Two days, two freaking days.
The driveway was empty, there was no noise in the house and not to mention, no one had been there to give her food.
Victoria had made sure to check every nook and corner of the kitchen and the house but only came up with empty packets and cans of food.
It almost seemed like they purposely brought food with them and took it back, leaving nothing in the house but furniture and 2 barely alive kids.
Victoria licked her chapped lips as she leaned towards the faucet and drank the water that she cupped with her hand.
That was all she could do. At least in the apartment where she left with her parents, she had drinking water available but here, she was drinking directly from the tap and who knew what was in there.
Closing the tap, she watched as the water droplets dripped into the drain. The gate was still in her mind that she had not been able to feed the boy whose name she did not know and who had repeatedly accused her of something she was not doing.
But the fact that she did not have any access to food helped and subsided the guilt.
Why did she feel so bad? It was not like she was eating everything available to her. She was hungry too and since she had nothing to give, she should not feel guilty!
Her eyes widened when she heard the car engine grow louder with every second passing. Darting out of the bathroom, she moved to the small window where she saw the familiar cavalry cars parked and men exiting along with the familiar woman who was once again dressed in red.
The sudden feeling of dread washing over her made her knees buckle. They had not been here for two days and now all of a sudden, almost everyone was here.
It did not feel good, It did not settle right with her.
The scariest part yet? She heard the footsteps thundering over the stairs and coming closer to her door.
They were here for her.
"Hey girl," Mark Grinned at the sight of her the moment he opened the door, making her breath hitch in her throat. "looks like it's going to be me and you today."
"Leave,"
The man turned around abruptly at the command given to him. The moment he left, the woman entered the room and closed the door behind her.
Even though there was a huge distance in between them as she stood near the door and Victoria was still near the window, the woman had addressed her without bothering to raise her voice.
"You have to do something more for me."
"Why?"
The woman barely smiled but her lip tilted upwards hinting that she did. "Because."
"Why me?" Victoria questioned again. " Why did you pick me up? I have nothing to do with this! My parents cannot even pay the ransom!" Even though it hurt to admit, they were just nobodies.
"I know that." She agreed as if she knew. "You were just the collateral damage who witnessed the kidnapping, but as it turned out to be, You are my backup plan."
Victoria felt her heart skip a beat at the ominous statement. "What? What plan?"
"Mark," she said instead, "get the camera."
Camera? Were they creating another video for MR. Adams?
The cameraman came in first and he set up everything that was angled towards her. She was going to have to pretend to be Leah Adams again for this video but at least she was not going through with the boy downstairs went through.
Her eyes cut to the sight of the assaulter who had come close to raping her twice. Maybe that was something she could bargain with the woman. She would willingly do the video and everything else they wanted just in the exchange for not allowing this man to not come close to her.
But that did not happen. She did not receive the chance to do that.
Victoria could only manage to take a step to the side before the man appeared in front of her and within a second she found herself on the ground.
She blinked her eyes, registering the fact that she was on the floor and there was a dull pain in her head. What just happened?
Before she realized that someone had hit her, she felt another blow to the ribs making her a met and 'oomph' sound.
She gasped for a breath. The pain was registered by her body and breathing became difficult. Victoria turned over to the other side, curling over in an attempt to subside the pain only for her to feel another blow to the back of her spine.
They did not stop. The blows continued to land on her body, making her scream in pain for it even before the pain of the previous one subsided.
She was gasping for breath at the end of it. Each part of her body hurt, she could not register anything except that.
Her eyesight got blurry and there was nothing that she could make out from that version. They hit her, they hit her so badly that she could see blood gushing out of the wounds but could not tell which ones were bleeding and which ones were for bruising.
Why?
A gentle caress on her jawline made her open her eyes to see the bloody image of the woman. Was she smiling?
"When you grow up, you will understand." Said she. "When you grow up and want something, you are going to do the same as I am. Little girl, I can tell you will be worse than me."
She tapped her nose, almost lovingly like a mother would. "And I cannot wait to watch you burn the world."