Authors: Sandi Perry
"It
makes
sense
to
me.
You
know
the
job
you
did
at
the
company
wasn't
half
bad.
Your
father
would
have
been
proud
of
you,
if
he
was
capable
of
feelings
like
that."
Allison
recoiled
from
that
as
if
she'd
been
slapped.
"I
knew
about
the
clause
in
the
contract
in
the
event
of
Daniel's
death,
and
I
was
hoping
you
would
stay
on
as
CEO.
I
knew
I
could
handle
you;
you're
a
girl,
after
all.
But
Alex,
well,
he's
as
smart
and
savvy
as
they
come.
Once
I
read
that
email
about
the
upcoming
announcement,
I
knew
I
had
no
choice
but
to
get
you
up
here."
"But
I
never
announced
who
was
getting
the
job."
"We
all
knew
you
were
sleeping
with
Alex,
it
was
the
natural
conclusion.
Good-bye
Allison,
make
sure
to
say
hi
to
your
Dad
for
me."
Allison
closed
her
eyes
against
the
waves
of
panic
that
threatened
to
overwhelm
her.
When
she
opened
them,
she
saw
that
a
sliver
of
moonlight
was
beginning
to
seep
into
the
windowed
room.
She
strained
to
see
what
Paul
was
doing,
but
couldn't
make
him
out.
She
frantically
looked
around
the
room
for
anything
to
cut
off
her
bindings,
but
came
up
empty,
and
she
was
starting
to
fade
out
again.
She remembered sitting with her grandfather on the porch one morning, him telling her,
"Allison, my sweetie-pie, there will always be somebody who tries to push you down, but you don't let them. You fight. You always fight!"
She nodded solemnly as her grandmother came bursting through the door, "Simon, what are you saying to her? She's a child!"
"She has to know the way of the world. She must be prepared!"
"Mamaleh, come with me, the blueberry pie is ready and I need you to tell me if it's sweet enough."
Allison
shook
herself
awake.
Her
grandfather's
words
were
playing
in
a
loop
in
her
head.
She
fought
to
stay
awake.
Paul
was
gone.
She
inched
over
to
where
she
had
noticed
a
small
patch
of
sunlight
coming
through
the
back
wall
earlier
in
the
day.
She
laid
her
nose
down
to
it
as
close
as
she
could
get
and
breathed
deeply.
The
flames
flickered,
casting
eerie
shadows
on
the
walls.
Breathing
was
getting
more
difficult,
but
she
heard
the
promising
sounds
of
sirens
in
the
distance.
Before
she
could
hope
again,
the
smoke
overtook
her.
Allison
felt
something
weighing
down
her
arm.
Panic
overwhelmed
her;
she
was
aware
of
a
beeping
machine
that
seemed
to
grow
more
insistent.
She
tried
to
open
her
eyes
and
fought
against
the
waves
of
nausea
that
threatened
to
overwhelm
her.
With
a
great
effort,
she
finally
opened
her
eyes
a
fraction.
Her
mother's
worried
face
peered
into
hers.
"Allison,
sweetheart,
you're
safe,"
she
whispered
as
she
patted
her
arm.
She
closed
her
eyes
in
relief
and
sank
back
into
oblivion.
A
short
time
later,
she
woke
up
again
and
reached
for
her
throat
with
her
free
hand.
She
was
dismayed
to
feel
the
oxygen
tube
feeding
into
her
nose.
It
was
terribly
uncomfortable,
and
she
wanted
to
pull
it
out
but
her
need
for
water
for
her
parched
throat
was
more
urgent.
Her
mother
recognized
her
gesture
and
hurriedly
offered
her
a
cup
of
cool
refreshing
water.
"You
have
to
sip
slowly,
you
don't
want
to
choke."
Allison
took
one
last
pull
on
the
straw
and
sank
gratefully
back
onto
the
pillow.
"What
day
is
it?
What
happened?
Where
am
I?"
she
whispered.
"One
thing
at
a
time,"
her
mother
responded.
"You're
in
a
hospital
in
Maine,
it's
Friday
morning,
and
you're
safe.
That's
all
you
need
to
know
for
now."
She
started
to
shake
her
head
but
quickly
realized
that
was
a
bad
idea.
"I'm
going
to
tell
her."
A
voice
floated
toward
her
from
somewhere
in
back
of
the
room—it
sounded
like
Alex.
She
turned
toward
him
and
tears
sprang
to
her
eyes.
Her
reaction
startled
her.
She
had
thought
she
would
never
see
him
again
when
she
had
blacked
out.
"I'll
tell
you
briefly
what
happened.
Detective
Fitzsimmons
called
the
office
Thursday
afternoon
looking
for
you.
Natalya
told
him
you
were
set
to
arrive
later
that
day.
He
said
he
would
try
you
on
your
cell,"
Alex
said.
"She
thought
nothing
further
of
it
until
later
in
the
day
when
she
realized
you
had
never
shown
up.
I
stopped
by
her
desk,
and
she
asked
me
if
I
had
any
idea
where
you
were
because
the
police
had
been
trying
to
reach
you.
I
called
Emily
and
she
said
you
had
left
the
gallery
hours
before
to
come
into
the
office.
I
got
a
real
bad
feeling
about
it
and
called
your
mother
to
see
if
she
had
heard
from
you."