Chapter 3

• I snap out of my reverie when the lights come on. I cover my eyes to fight the brightness. While adjusting to the light, I feel someone grab my left arm. I turn toward them, wondering who's holding me and why.
• "Get up," a strange, scary-looking, and bulky man says. He pulls me up and begins to drag me out of the room.
• "Where am I? Where are you taking me? Where's Thomas?"
• The man ignores all my questions and drags me into an open area. The place is poorly lit, so I can't see much other than the chair the man throws me on. I quickly stand up to run but get pushed back. He glares at me, warning me to stay seated. Fearing his gaze, I melt into the chair. I look around, trying to figure out where I am and what he plans to do to me.
• "Ouch!" I look down at my right hand. My eyes widen as I realize he's using cable ties to strap my hands to the chair. He does the same to my legs.
• "Why are you tying me down?" I ask, trying to pull my hands out of the cable ties. I stop when my skin begins to tear.
• The man takes a step away from me as the room brightens up.
• My eyes become saucers when I see what's in front of me. Different types of knives lay on the table a few feet away from me— knives I've never seen before. Pliers, a sponge, and scissors are also on the table with what looks like a car battery.
• I look between the man and the table. The thought of them using any of those things on me has me close to peeing in my pants. To
• distract myself from the horrible thoughts swimming in my head, I look around the room again. We are in a windowless place, likely underground. A staircase leads up, and a few chairs are scattered throughout the room. My brows pull together as I realize they're arranged to face me. Breath fans my neck making me jump in my seat.
• "Hello Melina, it's been a while since we last saw each other," Kimberly whispers. She drags her long nails on my shoulder as she walks to stand in front of me. Her red-painted lips are pulled into a smirk as her blue eyes shine with happiness.
• "Hello Kimberly, it's nice to see you again," I say with a forced smile.
• Kimberly, who is like a sister to Thomas, has hated me ever since Thomas and I dated. She picks up a dagger and brings it closer to my neck, causing me to scream and thrash in the chair.
• "Shut the fuck up," Kimberly growls at me. I immediately close my mouth and stare at the knife as it rests an inch away from my neck. My heart races and tears fill my eyes as I watch Kimberly and the knife.
• "Where is the fucking money?"
• "I…I don't know, I don't have it," I rasp out as I tremble on the chair. Kimberly moves the blade away from my neck and steps behind me. My shoulders sag as I release a breath of relief. I am surprised Kimberly believes me, but I am happy she does.
• Kimberly grabs a handful of my hair and pulls my head backward. "Do I look like I'm fucking playing here?" she yells.
• I scream as I feel a burn in the back of my neck.
• "Please stop! You're hurting me!" Twisting, I try to pull my hand out from the cable ties to get Kimberly's hold off. More cuts form on my wrist as I try to force it free. Realizing I'm only hurting myself
• more, I shake my head; but instead, this causes Kimberly to pull harder.
• "Where's the money?"
• "I already told you. James has it." "If James has it, where is James?"
• "I don't know; I haven't talked to him in months."
• "I find that hard to believe since he's your husband. We'll do things a little differently now." She releases my head, throwing it forward. Tears roll down my face as I look at my bloody hand and long to massage my aching neck. "I'm going to ask you again, and if you don't tell me the truth, you'll face the consequences."
• "I swear to you, I'm not lying." I lift my head and stare at Kimberly.
• "We'll see about that once I'm done with you." Kimberly moves to the table and puts on gloves. She picks up a cable, which is connected to a car battery, with pliers attached to its ends and grins while wiggling it in my face. After attaching a sponge to the pliers, she dips the sponge into a bucket of water under the table.
• Kimberly moves toward me with the wet sponge in her hands and grins wide as I push back into the chair, trying to get away from her.
• "I swear I don't know. Please don't!"
• "Really? You don't know?" Kimberly asks, holding the sponge a breath away from my stomach. My heart hammers as sweat drips down my forehead. My hair sticks to my face, and my sight blurs with fresh tears.
• "No, I don't." My eyes plead with her.
• My pupils widen as a piercing scream rips out of me. My ribs fry, and my body thrashes hard against the chair as electricity flows through my body. Kimberly continues to press the wet sponge to my stomach, screaming along with me like a maniac. My hands and feet pull at the cable ties cutting my skin as my body shakes. Blood begins dripping from the cuts from the cable ties. Kimberly runs her fingers through the blood that decorates the chair and licks it.
