Sophia's POV.
“Ahhhhhhhh!!!!”
I was awakened by the tortured scream of someone.
I shifted to the cement floor where I was lying. I groaned as I felt my right cheek sting from where Harvey hit me.
I opened my eyes slowly and blinked a few times to realize what was happening.
To my left, I saw what I had suspected. Andrea was being hit by Harvey Hamilton. God! Didn't he ever get tired?
“I'll never tell you where Nicole is. She's not here anymore and you'll never find her!” Andrea screamed at him. Her whole face was bruised. Harvey laughed.
“You!” He snatched Andrea from her hair. “Will tell me where Nicole is. Maybe not now but later. But don't you ever think that I won't know.” He said as he threw her back. His head whipped to me at that moment.
“It might please you to know that your dear Alex came to your meeting point.” He laughed. “How stupid of him!”
Hot tears cascaded down my face. Why did he come a day early?
Was he hoping he'd find me there still? Oh God! Could he be dead now?
“So now, you'll call him again in the morning for...” he came closer to my face. “A change of plans. Another date.” My eyes widened.
“Y–you didn't kill him?” I asked in weak relief.
He chuckled loudly. “No. Not yet. Relax princess.”
I frowned at him through my tears. He was still alive! Thank God! Alex was still alive!!
“Now, concerning what you'll say to him this morn—”
“I'm not calling him.” My voice came out stronger than I felt.
“So you'd prefer your dear Stephanie to be shot?”
I sobbed but turned my head away from him without an answer. My eyes met Stephanie's and she somehow soothed me with them. Her eyes screamed; whatever happens, I won't break more than this. And that's all I needed. I felt like we had a chance against this evil monster.
“You're not scared of that?” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Perhaps I haven't shown you how serious I am.”
My eyes widened at his words when I noticed him pull out his gun and aim it at Stephanie.
In a quick rush of adrenaline, I moved with unimaginable strength and planted myself in front of Stephanie.
His eyes widened like he wasn't expecting me to do that.
My breath quickened as my chest rose and fell, with my hands still tied behind me.
“I'm telling you! I won't call him anymore. There's no way I'd draw him to his death again!” I screamed. I heard the loud noise of the gun as he fired. I heard Andrea scream.
I jumped in shock and closed my eyes in fear, expecting to feel the pain in a second but there was nothing.
I slowly opened my eyes and noticed that the bullet was thrust into the wall behind Stephanie, a centimeter or two away from her head.
She was covered with her hands covering her head in fear. And then I came to a very fearful realization.
He could.
He could kill us anytime he so desired. He had not killed Stephanie yet because he was using her to threaten me.
But now that I'd driven him to an edge, he wouldn't hesitate to kill us all. I just knew it.
“Two hours. You have only two hours to think.” He fixed me with his eyes. “One hundred and twenty minutes to think whether you wish to see your lovely friend as a corpse in exchange for your dear Alex's life.” I gave him a disgusted look.
He ignored me, turned on his heels, and left.
I slowly collapsed on my knees. What do I do now? Think, Sophia!
****
The silence made the hours seem like decades. The mood was similar to that of a funeral and no one uttered a word. The approaching footsteps I heard made me certain that Harvey had come for his answer and I was not wrong.
“Made your decision, love?” I kept silent.
“I take it your silence is submission?” I scoffed loudly and shook my head.
“I'll never surrender to you.” My voice was quite resolved.
He chuckled.
“Really? You dare defy me—”
“Stop threatening me!” I snapped. “You're requesting for me to draw him to his death! To carry his blood on my shoulders forever! That's impossible. Impo—” He grabbed a handful of my hair and tugged.
He pulled me with my hair a few feet on the cement floor and I could hear Andrea and Stephanie screaming.
My eyes burned from the pain.
I whined as he threw me to the middle of the room, face to the ground. My whole body was in unimaginable pain.
“Look here you little piece of shit!” He grabbed my face so I was looking up at him. “I'm sick of your brave front. I'm not asking you, I'm ordering you and you'll do exactly as I've ordered.”
His voice was deep and deadly cold.
I whined and shook my head.
“Really? Then don't blame me, love.” He muttered the words dangerously.
And the sound of another gunshot echoed through the whole room.
Andrea's tortured scream stabbed my heart like a sword.
“Fuck!!!!” She screamed from the top of her lungs and my eyes widened when they landed on her.
The bullet slashed her shoulder and she was squirming like a fish out of water.
“What have you done?!!!!” I screamed.
He gripped me tighter and I squirmed in between his fingers.
“Let me go!!!” I screamed at him like a mad person. “You just fucking shot her!! Call someone!!! She'll die!”
He laughed loudly.
“Oh, she’ll not. At least not yet. It's just a scratch. She'll suffer for a few hours before her blood runs out.”
Andrea was still screaming as she moved helplessly on the ground. Stephanie was already by her side.
“You're a sick fuck! Curse you!!” I snapped. “Even if you kill me,” I started, “I won't call him!” I have had enough of him.
He looked me in the eye dangerously.
“You won't?”
I shook my head, completely breaking down. “No!”
He gripped my face even tighter. “Does he please you that much?” He smiled smugly at me.
“Wh–what are you saying?”
“You must be his prostitute. How much does he pay you?” What?! I spat at his face just then.
“You're a psychopath!” I didn't know where my courage was coming from. I was blinded with rage.
But before I could say anything else, he slapped me. Hard.
“Then I guess you plan to see bullets grinding through these two women for his sake?” He shouted violently at me.
“I plan to keep everyone alive!” I screamed back.
I was breathing hard and the tears now felt like part of my face.
“I'm not his prostitute. I'm his friend. I'm his girlfriend. I'm the woman he loves and I don't want him to die.” I whispered weakly this time as I lowered my head and sobbed. “I don't want anybody to die.”
He went silent for a moment and then his voice came out cold and commanding. “Call him this one time.”
I looked up at him.
“After that, I'll let the three of you go.” My eyes went wide in disbelief.