Luxury Suite
"Mmm."
Tania blinked her eyes open. She tried to move but couldn't — her arms were bound above her head to the bed frame, her legs fastened the same way. The room around her was entirely unfamiliar.
Where am I? The question came rushing in before she'd even fully surfaced from unconsciousness.
"Mmm." A muffled sound escaped her lips and hung in the air. Horror flooded her expression. Reality was hitting her — hard.
Fear set in.
She struggled tirelessly to free herself, but to no avail. Tape sealed her mouth shut, making it impossible for any scream to reach the outside world, no matter how desperately she tried.
"No. No, no."
"No…" Tania shook her head, her stubborn tears streaming freely down her cheeks.
How ironic.
Once again, she played me for a fool. The thought arrived with sharp regret, her eyes pressed shut. She hated herself for being so gullible — again.
Her vision swam across the polished room. The walls were dressed in beautiful shades, the furnishings lavish and comfortable — but none of it moved her. Not even slightly.
How did I get here? The question surfaced next.
She attempted to sit up, only to be reminded immediately of just how thoroughly she was bound.
"Fine — I get it. She hates me. No question about that. But to this extent?"
"How did I fail to see that nothing good would ever come from that woman?" Tania whined bitterly, the words trapped behind the tape.
If only she could go back.
If given the chance, she would never let Selene fool her again. Stewardess Madeline's warnings came rushing back now, fresh and echoing — if only she had listened. Perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way. She had gravely underestimated her stepmother's spite for her.
But it was too late to cry over already spilled milk.
Tania's mind went blank at the sudden, forceful push on the door. Through the crack, she caught a glimpse of a man — broad-shouldered, with a powerful physique.
"No way—" Her words died behind sealed lips.
There must be a way out of this place. Her horrified expression shifted, replaced by a flicker of raw determination. She forced the ropes around her wrists to loosen — bearing the burning pain without pause — and only stopped when the man stepped fully into the room.
She arranged her face quickly. Just woke up. Just woke up now.
The man offered a languid smile, yellow teeth catching the light. Even at this distance, Tania felt unsettled by the weight of his stare — something devilish behind it.
"I see you're already awake," he said, satisfaction threading through his coarse voice.
Every step he took closer made her heart thump harder.
Is this the end? she wondered, asking no one — only her own racing thoughts.
"Mmm." She struggled again — violently this time, wrenching the ropes tying her wrists toward the bed frame with everything she had. She refused to lie still and let this man take advantage of her. She refused.
"Hahaha." A mocking laugh filled the room and stopped her mid-effort.
"Don't bother straining yourself."
"You're only wasting your time. I made sure to secure those ropes properly."
"No matter what you do — they won't give." He sneered, and the sound of it turned her stomach.
A Trip to the Luxury Suite — Thirty Minutes Later, After Discovering the Truth
"Step on it." Richard's voice was low and level, but the weight behind it left no room for misinterpretation.
"On it." Driver Raymond pressed the accelerator, and the car surged forward like a ghost cutting through wind.
"Sir — it's time. We need to track her whereabouts before we arrive…"
The man seated in the passenger seat spoke without looking up, his fingers moving swiftly across a tracking interface, a pair of sunglasses resting precisely on his well-sculpted face.
"Alright." Richard exhaled. "I'll make the call now."
Ring—
Ring, ring.
An incoming call.
The man had been about to descend on Tania when he heard it. His lips twitched. His eyes dropped to the screen.
"Ah — why is that woman calling now?" he muttered, confirming that the number was indeed Selene's.
"Speak."
"Why are you calling? Can't you see I'm in the middle of enjoying the little gift you sent me?" He laughed — high and hysterical. "Hahaha—"
He went quiet.
"Tsk." He hissed, staring blankly at his phone.
Silence.
Did she just hang up on me? He turned it over in his mind, puzzling over what could have warranted that. Selene was many things — arrogant, verbose — but she would sooner talk over you than cut the call short.
"Nothing," he told himself. "Must be a connection issue."
He set the phone down and turned back.
"My beauty — where were we?" He tilted his head, feigning graciousness. "Let's pick up right where we left off. My sincerest apologies for the interruption."
Tania responded by trying to kick with her bound legs, stretching toward the small stool by the corner of the bed. She hadn't missed the sarcasm in his voice for a second.
She tried everything. She fought with what little leverage she had until the very last option left her was prayer. She prayed — a simple, quiet prayer — desperate for something to intervene.
Greenville Villas
"Hey — where are you taking my mother?!"
Sienna lunged forward, throwing herself between her mother and the men in security attire who had come to take her away.
"Mom—" She sobbed, clutching the hem of her mother's dress with both hands.
"It's all right."
Selene glanced back at her daughter, composed even now. "You — call our family attorney," she instructed, her voice unhurried, before the men drew her away with the grim efficiency of people who had done this before.
There was no room for negotiation.
"Oh, poor thing. It's not too late to turn over a new leaf." Stewardess Madeline stepped closer, her voice gentle. "You don't have to turn out like your mother simply because you are her daughter."
"Get away from me, you nosy old woman."
Sienna spun on her, eyes blazing. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?"
"Now leave." She shoved the old woman — hard — sending her stumbling back against the doorframe. "Leave before I do something I cannot take back."
"There. Now leave."
The door slammed.
Sienna slid down behind it, crouching on the floor, and wept — long and ugly, the kind of crying she had been holding back for too long.
"No. No, no, no, no."
Remember what mom said. Crying is for the weak.
"Sienna." She said her own name aloud, steadying herself. "Brace yourself." She dragged the back of her hand across her cheeks. "I still have work to do. First — Attorney Gerard Withmus."
Maplewood Scrapers
"Hello?"
"Attorney Withmus speaking — how may I help you?"
Sienna tightened her grip on her phone.
"Hello." She bit her lower lip, fighting to keep her voice level.
"It's Sienna Woods. It's my mom — it's about my mom."
She paused to catch her breath.
"She was apprehended today."
A beat of silence.
"What? You mean Madam Selene?" He stopped. "How is that possible?"
"Enough questions." Sienna cut him off without hesitation. "Come and get my mother out — now."
She ended the call.
Hanging up on a whole attorney.
How brazen.
The nerve of her.
Attorney Withmus stared at his phone for a long moment, lips slowly curling upward.
He wasn't offended. Not in the least.
If anything, he found her rather interesting — all that fire packed into something so young.
Such a brat, he muttered under his breath, the amusement still playing at his mouth.
He reached for his briefcase and rose from his desk.