Message: Sammy
"Hey baby girl! I have a surprise for you. Meet me in downtown L.A. Come alone and ditch the guard dogs."
A second later he messages her a address. Camelia frowns and looks up from her phone. Surprise? How was she going to leave undetected. It seemed so unlike Sammy to suggest she leave without protection.
He knew the risks. She decides to respond.
Message: Camelia
"You know I can't. I would be stopped once I set foot out of the house. Besides what's so important that I need to come alone?"
Camelia walks towards the large bay windows in the living room, not able to stop nervously ringing her hands as she paced back and forth and peers out of the distance until the sounds of another message comes through.
Message: Sammy
"Find somewhere private so we can talk. I'll call you in five minutes."
Panic surged through her.
Something was not right. Sammy was not himselfâIt sounded so unlike him. Was he planning another outrageous surprise like he did at her bachelorette party? Since that day she's hated surprises.
She hesitated for a moment before striding out of the living room going towards the stairs, heading directly to her room. There she waited, perched on the edge of her bed, phone clasped tightly in her hands.
It rings. Although the call was expected she jumped in fright. Glancing at the screen she sees it's indeed Sammy.
"Sammy!" She answers with forced enthusiasm.
"Hello there little one. Remember me?"
Camelia sat in stunned silence for but a moment as the blood drains completely from her face and her mouth gaps open.
Nathan Diam.
Only this time his voice was not masked, speaking to her using her best friend's phone. It wasn't like the other time when he spoke in a menacingly evil and threatening wayâit was in a lightweight tone and one of amusement.
"Don't hang up, my dear. Or it will end in your friend's life." His tone was casual but the underlying threat was in every single one of his words.
She instantly froze.
Sammy.
No.
He's holding Sammy hostage.
Her mind tells her to drop the call and notify Stefan or Liam. Liam was down in the study making some phone calls.  Stefan said he would stop by her house once he finished his meeting. She glanced down at her watch, he wouldn't be done for another couple of hours.
A shiver raced down Camelia's back.
Hang up.
"I won't hesitate to kill him."Â He warns.
Her fingers tighten around her phone as her body limps in frustration and despair.  She didn't know what to do. She must help Sammy, but she had no idea how she was going to do it.
"What do you want?"
"You, of course."
Camelia flinched. She could imagine a superior smile on his harsh face.
"I am a business man and I'm willing to strike a deal. I'll let your friend go if you come to me."
"How do I know you have him?"Â She asks, internally trembling in fear.
"I have his phone and my word is enough."
Camelia takes a shuddering breath and stands. "I want to hear his voice." She demands pacing frantically.
Camelia needed to find a way to confirm or deny he kidnapped Sammy. If he refused it proved he was lying. If it were true and she heard his voice then she and Sammy were in great danger. Either way she needed to put at least one thing to rest and it was her biggest anchor.
Doubt. Doubt that often led to downfalls.
"You are no position to ask anything of me, little one." This time his tone hardens slightly.
A slither of annoyance makes it's way inside her despite the panic coursing through her veins.
"I don't care. I need to know if he's alive or I'm hanging up." That straight backbone she was born with emerged.
She refused to be controlled.
"Careful there little Mia. I don't play nice."
As soon as he called her by her childhood nickname it instantly reminded her of his sonâJason. A sense of doom washes over her, imagining him ready and waiting for his father to end the conversation she was certain he was listening in on, so he could shoot Sammy in the temple.
"Why are you doing this?" She whispered.
"Hmmmm, why am I doing this?" He pretends to ponder, listening to him mock her. "Thanks to your cold hearted mother, your father would not have ruined my life. I'm sure you've heard the term, 'pay backs a bîtch'? Its quite simple." He pauses for a moment. "You see, a child is a parents ultimate weakness. Allow me to break down the meaning of my wordsâ you will be my personal gain and their ultimate demise. Don't fret my dear Mia, I'm sure they'll get over you soon enough. They have two other children to occupy their time with."
Something inside her cracked, finding strength in hatred and vengeance. The anger she experienced for months looked like a candle compared to the consuming fire burning her whole.
This monster ripped into her life and brutally robbed her freedom.
He tormented her.
Destroyed her life taking away life's simplest pleasures from her world.
"You're a sick bastard, do you know that?"
"It's the least I can do to feed my revenge." He explains, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to say, ignoring her insult. "I'll tell you a little secret...." Nathan chuckles at his own sick joke not waiting a answer. "Once I'm done with you, I'm planning to come back for your mother. In the end, all of you will pay for my suffering."
