Chapter one

Chloe was panting loudly habang pilit niyang pinapakalma ang kanyang sarili. She tried to heighten her senses as the two men who kidnap her tightly put her in blindfold habang nakatali ang dalawa niyang kamay. She tried to wriggle to ease the pain on her wrist pero hindi man lamang lumuluwag ang pagkakatali nito. 

She heard their murmur. "Ano ang kailangan nila sa akin? Ransom?" She thought to herself. 

Her fear is an understatement. She wondered kung sino ang may pakana nito at kung bakit. She was confused about how they entered the house without alerting the alarm system. The last thing she expected na magiging ganito ang kahihinatnan ng kanyang gabi. She was in bed reading her books when a loud thud was heard downstairs. Chloe wondered at first if the helpers were back.

It was out of the blue na pinayagan ng kanyang madrasta na bigyan ng pahinga ang lahat ng drivers at yaya nila. She thought it was odd but didn't mind calling her out about it.

Bothered by the unusual sound Chloe went out of her bedroom and traced the steps on the massive stairway when she suddenly felt two strong hands pinning her down. Takot at pagkalito ang una niyang naramdam, until she heard their menacing laughter that made her realize this was a real thing.

She wanted to plea but being shoved aggressively at the back of the car without a sight kung saan siya dadalhin ng mga kidnappers made her shut her mouth.

"Tiba-tiba na naman tayo nito..." Chloe heard one man talk and that made her breathing stop briefly. She swallowed hard. 

"Oo nga eh, naka jackpot tayo" sagot ng pangalawang lalaki. 

"Tingnan mo nga naman ang pagkakataon, sayang naman tong magandang dilag na ito kung hindi pa natin 'to papatusin. Ang kinis ng balat oh, mukhang ang sarap tikman" 

Chloe was horrified to hear clearly what the two men were suggesting. Her lips tremble as she can hear the loud pounding of her heart. 

"Please, kung sino man ang nag-utos sa inyo na gawin ang bagay na ito nagmamakaawa ako, I can pay you triple than the amount that was promised. Please let me go" she pleaded. 

She heard them laugh, making her feel even more vulnerable. She watched a lot of suspense thriller movies and even documentaries about abduction and most of the time it never ended well for the victim. Pilit na iwinawaksi ni Chloe and mga imahe na pinapakita ng kanyang utak, she can't succumb to her own fear. Not yet. She tried to pacify herself. 

Napansin niya na biglang huminto ang sasakyan. "Is this the end of the line for me?" She thought to herself. 

Chloe Reyes is the sole heiress of the Empire Trading Co. the biggest trading company in the country. The vast influence of their family in the business world is not something that anyone can take lightly. They are indeed powerful, to say the least. 

Being aware of her status, lumaki si Chloe na nakakaangat sa buhay but despite all the comfort and luxury she experienced in life, she longed for only one thing. She wanted her dad to be happy. Losing her mom at an early age was devastating for her but she also witnessed how difficult it was for her father, so when he found a new love sa katauhan ni Lucille Domingo, her mom's best friend she kept all her inhibitions aside and welcomed her with open arms despite her reservations towards Lucille. 

It started with little non-threatening things, unti-unting napapansin ni Chloe ang ibang katauhan ni Lucille that only shows if wala sa presensiya ng kanyang ama, she can even sense her resentment towards her. Her subtle undertone when she talks to her is hard to ignore. She has not raised her voice towards her, but she feels the sarcasm behind her words. Why does Lucille feel any animosity towards her is beyond Chloe's comprehension? 

Naalala ni Chloe on how many times she wanted to raise it to her dad, pero tuwing nagkakaroon na siya ng kaunting tapang to voice it out, Lucille always lingers like a hawk. It seems that she can read her mind and knows her plans and she is finding a way to stop her from verbalizing it. 

"Could Lucille be capable of kidnapping her? Could she be the person behind this crime? Why would she do that? What's her goal?" the questions flashed one by one.  

Her thoughts were cut short when Chloe felt she was being pulled painfully palabas ng sasakyan. She can't still see anything but narinig niya ang pag bukas ng pinto as they pushed her inside the house or a room. She immediately lost her balance and fell on the solid floor; she grunted trying to ease the discomfort. 

After a while, she heard footsteps heading towards her, she braced herself. Bigla nitong tinanggal ang blindfold and Chloe had to adjust her eyesight, in front of her were the two men who were gazing at her maniacally.

She gulped. 

She checked her surroundings and noticed na dinala siya ng mga ito sa isang maliit na cabin, it was semi-lighted, enough to see the features of the two men who captured her. Maalikabok ang paligid, confirming that this hasn't been used for a while. The small room was practically empty except for a few broken wooden chairs that had not served its purpose, the entire space was dirty, rugged, and disheveled.

"Where is this place?  Where am I?" She thought. 

"O ano? sayang naman kung wala tayong mapapala nito?" the bigger guy spoke addressing it sa kasama niya, he snorted.

