Chapter 125

My head was pounding.

My limbs ached.

My whole body felt as though it had been thrown onto a bed of thorns. Even my little toe felt a colossal pain, as if it were slowly disintegrating.

I tried to open my eyes. And when I did, I realized it was still dark, the atmosphere echoing dark sounds that buzzed in my ears.

Was I blindfolded?

I tried to move, but with a simple shift, I instantly realized my position. My limbs were raised, tied at the wrist. My feet were in the air. I couldn’t feel the ground.

I rocked back and forth, squeezing my wrists with all the desperation that ran through my veins. I rubbed part of my arm on my face, hoping to remove the blindfold, but the knot had been tied too well.

Losing part of my bodily autonomy and my sense of sight was terrifying. It wasn’t like I had been dismembered or had my eyes ripped out, but the mental pain followed the same path.

I tried to stay calm, yet every time I recalled the sound of that voice and the dark, ghostly structure I had seen, my survival instinct took over.

I needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Are you enjoying your stay, princess?”

My heart broke instantly.

So I wasn’t wrong. It was him.

That voice dug deep into my mind. The memories of Emilia from four years ago filled the space that was meant to keep my body functioning.

I would recognize that tone from a distance.

I would recognize it from any of them.

Questions came pouring in, theories developing until a conclusion was reached.

“Forgive the conditions. I couldn’t get a five-star hotel, but I thought it would be more comfortable if we were at home,” he mocked.

“Your sense of humor hasn’t changed. Still showing your low IQ.”

He laughed.

“You used to be more receptive, Emilia. Where did your good mood go?”

“In the same place where none of you should have come from. From hell,” I spat furiously, shaking my body.

The anguish of being in such a vulnerable position was getting to me. My lungs were already looking for a plan B because I could collapse at any moment. The lack of air was coming. However, fear was the first sign of weakness. I couldn’t give them that opening.

“Where’s your little boyfriend?” I asked with a laugh. “Had to ask your friend to kidnap me and still don’t have the courage to see me? Are you scared?”

He gasped and closed the distance by three steps. From the echo of his footsteps, he was in an empty, spacious place. If there were furniture, it was very few.

“I don’t like this. You’re confusing me with Cole,” he sneered.

I felt revulsion invade my intestines immediately.

I had been wrong the entire time. They were in contact. They had never ended their friendship. Their bond was as strong as the currents of a vast ocean.

Damn, I was an idiot.

“Are you all here?” I inquired, trying not to expose my fear.

“Unfortunately, princess, I invited you to answer my questions, not the other way around.”

Another pair of steps echoed.

He was getting closer.

“What do you want from me, huh?” I spat with my heart pounding. “I have nothing to offer.”

“You do,” he whispered. “One thing, specifically.”

A wave of anguish spread through my entire body.

I needed to get out of here.

Fear was taking hold of my bones, and it felt like I was losing my ability to move. My arms were already tired of being in that position, and the lack of light for my eyes hurt far more than I could have imagined.

It was one less sense. My sense of smell was useless for the situation except to inhale the smell of mildew and rotting flesh, along with the rich, clearly expensive cologne that belonged to the man who had kidnapped me.

“I have pennies in my account and a pet piggy bank. I don’t know if that’s exactly what you’re looking for.”

“Finally, your good humor is coming back.” He chuckled. “Actually, I want what your parents left for you.”

My face hardened.

Though I couldn’t visualize his expression, I knew his was equally impenetrable, completely devoid of emotions.

“I don’t understand. You want their ashes or the trauma? Be more specific.”

Another step.

I could hear his breath more clearly. His lungs shifting inside his body as though he were taking a daytime walk. It was strange how being blindfolded could sharpen my hearing.

“You know how much I enjoy playing, but now I want your tongue to behave and be sweet to me, okay?” His tone became eerily calm. “Let’s go back to square one. Where is the map of the Factory?”

“What? What Factory?”

“Don’t play dumb. You won’t like it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I confessed. “What the hell is this Factory map?”

A long, heavy sigh dragged through the atmosphere.

“You’re not helping me, Emilia.”

My teeth clenched.

It wasn’t just about the situation anymore; it was understanding that I was being put in a wrong position.

My ribs were weak, and every muscle was exhausted from being pulled by a rope. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold on.

“I don’t know what you want from me, but nothing you’re looking for is with me.”

“Impossible,” he hissed.

“Well, it’s possible because it’s the truth,” I said, trembling with anger. “I don’t even have a strand of hair from my parents, let alone a map of whatever it is you want.”

“They wouldn’t have left it in anyone’s hands but yours.”

My mouth was bleeding from how much I dug my teeth into it at that moment.

“My hands are as empty as your brain, you asshole,” I spat. “Your best friend is the reason I have nothing. Ask him. He heard my parents' last words. He must know where the hell this map is.”

Silence settled as soon as I finished my speech.

He must have been calculating his new route. Curiosity began to take over my mind. What was that map? What was the Factory? My parents hadn’t left me anything related to it. The only will from both of them was that I would have the inheritance when I turned twenty-one. Only.

All the chaos in my life was a consequence of their death, and it didn’t involve anything more than debts, a college to finish, and another job to get a meager income for my survival.

“Shit… If you won’t cooperate willingly, it will be through force,” he threatened, moments after the silence.

My skin crawled, the hairs standing on end with chills as his steps moved away.

“I’m telling the truth!” I yelled, twisting my wrist with an immense desire to get out of there.

He didn’t say anything more, and the anxiety boiled my blood, heating all my extremities like an animal about to die, its last seconds being the most important of its life.

“Asher, come back!” I screamed. “Asher! Asher!”

My lungs emptied from how much I shouted, but nothing.

I was left with the door being locked, fear humanizing itself in the darkness.