Chapter 2- Anne gets kidnapped

The other day I felt better, and I was discharged from the hospital and returned home, but then my heart was in shambles, and the beautiful bungalow seemed to be all in ruins without Ben’s presence. I hoped against hope that he would return, although I feared him being a vampire.

I just made myself a glass of red wine to reduce my tension. But I was again flabbergasted as I read the headlines in the newspaper: “The MD of Franks Automobile Pvt. Ltd. and the CEO’s husband fly and abscond while trying to be arrested. Is he a supernatural being or a vampire? Would this affect the reputation of the company in the future?” I banged the newspaper on the table in frustration. These media people have no other work but to sneak into others' private lives.

I got worried about my sales going down, but then I remembered that Ben had just helped me make a full-proof plan to make our automobiles available to customers at a lesser rate than any other automobile company was offering at that time without any compromise in the quality of the vehicles. I felt grateful to Ben for helping me achieve the target that I had desired for years together. Other than being a vampire, he had all the other qualities that a wife would ever expect from a good husband.

But what about my dearest friend and secretary, Lily? Was he not unfair to me by taking her life for no reason at all? Wasn’t Ben behind her death? Weren’t the police right in arresting him? I was too confused, and my mind was bombarded with questions.

The balmy morning breeze drifting in from the small window was fragrant with the scents of the ocean and blew away the hairlocks from my face, and I was carried away by the memories of the day when I met Ben for the first time.

I remembered that as I was in the habit of night walking, I was walking in the park nearby my bungalow two years ago. It must be around 9 pm. I could notice some commotion behind me. I turned back but couldn't find anybody. But when I persistently felt that somebody was following me, I turned back to find a very handsome looking young guy follow me. But although he was walking wearing heavy boots, the sound of his foot steps couldn't be heard. The guy smirked at me. I gave him a curt look and turned away my face. But the very next moment, I turned around and found that he had vanished.

Why didn't I realize that time that he was a supernatural being? Why did I trust him at all?

The sweet memories, anyhow, just brought a smile to my otherwise tensed face. But then, the very next moment, I was saddened by the loss of my best friend and secretary, Lily. To think that Ben was responsible for her death made me frustrated, so I just rushed outside and started driving. I forgot at that moment that I was advised by my doctor not to drive myself as it would cause pain in my wrist.

But I was filled with wrath for Ben, and so, ignoring the pain, I drove towards the bridge and then stopped the car nearby the seashore. I was just feeling pacified by the cool air and the picturesque sight when an SUV passing by halted suddenly, and before I could realise what was happening, I was already gagged and blindfolded. I could just feel the hands of a strong man when he almost threw me into the SUV. I felt suffocated as they drove me for almost an hour. I wriggled and protested, trying to escape from their clutches, but then their grip was strong and my wrist hurt a lot, making it impossible to escape. I had my mobile phone in the pocket of my jeans. I wished that I could give a call to my servants or to my friends. But they never gave me a chance to do so.

The driver finally parked the car somewhere, and I could guess from the elevators that they were taking me to the top floor of a skyscraper. I was skilled in martial arts myself, but then I was not given a chance to fight and escape as two strong men gripped my hands tightly while pushing me forcibly into a dark room, as I could sense even though I was blindfolded.

I was finally ungagged, and I choked continuously for minutes before I could say anything.

“Drink this glass of water; you will feel better,” one of them said, and I felt that I recognised his voice but couldn’t recollect at that moment.

I was craving water, and I couldn’t refuse it, so I drank it in a single draught without giving a second thought to whether I was getting poisoned.

But I realised that it was water and nothing else because I felt better after drinking it.

“Who the hell are you? Why have you kidnapped me? You all will soon be caught. Don’t you know who I am? I am the CEO of Frank Automobiles. You bastards will soon be arrested by the police.” I abused them literally.

“All your pride will soon vanish into thin air, you bitch. Just let my boss arrive once.” He replied curtly as he chained my hands and legs to a pole in the room. “You will be given your meals, and that is the reason I am not gagging you again.” He left the room locking me behind as he said those words.

I felt uneasy and helpless. What were these guys up to? For the past two years, Ben has always been there beside me to protect me. I used to feel so secure with him. I wished that he was around to help me out in this situation. I was still blindfolded, so I could hardly see around or guess where I was.

I was struggling to unchain myself when the door was flung open. “Remove the cloth from around her eyes. Let her be able to see me. She should also know how powerful I am.” I could hear a coarse voice speaking as the blindfold was removed from around my eyes.

I could see a very tall and robust person standing in front of me. He had his hair tied into a small pony, and he looked extremely wealthy in his attire and accessories.

“I hope you have already recognised me, Anne. Did you?” He asked with a pun in his voice.

“Sorry, but I don’t recognise such criminals and kidnappers as you. I live amidst respected civilians.” My speech was full of scorn and contempt for the chief of the kidnappers.

