It was getting late, and Mrs. Dean urged Sarah to go home and rest, promising to take care of Caleb for the night. Sarah sluggishly agreed, though in her heart she thought bitterly, Oh, Carmen Lee, just say it, you're irritated by me. Carmen sighed and shot her a deadly glare, which made Sarah behave herself.
As Sarah sat by Caleb's bedside, gently rubbing his hair, her phone rang, it was her mother.
"Hi, Mum, I'm at the hospital with Caleb," Sarah answered softly.
"You have to come home, my dear," her mother replied in a trembling voice. "Your father has been in an accident."
Sarah gasped and screamed, the phone slipping from her trembling hands. She collapsed to the floor, wailing uncontrollably. Carmen quickly picked up the phone and spoke with Sarah's mother. The news was grim, Sarah's father had been in a car accident on his way back from work, and the family needed to travel to Malibu immediately.
Carmen consoled her. "I'm so sorry about your father, Sarah. Go to him, we'll take care of Caleb here. He needs you, but your father needs you too."
Fighting back tears, Sarah hugged Mrs. Dean and whispered, "Please take care of Caleb. I'll call every day," before rushing out of the hospital.
Outside, she called impatiently. "Hello? Where are you? I've been waiting in front of the hospital for ten minutes!"
"I'm on my way now," Jack replied. Moments later, he pulled up, and Sarah jumped into the car. Beside her in the back seat was a middle-aged woman. Sarah's lips curled into a wicked smile.
"You did very well," she sneered. "Here's your payment. Don't ever let me see your face again."
"T-thank you, madam," the woman stuttered as Jack dropped her off.
"How did it go with that bastard?" Sarah asked sharply.
"All done," Jack grinned. "He's in the trunk, half alive. The guys I hired roughed him up real good."
Sarah smirked. "Good. Where should we go now?"
Jack's eyes glistened. "Anywhere? You up for it?"
"Of course," Sarah laughed, waving a shiny credit card. "It's limitless, baby! We're rich."
But Jack hesitated. "What about him? What do we do with him?"
"Beat him some more," Sarah replied coldly. "Then dump him to rot."
Meanwhile, Carmen Lee was meeting her private detective at the hospital, asking him to dig deeper into what happened to Caleb. Their conversation was interrupted when her driver barged in, sweating and gasping for air.
"Ma'am," he panted, "I went to the address Mr. John texted me. The place was a disaster, blood everywhere, furniture overturned, like someone was searching for something."
Carmen froze, horrified.
The detective immediately volunteered to investigate further. Hours later, he called with an update. "There was definitely a struggle. One of the surveillance cameras caught six masked men entering the building, but they never came out. They used the back exit. I'll run the footage through a hacker to try to identify them."
"Do whatever it takes to find him," Carmen said firmly.
The detective added, "I also want the surveillance feed from the studio. This doesn't feel like a coincidence."
"John will send it this evening," Carmen replied. "We're beginning to think alike."
Weeks passed, but Darren Smith was still missing. Carmen's detective never stopped searching.
One day, Carmen was tending to Caleb when her husband stumbled in, covered in dirt and exhaustion. Alarmed, she rushed to him.
"Oh dear, what happened? Were you in an accident? Let's get you checked by a doctor!"
He reassured her. "I'm fine. My meeting ended early, so I headed to the airport three hours before my flight. But then, due to extreme weather, the flight was delayed five to six hours. That, plus the wait time, was almost the same as driving. So, I asked the company driver to take me home by road."
He sighed before continuing. "Five hours into the trip, the driver pulled over to use the restroom. Suddenly, I heard him scream. I rushed over and found a young man collapsed in the dirt. Barely alive. Dust-covered, bloodied, one eye swollen shut, his body scarred as if he had walked for miles. I gave him water, cleaned him up, and he passed out in my arms. We took him to the nearest hospital once we reached the city."
Carmen was stunned, but also proud of her husband's kindness. Still, she scolded him for not taking their private jet.
"I left it for you and John, in case of an emergency with Caleb," he explained.
Her heart softened, and she pressed his hand. "I just worry about you all."
Months later, Darren's perspective came into focus.
It had been eleven months since he was kidnapped and nearly killed. His father had given him his late mother's diary, and Darren immersed himself in her writings and her library. He meditated daily, attempting to master the art his mother described, the ability to enter people's dreams without physical contact.
One passage echoed in his mind: "You will be drawn to people with the deepest pain."
Darren practiced relentlessly, opening his mind in his mother's secret meditation room. His father grew increasingly paranoid, installing cameras everywhere and forbidding him from going out alone.
But Darren had not forgotten his kidnappers. In his dreams, he could already see them. Soon, he believed, he would be able to torture them in their sleep. But he had yet to perfect the final step, appearing in someone's dreams without touching them.
A year later, John and Carmen finally traced Darren to his father's home. They arrived in person, hopeful to see him.
"Good evening, Mr. Smith," Carmen said politely. "We're sorry to come unannounced, but we've searched for Darren for a year, and we're glad he's safe."
John explained their situation, hoping for understanding.
But Mr. Smith shook his head. "My son can't help you right now."
Their hearts sank.
"Why not? Please, can't we at least see him?" Carmen pleaded.
Mr. Smith explained gravely. "My son has secluded himself, meditating to master the art his mother left behind. He was kidnapped, and though he sees his captors in dreams, he tortures himself for being powerless against them. One night, he nearly killed them in his sleep. When I woke him, he was furious that I stopped him."
He paused, his eyes shadowed. "Before she died, his mother warned me, her sister once killed someone in a dream. She lost her mind soon after, and died weeks later. Darren doesn't know this truth. If he learns to master the ability, he'll not only see into their dreams, but into their lives, their deepest pains, their darkest memories. He will see them like an open book."
John and Carmen left the house heavy-hearted, uncertain if Darren would ever return to the world they knew.