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  “Maddie, it will be okay. We’ll figure this all out,” Grandpa said sympathetically. I know he was just trying to make me feel better, but I didn't believe he could actually do anything about it.

  Through all the sobs I said “This is all my fault. I’m so sorry. Are they putting you in jail?”

  We all turned and looked at Sam, who was standing by the door.

  “I just got off the phone with the boss and he said that at this time there is no proof of any wrongdoing on your part.” He was looking at my grandparents. “So, you are free to go for now. However, the case is still being investigated and if we find anything suspicious on your part, you will be charged.” He didn’t mince words.

  With smiles on our faces, we all got up to go and started heading for the door.

  “Hold on a sec,” Sam said as he put his right hand out in front of him like a crossing guard would do when he had precious little feet crossing his street. “The girl isn’t going with you.”

  “What? What are you talking about? Yes I am.” I knew I looked scared then.

  “No, you have to go with your parents. That’s the law,” Sam answered. He seemed sympathetic, but what could he do? He didn’t make the laws.

  Grandma and Grandpa had very worried looks on their faces. “Why can’t she come back home with us? We have raised her most of her life. We love her and want her to stay with us,” Grandma asked.

  “I understand, Mrs. Harris, but it’s not up to me. They are her parents and they have the right to take her home. You aren’t legally anything to her. I’m really sorry.” He did seem sincere.

  “No, I don’t want to go with them. They’re strangers to me. I want to go back home, to my room and school and friends. Please don’t make me go,” I pleaded.

  “Sorry, but you have no choice. I’ll give you a few minutes to say good-bye. I’ll go update your parents and let them know that you will be ready in a few minutes.” Sam really seemed to sympathize with us. But I knew it wasn’t up to him.

  I had no response. I knew I had no choice but to go with them. Tears started streaming down my face again. Sam walked out the door and closed it behind him.

  “I don’t wanna go,” I cried, devastated. My grandparents were the only real parents I knew. I didn’t think I could survive without them.

  “We know. But I don’t think we can do anything about it,” Grandpa said. I could see a tear welling up in his eye. That just broke my heart. “I talked to our attorney and he is looking into it, but said we have to let you go until this whole mess is straightened out.” He didn’t look confident that anything was going to change.

  “Sweetie, we will try to get you back, I promise,” Grandma said. I think she was determined not to cry, to be strong in front of me. She turned her head away from me to dig in her purse a couple of times. She wasn’t fooling anyone.

  “I’m going to miss you. Do you think they will let me call you?” I could barely speak between the sobs.

  “I don’t know. Hopefully they will. We will try to call you and come visit, if possible. I’m sure we can keep in touch somehow,” Grandma replied. She didn’t seem so sure.

  “Okay. I guess I have no choice,” I said sadly, realizing that I really had none.

  After that, we just sat there hugging, not knowing when we would see each other again. Even my grandparents’ faces were teary. We chatted a little, but mostly we sat there in silence.

  The door to the interrogation room suddenly opened and startled all three of us.

  “Okay guys, I’m sorry, but it’s time to go.” Sam motioned all of us toward the door.

  We reluctantly got up and walked slowly toward the door. My grandparents both held my hands as we walked down the hall. I felt like I was being led to the slaughter. When Adam and Sarah saw us, they stood up. They looked at my grandparents holding my hands and Adam walked toward us.

  “Take your hands off my daughter,” Adam said to them. My grandparents ignored him and held on tight. “I can’t believe they aren’t putting you pathetic people in jail.”

  “Stop it!” I yelled. “This is not their fault. They didn’t know.”

  “Madison, you are very young and naive. There is no way they couldn’t have known,” He almost yelled back at me.

  “Mr. Tyler,” my grandmother interjected, “we are very sorry that our daughter kidnapped Madison so long ago. But, she is right, we had no idea. Had we known, we would have reported it immediately. We would never knowingly keep someone else’s child. We aren’t those kinds of people.” Grandma stood her ground. I was never more proud of her.

  I let go of Grandpa’s hand and hugged her tight. She seemed to have calmed everyone down. Adam backed off a bit. Grandma calmed down after a minute and I let go of her.

  “Let’s go,” Adam said and took my arm. I jerked it away, for like the hundredth time that day.

  “Why does everyone think it’s okay to grab my arm whenever they feel like it?” I snapped at him.

  “Sorry,” he replied and lowered his hands to his sides.

  I turned and hugged my grandparents again. “I love you and I’ll see you soon,” I promised. “Please tell Charlie what’s going on and I’ll call him when I can.” They said they would.

  I walked out of the police station with my new parents. Since I had no choice in the matter, I vowed to myself that I would try to make it work. I was almost 16, so I only had two years until I could do what I wanted anyway. Not such a long time, I would survive. Though I wasn’t so sure of that at the moment.

  “Can we stop by my house to pick up my stuff?” I asked, hopefully. It would give me one more chance to see my grandparents and maybe Charlie. I desperately wanted to see Charlie. He was the only person in the world that ’got me.’

  “Sorry, we have already made arrangements to have one of the staff get everything for you tomorrow,” Sarah replied.

