Chapter Two

*PRESENT*

Petra entered into the warehouse, followed by the bodyguard who had summoned her. Just as she expected, there was a man sprawled out across the floor with knife marks serving as tattoos all over his body.

Such summons from Evans could only mean one thing. She was required to stitch someone up again.

Watching the guard go up to inform Evans about her presence, her pleading eyes followed his back, hoping he would reconsider the harm he was about to cause this man. Evans almost always used her presence as an excuse to damage people completely, claiming “his doctor” was here to treat them.

Evans soon looked in her direction and flashed a massive smile, which made Petra more terrified than comfortable.

“Alas, my doctor is here. Do it again.” He giggled maniacally in a stone-cold voice.

The guard dipped the knife in hot coal before proceeding to delve it into the skin of the young man. Petra couldn't help but feel guilty as loud screams escaped the man's lips.

“Please let me go” he begged, backing up against the wall in a bid to get further away from Evans.

The look on Evan's face was foreign to no one in that room, perhaps just the bleeding man. It was a calm yet fiery look, indicating that he wasn't going to stop until he extracted his answer.

“Had enough? Who do you work for?”  Evans questioned. “Just give me a name and boom you'll be free.”

That wasn't true. No enemy ever saw Evans's face and walked away alive.

“The name is death in itself. You're not going to get anything useful out of me, please just let me go.” He replied, taking a hold of Evan's foot.

“Get your filthy hands off my foot,” Evans shouted in disgust, yanking his leg repeatedly to release the man's hold on his feet.

“Do it again” he commanded the guard. “On the same spot,” he added without mercy.

The man screamed in horror once again as the hot knife tore across the same spot on his hand.

“He's losing too much blood,” A petrified Petra pointed out.

Evans ignored her and kept on watching as blood oozed out of the man's hand.

“At this rate, he'll bleed to death” she continued. This spectacle was something she could never get used to. For five years of her life, she had to go through this torture almost every day. Watching people beg for their lives and unable to help except when told to stitch them up.

She already knew how this was going to end. It was either the man would refuse to talk and get tortured to death, or he would talk and Evans would blow out his brains with a pistol. Either ways, they always died, but as she stood far away from the gruesome scene, she was secretly praying this one wouldn't.

“Stitch him up.” Evans commanded, jolting her out of her delusion.

With quick steps, she stepped closer to the man and bent down to assess him; anyone knew better than to waste Evans's time. Cringing in disgust, Petra turned her face away immediately. The tissues and ligaments had been badly severed, the hand was hanging on by a thread of flesh which a lot of blood had clouded.

“Hand me the usual,” she instructed the guard.

The usual consisted of a cotton wool, spirit, gauze, and needle and thread. She was never allowed to use more than that in stitching up someone.

The entire five minutes she spent in stitching up the man was full of cries of pain. Petra held back her tears, it was always considered a sign of weakness, and made to leave the room immediately she was done.

“Where do you think you're headed? Stay back, I'm not done with you,” Evans barked at her.

“Are you ready to talk?” Evans asked the man, who could barely talk by this time. He made no sign to answer and just kept on whimpering in pain.

“Do it again,” Evans commanded the guard, and the vicious cycle continued. Petra was once again called to stitch up the man.

“Help, someone, help me,” the man cried out in pain as she stitched up his body again.

“It's okay, calm down” Petra consoled him, wishing there was a way she could get him out of there. No human deserved to suffer like that.

“Nobody's saving you now” Evans told him, holding up his chin. “Nobody will find you here, it's best you start talking if you want to walk out of here alive.”

“I know folks like you. You get the name, and you'll kill me and my image at home gets tarnished. I'd rather die a loyal man.” The man retorted, screaming.

“You leave me with no choice.” Evans stepped away from him. “Again!” He screamed at the guard, visibly angry.

The cycle continued for about thirty minutes until Petra announced, “He is dead.” She backed away from the corpse and held her hand to her mouth to avoid letting Evans hear her sobs. She just watched a man die.

It wasn't the first time, she didn't think it was going to be the last either.

“Clean this up,” Evans said casually as if nothing happened. “You all are dismissed” with that, he walked out of the room.

Petra ran out of the room and went straight to her car. “I can't do this anymore,” she cried as she kept hitting her head against the steering wheel.

Drying her tears with the back of her hands, she got out of her car and headed to Evans's office.

“Excuse me,” Petra walked past the guards and into Evans's office. She no longer needed to book an appointment to see him.

“Petra dear, it's you,” Evans turned to stare at her as he heard the knock on his table. “To what do I owe this visit? Is there a new update? He asked.

“Lest I forget, you did an excellent job today. I was so proud of you,” he told her with a wide grin.

“About that, I've repaid my debt, and you're free of my services,” she told him bluntly; this newly found courage surprising her

Evans sat up immediately with a raised eyebrow. “ I don't understand. What are you talking about?” He asked her.

“Five years ago, I borrowed money and I agreed to work for you for five years to pay back the loan.” She explained.

“Ha ha ha” he laughed mockingly. “Who told you it was for five years?”

“That's what the contract says. That was the plan.”

“Well, well, well. I remember no such thing. If you must know, this contract is for a lifetime. Hold up,” he said, lifting his finger indicating silence as she made to talk. He pulled out the file containing the contract and dropped it in front of her. “Check for yourself.”

She opened the file hurriedly and started to read through it. Truly, there was no place where it was written that the contract was for five years.  She had been tricked. There was no evidence.

“You tricked me, you cunning serpent.” She shouted, bursting into tears.

“Oh, watch it, will you? Else I have your tongue cut off.”Evans got up from his chair and slammed his palms on the table. “Was I the one in dire need of twenty thousand dollars? Didn't I give it to you the next day?” He questioned hitting his hand on the table. Anger was written all over his face, then suddenly he burst into his maniac-like laughter.

Petra was scared, she knew he could kill her there and then, so she decided to threaten him. “ I would report this to the police, alongside all your illegal activities.”

“Do as you wish, but remember your mother is still on an oxygen tank. One wrong move, and she's gone” he said.

“How do you know that?” Petra asked him in a shaky voice. Ever since she got to know about his shady business. She had her mother moved to a private and discreet hospital to avoid situations like this. She was paying a giant sum of money each month to keep it a secret.

“It is none of your business.” He placed his hands and the table and moved his head closer to her, staring into her eyes.

“Five years ago, the surgery was successful and she got the kidney transplant. You took her home to daisy street. Six months later, she had a mild illness, and she went back to the hospital, the kidney she was given was equally bad. She needed another transplant within two years. Fast-forward to last year, the transplant was successful again with a good kidney, but she has to remain in the hospital for almost two years then you had her moved. In fact, she has changed hospitals thrice in your quest to hide her from me."

"Do what you wish with that piece of information." He concluded and sank back into his rocking chair with pure mischief clearly written all over his face.

Petra was dumbfounded, she stared at him with her eyes and mouth wide open. She wanted to talk but the words weren't coming out. Her blue eyes would soon turn black in frustration and anger. Evans knew every single detail about her life. Even if she ran, he would find her and she couldn't leave her mother at his mercy. She had no choice but to stay. He had her exactly where he wanted her to be; at the tip of his fingers.