12 May 2012
That moment. That moment when your life changes forever. In the space of ten minutes, Roxy's world was turned upside down.
It had been a fairly usual evening up until that point; her son Jacob had been playing with his toys after another eventful day at school, whilst Roxy was typing up her latest novel, a chilling story set in the 1800's. Her husband, Miles, had already called to say that he'd be late for dinner, as per usual.
But one thing was different about this night, something that would fling Roxy to the edge of something far bigger than she could have ever anticipated. She went upstairs, listening to Jacob playing with his toys in his room. A smile crossed her face.
"Jacob, it's time for bed, you know the rules!" She said, trying not to let the smile on her face change her tone. A barely audible moan came from behind the door, which in Jacob language meant "10 more minutes!"
"Ok, I'll be back in 10 and I expect everything to be put away!" Roxy returned downstairs, and waited patiently for the 10 minutes to pass. As there was no sound coming from his room, Roxy assumed that he'd finished, so returned to read him his favourite bedtime story. She opened the door assuming to find his snuggled up in bed, demanding his bedtime story. But he wasn't. He wasn't anywhere in the room. Roxy couldn't remember hearing his door open, but decided to check the house anyway. With each room she checked, Roxy got more panicky, shouting out "Jacob!" in case he was playing hide and seek. She returned to the living room, concern etched across her face. And then she saw it. A letter. On the coffee table. She rushed over and ripped it open.
"We have taken both your husband and your son. If you wish to see them alive again, do exactly as we say. Do not contact the police or anyone else, or they will be killed. You will receive a text in 5 minutes with your first instructions." Roxy had frozen, none of this really going in. It's like her world had crashed around her. How could this have happened? Why have these people taken Miles and Jacob? So many questions going through her head.
Her phone went off, snapping Roxy out of her temporary paralysis. At that moment she knew what she was going to do. She was going to get her husband and her son back.
Kidnapped • Opuss № I