He looked at the girl who was tied up in the chair, her eyes red and watery and her lips dry from dehydration.
He smirked.
“Did you think I would let you go?”
Zora raised her head to look at him.
She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
“You must have thought that I am a fool to believe that you saved me that night at will.”
Zora glared at him.
That was all she could do.
She had no energy to argue with him.
If he chose not to believe her then it was his business.
“Who sent you?”
“What information did you get from me?”
He asked the same questions he had asked when she was brought in, but Zora kept silent and refused to say a word to him.
BANG!!
The sound of a gunshot echoed in the basement.
He had fired it right above her head.
The bullet sank into the wall.
Zora jolted.
“Ahh!
I don’t know anything!”
She screamed, but did not feel the pain she was expecting.
Her eyes gradually opened and she saw him standing in front of her with the gun in his hand.
“I…”
She wanted to speak but before she could, Alistair spoke.
“I was drugged and you were the one who ended up in my bed.
Tell me, who else is a suspect?”
A tear dropped from her eye, what was her crime this week?
She only did a good deed by saving this man.
Her eyes darted to the rope tied around her, the only thing she could move was her head.
Apart from the door there was no other opening, not even a window.
She spoke with a hoarse voice.
“I really did not drug you, I swear…
I really did not…”
Alistair hissed.
“I have two more bullets in this gun.
If you do not tell me what you know and who you work for, they might both find a place in your body.”
“So I am going to ask you one more time.
That night, what information did you get from me?”
“Do not think about lying to me.
I am not going to be merciful this time.”
Zora’s head fell as she bit on her lip.
What does he want to hear her say?
What information is he afraid of that she might have gotten from him?
“I did not drug you, why won’t you just believe me?”
She raised her head only to find out that he was gone.
When did he leave?
She looked around the basement again, there was nothing else except the iron table.
Wait, iron table, her eyes went back to it, if she could move the chair closer to the iron table she would be able to use the edge to cut the rope, it may take some time and cause injuries but it was better.
However as she tried to move the chair it did not move, she tried again, nothing.
She immediately looked down only to see that the chair was rooted to the ground, it was also metal.
‘Damnit!!
Ahhhhhhh!!
Bastard!
Mother fucking bastard!’
She cursed in her mind.
She also admired the intelligent mind behind it.
Five hours gone, Zora was still locked in the basement with little or no oxygen.
The metallic door slid open, and Alistair walked in.
He saw Zora’s head dropped to the side and her eyes closed.
He sneered.
“Dare to sleep?”
Alistair grabbed her hair, and raised her head up.
Her eyes were still shut.
“Open your eyes.”
He thought she was keeping silent on purpose.
“Get me bowl.”
One of the men who had followed him quickly brought a bowl of extremely cold water almost blocked.
A small stool was brought and kept in front of Zora, then the bowl was placed on it.
Alistair immediately dipped Zora’s head into the bowl.
“Are you still going to pretend?”
He asked, waited for ten seconds but Zora did not move, not even a muffle.
He pulled her head up, his hand still holding her hair tight.
Zora’s face was pale, her eyes still closed.
Alistair spoke through gritted teeth.
“I’m giving you five seconds to open your eyes.”
Zora’s eyes were still closed, five seconds passed.
Alistair dipped her head into the bowl again, nothing.
Alistair pulled her head out, and his hand left her hair to grab her face only to feel her face as cold as ice, probably because of the cold water.
But somehow he felt like touching her hand, it was also very cold, his hand went to her neck and it was burning hot.
Alistair looked at her.
“I cannot let you die.
You can die after telling me the truth.”
He turned to his left and said, “Get the doctor.”
One of his men nodded and went out of the basement.
He then took Zora to the guest room in his main building.
Five minutes later, the doctor walked in with his kits.
The room was equipped like a hospital room.
Zora was immediately given an oxygen mask.
She had developed hypoxia due to low blood oxygen.
When the doctor checked Zora, he also noticed two unusual things, but he felt that since he did not do a proper checkup he should not say it without evidence.
He looked at Alistair.
“She has a serious fever due to the hypoxia and also she’s suffering from malnutrition.
I am sure she probably has not eaten all day.”
Alistair glanced at the doctor.
He understood that the doctor was blaming him indirectly.
The doctor opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it, took a deep breath, and left the room.
Alistair glared at Zora, who was still lying on the bed.
He clenched his fist.
How could one person suffer all of that?
And why should he be caring for someone who has no shame like her?
All he wanted was for her to tell him the truth.
What did she find out about him when they had a one night stand?
What kind of drug did she use that took effect on him?
If she knew something, he would not let her go.
He looked at his watch.
Zora was still lying on the bed.
It was almost an hour.
He did not want to waste his food on Zora.
He was not the cause of her malnutrition.
He suddenly stood up and went to the vanity near the bed, picked up a bottle of water sitting on it.
He opened it and was about to pour it on Zora, but then Kane’s voice was heard.
“Boss!”
Alistair turned to him.
The veins on his neck bulged out.
He was about to snap at Kane, but then he heard Kane say,
“She was not the one.”
“We were able to retrieve the footage.”
He walked closer to Alistair and handed him a small flash drive.