  “One of the staff? You have staff? How rich are you?”

  “You’ll see.” I saw her smile.

  Chapter 5

  The drive to their house was a couple of hours and I sat in the back seat mostly in silence. Adam and Sarah tried to talk to me, but I didn’t want to talk. I was in pain and it hurt more than anyone could imagine. I couldn’t call them my parents just yet, I wasn’t ready for that. I was afraid I was never going to see my grandparents or Charlie ever again. Or at least until my 18th birthday anyway. That seemed so far away.

  “Where do you live, anyway?” I finally asked. I didn’t really want to talk to them, but I figured I was going to have to sooner or later. I kind of needed to know where I was going to live. I didn’t know if they had moved away, or were still in the same place that I was born in.

  “In Ashford. Do you know where that is?” Sarah asked me.

  “No,” I lied. I had already looked it up on the internet when I found out I had been kidnapped from there. It seemed like a nice place. Just another small town on the east coast, like the one I lived in. Though my house was a little further inland than theirs.

  “It’s on the coast, really not that far from where you were living,” she told me.

  “Can I go visit my grandparents sometime?” I asked with hopefulness in my voice. Even before they answered, I just knew what they would say. This was not going to be easy and I knew it.

  “I don’t know. We’ll see,” Adam replied. The tone in his voice sounded a lot like ‘No way in hell are you going to go see those kidnappers, ever.’

  I sat back in the seat and didn’t say another word until we arrived. It was late in the afternoon and I was shocked at how big the grounds were. I couldn’t see another house nearby. We were driving up a long, tree lined driveway. It was beautiful. There were stables and white fences and horses everywhere. I could see several people walking around working with the horses. It was really nice.

  “Is this all your land?” I asked incredulously. Maybe I wasn’t as hard to read as I thought I was.

  “Yes, it’s all ours…and yours,” Sara
h replied. “We have a horse breeding ranch. Our horses have won all the big races,” Sarah told me. “Do you like horses?”

  “I don’t know, I’ve never been on one.” I have to admit that the prospect of riding a horse for the first time intrigued me.

  “Really? Well, we will have to change that,” She told me. Though all I could see was the back of her head, I heard a smile in her voice.

  I liked that. Something to look forward to. Then I saw the house. Or, mansion really. It was huge, must have had a hundred rooms in it. I had never seen a house so big. The whole trailer park where I lived could have moved into this house, and had room to spare.

  “Holy cow, how many people live in that house?” I exclaimed.

  “Just us, and now you,” Sarah replied. “And a few of the staff. But, they have their own section of the house, in the back. They won’t be in your way.”

  “You could have a hundred people living here and I don’t think they would be in anyone’s way,” I said, in awe. I quickly shut my mouth, because I think it was hanging open. Sarah just smiled and turned back toward the house.

  When we pulled up to the front of the mansion, there was a large circular driveway. Adam circled around and pulled right in front of the door. It was flanked by tall green trees with little white flowers on them. The door itself had one of those large steel knockers on it that you see in scary movies. You know, the kind that hangs on the haunted house near where the teenagers’ car always breaks down. Almost immediately, an older man, seventy at least, came out and opened the doors for each of us. As I got out, he took my hand to help me.

  “Afternoon, miss,” he said to me with a small nod of his head.

  “Hi,” I replied.

  “We have already put all of your things away in your room. Would you like me to show you where it is?” he asked me.

  “What things? I thought you were getting everything tomorrow?” I looked at Sarah, confused.

  “We are, honey. But, I went out yesterday and bought you a new wardrobe. Just let me know if you need anything else. I’ve never bought anything for a teenager before.” She seemed very proud that she had done that for me.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” I said, as we walked toward the door.

  “Yes, I did.” She seemed like she had genuinely enjoyed the experience. Maybe she did. I guess she did have a lot of years of clothes buying to make up for.

  “We’ll show her where her bedroom is,” Adam said and the man quickly disappeared around a corner.

  “Wow.” I really didn’t know what else to say when I walked into the house. It looked even bigger from the inside. I spun completely around, trying to take it all in at once.

  “Come on,” Adam said as they led me up a large, winding staircase to the second floor. Then we went up another staircase to the third floor.

  “Your room is down here at the end of this hall.”

  When we walked into my room, I was shocked. I knew I shouldn’t be surprised after seeing the grounds and the house, but I really was. The bedroom was probably five times the size of the trailer we lived in. It was like a suite really. It had a bedroom, a ‘sitting room,’ as Sarah called it, a huge bathroom, and a closet to die for, all just for me. Even though I would have rather been in the trailer with my grandparents, if I couldn’t be there, at least it was a pretty nice place to be.

  “This is all for me?” I was astonished.

  “Yes, all of it,” Sarah replied. “Why don’t you go find something in the closet to change into for dinner. We always dress up for dinner. Then come down to the dining room. We eat in one hour. After dinner, I’ll give you the grand tour.”

  “Okay,” I answered. “But, how will I find the dining room?”

  “Just head down to the first floor and make a right. You’ll find it.”

