CHAPTER 1

FOUR YEARS LATER, PRESENT.

HAZEL

I sighed tiredly as I pushed the final chair into its place. For the past two weeks, I had been working extra shifts to try to make more money, but the stress was definitely taking a toll on me. I pressed the power button on my phone to check the time.

10:21pm

I let out another breath and grabbed my bag from the counter and turned my back to leave. I strolled out of the bar and into the reception area of the prestigious hotel I worked at. It was still a bit busy, people were trooping in and out with their expensive purses held flimsily between their fingers. I wondered how it felt to be that rich and not have a care in the world. I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts and walked in the direction of the exit.

“Long day?” The doorman asked as I walked out.

“Super long.” I answered.

He offered me a sympathetic smile. “Well, have a good night then.”

“You too, goodnight.” I smiled back at him.

The cool night air hit me with full force as I started walking, and I pulled my jacket even closer to my body. It was a twenty minute walk to my apartment, and I knew I should’ve taken the bus or a taxi or something since it was really late and really cold, but I figured walking for twenty minutes wasn’t going to kill me, and what’s more? I needed the money way too much to waste it on transportation.

I must have walked for ten minutes when I felt a chill run down my spine. Something felt off. I noticed movement from the corner of my eye, and a subtle unease crept up on me— a sensation of being watched, followed. Turning my head subtly, I caught a glimpse of headlights trailing behind me, a car was pacing my steps. My heartbeat quickened; my breaths grew shallow, and I could hear the blood rushing through my ears. I quickened my steps and stole another glance, confirming my suspicions. A suspicious vehicle was trailing behind me, it was matte black and I couldn’t see the occupants inside, its presence was unnerving in the quiet street. I looked around in panic but there wasn’t another person on the street, it was just me and the dodgy looking car. And I could see that the car was moving faster as I increased my pace.

Oh God…

My heart was thudding in my chest. I veered into a side alley, hoping to lose the unwanted follower. But my attempts were futile. The car followed my every move, its engine growling closer as I hastened my steps. Fear surged through my veins as I broke into a sprint, desperate to escape whoever was in the car. I kept a good distance between us as my legs screamed in pain, and just as I thought I could evade them, the car surged forward, blocking my path. And before I could react and open my mouth to scream, a flurry of motion engulfed me. Three men in dark suits cornered me and I could barely see their faces.

“Who are you?” I asked in panic. I knew it was stupid and furtive, I didn’t expect them to give me a reply, but there wasn’t much else I could do.

A hood was placed over my head before I knew it, and I felt their hands on me as they grabbed mine and proceeded to tie them behind me, and then I was being pulled into the vehicle.

“Let me go!” I screamed, but my voice was muffled by the hood covering my face. “Please! Please let me go! Help! Somebody please help!”

Tears were streaming down my face now, and I was starting to hyperventilate, I could barely breathe and my eyes burned as the tears kept flowing. I struggled to release my hands but the rope was tied tightly and expertly. My mind instantly went to my mother. My poor mother who was lying down in a hospital bed right now battling cancer. How would she react if she heard the news?

Who were these men?

What did they want?

Were they going to kill me? Wasn’t that what usually happened when a person got kidnapped? Or maybe they would ask for a ransom… but I was barely getting by and I knew I would never be able to afford it anyway. And that would surely result in me getting killed. I was going to die and my poor mother surely wouldn’t survive the news. I struggled even more, but all it did was make me weaker, and with me sitting in between two of the men, would I even be able to escape them if I could get my hands free? My eyes were burning even more now, and the darkness slowly started to consume me as I felt my eyes close. Fear consumed me.

“Please…” I begged weakly as everything went black.

*******

When I regained consciousness, the air felt different. It wasn’t the stale air in the car anymore, I could finally breathe again. The air was fresh, cold and… unfamiliar. I opened my eyes slowly, and the memories of the night hit me with a full force, causing me to jump up in alarm.

It was something I regretted instantly.

My bones screamed in protest and my entire body ached. It felt like a train had run over me.

I wasn’t dead. That much was certain.

I moved my body slower this time, and my eyes searched the room. It was dimly lit, and I could barely see anything except the white sheets on the bed and the lone candlelight flickering in the distance. There was a window, a big one, but the curtains prevented the light from streaming in. But now I knew I wasn’t underground at least. My vision was a bit blurry, it was probably the effect of whatever chemical had been in the hood earlier. I decided to get out of the bed and at least find a way to escape. I crept towards the end of the huge bed, and placed one foot down slowly till it hit the cold floor. I did the same thing with my second foot, but it didn’t touch the floor. My foot landed on something warm and I let out a scream and scrambled back into the bed with my chest heaving up and down.

I tried to get my eyes to focus in the dark, and that was when I saw him.

How did she miss him before? I must have been in shock, the fear of waking up in an unknown place. I must have been too consumed with all the morbid thoughts that were swimming around in my head.

He stood right by the foot of the bed. He was tall, he must’ve been over six feet tall. And his pair of dark cold eyes were focused intently on me.