Chapter 1 Strange place

The room was dark and cold. Kate sat in a corner, shivering with fear. There was a pungent smell of rusted iron and she could hear drops of water in the room. Why did they bring her here? Was she going to be killed?. She never imagined dying this way. Different thoughts kept swirling in her mind, as tears flowed down her eyes.

Why was this happening to her? Was it one of her father's debtors? At the moment, Kate could only think of that explanation..

"Is anybody there? Help me! '' She tried to yell, but her voice came out as almost a whisper, quivering. "Nobody is coming to save you, so be quiet!" A deep, bitter voice replied to Kate, which made her more afraid.

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"Please, sir, let me go. I didn't do anything," she pleaded, in between her tears.

"Shut up!, before I shut you up!" He yelled, and she shifted back towards the wall, whimpering. "Tell that to the boss when he gets here!" He added. She stopped talking, afraid of what he would do to her if she continued. The door opened after what felt like an eternity, making Kate squint at the sudden light.

A man stood at the entrance, talking to the man who brought her there. She couldn't hear clearly what they were saying, but Kate knew they were talking about her, as they fixed both their gazes on her. "It's time to go!" the man who just came said to her, "Where are you taking me?" She asked, fear etched on her face.

"Just get up and stop asking questions!" He answered angrily, dragging her by her arm. The grip he held on her arm was tight and painful as he dragged Kate through a hallway. How was she going to escape from here? She wondered

There were guards everywhere.

Kate was at home earlier in the afternoon when two men came barging into her house. They dragged her out without explaining why. Despite her efforts to resist, they subdued her effortlessly and bound her hands and legs. She was blindfolded and taken to a dark, cold room. Kate had lost track of time but thought she had been in there almost a day. She felt more afraid because she had no family who would look for her.

She didn't have friends either, as she was always moving from one city to another, running away from all her late parents' debtors. They finally arrived at a door. The man knocked slightly on the door and After a few seconds, the door opened, and they dragged Kate in.

Two more men were in the room. They stood on the left and right side of the room. Her eyes wandered futher into the dimly lit room, till it landed on a figure.

A man, who was tall and had a dark aura coming from him, stood facing the window. Was he the boss? She wondered, still fear-stricken. They dragged her further into the room, till she stood a few steps away from the mysterious man.

"Leave" his deep, cold voice, which sent an icy shiver down her spine, resonated through the room. The next second, all the men left, leaving both of them alone in the room. He turned around and gazed at Kate with a deep frown on his face. He was handsome or rather stunning, his black hair was not short or long.

He had deep blue eyes that looked like they held a lot of deep hidden secrets. He also had this aura around him that made Kate feel intimidated.

Ethan walked towards where she was standing, her eyes were on the floor. He stood two feet away from her before walking to a table where a bottle of whiskey was.

He poured himself a glass and turned towards Kate. "Do you want a drink?" he asked her, with an icy voice that gave her goosebumps. The word "no'' came out of her mouth as almost a whisper. How could he be asking her if she wanted a drink?, was he alright?.

He walked to his chair and sat down, still gazing intently at her. Kate stood there waiting for what he was going to say next, but he said nothing.

He sipped his drink, gazing intently at her. This made her much more nervous and scared. Should she have spoken up or asked questions to understand the reason for her being brought here, but She was too fear stricken to utter a word, afraid of what he may do to her if said the wrong thing.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked, after gazing at her for a long time. Kate shook her head, trying to control the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "You will know who I am soon," he added, swirling the glass in his hand. Was he going to let her go? She thought, her mind was in complete chaos.

"Sir, pl.. please le.. let me go'' she stuttered, trying to plead for her freedom.

His frown deepened, as Kate continued with her pleading, "I'm sure you have the wrong person sir, please let me go and I won't tell the police about what happened today," she said with all the courage she could gather.

The next moment he burst out laughing, Kate stood there gazing at him confused, why was he laughing?

Kate was sure what she said wasn't funny at all. He stopped laughing, his expression changed, and she felt her body go rigid. He had a deadly look on his face. She looked down, immediately avoiding eye contact with him. "Your father is Nicholas, right?" He asked sharply. Kate looked up at him wide-eyed.

She was right. He was one of her father's debtors. "Sir, I promise to pay back all the money he owes you. Please let me go,'' she begged, sobbing.

"He owes me something more than money," he said, standing up and walking towards Kate. What was he talking about? Something more than money? what has her father done this time?, was this finally going to be the end for her?.

Kate moved back as he moved closer to her, she looked around for an escape route but found none. She continued moving till her back was touched the wall behind her. There was no place to hide from his body, overshadowing hers. The next second, his hand flew to her and he started choking her.