't believe it.
It was Natalie.
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