Chapter 2 Meeting Her Captor

Malcolm could only hide his face in his hands, unable to witness how they took his beloved Amelia away. Penelope, on the other hand, watched the scene with a mocking smile, completely pleased by what was happening.

“Come on, Malcolm, don't complain so much,” she said with disdain, “as if your little daughter was dying.”

Outside, the burly men dragged Amelia to the Rolls-Royce and threw her unceremoniously into the back seat.

“Please…” she begged through tears, “don't hurt me... please... I beg you…”

“You better calm down,” said one of the men, “you don't want to be difficult, you've been very lucky, you'll be the mother of our boss's child, many would kill to be in your place.”

Amelia was terribly scared when she heard those cruel words.

This afternoon that should have been a celebration for her eighteenth birthday had turned into her worst nightmare, she should have imagined it, they had never celebrated her birthday, what the hell led her to think that this day would be different?

Tears ran down her cheeks as the Rolls-Royce Phantom drove away from Kensington, taking her towards an uncertain future.

As the car moved forward, Amelia felt a wave of anger take over her, she looked around, looking for any object with which she could defend herself, she was not going to allow herself to be used in this way, as an object, as merchandise, she would fight tooth and nail before resigning herself.

She noticed a small pistol holstered in the belt of one of the men, with a quick movement, she took it and pointed it at the guy sitting next to her, the thugs were surprised.

The car made a violent turn, causing Amelia to hit her head against the door, she felt terrible pain and everything went dark around her.

The young woman regained consciousness some time later. Her hands were tied. She was in an unfamiliar room, lying on a bed. She felt dizzy and disoriented, but the reality of her situation hit her hard.

Tears of rage and helplessness welled up in her eyes. What had she done to deserve this? For the first time in her life, she felt terribly afraid, especially when the door to that room began to slowly open.

The door to the dark room opened completely, startling Amelia. The two burly men who had brought her there entered first, looking around the place with expressionless glances. Right after, a decrepit-looking old man crossed the threshold, leaning heavily on a cane.

Amelia held her breath as she saw that old man who was surely her captor. A shiver of fear ran down her spine as she studied him surreptitiously.

His skin was yellow and wrinkled, his eyes were small and watery, his nose was hooked and his lips were pursed in a bitter grimace, and it seemed to her that he exuded evil from every pore.

The old man fixed his gaze on Amelia and a crooked smile appeared on his thin lips, he limped over and, without warning, grabbed her roughly by the chin forcing her to stare at him.

“Well, well…” he said in a raspy voice “I must admit that that idiot Roberts did not lie to me after all, you are a most satisfactory acquisition.”

Amelia turned her face away with a gesture of repulsion and could not help but spit in his face, splashing her wrinkled cheeks with saliva, the two guards stepped forward with a threatening expression, but the old man made a sign for them to stop.

To Amelia's surprise, the old man began to laugh out loud.

“Perfect! “He exclaimed, wiping his face with a handkerchief, “I like your guts, little girl. My heir will be a strong and healthy boy, as he should be.”

Amelia felt her blood run cold upon hearing those words. Was that disgusting old man trying to impregnate her to bear his child? The thought alone made her stomach turn.

“No, please!” she begged in a heartbroken voice. “Let me go! I'll do anything, but don't make me do this!”

The old man turned around to leave. Amelia tried to get up, but it was impossible since her hands were still tied.

“Please! I promise to behave! I'll do whatever you ask me to, but don't turn me into a... a human incubator!”

The old man stopped dead and looked at Amelia with a mocking look, then with a slight movement of his hand, one of the burly guards approached the young woman and untied her wrists.

“You see, little girl? Everything can be easier if you cooperate a little,” he scolded her with feigned kindness. “Now keep your mouth shut and behave properly, in return, I promise you will be treated like a queen, you will have all the comforts you could wish for during your... stay here.”

The old man walked towards the exit, but before leaving, he stopped and looked over his shoulder with a smile that Amelia found macabre.

“By the way, if you try to escape or disobey my orders, I will not hesitate to discipline you… In my own way, Javier and Tomás have very precise instructions on how to deal with unruly guests, you might want to ask them…”

With that, he left the room, leaving Amelia terrified. The young woman dropped to the floor, trembling from head to toe, her eyes meeting the icy gazes of Javier and Tomás.

The two men, with hard expressions, crossed their arms at chest level and turned to leave through the door, but not before giving her a deep warning look.

Tears began to flow once again from Amelia’s eyes. What was going to become of her from now on? Would she really be forced to conceive a child for that evil old man?

A little while later, the door opened again and a young girl came in pushing a cart with covered trays. She couldn't have been more than 15 or 16 years old and her extreme thinness made her look even younger. When she saw Amelia, she gave her a shy smile as a greeting.

“Miss, my name is Lucy,” she said in a soft voice. “I have been sent to take care of you. You must eat everything I have brought here. You must be healthy and very strong. Tomorrow the family doctor will come to see you to make sure you are in optimal condition... to be a mother.”

When she heard the last sentence, Amelia's eyes filled with tears again. She stood up to approach the girl, and with a furious backhand movement, she sent the entire tray to the floor, spilling its contents on the carpet.

Lucy looked at her with wide eyes, bringing her hands to her mouth, tears starting to flow from her eyes.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to cry,” Amelia said coldly, “after all, I’m the real prisoner in this place, not you.”

“Miss…” Lucy stammered between sobs as she knelt down to pick up the remains of the tray, “my boss will deduct everything you broke…” Amelia felt bad for what she had done, after all, the girl wasn’t to blame for what was happening to her.

Lucy finished picking everything up as quickly as she could and hurried out of the room with the trays on the cart, while still crying.

Amelia watched her leave with a sigh, she hadn't meant to hurt her, but at that moment she felt so desperate...

A few minutes later, the door swung open again and one of the guards, Javier, entered abruptly, carrying another tray with food and drinks and a furious expression on his face.

“Listen to me carefully, spoiled brat,” he growled in a threatening tone, “you're going to eat all of this right now or I swear I'll force it into your mouth myself, do you understand me?”

Amelia gulped as she saw the murderous look in the eyes of that behemoth, for a moment she considered challenging him, but something inside her told her it would be foolish to push her luck like that, she nodded slowly and began to eat bite by bite, without saying anything, until there was not a single residue left on the tray.

Javier stared at her the whole time, his arms crossed over his chest. When he saw her finish, he gave her a sideways smile.

“See how easy it is when we cooperate? Keep being so obedient and we won't have any problems, sweetheart.”

He then turned around and headed for the door, but before leaving, he stopped and looked over his shoulder, giving her a look full of warning.

“By the way, we had a little... setback because of what happened with the car during your transfer. And the boss didn't like it at all that we damaged his brand new Rolls-Royce, that cost us a good punishment, you know? So you better not give us any more problems, if you know what's good for you.”

With that, he left the room, leaving her alone again. As soon as the door closed, Amelia jumped up and grabbed the porcelain vase from the table next to the sofa. With a gasp, she threw it against the door with all her strength, shattering it.

“I won’t give up so easily, you bastards!” she howled, her cheeks flushed. “I will find a way to escape this hell, even if I have to risk my life! I will not become anyone’s surrogate mother!”