MasukElianaMinutes turned to hours. Every heartbeat became a loud reminder of the danger—the doom—that awaited us. Every second without a word or news from Susie felt like a bloody century."This is beautiful."Someone exclaimed from behind me."Whose painting is this?"For an exclamation like that, it had to be a splendid piece of art. I smiled, willing myself to turn around, but I was too tense to do anything other than worry."Eliana, it's yours," Paige gasped.No way. I mean, I was not bad at painting, but—"If you would just turn around for a moment," Paige whispered."That is Eliana Garcia's painting. She's over there," I heard Xavier say. I had not realized he had arrived.A silver-haired old woman walked over to me with a huge smile on her face. She looked genuinely happy to see me, her eyes bright with joy. That was the exact sort of reaction an artist prays their work will receive. I forced a smile."You are so talented, my dear. You deserve global recognition," she said, taki
ElianaThe drive back to the apartment was quiet—too quiet. Something had happened while I was inside the house; something no one wanted to talk about.The men were silent, their faces void of expression and emotion. Still, there was something about the way they kept checking behind us, the way they glanced at me when they thought I was not looking.The car came to a halt, and the door was opened for me. I inhaled deeply, grateful for how chill, yet soothing the air was."Is it just me or is the air different?" I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.The confused look the brown-haired man—almost red-haired—gave me suggested he took that a little too seriously."Where?"Before I could respond, I was pushed behind a human shield, ready to defend. Except there was no need."We can't see the air, can we? And we most definitely can't shoot it unless you fancy wasting bullets."He lowered his head in shame. I didn't bother to ask questions I already had answers to. I had to talk to
ElianaMy heart pounded in my chest. The room seemed to have become void of oxygen. The man dragged a chair and sat on it, his eyes never leaving my face. It was as if he was searching for something.What could he possibly find on my face? God, was this how I was going to die? He had not made any move yet—didn't have to. It was going to be an easy kill. There was no way I was going to fight him, let alone win.“I appreciate silence, but I expect an answer when I ask a question.”Goodness, could this day get any worse? I had never heard such authority in a voice before. His voice was low, yet commanding.“I—”Words failed me. My eyes fixed on the scar at the side of his face. A thin, long scar that appeared to be a cut wound, starting a little too close to his ear and ending at the corner of his eye. Eyes as remarkably intense as Scott's, blue-grey orbs.For once, I was grateful for the security. Without thinking twice, I screamed as loud as I could. “Help!”I took a few steps back, r
ElianaNight had never lasted so long. I tossed and turned until dawn. I couldn't think straight. Every time I tried to come up with something, I got distracted like my mind was warring against itself, thoughts colliding, words spoken over the other. I was going crazy.Sebastian. That was the best idea I could come up with. I was too distraught to think straight. Someone calm and in a better position to think should do the thinking or at least, help me stay focused enough on one topic to actually think properly.I texted him.**Me:** Meet me at the G&Glam boutique.I drifted off to sleep.**Sebastian:** Where are you? We haven't been able to reach either of you.I had not expected a reply, at least not so soon.**Me:** Meet me there, I'll tell you everything.The sound of my alarm awakened me. Too tired to get up, I searched for my phone with my eyes closed, tapping the side of the bed till I found it.I dragged myself out of bed, heading to the bathroom. As much as I was happy
SCOTTEliana’s screams and protests began to fade as she was dragged out. I tried to remain conscious but I could not hold on for long. Fists and feet pound on me. For some reason, I felt nothing but the need to go to sleep.Deciding to accept my fate—death without the chance to say a word or explain myself, I let the peace of the dark embrace me. I was out cold.The next time I awakened, I was still laying on the cold floor; maybe a different place, I couldn't tell. There wasn't a sound, not even a faint whisper—nothing.What felt like turbulence, a little bump, making me slam my head back down on the floor. I slid back into the dark.The sound of footsteps grew louder and closer. I could feel the anger in the air. I forced my eyes open but all I saw was complete darkness. Instinctively, I tried to reach for my face but it felt impossible. With as much energy that I could muster, I pulled hard only to feel the biting burn of ropes on my skin.Not only was bound to a chair, I was h
ElianaOne day, a whole fucking day went by and still no news. I let those men drag me all the way back to London. To an apartment pretty close to school.It was basically a house arrest. I wasn’t allowed to leave the apartment. There were eyes on me almost every second of the day, making sure I didn't try to escape.“Call your boss.” I ordered, my voice was steady, fierce.The man closest to me raised an eyebrow in question.“You heard me, call your boss, Mr. Garcia.”My gaze was fierce. That was all I had left, feigned control and confidence. Giving me a quizzical look, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed my father's number.Stretching my hand forward, I wriggled my fingers; a quiet order. He handed me the phone right when my dad's voice buzzed through the speaker.“Hello?”“Hello, Mr. Garcia.” My voice was stiff, emotionless… way too calm.“Eliana?”I couldn't tell if the tone in his voice was that of surprise or irritation.“Yes. You wouldn't call nor take my calls,
Eliana's POV Scott might have been acting weird for the reasons he'd mentioned but I could tell there was something else. Something was bothering him and I didn't know what it was. I watched him for some minutes until I was seized by a yawn.“Good morning, daddy.” I greeted through my
Scott's POV Sleep eluded me. After we had sex last night, Eliana went to sleep and I just couldn't sleep. The cryptic message just kept replaying in my head. Deep down, I knew I was overreacting but a part of me yelled this was trouble. Somehow, I could feel there was trouble.“Good morning, daddy
Eliana's POV They say ask, and you shall receive, right? Well I received silence when asked for answers. I was both mad and worried at the same time. Scott totally ignored me even when I had said some mean things. The way his eyes had turned dark when I had called him childish... It made me
Scott's POV I didn't think Eliana would react the way she did when I had tried to tell her it was best we did nothing today. The look in Eliana's eyes was one of disappointment, maybe a little bit of irritation too. I could tell what was going on in her head. Fuck! she didn't even give me







