A Salvation Called Love

~Chapter 5~

The weather this evening was beautiful. I was currently leaning against the hood of my car waiting for Miss Amatheon to arrive. I was in high spirits today, probably because I was letting lose my evil side for once. It had been a long time since I acted like my old self and it felt good. Leaning back and closing my eyes I rivaled in the feel of the cool wind. It wasn't much longer that I heard a vehicle slow down and the gravel on the side of the road crunch as it pulled to the side and parked. I checked my watch and grinned. I heard the vehicle door open and close and Miss Amatheon's steps draw closer. "Mr. Gold?"

"Well done, Dearie. You know how to be punctual." I slowly moved away from my car and turned to look at the young woman that was standing a few feet back from me. I was about to say something else when I stumbled on the gravel and blinked in surprise.

"Where's my father?"

I couldn't breathe. She was there, the one who haunted my heart and dreams. She was standing right there in front of me. Her face was exactly as I remembered it. Her bright blue eyes sparkling in evening light. I took a small step forward without thinking and held my hand out to her. "B... Belle... Belle, is that really you?"

The young woman just stared at me in confusion. "How do you know my name?"

It couldn't be her. She was dead. I quickly moved forward forgetting that this young woman was the daughter of the man who stole from me and tried to run. "What are you doing here, Belle? I thought... I thought you were..." My heart squeezed in pain as I stopped in front of her and stared down into her confused eyes.

"Uhmm..." She took a step back away from me. "I don't know who this Belle person is you're talking about but I'm not her. My name is Annabelle Amatheon and you kidnapped my father."

I frowned. She wasn't Belle? "Annabelle... Amatheon..."

She was really giving me a weirded out look now. "Mr. Gold. I don't know if you're doing drugs or something but can we get down to business? My father, you have him. Where is he? What do you want in order for you to release him?"

"Your father..." I shook my head and turned away for a few moments. Right now I could only hear the Queen's words echoing in my mind over and over again. After a while she threw herself off the tower. She died... died... died... died... died... I growled at myself and shook my head again. "That's right. You couldn't be her, could you?"

"Excuse me?"

I took a deep steady voice and ran my hand through my hair, resisting the urge to pull it and scream in rage. So this is what Regina wanted. She knew Bill Amatheon's daughter looked like my beloved Belle. I wouldn't fall to temptation. That evil, vile woman wouldn't win. I turned slowly and cracked a devious grin. "Annabelle Amatheon. What a... pleasure to meet you after experiencing the company of your father."

I gave a small, light chuckle when she narrowed her eyes at me. "What did you do to him?"

I shrugged. "Nothing much, Dearie. Just locked him up and roughed him up a little."

Her breath caught and I knew she was trying to hold back her anger. A feisty one this would be. "Why all of this over a little money being stolen? You're a man who is extremely rich, what's the harm in losing a little?"

I slowly walked forward until I could feel the warmth from her body. I ignored my jackhammering heart. "It's not that he stole from me, per se, but was hired by a woman who desires to run my company to the ground. Then he had the balls to try and run. You see, Dearie, I don't normally let people get away."

"They why not call the police? Or if it was so much of a hassle, just fire him!" She threw her hands up in the air and walked away from me. She walked off to the side of the ditch and stopped in front of a tall tree. Her fist flew out quicker than I could figure out what she was doing and she punched the trunk of the tree over and over until her knuckles were bleeding. "DAMN IT!"