“That’s a wrap for today, Justin,” The production manager, Walt, announced giving Justin a thumbs up from his chair outside of the recording booth. “You did amazing today. We got a lot recorded. Why don’t you take the day off tomorrow?”


Justin nodded, “Really? Thanks, man.” 


He came out of the booth and began to gather his belongings, checking his cell and seeing no messages from Zenia. He typed her a quick text letting her know he would be leaving the recording studio soon.


“What do you have planned for the evening?” Walt asked curiously.


Justin grinned thinking of his girls waiting at home and how he was looking forward to spending a quiet evening relaxing with them. 


“Just going to spend time with my girls,” he replied happily.


“That sounds awesome, man. I’ll text you tomorrow night and let you know what time we will resume recording Wednesday.”


“Sounds good, Walt. See you then,” Justin exited the studio, making his way down a long corridor to leave the building.


Once to his car, he checked his phone again, thinking it unusual that Zenia didn’t text him back yet but figured she got busy with something around the house or left her phone on their bed like she sometimes did.


He started his drive home humming the new tune he had worked on that day for the movie.


—


Justin pulled into the long driveway thankful to be home, noticing Zenia’s car in the driveway as well was comforting to him. He opened the front door and stepped inside, dropping his belongings on a nearby table. He made his way into the kitchen area noticing how eerily quiet the home was, hearing only the faint sound of a TV. He noticed Zenia's coffee mug on the kitchen island where she sat this morning. He found it odd, knowing how much of a neat freak Zenia was.


“Z? Gracie?”


He went into every room looking for Zenia or Grace. They often had a impromptu game of hide and seek when he would return home and he would find them hiding in a vacant room or closet trying their best to stifle their giggles. However, today he didn't hear anything.


"Z? Are you here?" He called out, looking around. His call was met with silence. 


He pulled out his phone and dialed that familiar number. Maybe her mom came to get her and Grace and she just forgot to tell me, he thought. The call went straight to voicemail. He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it in confusion as the voicemail greeting began. When it prompted him to leave a voicemail, he did.


"Z.. I'm home. Don't know if you and Grace went to your mom's or what. Call me back. Love you."


Justin sat for a minute scrolling through his phone trying to get his mind off of their sudden disappearance. He knew that Zenia was acting differently lately, but also knew she had a lot on her mind. 


He decided to go through the house one more time to make sure nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  As he entered one of his several guest bedrooms, he stopped in his tracks as he noticed a window slightly ajar. It was in that moment that he knew that something was wrong. He frantically pulled out his phone and called Tanya.


"Hey there, Justin," She answered cheerily. 


"Tanya, do you know where Z and Grace are? I came home from work and they're not here. Z's phone goes straight to voicemail. I found a window in my house open. I'm worried about them." He spilled out, stumbling over his words. 


"They're not with you?" Tanya answered, panic evident in her voice as well. She had not spoken with her daughter, Zenia all day and figured she was just busy.


"No. I think something is wrong. Do you think Michael has something to do with this?" He asked.


"I don't know. Call the police, Justin. Get off the phone now and call the police!" Tanya cried.


"Okay, I'll call you back if I find out anything."


Justin hung up and before calling the police thought he would try to call Zenia one more time, hoping and praying that she would answer and this whole thing was just a big mistake. 


He was met with the voicemail once again and all the emotions that he was trying so hard to contain erupted. 


"FUCK!" He punched a nearby wall, causing the plaster to crack. He paced back and forth before steadying himself on a wall and sliding down it.. His head was swarming with questions, anger and fear boiling up inside of him. He composed himself as much as possible before calling 911.


—




Michael pulled into a driveway of a log cabin in a secluded area. Zenia had tried her best to pay attention to landmarks and signs to figure out where they were going, but after a couple of hours, she had no clue were they were. 


He got out of the car and walked over to the passenger side to open Zenia's door. "Welcome home."


"Where are we?" She asked skeptically, taking in her surroundings. 


"Don't worry about that. This is your new home. We're going to be a family, Zen." He said calmly, so calmly that it scared her. 


"Michael, do you know how crazy that sounds?" She didn't move from her seat, refusing to believe this delusion.


He grabbed her arm, yanking her out of the car, pulling her close to his body. 


“It’s not crazy at all. This is how its supposed to be. Now, wake the kid up and let’s go inside.”


Zenia opened the back door to pick up Grace’s sleeping form, feeling Grace’s small arms hug her tightly around her neck. She followed Michael up to the front door as he unlocked it, pulling her inside. 


Zenia looked around at the space. It was pretty vacant except for a small couch and older TV. The kitchen was bare, just an oven and a small, outdated fridge. She noticed a room towards the end of a hallway and a bathroom adjacent to that. 


“What do you think?” He asked.


“It’s ok.” Zenia answered, careful with her words. 


Michael scoffed, “I bought this for us so you better like it. Follow me.”


Zenia followed him down the hallway to the small bedroom. She stepped inside noticing no bed but a few blankets in a corner and a small window that had been barred.


“Where are we supposed to sleep?” Zenia asked.


“There’s blankets. If you behave, maybe I’ll get a bed soon,” He answered, smugly. “I have to go out. Be good and don't even try to get out of this room. The window is shatterproof and there are bars on it as well.” 




“Please don’t leave us in this room, Michael. I have no clue where we are!” Zenia pleaded, tears beginning to cloud her eyes. 


“I TOLD YOU THAT YOU’RE AT HOME, ZENIA.” Michael screamed, causing Grace to wake up and whimper. 


Grace looked around unfamiliar with her surroundings, clutching her mother tighter. “Mommy, I’m scared.” She began to cry. 


“Shut that kid up. I’ll be back.” Michael stepped out of the room and closed it behind him.


Zenia heard him lock several locks on the door before she heard his footsteps walk further away. A door slammed after that as he exited the cabin. Zenia reached for the door of the bedroom, trying to turn the knob, but to no avail.


Grace continued to cry and cling to her mother. “Mommy, I want to go home. I miss Justin.”


Zenia’s tears flowed freely as she sat them down on the bare floor. “I know honey. I miss him too.”


—


“Thank you for this information, Mr. Timberlake. We will do our best to find your girlfriend and her daughter. If you find out any other information, please let us know as soon as possible. We will keep you updated on our investigation,” The officer explained, walking Justin to the exit of the police station. 


“I will. Thank you,” Justin replied. After calling 911, Justin decided to go down to the police station to talk with the police in person hoping they would understand the severity of the situation. 


However, the officer he spoke with did very little to ease his fears. He filed missing persons reports for them and took any and all information Justin had to give him. When the officer learned that Michael was Grace’s father, he seemed to think that Zenia and Grace willingly leaving with Michael was a possibility. 


Justin quickly shot that idea down. He didn’t want to believe that. He knew that was untrue. 


He got back in his car, that feeling in the pit of his stomach never leaving. His slammed his fists onto the steering wheel, yelling out in frustration. He didn’t want to go home to that empty house, but also wanted to be there should Zenia and Grace show up. He needed a friend. He needed support.


He quickly texted Tanya an update, then went to dial a familiar number he hadn’t dialed in quite some time. After a few rings, he heard the feminine voice on the other end answer, “Justin?”


“Hey, Jess. It’s me. Um, are you busy?”