The seconds trickle by after his little contempt filled speech, her stomach twisting uneasily.
This had to end.
They couldn't very well live like a hovering cloud of depression and dark despair above their heads forever.  He claimed he had Sammy. He threatened going after her mother.
How many more people was he willing to hurt in the crossfire? How was this nightmare ever going to end?
Camelia stared at the wall, her mind circling. There was no escaping his cruelty. Only one possible end, solution, loomed in her mind.
She had to do what he said.
"I've exercised more than enough patience with you. Now, listen very carefully. You need to get away from all your security guards and meet me at the destination I sent to your phone. You're a clever little thing, I'm sure you'll find a way. After all, your friend's life depends on it. Do you understand?"
Camelia couldn't answer. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Her joints were frozen, her voice lost. He wouldn't bargain with her she knew. She had no choice but to walk into Nathan Diam's trap.
Waves of torture spread in her veins. She was anxious, irritable and emotionally torn down the middle. Camelia gulped heavily admitting her fate and future was sealed and there was nothing she could do now.
It was too late.
"Yes."
"That's wonderful news!"Â He exclaims in a jolly voice.
"I'll need a couple hours."Â Â She replies monotonously.
"One hour. Not a minute more. Oh, one more thing...if you notify anyone or fail to follow my instructions, and I assure I will find out...he's dead".
The phone line drops and a second later, Sammy's phone sends her a message. Camelia swipes her phone open and presses messages. The image was of her best friend strapped to a chair.
Camelia felt her scalp tighten.
His arms and were legs bound to the chair, his mouth muffled with duck tape and his face swollen from repeated punches, forming bruises. One of his eyes was turning a ugly shade of black as his head hanged from his body lifelessly.
Camelia sat still frozen in shock. Oh my god, what am I going to do? She never intended to draw him into this.
Still, she had no choice and couldn't waste agonizing over her situation. She could only hope Sammy was alive with no guarantee he still was.
She was trapped.
Camelia rummaged through her bedside table drawer finding a notebook, ripping out a piece of paper. She knelt and began to write.
Stefan,
I hope you read this before it's too late.
Nathan Diam called me using Sammy's phone. He's holding Sammy hostage and threatened to kill him if I don't show up to the address he sent on my phone. I must warn you, he threatened to come after my mother.
Keep her safe.
I know you're going to be angry, don't be. I had no choice. This has to stop once and for all before more people get hurt because of me.
I'm so sorry. Please be carful and know I believe in you. I am confident you'll be able to find me.
I love you with all my heart and soul.
-Camelia
Before standing she jots down the address of the location she was sent earlier. Camelia stands and places the note on the edge of her bed with shaking handsâher decision made. She choked back her agony and placed a hand over her racing heart. The next step was finding a clever way to evade the stationed guards and most especially Liam.
It amazed her how he always seemed to sense whenever she was near. Finding a excuse to avoid him to make her escape was going to prove very hard. He would be able to see the distress she would need to disguise.
Somehow she had to escape undetected. But first she had to prepare.
She ran into the bathroom and washed her face. Then she went to her closet and dressed in comfortable jeans, shirt, cardigan and flat slip on shoes. She rushed back holding her handbag and placed it on her dresser while she finds a elastic band and sweeps her hair into a ponytail.
Starring at her pale face she inhales and exhales trying to not think of the outcome. She needed to stay calm and think straight.
Camelia races down the stairs. Her gaze darts around the foyer making sure nobody was around. All her family members were not home. In that moment her phone rings.
She stops and pulls out her phone from her handbag. It was Jasmine and quickly silences her phone. Not now, she thought closing her eyes briefly. Camelia knew without having to wonder at the reason of the unexpected phone callâit was two in the morning in England. Jasmine always phoned early morning or later in the night.
The call was to check on her because ironically, her wedding to Kivanç was supposed to happen that very day. Every single one of her relatives were attending to watch Kivanç and Gloriana marry for the sake of their innocent babyâ Camelia was all alone at home.
Camelia glances at her watch.
4:00 p.m. The ceremony already started.
Perfectly planned on Diam's part. As always, one step ahead of his sick little game every time.
Her phone stops buzzing in her hands and places it back inside her bag. She tiptoes across the marble tile, placing her bag on a nearby chair Liam often inhibited when waiting for her.
She heard voices coming from her father's study. With purposeful strides she takes a deep breath, closes her eyes for a brief moment and knocks on the closed door. When Liam opens the door, her wild and tortured expression transformed into a smile of interest.
