I woke up to find my eyes covered, sitting on a cold floor as my body began to freeze. I tried to move my hands, but they were chained to a pipe beside me, the only thing free were my legs.
“I think we should just kill her,” I heard Gloria say.
“We have already wasted a month waiting for an opportunity to capture her; there’s no point wasting any more time,” she argued.
“I agree, let’s torture her and kill her,” another familiar voice said, though I couldn’t make out who it was.
“No, I want her to know why we are killing her. I must have my revenge,” Wayne said, and my heart skipped a beat.
‘Revenge? Kill me?’ My body instantly went into panic mode as I began to struggle to get free. Each time the chain hit the pipe, it made a loud clack sound.
“Let me go, please! It was an accident,” I pleaded after minutes of trying.
“Jake tried to kill me and I defended myself; it was self-defense,” I continued to plead.
The room became silent, and I could hear the sound of heels approaching me.
“Gloria, is that you?” I asked, raising my head to where I assumed Gloria was.
My eyes were still covered, and all I could see was pitch black.
“Hmm,” someone breathed on my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
“Do you think we should make a video for Ethan to see?” Wayne asked.
“Well, that’s not a bad idea,” Gloria agreed, and I felt strong hands ripping my clothes off.
“Show him a little skin, since he likes her so much,” Gloria mocked, her voice laced with a hint of pleasure.
“Uh!” I gasped as my dress got ripped off, my reflexes kicking in as I held the sleeve of the dress.
The fear of having vultures I couldn’t see hovering around me started to creep in as my heart raced. There was no telling what else they could do.
“A little blood too,” Gloria said as I felt a sharp knife slice my exposed arm.
“Enough!” Wayne commanded, pulling the blindfold off my face. I began to see them all.
I looked around and saw Gloria by my side, Wayne knelt in front of me, and Alfred.
“Alfred?” I called out staring at him with shock,
was I looking at a ghost I thought.
“aren’t you dead?” I wondered aloud, my eyes widening as they met Alfred’s.
“Of course he’s not dead, you fool,” Gloria said, holding the bloody knife she used to slice my hand and tapping on the blood like the psychopath she was.
“His death was part of our elaborate plan to get Ethan away from you,” Gloria explained, and my eyes furrowed.
“The plan was to get him out of the way so we could kill you, but my foolish son Jake got greedy and wanted to take all the glory for himself,” she said. I was right; they were all a family of psychopaths.
“Kill me?” I stuttered, wondering why they could possibly want to kill me.
“Because I was with Ethan?” I asked, and she chuckled.
“I told you to leave him alone.”
“But I’m not with Ethan anymore,” I said, tears beginning to fall from my eyes. I had dated Ethan for less than a year, but I was still suffering because of it.
“I promise you, Ethan and I don’t even talk anymore. Please, let me go,” I began to cry and plead, struggling to get my hands off the chain.
“I’m sorry, Emily, but that’s not the only reason you’re here,” Wayne said.
“Right now, you are the only thing Ethan holds dearly; you are the only way we can get to him,” Wayne explained, and I shook my head desperately.
“What about Gloria, his first love? He holds her dearly,” I desperately attempted to get myself off the hook, but it made them laugh instead.
“Ethan doesn’t love me,” Gloria spat. Even in my pain and despair, I could sense the jealousy in her voice.
I took a deep breath, feeling defeated.
My heart was pounding in my chest as the cold from the floor made my body tremble.
“The truth is, Emily, if you and your silly cousin didn’t ruin my chance to get back at Ethan for everything he had done, we wouldn’t even be here. So blame yourself,” Alfred’s voice deepened, but I could still sense some remorse.
I steadied my breath, looking around the room to understand the dynamic. Gloria was the woman scorned, while Alfred was a coward with a vendetta.
I looked at Wayne, wondering what his driving force was. Was he the ruthless mastermind or someone I could appease?
“Wayne,” I called out in the softest voice I could, focusing on him. “I don’t even know you, and I have done nothing to you. Why would you want to hurt me?”
“This bitch,” Gloria scoffed, moving towards me with her knife again when Wayne stopped her.
“Leave her,” Wayne commanded, stepping in front of her before turning to face me.
“I’ll tell you, Emily, but after I tell you, we will kill you,” Wayne said, his voice deeper and filled with anger.
“I’ll give you a day to learn everything about your so-called boyfriend, how ruthless he is, and what he has done to innocent people. At the end of the day, I’m going to send a piece of you to Ethan one by one until I finally send him your head,” Wayne threatened.
I swallowed hard, my heart sinking as Wayne’s words hit the air.
They were definitely going to kill me. I realized as I began struggling to free myself again, but each time, my hands twisted, and the pipe made that clacking sound.
What did Ethan do to make these people so angry?