Alistair took the flash drive without saying a word, but when he was about to leave the room, he said,
“Tell the kitchen to make something for her.”
Kane nodded.
He then looked at Zora, who was still on the bed.
The kitchen prepared nutritional meals that were easy to digest for Zora.
The chief maid, Mrs.
Stella, a middle-aged woman who had worked with Alistair right from when he was just a day old, came in.
When she saw Zora lying on the bed, she smiled at how beautiful Zora was.
Even with her puffy eyes, she still looked pretty.
Mrs.
Stella smoothed Zora’s hair, raised her head, and placed it on a pillow so she would be seated instead of lying down, then she patiently fed her with a smile.
Meanwhile, in another room, Alistair sat down with an open file.
After going through the file for twenty minutes, he raised his head to look at Kane.
“So those amateurs who fired at us tonight were sent by Fred?”
Kane nodded and said, “It seems like it was the signal you asked for.”
Alistair nodded and gestured for Kane to leave.
When Kane was about to open the door, he heard Alistair say,
“How is the investigation I asked you to carry out going?”
Kane turned to him and replied, “It is going well, but there are still some things that we have not checked.”
Alistair did not say anything else.
The next morning, Zora woke up.
Her eyes scanned the ceiling for about thirty seconds.
Then all the memories of the night before flooded back.
Her heartbeat increased.
Her palms became sweaty.
She was about to get down from the bed, but then the door opened.
She immediately turned to look at it.
The person who walked in made Zora shiver.
She did not know when tears started coming out of her eyes.
When he saw her reaction, he smirked.
He took a step forward.
Zora shifted a little.
He took another step.
Zora shifted again.
This continued until Zora got to the end of the bed and could not shift anymore.
He raised an eyebrow and said,
“Are you done?”
Zora could not answer.
She looked down at her feet as she bit her lip hard.
The next second, something was thrown on the bed.
He then walked out of the room.
Zora looked at what he threw and saw that it was her phone.
She rushed to check if there were any messages or missed calls.
Indeed, she had missed calls, but all her messages were marked as read.
Did Alistair read all her messages?
She decided to check all her contacts.
Then she saw that Viktor had sent her a lot of messages the night before and early that morning.
Alistair really did read all her messages.
She sighed heavily.
She was about to stand up again, but then a knock came at the door.
After the knock, the door opened and a middle-aged woman walked in with clothes in her hands.
She smiled at Zora and said,
“You are awake.
It is good.
The boss asked me to prepare this for you.
When you are done, come downstairs for breakfast.”
She placed the clothes on the bed.
When she was about to leave the room, Zora said,
“Thank you, ma’am.”
The middle-aged woman turned to her and said,
“Call me Mrs.
Stella.”
Zora nodded.
Her heart felt warm.
She smiled back at Mrs.
Stella.
After taking her bath, she changed into the dress brought by Mrs.
Stella, then rushed downstairs for breakfast.
She did not rush down because she was hungry, but because she really wanted to leave Alistair’s house.
When she got downstairs, Alistair was seated in the dining room, but he was not eating.
Zora froze on the last step of the stairs.
She bit her lower lip very hard.
Alistair looked up from his tablet and saw her standing like a monument.
He relaxed on the chair and said,
“Get down.”
Zora rushed down from the stairs and sat at the dining table.
When she looked at the food, she felt like throwing up.
Maybe it was because some of them looked like medicine.
She did not know that her face had twisted.
Alistair then said, “Eat!”
Zora jolted at the sudden command.
She took a spoon, put it in one of the meals that looked less disgusting, and as she put it in her mouth, she regretted it immediately.
Not only was it tasteless, it also had an unpleasant smell.
She tried to swallow it, but the smell would not allow her.
She was about to spit it out when she noticed Alistair glaring at her.
She did not know when she swallowed it.
She forced herself to finish the meal.
When she was done, she sighed in relief.
She was about to get up, but Alistair said,
“Continue.”
That was when she realized the meal she ate was just five spoonfuls.
That meant she had not actually eaten enough.
She had to sit back and continue eating.
Some of the food was tasty but had a bad smell, others had a good smell but tasted bad, while some had neither taste nor smell.
And of course, she dared not spit any of them out because Alistair was seated there all through.
When she was done, Alistair stood up and walked away.
Zora sat there for thirty seconds, then her phone rang.
It was Shona calling.
Zora answered the call.
“Hello Shona?”
Shona’s voice came through the phone speaker.
“Zora, you cannot believe what just happened.”
Zora’s heart skipped.
She stood up immediately and asked,
“What happened?”
Shona then replied, “I have a friend whose family is planning a banquet, so she needs a person who is good at decorating.”
“I recommended you.
It is a huge pay, what do you think?”
Zora sighed in relief.
So much had happened that every little thing made her anxious.
“What I think is that whenever you start a conversation, stop making it so dramatic!
Sigh.
How much is the pay?”
Shona sighed and apologized to Zora.
“I am sorry Zora.
I was just too excited, that is why I started like that.
She told me the money would be up to a million dollars.”
They both stayed quiet for a few seconds before Zora said,
“It is a good pay, although not enough, but it will go a long way.”
Shona nodded at the other end of the phone.