The year my father and I were kidnapped, I was only five years old. At that age, many things were hard to remember, but the darkness of the small, windowless room and the hunger from not eating or drinking left me deeply terrified. That’s why the memory was so vivid. My father held me tightly the entire time, comforting me and telling me that Mom would surely come to save us.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of ten million dollars. Twenty years ago, ten million was an enormous amount. At that time, my mother had just started her business and could only gather three million, which was everything she had. She pleaded over the phone for two days’ time to come up with the money. My father cried his heart out; he felt sorry for my mother and hated himself for being a burden to her.
Incredibly, in two days, my mother managed to raise ten million dollars. She mortgaged the company and all her assets and even took out high-interest loans. When the money was transferred, my father finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to me with a bitter smile, “Karolyn, your mom has come to save us. We are saved.”
But the door of the small dark room did not open immediately. We heard an argument outside:
“The money is in hand; what more do you want?”
“I don’t want the money; I want her to give up on him. Why did she pay the ransom? Why?”
“Hasan, let’s go quickly. If we don’t leave now, it will be too late. With so much money, we can live a good life at home ”
“No, you don’t understand. I love her. Why won’t she even look at me?”
“You’re crazy! If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you. Get out of here!”
“Brother, don’t pull me away. You go first; I’ll handle something and then catch up with you.”
The voices outside ceased, and the door to the small dark room opened. My father rushed out holding me tightly, shouting my mother’s name. But as soon as we stepped out, we were violently pushed down.
It was then that I realized we were on a scaffold tower. The sky above was filled with dark clouds, threatening a heavy storm. My father rolled down a section of open stairs but managed to push me into a corner of the railing before he fell.
My father looked at the assailant in disbelief: “Hasan? Is it really you? Why? Why are you doing this? I treated you like a brother; why are you harming me?”
Hasan laughed sinisterly: “Why? Of course for love.” “I demanded ten million just to make her give up on saving you, but she managed to gather the money! She really love you so much that she sold her company and risk taking high-interest loans to save you!”
Hasan’s face twisted with madness: “If she hadn’t come to ransom you, I might have let you live. But she came; I’m insanely jealous! When I go mad, there’s nothing I won’t do!” “Don’t blame me; blame your wife for loving you too much.”
With bloodshot eyes, Hasan stepped toward my father. As a child, I could see he intended to push my father off the stairs. So I desperately got up and clung to his leg: “Don’t hurt my dad! You’re a bad man! A bad man!”
Hasan kicked me violently, trying to shake me off. The scaffold tower swayed and creaked as if it could collapse at any moment.
My father steadied himself and lunged at Hasan in an attempt to subdue him and ensure our safety. But after three days without food or water, how could we be a match for Hasan? He easily overpowered my father, sat on him, and choked him viciously: “Why do you get her love while she won’t even look at me?” “What makes me less than you? If I had met Katarina first, she would have fallen in love with me!”