"Tumigil ka nga! Baka mapahamak pa tayo nito kung may gagawin tayo." the shorter guy reasoned out scratching his head in the process. 

Based on their exchange, Chloe feels that they wanted to do horrible things to her, and they are now deciding whether to proceed or not. She wanted to cry ngunit pilit niyang pinipigilan ang sarili not to cave in to her fears. She'll die fighting if necessary. 

The larger guy didn't seem to mind the point that his partner raised. He paced towards Chloe, and she knew she had to do something. 

"Ikaw ang bahala, basta ako... pagsasawaan ko ito" he reached out to her smaller frame and touched her shoulder. She wanted to gag as she felt his hand on her neck caressing it. It was a disgusting feeling and Chloe was on the verge of hysteria. 

She was about to scream when the door burst open, and Chloe didn't hide the shock that registered on her face. The man who made a move on her back off abruptly as he gave way to the alluring frame in front of them. 

"Lucille? Lucille Domingo?" Chloe uttered loudly.

Biglang nawalan ng lakas si Chloe as it fully confirmed her doubt. 

A loud slap hit her face leaving a tingling pain on her cheek. She was surprised. Her eyes widened in shock.  

"Napaka walang modo mo talaga! I am your stepmom, and you are not even addressing me properly." She shouted. "It's Mrs. Lucille Domingo-Reyes, don't forget that! Clearly, lumaki kang walang inang nag-alaga sa iyo teaching you simple manners" she corrected Chloe as a thin smirk registered her lips. 

"Why are you doing this?" A flare of anger flashed in Chloe's eyes as she gazed at her so-called stepmother. 

Humalakhak ng malakas si Lucille. "Well, you're not that sharp are you, Chloe? If we remove the heiress, then who do you think can benefit next?" she intentionally left the details hanging. 

Chloe was surprised kung gaano ka selfish and twisted ang kayang gawin ni Lucille for the sake of money. She knew she had a facade but never in a million years had she thought Lucille could commit a heinous crime for the sake of wealth. 

"Where is Dad?" she asked suddenly. Her father is in danger too, if this woman will do everything to get rid of her, what will stop her from doing the same thing sa kanyang ama? 

Lucille laughed once again. "You should be worried about your own life first, I mean, no one suspected about your mom, so I think I can get away with it for the second time round?" She pursed her lips as she suppresses another smirk na lalong nagpalamig sa kaluluwa ni Chloe. 

"No, no, no. Is that a confession that there was foul play taken against her mother?" she wanted to ask.

"What exactly are you talking about?" she clarified. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to suppress her breathing. 

"Well, you won't live long enough to know it," Lucille uttered with finality. 

Chloe felt a massive terror when she smelled the scent of gasoline and saw how they scattered it all over the small cabin. Are they going to torch me alive?

"Lucille! Please, please! Don't do this to me. Please, I am begging you" she pleaded loudly. 

Chloe crawled almost kissing Lucille's boot as she earnestly requested for her life to be spared. 

"I pray for you to have eternal peace my beautiful stepdaughter." her lips curved lacing her words with poison. 

Lucille walked heading towards the door while the two men she hired followed behind her. Chloe saw the actions pave right in front of her eyes. Unti unti niyang nakita ang pag kuha nang malaking lalaki ng lighter from his side pockets, smiling as they want to inject torture even in her last moments. 

Chloe cried and screamed begging once again, her horror of how it was going to end was affirmative. As the last image of Lucille flashed in her eyes before the cabin door was fully closed, Chloe's hope was wearing thin. Bigla niyang tiningnan ang nakapaligid sa kanya and check if there is a way out. She needed to get his hands free from the tightrope. Chloe's mind was racing when she noticed a sharp object underneath the broken chair not far from where she was sitting. She walked towards it and tried to pick it up gamit ang kanyang bibig. Her adrenaline was on the roof and her survival instinct was kicking in. She securely held on to the broken metal and started to move it against the knot back and forth, twisting it vigorously. Bigla niyang napansin na lumuluwag na ito sa kanyang kamay, she repeated the process continuously and when she broke free, she was ecstatic. 

Her happiness was short-lived when she started to see thick smoke coming from the outside, she lowered herself para hindi niya malanghap ang delikadong usok. The Fire Drill at her university started to pay off as she maneuvered herself to find an escape route. 

"I need to survive!" She repeated the mantra as she crawled carefully towards the door. When she pushed it forward it was locked. The heat slowly transcends now on those old wooden walls. Her skin started to feel the warmth burning from a distance. 

Chloe suddenly felt that her consciousness was fading, she couldn't get out of there and there was no other escape. The cabin had no windows, and the only exit was the door in front of her. She wanted to cry. 

She's going to die. That was her realization.

The cabin blazed far too quickly and as Lucille watched the scene right in front of her eyes, she laughed loudly celebrating the success of achieving her dreams. 

"Burn Chloe, burn!" she screamed as the fire danced to her roar.