Heiress in Distress

•Chapter 12•

What's wrong with him ? Is it something I said ?
Honestly, I don't care, nothing justifies him snapping at me like that.
Just as I'm about to come up with an excuse to leave, he drags his hand down his face.

"Forgive me. This is important, it can't wait." He says in an eerily modulated voice in spite of his former stance, bringing my anger down to a simmer.

The next 30 minutes of the drive passes by in a tense silence. Actually, it's not the silence that's tense, it's Elias.
Ever since he backed out of my driveway, he'd been stiff as a stick.
I, and anyone not necessarily apprehensive, notice the way he swipes at his sweat stained forehead, the continuous teeth grinding, and the rhythmic clenching and unclenching of the steering wheel.

When we reach our destination, I merely unlock my door, before a streak of lightning zigzags across the sky, the light almost blinding.

"What are you doing! Have you lost your mind ?!" A loud voice roars within the confines of the car. For it being only the two of us, his voice is unnecessarily loud.

"Why are you yelling ?" I ask him, obscurely incensed. He's acting so out of his character today; I think I got way too used to his well composed demeanour.

"Do you not see, hell, HEAR the storm out there ? Did you not catch that lightning ? Are you by any chance blind ?" He continues to erupt in his spot, eyes staring at me with a newly found animosity. I even catch the tiny red wires staining the whiteness of the sclera of his eyes.
This is the first time fear overtakes the rest of my senses when I'm around him.

In that second, survival instinct crawls in, and I council myself into riding his wave, going with his rhythm.
At my uncharacteristic silence, he pinches the bridge of his nose, before removing his suit jacket, tossing it in the backseat.

"Listen, I'm already going through enough, don't make this harder than it is." He says the words sternly, only this time, there's a trace of benevolence to it. I only nod.

He opens the door and climbs out. I have to do my best to appear unfazed, while I'm anything but.
I allow my calm exterior to mask my fright as he walks all the way to my side, opens the door so I can leave the car.

In utter silence, he guides me into the house, I'm well aware of my phone in my hand, weighing it down a bit.
I've clicked on the Emergency call button on my screen, ready to make the call any second if necessary.

I shouldn't have come here with him. Who knows what he might be planning to do to me once we're inside the house.
My thoughts torment my mind so much that I don't notice him guiding me all the way down to a basement.

That's it Mira. He's just gonna kill you and dump you in a basement.
I swallow past the growing lump in my throat, my eyes stinging.
The two men dressed in similar formal attires greet Elias with a nod before opening the door to the basement.

At first, I see nothing with Elias' body obstructing my vision as he stands before me with his massive shoulders and towering figure.
But the second he moves to the side, I'm stunned into a stop just by the door.

My heart is hammering against my ribcage, desperate to be free.
My brain is screaming at me to get out of here immediately before I'm made to be the occupant of the seventh chair that's only empty.

"What's the meaning of this ?" I feel myself asking but my voice is too foreign to my ears, I hardly recognise it.
My vision throbs as I stare at the six men from the other night, all tied to chairs, and beaten half to death.
My head begins to pound, reminding me that I haven't been breathing for the past few seconds.

Someone is speaking. I hear a voice speaking but I don't notice the words being said.
The face of the man in the chair closest to me is screwed out of shape, features almost unrecognisable. The only thing that gave them away was the clothes they wear. They're the same from last time.