Alexs' POV

"Mr. Rush, we've got your father."

My head shot up at the agent's voice.

"What? How? Did he have Anna?"

"This is an FBI investigation we tagged him in all databases to raise an alarm if he tried touse any kind of transportation that required ID verification. He was stopped at the airport, trying to flee the country I suppose. Agents have him down at the jail."

"And Anna?"

The agent look solemn.

"She wasn't with him but, he's requesting to talk to you. We were hoping that if you agreed he'd reveal something about her location and what he's been up to."

I nodded and quickly moved to grab my coat. As I reached the door I turned to my mother who'd taken to staying at my place regularly over the last week or so.

"They found dad and he wants to talk to me. I'll be back."

She nodded, concern clouding her features.

"Okay, don't let him get to you, you know how he is."

I only nodded once in response as I let the door close.

**

He was there on the other side of the glass. He was disheveled but still managed to look cocky. Proud. Even though he was handcuffed to the table he still managed to look like he owned the place.

"Mr. Rush, you can go in whenever you're ready."

He didnt even glance up as I entered the interrogation room.

"Ah my weak willed son has decided to grace me with his presence."

I didnt respond to his taunting.

"Where's Anna? What did you do to her.?"

He chuckled darkly as he finally made eye contact with me.

"I should've killed her once I was done with her. The bitch is more trouble than she's worth."

"She's alive?"

He threw his head back in exasperation.

"That's your problem son. You are worried about some girl instead of business, something that really matters. Seems you haven't learned anything in the last few weeks. I was hoping that your priorities would shift if she was out of your life."

I'd heard this spiel before and I didnt want to hear it.

"I've told you before that I am not you. I will never put money and business before my family. You neglected us, treated us like shit for years because you wanted to chase after money. Mom picked up drinking, Cara is still spiraling, Kat's gotta pop three different pills so that she function throughout the day because of what you did to her."

"And you? What did my bad parenting do to you?"

I kept eye contact with him.

He knew exactly what it did to me, knew exactly to the lengths I was willing to go to get the hurt he caused to stop. He hadn't even bothered to visit me at the hospital.

"If you don't know than neither do I."

He huffed.

"Tell me where she is."

"And why would I give away that information?"

"Because you want me to focus more on the business, yes?"

"Are you stupid boy? That's what I've been trying to get through your thick skull for years."

"Then tell me where she is. She has a son and he needs a mother."

"And why is that of any concern to me?"

"Because as long as Anna is missing I have to care for her son. Raising children gets in the way of business so he needs his mother to care for him."

He chuckled darkly.

"See, this is why you need to focus on business more because if you think I'm giving falling for your bullshit bait you're a bigger idiot than I thought."

I was getting increasingly frustrated.

"Then what the what do you want from me? Why am I here?"

"You've disappointed me Alexander. I've wasted so much time trying to get you to be a real man and I thought it was working but your mother babied you too much. Treated you too muche like a child."

"I was a child she treated me like a child because that's what I was."

"It made you soft."

"And what was hitting me supposed to do? Hm? What was locking me in closets for days at a time supposed to do, what burning me with cigarettes suppoed to do? Was child abuse supposed to make me more of a man? If that was your grand plan then why subject Kat to it? Why mom, why Cara? If your reasoning was always to make me more of a man then why were you also abusing your wife and daughters?"

"Because unlike you I'm a real man, all of you feared me and with fear comes respect. I thought you understood that if you wanted real respect you have to be feared."

I walked closer to the table that he was cuffed to and leaned against it.

"I don't fear you. I feared you when I was a child but that fear never resulted in respect, it turned into hate. I hated what you did to me, what you did to mom and my sisters. I have never gained any respect for you, the only thing I feel for you is hatred. You are a disgusting piece of shit and I hope you get whatever is comong for you."

He didn't respond but I knew my father, though he remained silent I knew he was seething.

I moved to walk out of the interrogation room, trying to formulate a plan to find where he was keeping her now that I knew she was still alive that last time he saw her.

"You know where she is Alexander. I taught you how to be a man there."

I nearly tripped over my feet at his words.

I knew exactly where he had her. I turned to him.

"Why are you telling me where she is?"

He smiled.

"I'm hoping you find her body."

I quickly made my way from the room, pulling out my cellphone to call Nate and Jacob.

I turned to the lead agent who'd come down to the station with me.

"She's at an old abandoned factory. He retrofitted it into a jail when I was a kid and he and some of his buddies like to basically practice military torture methods on us so that we could 'man up'. It's a four hour drive north to a rural area."

"I'll mobilize some agents now."

**

She wasn't there.

We'd followed the agents to the factory where my father claimed to be keeping her but she wasn't there.

Her ex husband was unconscious on the ground but he was still alive. It looked like he'd been hit by a car and going by the tire marks leading through the busted garage door and his broken legs, he had been. Great job Anna.

But even with these developments she was still nowhere to be found.

We had no choice but to head home until we got another lead. I had Nate and Jacob discreetly send some of their men to search the city for any sign that she'd made it to safety somewhere.

That night I looked down at Elijah as I gave him his nightly feeding. His big brown eyes looked back at me as he ate.

"Just hold on a little longer Eli, your mom will be with us soon."

Two days later I got a phone call.

**

I was in the middle of directing Nick and Jacobs men to search another sector of the city to see if Ana may have stumbled into one of the buildings for safety when my phone rang. The number was unfamiliar and I nearly ignored it but I thought that it migh be one of the search parties callin in with an update.

"Rush speaking."

"Oh, hello dear, is this Mr. Alexander Rush?"

It sounded like an elderly woman on the other line.

"Yes, who are you?"

"My name is Grace, I've been trying to get hold of you for a couple of days now but I was getting the run around by the people at your office. I have some very important information for you."

"If this is business related call the office and never call this number again and make sure to tell whoever gave you my personal number that they can consider themselves fired."

"Wait, wait no, Mr. Rush. We've found Anastasia."