"That was quite easy." someone said.
"Yep. I didn't think boarding the woman into an air ambulance would be that simple. I'm glad we didn't load her in a suitcase and travelled by freighter plane like joe suggested."
"Hey! How was hiding her in a suitcase a bad idea? We always do that when smuggling goods and things always turn out well!"
Several men laughed.
"Those were contrabands. What if we retrieve her from the luggage compartment lifeless? How are we going to deliver her to the President?"
"Yeah. We should use air ambulance again when transferring people next time. There was less trouble. We only have to board an unconscious woman in a drip lying on a gurney. Speaking of it, have you checked if she's still knocked out?"
"Don't worry. I tied her up so she won't escape even if the sedative wears off."
"Escape? She's blind, you idiots!"
Laughs. Arianna can hear about three to four men talking to each other. They mentioned about a so called president. Who is this person? Damn it, why was she being kidnapped again? She's so very sick of it! And this thing stuffed into her mouth, it felt like the kind of ball mouth gag used in BDSM s*x play! What a bunch of perverts!
She wondered what they plan to do with her. Will they violate her? Kill her? Torture her? If this is before, she wouldn't be scared of death or pain. But things are different now. She's about to become a mother. She needs to protect her yet to be born child. Whatever it takes, she have to survive this.
The journey was long and tedious. It didn't help that she can't see anything either. She was restless, pondering about various things. Was she in a big box loaded in a truck? A car trunk? The place she was in was small and cramped. Thankfully, she can breath just fine. Everything that happened felt surreal. She remembers sending Gwen and her husband off. Then on their way to the mansion, their car was ambushed by strangers. She could hear Dylan screaming "Let her go!" there was a lot of commotion before she fainted. She wondered how Dylan is. She hoped they didn't harm the boy! She owed him so much.
Waiting... waiting while tied up made Arianna feel like she's been inside this vessel for a very long time now. Her thoughts wouldn't stop running wild. Ever since that incident when she was a child, she had never been this scared again. Ever since that day, Yago stood beside her to protect her. But right now, she's lying there helplessly. She's now in the mercy of her enemies. She's never been this vulnerable. Yago... She missed Yago. She thought she was toughened up completely by her previous experiences, yet now she has turned back to her fragile self. Scared, helpless, her heart begging for Yago to save him...
***
As Belle decended the stairs the next morning, she saw Howard Finn in the living room talking to a group of men. She stopped for a while, planning to eavesdrop, but she was very soon discovered by one of the men.
"Don't worry. She's my daughter." she heard Howard Finn told the man when he pointed at her for listening. He then turned to Belle with lips curled up. "Sweetie, I have a good news for you. Your gift is finally here. How do you want her delivered?",he asked.
Belle was stunned, but she retained her cold expression and pretended like she didn't care much. "Take her to my room. Then ask a maid to bathe her." she ordered.
All the men including Howard stared at the woman with a scowl. Did she just say bathe her? Wasn't she a captive? Didn't they take her to the President for punishment?
Belle was aware of their thoughts. She glared at the men and met her father's questioning gaze. "What? You told me she's mine! Then I can do anything I want to do with her, right? From now on, she's my pet. And I don't like dirty pets so go and have her cleaned!" she yelled before turning around to leave. "Such stupid people. If I torture a blind woman to death, wouldn't the fun only last for a few minutes?!", she mumbled, but the group of men were still able to hear her. She then headed for the kitchen for breakfast.
Howard turned to his men and gestured for them to do as ordered. He then followed her daughter to the dining room. He found her there, sitting elegantly as she sipped coffee. She really looked like her mother. Too bad Carl spoiled her too much. She's so used to getting what she wants that she likes ordering them around. It's been a long time since someone dared to boss him around! But it's alright. As long as she can tame this daughter then he can make good use of her in the future! Marrying her off to a wealthy and influential man will surely bring him and his group a lot of benefits. Unbeknownst to him, he just took his daughter away from the new leader of Rojo: third most powerful group in the underworld. His Phantom Eagle on the other hand ranked only tenth.
