Chapter 54

-Jianna-

**2007**

The last thing I remembered before drifting away into sleep was being in James' embrace, and the first thing I felt when I woke up was someone's hands tugging me away from him. They had my mouth covered, so I couldn't even scream for him. I tried to fight them off, but it looked like they knew who they were dealing with, so they ensured they sent the best. It also helped that they grabbed me while I was sleeping, so they already had the upper hand.

But seeing that we are staying at a not-so-modern motel, the floors creaked, and thank god they did. One of the men stepped on the wrong part of the floor and made a large groan. My gaze immediately turned to James' direction, and I saw his eyes starting to open. I tried to shake off the hand that had the covering over my mouth, but I felt something prick my arm, and then everything turned black.

When I opened my eyes, I discovered myself sprawled out on a hard, frigid surface inside a prison cell. I tried to get up, but my head was throbbing.

"Hello?" I tried to call out, but my voice was hoarse. I held my throat and looked around the room to see if there was water. But as far as I can see, the whole room is damp. Nothing wet enough to drink.

"Where the fuck am I?" I thought. I rubbed my neck and felt a sore spot on my back. I looked at my hand, and there was a smear of blood. "Fuck!" then I remembered.

"JAMES! JAMES! ARE YOU HERE JAMES?" I screamed. "JAMES!"

"There... There... m'lady." said a voice from the corner of the room outside.

"Hello? Who's there?" my voice was shaking.

"Oh, *Principessa*, your papa is very upset with you. Very upset." the voice said.

"Who are you? What have you done to James?" I demanded.

"So many questions." said the voice. "Patience was never your virtue, *Rosso*."

"What did you just call me?" I insisted.

The voice stepped forward, and I saw an old man with glasses I had never seen before.

"Who are you?" I tried to keep my voice still.

"Someone from your past," he said; he looked at me briefly fondly, but then his demeanor returned to being stoic.

I narrowed my eyes at the man, trying to place him. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before.

As if answering my question, "My name is Dr. Mondrich. A friend of your papa."

"Doctor?" I looked at him curiously.

The man let out a chuckle as if he found my confusion amusing. "I understand the confusion, my dear. And meeting under these circumstances is not ideal, but..." he waved at the cell I was being held in. "You really didn't give us any other choice."

My thoughts started to reel, and my head started to pound immensely. I suppose I really do need a doctor at this point.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly despite my attempts to keep it steady. "Why am I here?"

"You'll find out soon enough." he sneered. He then snapped his fingers, and four gigantic men came out of the shadows. The doctor gave a key to one of the biggest ones.

"Make sure she doesn't make a run for it. I am told she'd become a slippery one."

The giant man placed the key at the cell door and kept a firm hand on the door as the rest of the men filed inside. I started going back to the wall to avoid them and fighting, but it was useless. The men were too strong and too well-trained. They grabbed hold of me, dragging me out of the cell and into a dimly lit hallway. My heart was pounding in my chest as I struggled against their grip.

"LET ME GO! FUCKING LET ME GO! JAMES! JAMES! HELP ME! JAMES!" I started screaming. Then I heard James' voice in the distance.

"JIANNA! BABY! WHERE ARE YOU?" I heard him yelling from down the hall.

I didn't hear his response, but I continued to call for him.

"JAMES! JAMES! HELP ME! PLEASE!." I continued to scream and fight off the men. "NO! NO! GET OFF ME! FUCKING GET OFF ME! I WILL FUCKING KILL ALL OF YOU!" I continued to fight, but it was no use. They were stronger than me. They brought me into a dim room, placed me in a leather chair, and bound me to it.

"What is this? Where am I?" I asked, frantically looking around.

The lights suddenly turned on, and the "doctor" came in, followed by one of the vast men carrying a huge tray.

"I truly am sorry, my dear." he tried to feign sincerity.

I tried not to sob, but I was terrified. "What are you going to do to me?" my voice trembling.

"I was given the liberties by your father to conduct ummm... my experiments." his lips smiled into a sinister grin.

He then took a syringe with an opaque fluid inside from the giant man's tray and examined it in the light.

"This will only hurt a pinch," he said.

"NO DON'T! PLEASE!" I pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears.

He then inserted the needle in my arm, and my body felt like it was on fire. I screamed in agony.

"JAAAAMES! PLEASE HELP ME!" I wailed.

"If you're going to continue to scream, I would be forced to put a gag on you. You wouldn't like that, would you?" he pointed out.

"JAAAMES!!!" I continued to scream.

He snapped his finger, and a gag was placed in my mouth.

He took a deep breath and said, "Now. Let's get started."