SIX

FREYA__06

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*

My body froze, I was unable to even draw in a breath. 

There was so much blood, it looked unreal.

If I hadn't known Ethan so well, I might not have been able to recognize him. 

His dull gaze reflected only one emotion. Hopelessness.  As though he thought it was already over for him and he had accepted that fact already. 

He was half naked, there was not a spot on his body that was not covered with bruises. 

A deep gash on his forehead where he continued to bleed profusely. His jaw was swollen, as though he had been punched too many times. Even his nose was abnormally angled, the blood there told me that it was broken as well. 

"No, let her go! She h__had nothing to do with what happened!" He muttered. If anything the hands gripping my shoulders became even tighter. 

"I said to leave her! I was the one driving! I killed your wife! She d__doesn't come in any part of this!" He choked, coughing vomit mixed with blood. 

"Stop it__" I wanted to scream but my voice was so faint that I didn't even hear myself.  

My stomach swiveled with nausea when I saw the huge man slam the back of his boot against the base of Ethan's head. 

A broken sob escaped my mouth as he fell limp. His entire body was twitching abnormally. 

I would have collapsed to the floor if not for my kidnapper's firm grip on my shoulders. 

"How did it go, Rico? Did you manage to find out anything else from him?" I tensed at the sound of his deep voice and the feel of his breath which was too close to my ears. 

What was he trying to find out from Ethan?

Rico was the man who had kidnapped me from my apartment. 

He shook his head, looking very much as evil and deadly as his boss whose death grip on me was painfully unbearable. 

"They weren't sent by your enemies, It happened they were both too drunk and distracted, they lost control of their car." He grunted. 

"So what are we going to do about him, Nikolas?"  A young man who I had not noticed earlier suddenly spoke.  He was as tall and intimidating as my captor, but his eyes looked less cruel. When he stared at me, he appeared amused, if not anything. 

There was nothing funny to be amused about. Our lives were a complete joke to them. 

It was only now that I knew the name of my captor. 

Nikolas. 

"Rico, kill and dispose of him cleanly, you can burn the body." Nikolas spoke coldly and my eyes snapped to his brutal ones, 

"No__please!" I begged, my voice faint from the fear that pumped in my heart. 

He couldn't be this cruel. He could speak so casually of claiming a life.  How did they all not feel sickened? 

Why didn't they allow the police to handle this case? 

"Please, no!" My voice was borderline hysterical, I could only watch in horror as the man drew out a gun and pointed it at Ethan. 

My heart leaped to my throat. This was about to happen!

"Niko, maybe you can keep him, he might be of some use to you." The man who had asked what was to be done about Ethan spoke yet again. 

"There's no need, Angelo, every fucking second he's alive is an insult to Valentina. Now!" Nikolas ordered Rico. 

"Please___he didn't mean to kill her, let him pay for his crime but do not kill him, I beg of you!" I didn't realize I was desperately clinging onto my kidnapper's hands until he flung me away from him forcefully, causing me to hit the cemented floor roughly. The pain was barely registered by me when a loud shot rang out. 

A scream was stuck in my throat, my eyes and lips trembling at the neat bullet hole that was formed between Ethan's eyes where red blood started to pour out.  

Rico continued to shoot at Ethan's unmoving body,  scattering bullet holes until almost no part of his body was left untouched.  Rico only stopped when the gun was empty. 

Blood formed a pool on Ethan's body, rapidly spreading to all corners of the room. 

He was dead.

Oh god!

Ethan was fucking dead! 

I watched as the men produced a body bag to stuff Ethan's body like he was some kind of broken toy.  They didn't even flinch, as though they were already used to seeing a person dying. 

They dragged him away from the room, leaving sticky trails of blood on the ground. I couldn't help it, bile rose to my throat and I retched continuously, nothing came out though, because there was no food in my stomach. 

From my disheveled position on the floor, my eyes met Nikolas's and I instantly knew that I was next. 

He was going to kill me and burn my body just as he did to Ethan.  

Fresh tears flowed from my eyes, so this was the end of my life.

I muttered a silent prayer, pleading that my death would be a quick one.  I didn't want to be tortured. 

"Does it hurt?" He whispered, his gaze flickered as he surveyed mine as though he was searching for something. 

I kept mute. 

Ethan was my friend, he had made a stupid mistake, he didn't deserve to die in such a horrible way. 

If he was searching for the misery in my soul, then I guessed he would find it, along with my resignation.

"Just k__kill me already." 

My voice had no soul. 

I had already come to the fact that I was going to die, there was no need for him to prolong it. 

A smile crossed his face, but it lacked life. " Beg me for mercy, I might just spare your life."

Was he taunting me? He believed fully well that I was Ethan's partner in crime, why would he want to spare me? 

"Beg me!" He commanded, his voice striking like a whip. 

I shouldn't have taken his bait, but I was scared to die, afraid of being tortured. 

"P__please, Please!" My pleas were no more than a whimper before a full-blown sob escaped my mouth. 

"Please what?" He sneered, seeming satisfied to see me so hopeless. 

"I don't want to die! Just let me go, you can turn me in if you want to, please just don't kill me."

Oh god. 

Ethan's Mom, how devastated would she be? My parents as well, we both were our parents' only children. 

"As you wish, but you can forget about letting you go__"

My eyes flickered with a small ray of hope

, I looked to see maybe mercy in his eyes, but there was none. 

It was pure loathe.

"The police, __ your family, none of them will ever find you."

I was still confused, if he hated me so much, then why did he want to keep me alive? 

The fear of the unknown was freezing up my insides. 

He touched my face and I flinched backward. 

"I have enough plans for you, your life is mine for as long as I want it, you can forget your former identity because to the outside world, Freya Owens is dead. You will become everything that you took from me."

I stared at him in confusion.  

 

*

*

The haunted memories of Ethan's death still plagued my mind. 

A part of me still couldn't believe everything that had happened.

I was trapped inside this room, I was unconscious of what the time was,  but from what I could see from the locked windows, it was already dark outside. 

What did he mean by he had plans for me?

I realized that my captor was right about one thing. 

Nobody would come to save me in this place. 

I didn't even know where I was, he was a man who controlled even the police. 

But I was alive, I had always survived even the oddest situations. Someday, I would escape from this prison.

His cage. 

I jerked when the door was suddenly unlocked, two women walked inside.  One looked older while the other seemed to be about my age, she looked very young. 

A tray was held in her hands, and the aroma of food drifted into my nostrils.  My stomach grumbled unwillingly and it sort of raised my hopes that I wouldn't be killed any time soon. 

They didn't directly speak to me, I suddenly thought about asking them for help but decided against it the next second.  Not only were their expressions unfriendly, I knew that my captor would not send a person that would possibly help me. 

"Master wants you to eat this." The woman muttered softly, placing the tray on the table. 

Master? 

Was she talking about Nikolas? 

I expected to be fed like a prisoner, I didn't expect the three-course meal that looked as if it was prepared specially by a chef. 

They didn't exit the room until I took my first bite, 

I despised myself for having such a healthy appetite,  but I didn't think he would go through all the troubles just to poison me. 

I ensured to fill up my stomach, heaven knew I needed all the strength I could possibly get.