***
Arianna took a deep breath as she sat on a corner. She was both tired and relieved at the same time. After those thugs release her out of that God-knows-what vehicle, a group of women took her for an awful bath! The water was cold and they weren't gentle at all! She's just thankful she didn't slip or something.
Slumped on the floor wearing nothing but a robe, Arianna closed her eyes as she try to rest her aching body. Being transported and confined for long hours, it felt like her joints are swollen!
A few moments later, someone came in the room. She said she came to dress her up. She put a slip dress on her and then left. She found this weird. What was really going on? She thought she'll end up in some basement of sort and be shackled and starved. But this room she's in smells clean and nice. The floral scent indicates it's a female's room. So what do these people actually want from her? Is she being sold to some rich man? Did she turn out to be some mail-order bride? Or was she a victim of some syndycate who operates white slavery? Damn! She's a billionaire! What kind of a joke is this? She can buy them all of! But sadly, there's nothing much she can do right now. This queen.... has fallen.
"Are you scared?" said a voice.
Arianna was startled. She was having this feeling that someone was watching her, but since she heard the maid's footsteps walking away, she thought she's already alone. She tilted her head and forced a smile as she recognize that voice. "Hello sister! How are you?"
"I'm good. Obviously, better than you. Did they hurt you?", Belle asked as she stare at the woman sitting on the floor.
"Just a bit. I wonder if you'll be so generous as to tell me why I'm here. If you want me dead, you can just shoot me point blank. That was quite a long journey and my body still aches!", she complained sarcastically, as always.
Arabella sighed. "If I were you, I won't be talking with that much arrogance. Do you think you're still the queen?"
Arianna frowned, her previous arrogance vanishing in an instant. "Of course not. As you can see, I'm powerless now, sightless too. I only have my life. And I want to keep my life." she answered honestly. "Now, what do you want from me?"
Arabella walked towards the couch and sat there. She then leaned on the armrest stared at the other girl. "First, I want answers." she said. "Did your mother kill my mom?"
Arianna was stunned. Who told her such nonsense? "That's absurd! My mother is a kind person. Why would she kill Jane? If she wants her dead, she would have done it before you were born!",Arianna yelled. They can accuse her of crimes but not her good mother! She was the kindest woman she knows!
Belle thought for a while. She has a good point. Jane's pregnancy was the reason Carl left Dianna. It would be better to get rid of them sooner, not seventeen years later! "Well, next question. Why did you compete with me for Jayden?"
Arianna was furious but when she heard the next question, she was put into silence. What was Belle trying to do? Is she keeping count of her offense to justify her hate? "Well, I'm sorry about that, alright? I thought he was so great. But it turned out that chasing after him was the most stupid thing I did in my life."
Arabella was astounded. Did Arianna just apologize to her? That was a first!
"Do you still like him? Honestly, if you're killing me because of him, you're an idiot. Roy is so much better than him. He's a bit psycho but at least he's really into you." she commented.
"Roy is not a psycho!",she argued at once. "He's actually very nice!"
"Oh really?", Arianna uttered in amusement. "So you're still together? Was he the one who 'invited' me here? Because this court session is too boring. I'd rather hear my verdict right now."
Belle held her forehead in annoyance. "Seriously Arianna, will you stop being so bitc*hy? If you want to keep your life, start acting humble because I can't promise you how long I can keep you alive!" she yelled.
Arianna though just smiled. "Wow. That's a good threat." she jested.
Arabella calmed herself a bit. When will this woman stop being so irritating? "I'm not threatening you. I'm not sure what my father will do to you if you keep acting this way. You're only alive because I told him I want you as my pet. So you better act like one!"
The corner of Arianna's mouth twitched. A pet? She wants her to be a pet? Seriously, this sister of her is really strange!
Wait a minute! Did she just said 'her father'?