Caged

Jennifer sat in the centre of the metal cage that was in the basement. This was worse than being locked up in the attic. At least the attic had some amount of light coming in through the window during the daytime. The basement was pitch-dark if they didn't turn the lights on and Jennifer doubted that they would keep the lights on for her. 

She glanced sideways at the four men who were busy gambling on a table. Their conversation and shouts of excitement were of no interest to her. Perhaps they wanted to make their stay enjoyable. She couldn't care less about what they did, as long as they left her alone. At least the light was still on as long as they were still in here.

Hugging herself as she sat on the hard cement floor, she rested her head on her knees, in an attempt to comfort herself. She was still trembling. The fear that had gripped her had now resided. However, her body was still in shock. At least she was now under surveillance and maybe, no one would try to assault her. 

Thankfully, the injury on her hand was not very deep and it had started to heal after bleeding for some time. She was grateful for it. However, seeing Frank's anger was frightening. She had always heard about the Grim Reaper, Frank Gotham. She had heard how dangerous he was. How emotionless and cold he could be. That he wouldn't think twice before taking someone's life. Never in her life had she thought that she would have to face the dreaded mafia leader. When she challenged him yesterday, she was driven by adrenaline and pure anger. 

However, the events that followed had scared her beyond her imagination. Her father had always been absent in her life. He would say that he had to take care of his business and wouldn't come home for long hours, and she understood. Although she craved his presence, she knew that he wouldn't be able to take care of her if he was wary about his business. Hence as she grew, she stopped expecting to see much of him and opened her studio, to pursue her dream of becoming an international top artist. She had opted to be anonymous because she was sensitive to criticism, and she found it easier to stay unknown to the people because dealing with paparazzi and the media was something she wasn't looking forward to. 

But now it seemed to her that she was entangled in the mafia's trap, just because of a misunderstanding and she was being ripped apart from her passion, while she was slowly reaching her goal.

She had willingly agreed to be their prisoner to save her family from getting hurt. She knew that they were dangerous people and that she would have to muster all the courage in her to face them. She wasn't going to back off, that was for sure. 

"Well, it is time for us to go, mate." 

One of them groaned as he stretched himself, catching Jennifer's interest. She kept her eyes downcast, seemingly indifferent to what they said, though she was silently listening to them. 

"Yeah. We need to stay on duty…..we cannot risk letting this bitch out of our sight." Another one replied. 

"Yeah. She thought she could escape….." one of them snickered. 

"Hey…..we shouldn't underestimate anyone. So no one must be sloppy about this." The first one responded, making the latter shrug.

"The cage is locked. So I doubt that she would be able to escape that. But two of us will guard the entrance at all times and we will check on her now and then." One of them proposed. 

The others agreed, thinking that it was a good idea and left the basement, leaving her alone locked in a strong metal cage. She sighed and looked around as soon as she was certain that she was alone. At least they had left the lights on. 

She looked at the electronic lock. It was high security, and she had seen them use their fingerprints to unlock it. The bars of the cage were made of strong, thick metal. They were right. There was no way that she could escape from this cage, not unless she somehow managed to break the lock and she had absolutely no idea of how to break an electronic lock of high security. 

For the first time since she was brought as a prisoner, her eyes welled with tears of despair. She still wasn't afraid of death. However, she wished that she at least had something to comfort herself. Hugging herself, she laid her exhausted body on the cold, cement floor, as little droplets of salty water rolled out of the corners of her eyes. 

"I miss you, Nana." She whispered silently, feeling completely broken. "I wish you were here…." She gasped.

"Time passed by, and Jennifer was immersed in her sorrow the whole time. Since she was locked up in the basement where she couldn't have a glimpse of the sun, in addition to not having her phone or any other device with her to check the time, she was unaware of when night fell. And to tell the truth, she couldn't care less. All she could think of was her ruined life and unfulfilled desire for parental love. Her heart craved for the love of a complete family, which was an unfulfilled desire.

"I wonder if my father would answer Nana's call." She thought out loud and sighed. She knew her Nana would desperately try to contact her father to inform him about the abduction, but the real concern was, will he be reachable? It had been two weeks since he had come home and a whole week since he last answered her calls. His phone had been switched off most of the time and it had started to worry her. This was the longest yet, he had gone without any news. 

Sighing in despair, she closed her eyes and remained like that until sleep enveloped her. Her tear-stained face lay on her arm, as little sobs escaped her lips. She may have prevented herself from crying out loud, however, she couldn't stop her body from weeping, when her soul finally escaped into the comfort of the land of dreams.

However, her peaceful sleep was rudely interrupted when the Grim Reaper decided to visit her. 

"Wake up! Bitch!" He bellowed, startling the sleeping girl in the cage. 

He studied her face and smirked in satisfaction when he realised that she was now not showing any resistance. Her emotionless face was fixed on his stone-cold one, staring at him without blinking.

"Won't you greet me?" He sniggered at her, however, she didn't react. She simply stared at him with a gaze full of pure hate. 

"I like that fire in your eyes." He chuckled. "Too bad, you're just a prisoner." He added and paused for a while. She simply sat in her position, without making any movement, like a statue. Frank sighed after a while. 

"Did you bring her food tonight?" He asked his men, while he still kept his gaze fixed on her. 

"Sir, she was sleeping….." he trailed off when Frank hissed. 

"I didn't ask what she was doing…… Did you or didn't you bring any food for her tonight?" He repeated his question, slowly, and dangerously, intimidating the person who stood beside him.

"I….sir ….no...I thought…." He stammered.

"Shhhhh." Frank hushed him. His deadpan look gave the man in front of him the creeps. "Go and bring food for her. I didn't ask any of you to starve her. Not yet at least." He chuckled darkly. 

"We need her alive….for now," he smirked. The man hastened to carry out the orders, fearing that any delay might anger the Don. 

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at him. Her facial expression remained the same. Void. She wished that she could rip this vile human in front of her. However, she was forced to remain behind bars and hence helpless.

She wanted to scream and threaten him. However, she knew none of it would scare him and exerting herself would only tire her already exhausted body. So she remained seated in the cage, not bothering to show any kind of reactions to her enemies. 

Food was brought to her and once again she was left alone. She gave a bored look at the plate of food in front of her and sighed. She wasn't hungry. Her appetite was completely ruined. 

"I hate you, Frank." She whispered, her eyes once again brimming with tears. 

"And I can't believe this. How could he accuse my father of stealing!!!!! Why would he want to do that?" She sighed.  

"I wish my mom was alive. Perhaps then, he would love me more." Her voice quivered as she whispered the last part and inhaled shakily. 

Maybe the reason for her dad to immerse himself in his business was the death of her mother. The death of a loved one surely changes a person. Perhaps that was how he coped with his pain….. she thought to herself. 

She gulped and stared at the plate of food. She had the least bit of interest in eating anything. 

"I've got to get out of this place….. somehow…." She murmured to herself, racking her brain, trying to think of a way to escape. Her eyes darted from the untouched food to the locked gate. 

Maybe…… a smile curved her lips. 

If she needed medical assistance, they would be forced to open that lock and get her out of the cage. 

"It is worth a try." She smirked.