The street in front of Hart Industries was swamped with police cars and an ambulance. Jonathan could not believe that someone would shoot his security guard. Hart industries were well guarded and it was not a prime area for crime. They never had money on the premises so it was odd that money would be a motive. Well at least they had the hidden surveillance camera. Hopefully it would shed some light on who shot his top security guard. Could it be that someone wanted money or someone who was trying to get to him? Then it hit him. Bradley! It was a set up to get to Jennifer. It had to be him.

"Let me get this right Mr. Hart." A young police office questioned.

"You received a call at your house asking that you come down your office because someone wanted to meet with you. You had no scheduled meeting and yet you came down here. Why was that?"

"What are you really asking officer? You think that I had something to do with the shooting? Is that it."

"That is not what I am saying Mr. Hart I just find it odd that you would come down here that is all."

"Jimmy you know better than that. Did you not learn anything that I taught you?" Harry yelled at him.

"I’m sorry but this is my big first case I do not want to leave anything undone."

"That is ok you are just doing your job, I understand that. I just find it difficult because I just talked to him. Hopefully the hidden surveillance camera will tell us who the shooter is."

"You have a hidden camera?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes we installed it years ago it was not public knowledge and even the Hart employees did not know of all the camera’s locations. We installed it after a madman tried to kill Jennifer. He got into the security office and impersonated a security guard."

"Well Jonathan I know you will want to see the tape yourself so why don’t we go view it now?" Harry stated.

"Fine, I think that is a good idea."

The younger officer followed Harry and Jonathan into the security office. Jonathan keyed in his security code and then scanned his id badge. The door opened to a bunch of televisions and computers. The young officer was impressed. He had heard about the Harts and their involvement in helping the police solve many capers. He was excited to be there and was upset with himself for asking Jonathan the questions that he asked just a few moments ago. Nothing could prepare them for what they found on the tape. Jonathan tore out of the office and raced to his car.

"Jonathan what is the matter. Do you know who this is? Jonathan!"

The two police officers stood there baffled and then Harry looked more closely at the screen he knew who it was and followed Jonathan.

Jonathan raced into the house calling Jennifer’s name frantically. His heart skipped a beat. This could not be happening.

Jennifer woke up with quite a headache. She tried to move but realized she was handcuffed to something.

"Don’t try to break free it is impossible you will never break free of me again. Never! Do you understand me?" Bradley yelled at her.

Jennifer knew him well enough to know not to make him madder. When he got like this, there was no talking to him.

"So what do you plan to do with me?" Jennifer asked coldly.

"What do I plan to do with you?" he repeated back. His hand brushed the side of her face and his fingers traced the outline of her lips. "I have a lot planned for you my dear well actually it is for us. I have made plans for us." Bradley said.

Jennifer turned her face away; he grabbed her face his thumb and index finger on either side of her jaw. Throwing her back banging her head in to the wall.

"Don’t you ever do that again." Bradley said as he leaned in and kissed her. "One day my dear you will welcome my kisses and you will love them."

"I can not believe that I let this happen" Jonathan told Harry. "She wanted to come and I told her not to that she would be safer here at the house."

"Jonathan you had no way of knowing that this was going to happen, we have the hotel under surveillance and we will know his every move once he returns to his room. We don’t even know that he has her. Maybe she wanted to go out for a walk or a drive. She has been through a lot these past few weeks maybe she went out to clear her mind."

"I know she has been through a lot Harry. She is my wife! Jennifer would just not leave with out calling the office or leaving a note. My god he has her I know he does; it was a set up and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. What am I going to tell her father? Sorry Stephen some mad man has your daughter. I do not know where she is. I mean he is going to notice she’s missing."

"Jonathan we will find her. I promise we will bring her back to you."

Max pulled up to the gate and was surprised to see the place swarming with cops.

Max rolled down his window. "What seems to be the problem officer?"

"Do you know the Harts?"

"Yes I am Max I work for them, this is Mr. Edward’s he is Mrs. Harts dad."

"Well then I guess you had better get up to the house I am sure Mr. Hart and the lieutenant are anxious to see you."

Stephen and Max entered the house and they saw Jonathan and Harry talking.

"Jonathan what on earth is going on?"

"He has her Stephen. Bradley took her and now she is with him."

"If he so much as lays a hand on her and hurts her again so help me as god as my witness I will kill him."

" I am sorry Mr. Edward’s you have lost me. What exactly are you talking about?"

Stephen looked at Jonathan. Deep down Jonathan had an idea about what he was talking about although Jennifer never said anything to him about their relationship he knew that she would eventually tell him everything once she had worked it all out herself.

"They use to date in high school he was very controlling, she eventually saw the light and broke up with him but I think deep down she always thought he would come after her again. Although she never said as much I think he could be very abusive towards her at times."

Jonathan lowered his head in his hands. "I had no idea that he was that he was abusive towards her. Or, maybe I did. I don’t know. I do know that she never told me anything about it."

"It is not something that she is proud of. She loved him. It was young love and I watched my young vibrant very opinionated daughter became more withdrawn and apologize for everything. He nearly destroyed her and I will not let him do it to her again."

Jennifer felt the early morning sun shining on her face and opened her eyes. The warmth felt good and she realized that she was in a barn. She was still handcuffed to the metal barring dividing the two stables. She wondered how far from Los Angeles they were. Where they were. Soon all her questions would be answered that she knew.

She heard the door open and instantly got scared that he was going to do something to her. All of a sudden all the fears that had taken so long to get over were flooding back into her life.

"Good morning I trust you slept well?"

"I am handcuffed to a bar that separates two stables how do you think I slept?"

"Well I see that your mouth and your opinions have not changed. How does your husband put up with you. I am sure you have seen the back of his hand a few times."