  They turned to leave. Before closing the door, Adam said “Honey, we are really glad you’re home. We’ve missed you terribly.” He had a really sad look on his face. In that instant I could see years of pain, years that they missed me and spent looking for me. I felt really bad for them. I didn’t really know how to respond to him. I just looked at him and nodded my head ever so gently, and they left.

  I put on a pretty green dress that was hanging in the closet and some nice shoes to go with it. My grandmother always said green looked good on me with my dark auburn hair and green eyes. I had to agree. I found my way down the two flights of stairs to the foyer. But then I had no idea where the dining room was. Which way did she say to turn? Luckily a pretty young woman dressed in what looked to be a maid uniform walked into the room. She looked at me curiously.

  “Excuse me, can you tell me where the dining room is?” I asked her.

  “You must be Madison,” she replied. “You look just like Mr. Tyler.”

  “Yes, I am. I do?”

  “Yes, you really do. I’m Annabelle, one of the housekeepers.” She seemed to look me up and down. She was nice, but I felt judged.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said back.

  “Follow me.” She started walking out of the room and I followed.

  We walked down a long hallway, past a few different rooms. With a quick glance as we walked by, one of them looked like a huge ballroom. I was intrigued and would have to check that out later.

  “Here you go.” She pointed to a large door and walked away.

  I walked in and my parents were already seated. Adam motioned for me to come sit down. I walked over and sat next to him, feeling really awkward. I had never been in a dining room that was so huge. It could probably seat 50 people. I felt so tiny in the room. They could see my trepidation.

  “We don’t normally eat in here,” Adam told me. “We have a much smaller, more intimate dining room we use when it’s just us. But, we wanted you to eat your first meal in this room. It’s pretty fantastic, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” I replied. I was looking at all the beautiful paintings on the walls. It was a fascinating room with gold and silver accents. There was a large picture window looking out into the garden. It was after dusk by then, but the garden was all lit up. There were flowers everywhere. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

  At that moment the cooks, or staff, or servants I guess, started coming in. I really didn’t know what to call them. They brought us salads, and soups and the best tasting ham I had ever had. I hadn’t eaten all day and was starving. It was all in ‘courses’ as they called them. I didn’t have a clue which fork to use, so I just used whichever one I wanted. They didn’t seem to mind. Boy, did I have a lot to learn.

  “Madison, regardless of what you see here, we are pretty down-to-earth people,” Adam said. “I inherited this place from my parents. I grew up here. I love it and I think you will too.” Adam seemed pretty proud of the house, but humble at the same time.

  “So your parents started the horse breeding farm?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  “Actually my grandparents did. It has been in the family for quite some time,” he replied. “I promise to tell you all about it when you get settled in.”

  “That would be nice. Do you also help run the ranch?” I asked, looking over at Sarah.

  “No, I leave that to your father. I’m actually a doctor. I don’t really practice much, but I keep my license up to date anyway. Occasionally a friend will ask for me to help them out, and I do. But, I don’t have an office or anything.” She seemed like she was trying really hard to justify that she didn’t work. I’m not really sure why.

  “You don’t have any other children?” I changed the subject.

  Adam and Sarah looked at each other. They seemed saddened by that question.

  “No, we never could have more children,” Sarah answered, looking down at her plate.

  I suddenly felt like the nosey neighbor. “Oh I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

  “Yes it is,” Adam said. “Ask anything you like. You are part of this family and there won’t be any secrets.” He smiled my way. Tha
t made me feel good. He seemed like a nice man.

  “Would you like a tour of the house now?” Sarah seemed excited about showing me around. It was so big, it would probably take hours to see.

  I had finished dinner and was really tired after all that had happened. “Maybe tomorrow,” I said. “I’m really tired and think I’ll go to bed now.” They looked surprised as I got up and went to my room. They didn’t say a word as I left.

  I spent the night restlessly. I lay there thinking about my previous life and my new, yet to be discovered life. Was I going to be happy in this new place? It had only been a few hours and I already missed my grandparents and Charlie desperately. They were my whole world. How was I going to survive without them?

  I must have dozed off, because at some point a faint stream of light coming in through the curtains of my new room touched my face and woke me up. Unlike the typical teenager, I always loved that time of day. It was just so peaceful. I never could understand sleeping in until noon, or even later. Half the day was wasted that way.

  I was a little disconcerted at first. I looked around and it took me a moment to realize where I was. Oh yeah, that’s right. I had been ripped away from the only family I had ever known and forced to live in this place with these people. I seriously considered running away for a moment. But then logic got the best of me. I knew I would be returned in short order. So, what was the point?

  What I actually wanted to do right then was find a phone. There wasn’t one in my room. I noticed that last night. I desperately wanted to call my grandparents. They wouldn’t mind hearing from me so early. They were usually up before dawn anyway. Something about aches and pains early in the morning. Charlie was another thing. His parents would have a fit if I called so early, so he would have to wait.

  I found a robe and some slippers in my closet and put them on hastily over my pajamas. I wanted to make that phone call before anyone woke up. No need to get into a confrontation over it if I could help it.