Lured into Lies by Melanie Martins
Chapter 2
The Netherlands, December 5, 2021
Tess Hagen
The creaking sound of a door opening quietly wakes me up. My head is still as dizzy as when they initially knocked me out; I must have slept a lot since then. My eyes can barely cope with the brightness of the room, so I squeeze them tight again, before slowly reopening them. I find myself lying on a twin bed that is leaning against a wall, I want to spread my legs wide but my ankles are tied together, which is meant to prevent me from running. I silently chuckle at the whole thing––while Eric prosecuted Alex for kidnapping my daughter, I should’ve known sooner or later he and his family would truly kidnap someone for good. I just didn’t realize this someone would be me. Petra didn’t need to be kidnapped, the girl is so deluded that she’d let him carry her away without protesting. They can only kidnap those they can’t control. And those include me and Carice. Oh gosh, I hope they didn’t do anything to her. Well, if she advised me to get a gun, she most likely has a better security team than me. A gush of air leaves my lungs as I realize how naïve I was to have not invested in full-time security agents. I thought two dogs sleeping in the kitchen because it’s too cold outside would be enough. I do have cameras outside and an alarm though, how weird it didn’t work. They must have turned it off. As I hear footsteps approaching I gain some courage and look at the man who stands in front of me.
“Where am I?” I ask, my voice laced with anger but still pretty feeble. I notice the man is dressed all in blue like in a hospital, carrying a tray with food, plastic cutlery, and a small goblet with a few pills inside. Oh, if they think they can drug me, they’re very mistaken. I’ll pretend to swallow the pills and put them under my tongue. Since he doesn’t answer, I take in my surroundings—it looks like I’m in a bedroom, yet it’s as minimalist as it gets with only a bed, a nightstand, and a desk and a chair. I look for a window and find one but very small and way too high for me to reach and to check outside. As he puts the tray on my nightstand, I ask, “What’s your name?”
“Winter,” he answers with a pleasant smile.
“Winter?” I repeat, barely able to believe it. Of course he won’t give away his real name. Winter has to be some kind of nickname.
Winter nods, not telling me anything else, so I try a more sympathetic tone. “Do you know for how long I will stay here, Winter?”
“I don’t know, Miss,” he sounds very polite but I’m not sure if he’s lying or not. “I’m just here to bring your food and medicine.”
I give a quick glance at the food, and notice it’s vegetarian. At least there’s that. Since he looks friendly and approachable, I extend a hand to shake his. “Tess Hagen,” I say as we give a quick handshake.
Suddenly, another squeaky sound startles me and I see another man entering into the bedroom, followed by two others, who are armed. The one in front I recognize instantly––it’s the guy who was in my living room with Margaret.
“Did you sleep well?” he says after striding closer to us. There’s some sarcasm in his tone, despite his stern expression.
“What do you want from me?” I ask instead. “Where am I?”
“You aren’t asking the questions here. I am,” he snaps just as fast. “Now,” he pulls the chair from the desk to sit in front of me and I narrow my eyes at the iPhone and piece of paper in his hands. “You will repeat this script as a voice message to your daughter.”
As he gives me the paper, I read the message and my heart falls on my knees. “What time is it? She’s already married?”
“No questions!” he growls.
“I can’t do that.” And I hand him the paper back, averting his dark eyes.
Yet he leans forward, getting way too close to me. I try to backup, but the bed is tiny and I don’t have much space left to go. He grabs my jaw, forcing me to look at him. “If you want to stay alive, you follow the rules, snap je?”
What a disgusting monster! I don’t want to play by their rules, but if I want to stand a chance and live yet another day, I will have to comply. If Winter keeps giving me food everyday, maybe I can gain his sympathy in time and he can help me to get me out of here.
“Now, read this out loud and we are gonna record it. Don’t try to deviate from the script, because we won’t send anything but a perfect voice message that rings true.” I swallow the lump in my throat, despising him and this moment more than anything in life. “You ready?”
I read the first lines in my mind again and nod at him. Once he gestures me to get started, I put on my best voice and read the note. “Petra, it’s me… Your mom… I, um, I suppose by now you must be married and partying with your friends and new family…” I take a deep breath, taming the anger I have inside me before I can proceed and read the rest. “I’m gonna take a break, um, I’m leaving the country for a few days, maybe weeks, who knows…” I pause once more so not to break down at this whole charade. “I need some peace and quiet to think about my life, about me… Anyway, I wish you all the best and, um, I love you.”
The agent taps the phone before pressing play to hear the whole voice message. As we listen to it, I sound tired and sad. Not sure if that’s what they want.
“It’s perfect,” he says, a smile on his lips. “If you keep cooperating, you’ll stay alive.”
He then stands up, and right before he can start walking away, I ask, “When do I go out?”
“Go out?” he repeats in astonishment before erupting in laugher. “You are imprisoned now. For as long as you shall live.”
Get the sequel: DEFYING ETERNITY