"Actually that is your way of dealing with things. My husband loves me and has never been violent in any way towards me. He is a gentleman. Unlike some other people I know."

"I am beginning to think that with that attitude you are just waiting for me to hit you. But I will not do that. Not now because I know that you are deliberately trying to make me mad enough to hit you. You are hoping that poor Jonathan will come running in and save you from me, and probably kill me once he realizes what I have done. So no matter how much you try to get me to hit you it is not going to happen."

"Where are we exactly? How far are we from the city?"

"We are quite away up that is all I am going to tell you. I am renting the place while the owner is in Europe and I am watching the farm. It is not as fancy as what you are use to but you are not going to be seeing much of it. Just the barn."

Jonathan sat at the kitchen table drinking his coffee. He could not believe she had slipped through his fingers again. Stephen walked in the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table next to Jonathan.

"Stephen I am so sorry. I never thought he would come for her. I thought that I would have a meeting with him confront him about the accident and the takeover bid and that would be that. I never thought in a million years that he would set me up and come for her."

"Jonathan it is not your fault. I know that you love her with all your heart and would do anything to protect her. She has never trusted anyone. That is why I was so shocked when she called me and told me she was going to marry you after only knowing you for a short while. There must have been something there and you gained her trust. She loves you and you are good to her. That is why I was so unsure about the marriage at first. I just wanted to make sure she would not get hurt, as she had so many times before."

"Why would she not tell me about this?"

"Jonathan she was young and she had thought it was behind her. She worked so hard to get where she is today. She has become strong and very determined. I guess she just buried it so deep down inside herself that she forgot. Maybe she blocked it out. All I know is it took her a long time to get over it. I also know she is a different person and she will not let him get to her again."

Jennifer sat there and her mind wondered back to the days when they dated. She could not believe that some one so handsome and so smart could be so abusive. She never thought the beatings would continue. She thought that this was an isolated incident. After researching the topic she came to realize that his father beat his mother and he was a child of abuse. He never told anyone but his out was to be controlling over her, seeing as his father was controlling over everything he wanted and did in his life, that is up until the day he died. A death he blames Jonathan Hart for although Jennifer does not know that.

"I am curious. Did you ever think about me after you broke up with me? Did you sit there and think I am so stupid why would I do that he is the greatest guy I know. Let me tell you sweetheart I had many others after you but, it is you I want and you know I always get what I want."

His voice and his words brought her back to reality and she looked at him. She thought about what she was going to say. She chose her words very carefully.

"When we started dating I was totally in love with you. I wanted to marry you. I thought you were the greatest person I had ever met. I trusted you and you broke that trust the minute you started hitting me. I blamed myself for the beatings for a long time and it took me a long time to get over you. Guess what? I got over you and everything you did to me. I stopped trusting people because I was afraid of getting hurt because of what you did to me. I got over it and I am the happiest I have ever been or thought I could be."

"Well I think you could be happier with me now. I have changed. I will show you that and then you will realize that it is me you love and always have. I know you think you love Jonathan but you really don’t that I will prove. He was just someone to pass the time with until we could be together again. Jonathan was just to pass the time. I understand that and I am not mad at the fact that you married him or slept with him. We have something special which, is that I was your first. That is something Jonathan Hart can not say. I was your first everything and you can not deny that."

"No I can’t say you really were my first everything. You hit me, beat me, forced me to have sex. They are firsts I would rather forget."

She could see the corner of his eye flinch and out of instinct the back of his hand crossed her face. He stood there looking at her. He was shocked to see her just looking at him. No tears, no begging for forgiveness nothing.

"See you think you have changed, but you have not. I could never love you. It was a love that died a long time ago." Jennifer said to him.

"I have to go make a phone call. Do not go anywhere while I am gone. Oh that’s right you’re handcuffed to a pole. Where could you go?"

The phone rang about three times before there was an answer.

"Hello! Jonathan Hart."

"Oh well don’t you sound important. Missing something Mr. Hart?"

"Is Jennifer ok? What have you done to her? So help me if you have laid a finger on her you will live just long enough to regret it."

"Now do not go making threats that will never be followed through. This is what you are going to do. I want to know how much your wife means to you. I want you to sign over all of Hart industries to me. If you can do that I will think about returning you wife to you in one piece. Do you love her that much? Jonathan are willing to give up everything you worked so hard for, for her. Is she that special to you?"

"When and where do you want to met?"

Bradley was taken aback. He was not expecting that kind of answer. He figured Jonathan would want to think it over talk to his people. Nothing had prepared him for that.

"I will call you back with the details. Oh by the way you are 5 seconds short of tracing this call!"

"Sorry Jonathan we could not get the trace he was right. He knew we would trace the call."

"What did he say Jonathan? Is my daughter all right?"

"He wants me to sign over Hart industries to him. If I do that he will give me Jennifer back. He says she is fine although something in his voice tells me he has other motives."

"Jonathan you can not be serious. You can not just hand him Hart industries."

"What do you want me to so Stephen? I want her back with me and I will do what ever I have to."

Bradley walked in to the barn. It was a crisp morning in the mountains and the cold air and fog was beginning to lift and the air was getting much warmer as the sun made its' way from behind the clouds.

"It seems that you husband does love you indeed. He is willing to sign over Hart Industries for you. He loves you that much. Wow. Did you ever imagine that he could love you that much? Boy will he be disappointed when he finds out not only will I take the company but I will take his wife as well."

"NO! I will go anywhere with you but you can not take the company away from Jonathan. I want your word that if I go away with you will not take the company away from Jonathan.

"Well this does add a new twist to things. Doesn’t it."

He leans in and kisses Jennifer passionately. As she returns his kiss, his hand slides down her neck and starts to unbutton her blouse.