She hoped her eyes did not convey what she didn't dare tell him.
"Hi! I was wondering if you've seen a necklace I've seemed to have misplaced. The last time I remembered wearing it was in your car. It was a birthday present and I've been going crazy trying to find it." She lied with a tight lipped smile.
Camelia casually looked behind him finding several of the undercover men and women leaning over a table as they appear to study something intently spread across the table. She darts her gaze back to her bodyguard.
Liam narrows his eyes a fraction and eyes her tight black jeans, pale blue shirt and black cardigan.
"Are you planning on going somewhere?" He asks with slight suspicion.
Camelia's heart began racing like a sledgehammer. Her hands were placed in the back pockets of her jeans to keep them hidden. Her arms began shaking and rolled on the back of her heels to show him how anxious she was to find her missing necklace.
"Not right now. Stefan said he'd be by after his meeting so...." She looked down at her clothing and forced a blush of embarrassment. "Is it okay if I check your car? I won't be too long. I think it may have fallen between the seats..." She added quickly.
It felt like one of the lamest lie she had ever come up with. But she needed a car. Liam's was the only way she would be able to leave. Thanks to his darkly tinted windows, it provided to shield her from their eyes.
The surveillance crew would quickly assume it was him.
It almost appeared as though he was going to refuse, as if he knew her excuse was a lie. So she improvised and made puppy eyes, adding a little bit of hope in her expression.
Liam reluctantly pulled his keys out of his front pocket. Instead of handing them to her he claps them tightly as if trying to think about if he should trust her.
"Maybe I shouldâ"
Camelia quickly interrupts him. "It's all right, Liam. If you're uncomfortable with me searching your car, I completely understand. I wouldn't want to make you..." Camelia pauses having the decency to look disappointed and hurt. "Forget it." She waves dismissively, ready to turn.
It was a take away tactic.
The same ones car dealers used to create urgency when trying to sell a car to a reluctant, potential customer. She'd learned it during the many times she observed and watched people. The tactic was especially helpful, allowing her to feed Liam a heavy dose of guilt for not 'trusting her.'
"Are you sure it's in my car?"Â Â He asks to her retreating back.
Camelia stops and spins around trying to keep the relief off her face. "Positive."
"Don't be too long."Â He replies and hands her the keys.
Relief filled her.
Forgive me for fooling you Liam.
"Thank you."Â She says sincerely.
Not believing her luck, she turns and strides directly towards the front door. As she twisted the knob, out of the corner of her eye she spots Liam pause briefly before turning back into the den, keeping the door slightly ajar.
Camelia closes her eyes and bites her lip trying to calm her raging emotions.  She opens the door halfway and goes back a few steps to retrieve her bag. Glancing over her shoulder one last time, she steps out of the her house and closes the door gently behind her.
It was mid-afternoon.
The first of springs sunshine coated through her clothing and the skin of her face. The birds chirped happily in a nearby tree as the shrubs and trees began filling in full bloom.  A breeze passes over her carrying the smell of Jasmine as it wafted through her nostrils.
A sense of gloom descends over her.
It was possibly the very last time she would ever smell or see any of the surroundings she grew accustomed to seeing for the last twenty-one years. She would dearly miss her home, her family, her fiancé...her life.
The memories would forever haunt her for as long as she lived.
Pushing asides all melancholy thoughts threatening to disrupt her from her mission, she squints against the suns rays and spots Liam's black Dodge Charger further down the driveway. She sprints towards it and presses the alarm to unlock the vehicle. The beeping sound it made, however muted it was, sounded loud to her ears as she opened the passenger door. She practically threw her bag, closed the door, and dashes to the driver's side.
Adjusting the seat to her height position, she turns the ignition.  Looking over her shoulder, with her heart pounding painfully against her chest, she presses the opener for the gate she quickly retrieved from her bag. Shifting the car in drive, she made it appear she wasn't in a rush and casually maneuvered Liam's car passed the gates.
Her knuckles turned white from the death grip she had on the steering wheel.
Exhaling loudly after she passed the parked surveillance teams, she felt for her phone from deep within her hand bag and began following the route that she mapped out before going downstairs.
She checked the rear view mirror again. Nobody was following her.
It was protocol, whenever she and Liam were going anywhere the teams were notified and followed. But today, since she was supposed to be Liam, the teams weren't dispatched. If he didn't give the signal then they automatically concluded he was traveling alone and backup wasn't needed.
Camelia accelerated at a speed that went above the speed limit and stared passed the windshield praying this plan of hers wasn't the biggest mistake of her life.
