Were you mine?

Chapter 91-Word to word

Lea drove like a lunatic trying to reach the next destination. She was running low on gas, she knew she needed to refill but she dared not stop or slow down, fearing she might not reach the spot in the given time.

As her car screeched to a halt she looked around and luck was on her side. The location she was chasing happened to be just what she needed. A gas station! Lea got off and went inside to dial the number she had in her hand while throwing her card at the man filling her tank. " Make it full. Absolutely full! " She yelled as the man turned around to look at her, perplexed.

Lea's hand shook so much as she dialled the number that the receiver fell from her hand, twice. " Hello! I am at the gas station like you asked me to. Now please let me speak to my son, once. Please! " Lea yelled, begged, cried, putting all her effort in that plea but all she was met with was a chuckle from the other side. " Alright! Since you have proven to be a good girl, let me grant you this bliss. " The other person put the phone on speak and growled, " Come on, say hi to your Mother! "

A tiny little sound caught Lea's ears, " H-Hello! " But it sounded nothing like her son. " Kai! It's Mommy. Kai are you alright baby? Are you hurt? Don't be scared alright? I am coming to get you. Alright? " She said whatever she wanted to say nevertheless. But the phone was yanked away from the child before he could respond."Alright! Time is up. Now I am going to send you an account number. You are going to load that account up. Get me? " Lea fumbled to keep the conversation going. " I told you I will give you all the money that you want but that... that didn't sound like my son. You didn't let me talk to him properly. Is he f*cling alright? " She was screaming and a worker peaked at her from the outside. She immediately lowered her head and looked away trying to calm her nerves.

" Listen up, b*tch! Did you think I would be talking to you with my natural voice? It's just the voice changers that made it sound different. It's your son, alright. If you don't believe, we can easily get rid of him... " The voice cackled up and Lea immediately lifted her hand surrendering. " No! No! I am sorry. I didn't understand. It's my bad. I am immediately going to transfer the amount. How much do you want? "

The voice barked down a crypto account details to Lea before quoting her price.

" xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx? " Lea couldn't even understand the number properly. It was a ridiculous figure. " But.. but... "

" Thought you said money wasn't the problem? Guess it was a load of crap? Your son does have a price tag after all. Did I quote too high for you to offer? Is the mutt useless? " The remarks added to Lea's confusion and anger. " No! God dammit! " She yelled. " I meant the amount that you want can't be transferred online. I will have to contact the bank. I might have to go there physically. Especially this crypto thing... honestly, I don't understand it at all. " She met with a chuckle. " I figured. Don't worry, I got you covered! Just continue being the good girl that you are and keep following my instructions. "

***

The line went dead after giving Lea the next sets of instructions, leaving her in a haze of dread and urgency. Her heart pounded as she stumbled out of the station's office, nearly colliding with the attendant who was filling her car tank, "Hey lady, your tank's full," he called out, but she barely registered his words, thrusting some bills into his hands before jumping back into her car. Lea's car roared back onto the highway, tires screeching as she raced toward the next destination the voice had given. " Hey... lady... hey... stop... " She could hear the gas station worker screaming and running after her but she did not care enough to stop and hear. Probably she had paid him less. Whatever. She had a life to save. Her son. Nothing else mattered.

Almost fifty minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of a nondescript strip mall. Her eyes darted around, scanning for anything unusual. The instruction had been specific, " Go straight to Suite 14." And she followed it word to word. She knocked on the door three times instead of ringing the bell like she was instructed and waited for someone to answer it. A middle-aged man opened it.Lea opened the mouth to explain but without warning, he grabbed her arm and yanked her inside the suite, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Wh...what are you..." Lea started, but the man quickly shoved her back on a chair and placed a finger on his own lips and said," Ssshhhh! No fuss! " He pointed at his phone trying to say that he was acting as was ordered. It was clear he wasn't a local and neither did he speak the language.Lea tried to protest as he grappled her but she dared not protest too much,fearing her screams might bring other people and it would piss of the kidnapper. He overpowered her within minutes tying her hands with a zip tie and pushing her further back onto the chair.

" I think you got something wrong here! Why are you tying me up? I was supposed to get a parcel... " Lea still tried to reason with him as his rough hands worked around her. "Shut up and stay still," he ordered, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

Panic surged through Lea as she silently struggled against the restraints, but the man's grip was too strong.He began stripping her clothes off with mechanical efficiency, ignoring her protests and cries.It was as if he didn't have any interest in the job either and was just doing it for money.If money was what he was after, Lea could give him more than he could think. But he put a tape across her lips,making her go absolutely mute and powerless.She couldn't even move or speak.

Lea's mind raced with terror, thinking he was about to sexually assault her.After all that she was going through,she didn't have any strength for that. She prayed. She prayed hard. To her surprise, instead of pouncing on her,the man took out a phone and started taking pictures of her in various humiliating poses. He even positioned himself next to her in some of the shots, a cruel smirk on his face.

Lea's toe curled,as she shut her eyes, trying to hold back her tears. She could sense whoever had her child wasn't simply after money. She had a hunch that they held something heavy against her and her baby.Her humiliation was compounded by the flash of the camera.Each click echoing in the small room repeatedly bringing her back to her misery. Once he was satisfied, the man sent the pictures to someone.He waited for a response and when he did get it, he looked at Lea with a smirk and a nod. He immediately released her bondage,finally, tossing her a phone, her clothes still scattered around her. "There's a number on speed dial. Call it." He gestured with his hands and body language.

Lea was still shaking with the humiliation while she grabbed the phone with her free hand and pressed the number. The line connected almost immediately.

"Hello, Lea," the familiar, distorted voice greeted her. "I see you’ve met my associate. I trust you understand now just how serious I am.And how vulnerable you are. And how you are at my absolute mercy. "Lea swallowed hard, fighting back tears. "Please, just let me talk to my son once....properly," she begged, her voice trembling. It was getting crystal clear that she was probably dealing with someone who had psychopathic tendencies.

The voice chuckled. "Not yet.You have to be satisfied with whatever you got. First, you’re going to follow my instructions to the letter. You’re going to go to the bank as we discussed. My associate will escort you to a different cat to make sure you behave.Then you will be on your own again. "The man who had taken the pictures untied her other hand, letting her scramble to put her clothes back on. Once dressed, she was led out to an old car waiting at the gate, the phone was still in her hand, the man followed her closely behind. As soon as Lea entered the car and started the engine, her phone rang. She picked it up. "Good girl," the familiar, distorted voice oozed from the speaker. "Now, listen carefully. You're going to drive to your bank. Do not hang up. I want to hear everything." It said as if it was monitoring her move.