Ariel’s head hurts and she groans as she tries to open her eyes, but she gasps upon finding herself in a strange room. She tries to recall what happened, and where the hell this place is, and just like that, memories of the previous day came flooding her head, and she gasps. She slowly looks around the room, and that is when the realization dawns on her that she isn’t the only one in the room, but with her dad, stepmom, and the two little girls that were supposed to be her stepsisters.
“Daddy… Daddy… Are you ok? Joann… Ella… Ma’am… Are you ok?” Ariel asks worriedly as she manages to sit up on the cold floor, realization dawns on her that they have all been abducted. Hearing a silent whimper behind her, she slowly tilts her head to find Alicia tied to a chair too. Wow! This is crazy.
“What’s going on here? Why are we here?” Although she knows her question is really crazy, but she couldn’t just help it.
“Oh, you are awake? I thought you died in your sleep. That would’ve been better, as it’ll save me the stress of killing you, anyway,” Dennis uttered as he walked inside the room. He is wearing a black outfit as usual.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Ariel turned her head sharply to look at him, but he only scoffs and rolls his eyes.
“If I tell you what I want, will you give it to me?” The corner of his lips twitches into a smirk as he squats in front of her, and she gulps down nothing fearfully when she spots the pistol in his jacket holster.
“Don’t you dare touch my child!” Mr. Daniel yells from where he is also tied to a chai, and Dennis scoffs as he stands up to his feet, rolling his eyes.
“And what will you do if I touch her? Kill me? You should beg for your life now, and stop being stubborn, ok? Now, I decide whether to kill you or let you all go,” Dennis mutters sarcastically, and Mr. Daniel bites his bottom lip, realizing that he was right.
“Can you stop doing this, please? Can you stop being like this, please?” Alicia breaks into tears as she stares at her supposed dad, her heart wrenches painfully.
“Are you blaming me for being like this now? This wouldn’t have happened if you had just followed my instructions, and…”
“And what made you think that I was ever going to allow myself to get used by a monster? What made you think that I was ever going to do what you want simply because you asked me to?” Alicia knew she shouldn’t be yelling at him, but she can’t help it. As much as she wants to be calm, there is this burning anger that is consuming her. This urge to pounce on him and make him pay for everything that has happened to her and the one happening to her now.
“This man was there for me when I had no one…”
“You lied to him that you had no one, Jessica! You fucking told him you had no one while I was out there, waiting for you… While I was out there, crying my eyes out that my only child was gone. How dare you blame me? Do you think you have the right to?” He yells at the top of his voice
“And do you think you deserved to be called a father? If you deserved to be called one, I wouldn’t have left you! If you deserved to be called a husband, my mom wouldn’t have left you. You have just been a bitter soul that was lucky to have got an innocent woman pregnant. You have always been the worst human on earth! Are you even a human?” She fires back at him, and he slowly clenches his fingers tightly as he glares hard at her.
“What? You want to kill me the same way you killed my mom? Just fucking go ahead and take my life if you so much please, and let them go! All they did was take me in when I had no one, why are you punishing them for that?” She shakes her head as more tears pour down her cheeks.
“The only person that should feel offended here is Mr. Daniel. I lied to him… I told him I had no family and made a fool of him unintentionally. You have no right to get angry!” She yells again.
“I have known about everything from the onset, Alicia. I wouldn’t ever take anybody into my house without doing a background check. I knew everything that happened in your past, but I never knew your dad came back… I never knew he was blackmailing you. I understand what you went through… You were just a little girl that never deserved that kind of treatment, and trust me, I’m not mad at you,” Mr. Daniel speaks up, and she feels her heart sinks into her stomach, her mouth drops open as she stares at him in shock. Here she was all these while, being all careful with her secret, little did she know that the person she was trying to hide it from, was actually aware of everything. Turns out that she was the one making a fool out of herself all this while, but does that really matters now?
“What do you think this is? A reunion gathering? You all must really be crazy. I don’t have much time left. Where are the documents, Jessica?” Dennis scoffs before he turns and dials a number on his phone.
“Bring the papers in,” He muttered on the phone before he ends the call. Shortly, the door opens and a young man who seems to be one of his boys, walks in with a brown envelope in his hand.
“Here, boss,” The young man hands the envelope to him, and he opens it before he brings out the papers from it.
“This is the key to saving your lives, Daniel. My sweet daughter got this for me. Sign these papers and transfer everything into my name. If you do this, I promise to let you and your family go,” He smirks as he squats down in front of the shocked Mr. Daniel.
Slowly, he tilts his head to look at Alicia with a disappointed look on his face, but she throws her gaze away.
“Why, Alicia? Why did you do this?” Mr. Daniel whispers as tears brim in his eyes, but Alicia couldn’t even look him in the eyes and tell him that it was the only way to save him and his family.
“Don’t keep me waiting and sign the papers before it’s too late,” Dennis urges him, and he scoffs.
“And what makes you think that I will sign it? I’m not going to sign those papers, and you won’t harm any of us either!” Daniel snaps at him even though he knows that he was doing it the wrong way.
“I love your guts,” He smirks, before he stands up to his feet and turns to Ariel.
“Then, will taking her life make you sign the papers?” Dennis asks as he reaches out for his gun and points it toward Ariel, and she freezes on the spot…