******
She parked the car in the deserted street and turns off the ignition. Camelia decides to leave her bag and the keys in the car as she steps out and closes the door. Her getaway seemed effortless. Glancing over her shoulder as she wipes her hands against her thighs and noticed a figure in the corner eyeing her expectantly.
The man was dressed in black, tattoos littered his bare scalp and neck. She damned herself for not thinking about taking some sort of weapon with her. Goosebumps crawled up her legs, across her stomach and along her upper torso and arms. The cardigan around her body did nothing to ease the chill. Camelia forced her body forward, ignoring the man and wanders down the street searching around her wildly.
She checked her phone. The navigation voice says, "You've reached your destination."
Camelia stops in her tracks as she reached a narrow ally. It was dark, the brick buildings loomed high obscuring any sort of sunlight. She shivers and enters the street but not before searching behind her.
The tattooed man was close behind her. She races down the cold street and then stops.
Sammy was laying on the cold ground unconscious and tied up in the corner of the deserted ally. Out of the shadows about ten men emerge like quiet predators.
"What did you do to him?!?" She shouts and begins to rush toward her best friend but stops as the group of thugs quickly make a circle, preventing her from reaching Sammy.
She was considerably outnumbered.
"Who are you? What do you want?" She shouts, twirling around wildly trying to find a gap in the hovered circle they made with their bodies, trapping her like a animal.
One of the men was holding a chain and clasped it tightly with both hands. His shaved head reflected like a shiny ball of light even in the shadows. His mouth sneered, revealing gaping, rotting teeth.
A zap of fear nearly knocked her to her knees.
"Please don't....." She whines feeling the dread of defeat weigh her down.
Her face was pleading as she searched, asking the others for help with her desperate eyes. One man was wearing leather from head to toe and a gun in his hands. Another held a baseball bat, balancing casually over his shoulder. Camelia's eyes scanned their hands instead of their faces.
They were all holding weaponsârope, knives, and more guns.
Camelia's fists clench and unclench wishing something miraculously would appear in her hands she could fight with.
"She's purtty." The toothless one said. "Ya sure we can't have a little fun before we give her to da boss?"Â He asked one of the others without taking his greedy, sick, hungry eyes off of her.
Camelia backed away somewhat intimated not by his appearance but by what he said. The sounds of a bullet clicking into it's chamber echoes in the deserted alley. A gun is drawn and pointed at her as another advances towards her.
Every step he took, she took another back. He charged at her, running. Camelia didn't have a moment to think. He grasps her by the arms and felt herself being overpowered by the man's physical strength. He towers over her, the others closing the circle around them.
"We can do this the easy way or hard way, little girl. It's all up to you." The man who held her said directly in her face. His breath reeked of tooth decay. His eyes were like black soulless pits of hell. He looked ferocious and huge, barbaric. "Now move." He gave her a shake.
"Let me go!" She fought him in her panic. He gripped her harder, and she shouted in pain.
Camelia goes limp for but a moment and makes it seem like she was going to cooperate and moves but not the way he wants as she lifted her leg and kneed him hard in the groin, directly aiming to dismember him. He releases his hold and gasps for breath in pure helplessness, bending over in agonizing pain. Next, she punches him across the face with all her strength.
The others stand there dumbfounded. Their jaws slack from shock. They hesitate for a second, then anger lights their evil eyes.
"You little shit." The one she kicked and punched snarled. He laid on the cold street panting hard, his legs crossed together trying to hold in the pain between his legs.
Her heart beating wildly, with a frantic glance at the others standing still in angered shock, suddenly Camelia moved like a flash of lightning and begins to run for her life, trying to reach the open street.
"Get her!"Â One of them bellowed from behind her.
The thunderous sounds of their heavy footsteps filled her ears as she raced down the path. However, her relief was short lived. She was tackled from behind feeling a rock-hard arm around her waist crushing the life out of her.
Her ribs protested against her skin in pain, the coiled arm constricting her breathing.
"Heeeeelp!" she screamed with every ounce of strength she had and fought. "Someone please help mâ!"
A dirty cloth, doused with a sharp smelling chemical, was placed over Camelia's mouth and nose, and her arms were crushed to her sides. Her body went rigid and try as she may before she succumbed to the darkness threatening to overtake her she kicked wildly at the assailants.
A man cussed loudly as he grunted in pain holding his middle before a black void takes over....
_______________________________________________________________
Now it's begun. Much more drama coming
The next update will be coming soon!
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-Shaz