• "I can taste your fear," she whispers, taking the sponge away.
• My head drops forward as my body goes limp in the chair. I breathe hard, trying to slow my racing heart down. Kimberly grabs my hair and lifts my head. "You either tell me now, or I make you feel worse."
• "I swear to you, I don't know." My words come out in a pained whisper.
• "Alright, suit yourself." She's about to shock me again when a voice stops her.
• "That's enough for today." I recognize the voice immediately.
• I look toward Thomas. I can't see clearly with tears blurring my eyes. I blink to clear them and finally catch him. His arms are folded across his broad chest, and his sleeves are rolled up, showing off his tattoos. His nose flares up, and frown lines appear on his forehead as I stare at him. He must be furious that I'm not saying where James or the money is. If I knew where they were, I'd give them to him in a heartbeat.
• My sight of Thomas is blocked by the man from earlier cutting the cable ties. I let out a relieved cry as I look at my bloody wrists. I move my finger to touch it but stop when the action causes a sharp jolt of pain. Looking down at my legs, I cry out when I see blood there too. I bite my lips to swallow the pain, but it barely helps. The man pulls me out of the chair and drags me back to the room I'd been held in earlier.
• A cry leaves my lips as he throws me on the cold floor. I try to stand up but immediately regret it. More blood seeps from my wrists and it stings. I give up and lie down on my back. I want to wrap my arms around myself, but my wrists hurt too much. Silent tears flow down my face as I stare at the ceiling, unable to believe what I just experienced. I knew he'd come for me when I discovered his real identity, but I had hoped he'd never find me.
• Laying on the cold cement floor in the dark, I remember the day I found out Thomas' true identity.
• Six Months ago
• I wake up the day after James stole Thomas' money, to discover that he's run away with all the money, leaving me signed divorce papers. I'm happy he divorced me, but I wonder why.
• I pick up my phone to call James, wanting a real explanation, when I notice he sent me an email. It's a video. Playing the video, I am horrified by what I see. It's the most gruesome thing I've ever seen in my life. It's Thomas standing in a bar beating someone.
• Thomas takes the man's head, banging it against a table over and over again. I cringe as I hear the bone in the man's nose break and his blood splashes all over Thomas' face and shirt. He grabs a bottle and breaks it on the man's head. Glass fills his hair and some gets stuck in his face. Thomas smirks before slamming his head into the table again. The glass slices his face and blood is everywhere.
• I cover my mouth, shaking my head. Thomas must not feel like he's tortured the man enough because he grabs his hands and pulls them behind him, twisting them. I hear bones crack as his hands dislocate. Thomas throws the man to the ground and kicks him over and over again.
• I shake my head, whispering, "That's not Thomas! This video is fake." I throw my phone across the room and wrap my arms around my body. I wipe my tears away. I can't believe my eyes.
• As the room is silent, I hear the video continue to play. I get up from the kitchen stool and walk to grab my phone. I bend to pick up my phone but freeze when I hear Thomas' voice.
• "No one messes with me. I'm second in command to the Costanzo mafia. No one crosses me and lives to see tomorrow," Thomas says, followed by a loud bang.
• "Oh my God!" I shriek. He shot him.
• I quickly pick up my phone to confirm what I heard. The color drains from my face as I see Thomas standing with a gun above the man who now lies still on the ground.
• My legs become weak, and I fall to the ground. I stare blankly in front of me as I try to comprehend what I just saw.
• "What the fuck just happened?"
• I cover my mouth with my hand as things I noticed while we dated start to make sense. Thomas and his bodyguards had the same tattoos. I found it a little odd that a boss and his bodyguards would have the same tattoos but never put two and two together. The tattoos must be the mafia family's symbol, I realize. He also had a gun, though that never bothered me because a lot of people have guns for protection. But as I think about it, I realize he had a lot of guns.
• "Oh my God! How did I not see this?" I ask myself.
• I start to understand why James divorced me and left. James must know he's dead if Thomas finds him. I wonder what he'll do to me. My body goes cold thinking about it.
• I get up from the floor and run to my room to start packing. I need to get out of there before Thomas arrives. He'll be coming for me soon. I don't want what happened to that man to happen to me.