Chapter 1. Evangeline Bowen

-Los Angeles, United States-  

"See you tomorrow. Thanks for this, James!"  

A woman with a thick gray coat had just said goodbye to a man named James. Iris smiled widely as she held up the plastic wrap to James. 

"You're welcome. Keep warm, Iris. Having the flu in winter sucks."  

Iris laughed as she walked away from the small cafe near midtown. "Yes!" She shouted while waving her hand at James, then turned and left.  

Iris is a 24-year-old young woman who works at James' cafe. She lives with his adoptive parents in an apartment far from the city center.  

Her life is so normal. Living far from the city makes her unable to get along with girls her age. She worked as an amateur barista at James' cafe for two years. 

Her father, Robert, was old and could not afford to do heavy work like his previous job as a butcher. And now, Iris is the backbone of her family so that her adoptive parents can enjoy their old age together.  

Iris rubbed her palms, and she felt like her hands were frozen. The cold winter season at the beginning of November made her legs, which were wrapped in jeans, shiver with cold. 

She stopped for a moment at a bus stop with other prospective passengers about to board the bus. When the bus came, several passengers got off, and one by one, the passengers also started to enter the bus.  

But when Iris was queuing up to board the bus, a husky barked at her loudly. The employer of that dog tried to restrain his dog from attacking the person in front of him.  

"I'm sorry, Miss. My dog doesn't usually act like this. I'm sorry." Iris didn't answer a single word. Instead, she kept staring at the dog until she got on the bus.  

Iris didn't know what had happened to the dog and suddenly she felt very uneasy. Even when she entered the bus, the dog kept barking until the bus moved and left the bus stop.  

After a long journey, Iris got off at the bus stop near her apartment. She must walk, go straight and then turn, her apartment two blocks ahead. Her brown eyes caught a woman standing facing her.  

Iris immediately stopped in her footsteps. Three meters in front of her, she saw a woman with wavy dark brown hair wearing a maroon coat staring at her.  

But since she didn't feel like she recognized the woman, she continued on her way and passed by the woman's left.  

"Iris Anastasia Wood. Born June 22, 1997. Adopted child from Witt Orphanage... New York." 

Suddenly the woman spoke. Iris stopped again in shock and fear, and she turned to look at the woman's figure more closely. No one knows about her identity as an adopted child other than her family.  

And also, the woman knew about her status as an adopted child from the Witt orphanage. Iris felt her heartbeat ticking fast when their eyes met. The light hazel color of the woman's eyes made her even more frightened.  

"Who are you? What do you want?" Iris asked with her voice slightly trembling.  

She often meets many people while working at the cafe. But she had never seen someone who had the color like her eyes color. Then upon seeing that cold expression, Iris knew she was in danger right now.  

She immediately turned around to leave and got away from the woman as quickly as possible. But just as she was about to run, five men were standing about seven meters away from her.  

She is trapped. With her back shaking, Iris tried to catch her breath while thinking of running away. She didn't have any weapons on her body. Around her, there was only white snow covering the road. 

"I want to talk to you, Iris." Iris hastily looked back when the woman spoke again. The five men who walked approached her.  

"Stay away from me! I said stay away!" Iris immediately screamed in panic.  

This falling snow was like a sprinkling of flowers leading Iris to her death's path. Her mind was confused because she was afraid that the six people surrounding her wanted her life.  

"Calm down, Iris. I just wanted to talk to you."  

"Liar! Get away from me!" Iris shouted again, stopping the five men from walking.  

Iris couldn't understand the woman's words. If she wants to talk to her, why surround her like this? She's not stupid, of course. Iris quickly ran away from the woman.  

But she knew this was an act of hopelessness that she was doing. Unable to fight back in that situation, they immediately caught her and couldn't fight.  

"Let me go! Please! Help! Somebody help me!" Iris shouted.  

She tried to struggle, but the rope tied to her hands was held behind her back. Both of her legs that tried to kick one of the men who surrounded her were also restrained.  

In between hysterical Iris screaming, no one heard and helped her. Even the five men handling her didn't say a word either. She was crying in fear, with one of the men smothering her mouth.  

That day, Iris thought she would be killed. Premeditated kidnapping of which she is the victim. She continued to cry as she felt her body being carried to and fro.  

With her head covered in black cloth, she was forced to walk by someone behind her. She was brought into the car. Not knowing where she was going while she couldn't hold her cry.  

After she heard the car door closing sound, Iris lowered her head. Who is she asking for help now?  

When they arrived, she was brought inside that place. And suddenly Iris heard a loud voice. "Hey, Eva! Who did you bring with you?"  

"Shut up, Jack. Don't scare her."  

"Is this that person?"  

"Yes. Bring it into the room." 

Iris just listened to the people talking. For some reason, the atmosphere is very different when outside the room. She then sat on a chair, and then the black cloth covering her head was removed.  

There were four people in the room, including the woman she saw last. One of them whistled when he saw Iris's face. Iris's expression was still wary looking at them.  

"Look at this woman. Her appearance is too flashy." Said a man who had been whistling just now.  

If the black duct tape covering her mouth were removed, she would lash out and scream to free herself. Her eyes stared intently at the woman who kidnapped her.  

"I know this is scary for you, Iris. But I had to do this. I'm Eva, Evangeline Bowen. And they're all my friends." Eva said, who was a little awkward as Iris glared at her.  

"...."  

"...."  

And after Eva introduced herself, the atmosphere suddenly became silent for no reason. And how stupid was Eva when she realized that Iris was still tied and her mouth was still affixed by duct tape?  

"Tsk! Idiot! Quickly untie the rope and duct tape." Eva said, who immediately got a chuckle from the man who mocked Iris earlier.  

"I thought you'd forget to take the duct tape off. I swear it's still hilarious even though it's happened the seventh time." Eva huffed in annoyance as she tapped her index finger on the table.  

"Shut up, Jack! You embarrass me."