“Hahaha… What a joke! Your own husband is a murderer, and you call yourself a respected civilian? We all know that he has absconded from arrest. You better heed our demands or else we will leave no stone unturned in spreading the news that Ben is a vampire.” He again burst out into laughter while he said so, and his voice echoed throughout the room. I looked all around and found that the room was as big as the size of a small auditorium, fully furnished with furniture from all over the world.

I was irritated at his threats and remarks and could not help but ask him, “How do you know that Ben is a vampire and who told you that he has absconded?”

“It is not important how I came to know these facts. But imagine if this confirmed news is published in the newspapers tomorrow; then what will be your plight?” He laughed even louder this time.

He continued his speech as I breathed out aloud in frustration, “I am Joseph Andrews, the founder of Venus Automobiles, your toughest rival. Our automobiles were highly in demand until a couple of years ago. But as Ben joined as MD in your company, I suffered a setback. I just want to teach that vampire a good lesson so that he never ever dares again to meddle with me.”

“Oh! You piece of shit! That means that you are envious of my success. Haha, it is natural for you to be jealous anyway. We are doing far better than your company currently. You better wind it up, or else you will face worse situations in the future.” I turned out to be insulting him due to his provocation.

“You fucking bitch, simply blurt out the business secret plan that is making you so successful, or else help us in beheading the vampire." He threatened me as he called the inspector inside.

“He’s my friend, and he was going to arrest Ben when he absconded. Either you do as I said or else be ready for the torture. Tell me your preference. I know you are a businesswoman and will opt for the second choice and help us in beheading Ben.” Said he.

“I am not going to heed either of your demands. Do you think I will succumb to your torture? never” I retorted.

He was enraged at my outright refusal to obey him, and he picked up the cane used by the inspector and hit me hard on my already slit veins on my wrist. For a moment, I felt that I would perish, as I could see my wrists drenched in blood. But he was hardly satisfied with his act, and he took out his pocket knife and cut me all over my arms, which were chained to the pole already. Since I was already weak, I became unconscious.

When I regained my consciousness, I found myself in a dark room with a ventilator allowing a few rays of light to enter. One of the kidnappers was sitting on a chair beside me. As he saw me in a conscious state, he blew a whistle to call other kidnappers to the dark room. I could feel the blood clot on my wrist and arms. The pain seemed to be unbearable.

Joseph rushed inside and flashed the light of his torch on the mobile phone right in my eyes, intentionally making me uneasy. I felt as though I would go blind.

“Hey! This is a final warning to you to help us in beheading that vampire, or else the Merchant’s Guild has decided to ban you from carrying on your business anywhere on this continent. We are not comfortable allowing any vampire to intrude into our business community and rule us. So, you have two options: either you choose your love or your company.”

I had no option but to believe in his words, as I could see the head of our guild follow Joseph into the room. He handed over a notice to me. He flashed the light on the notice so that I could read it. The notice had the same contents as Joseph had already mentioned.

“You all are cowards, and that is the reason you have to follow such cheap methods to coax me to do what you desire.” I wanted to spit on their faces for their behaviour, but then I thought of handling the situation diplomatically so that I could at least escape from their clutches.

“But then I have built my company with great efforts, and I will not like to be banished from the business, so I will accept your proposal. Tell me what I will have to do."

"Tomorrow, early in the morning, you will be freed from your chains, and you will be allowed to use your phone just to give Ben a call asking him to arrive at this location. As he arrives, we will arrange to trap him and then behead him thereafter. I have called the famous wizard Doyle Stalin for controlling him in case he becomes rebellious.” Joseph said as he breathed out loud.

“If you know that he is a vampire, then you must be aware that he might have supernatural powers. He might defeat all of us effortlessly. You are just digging potholes into which you yourselves will fall. Try to use your wisdom, Joseph.” I said it sarcastically.

“Don’t worry about that, Anne; we have a full-proof plan and we are ready to execute it.” As he said this, I could sense that he was hiding something from me.

“You know what, Anne? I still have a proposal for you to escape from all the troubles that you are facing. You are so hot and beautiful.” He continued saying as he touched my body with his cane and then ended up inserting it inside my neckline. I wished that my hands were set free for a moment, and I would have slapped him so hard that he would never dare to tease a girl again in the future. But I felt helpless.

"Just marry me. I am ten times wealthier than you. What if you are more successful currently? I am a third-generation businessman, and I own many multistoried buildings like this one. You will live like a queen. Don’t ruin your precious beauty and youth with that useless vampire. He will give you nothing but pain. He had already fled when he saw you in danger. He is a coward, Anne.” He kept moving his cane slowly between my cleavages as he said this, and I got so furious by his behaviour that I ended up spitting on his face.

“Keep her chained for the night and tell our lady servant to feed her the meals. Otherwise, she might try to escape.” He left after giving instructions to his servants, as he felt insulted.