I was stunned—but calm.
At first, I assumed the owner of the car or their passenger was frivolous and had simply forgotten their phone. The car was red after all, which made the idea believable enough. But the longer the phone kept vibrating beside me, the harder it became to ignore it.
It was black. Plain. Nothing but the tag on it stood out. I stared at it without touching it.
My first instinct was to smash it and throw the pieces somewhere far away where no one could track it. But something in my gut warned me that doing that would be a mistake.
So I left it alone.
Eventually, the ringing stopped, and I exhaled in relief but the relief lasted only a few seconds. The phone started ringing again. This time I grabbed it and pressed it to my ear without speaking, my brows drawn together in irritation as I listened.
Silence.
The person on the other end didn't say a word either.
A cold unease crept up my spine, I was about to end the call when the voice finally came through and my blood ran cold.
"I expected more, Carmen."
Nico.
His voice was low, but the anger in it was unmistakable. My hands began to shake as I forced myself to stay quiet, gripping the phone tighter so he wouldn't hear the tremor in my breathing.
"I kind of hoped it wouldn't come to this," he continued.
My heartbeat slammed harder against my ribs.
Why isn't he asking where I am?
Does he already know?
"I treated you well, did I not? Yet you—"
"I have no plans to be a prisoner if I can help it," I cut in sharply. I straightened in the seat, glaring at the empty windshield like he was standing in front of me.
"If you have nothing else to say, then I'm hanging—"
"Bright Inn and Guesthouse."
The words stole the air from my lungs.
Slowly, my head lifted. The exact name glowed on the signboard outside the car.
"You'll head to the fuel station beside it and ask for fuel," Nico continued calmly. "He'll sell it to you. Don't worry."
My chest tightened painfully.
"Once the tank is full," he went on, "you'll drive back to my estate."
Breathing felt impossible now.
The calmness in his voice was gone. The anger underneath had fully surfaced.
"Carmen…" he murmured.
My name sounded rough, like a thorn brushing across skin.
"…Run."
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"I dare you!"
The line went dead.
My hand slowly dropped away from my ear as if the phone had suddenly become too heavy to hold. I tossed it onto the passenger seat and bent forward over the steering wheel.
My breathing came in uneven gasps. Fear crawled through my stomach, cold and raw. God. I was in trouble. If I went back, he would punish me. My stomach twisted violently.
But if I ran… He would catch me and whatever he had planned then would be ten times worse. My hands clenched around the steering wheel as I lowered my head, shaking as I tried—and failed—to calm down.
Ten minutes passed before I finally looked up again. My gaze drifted back to the sign outside.
Bright Inn and Guesthouse.
How had he known?
How could he possibly know I would take that car, leave that event, drive all the way here—and place a phone waiting for me?
It sounded impossible. Yet the evidence was sitting on the passenger seat beside me. I started the engine and slowly drove the Ferrari toward the small fuel station nearby. The place looked surprisingly clean and new compared to the run-down buildings around it.
A young attendant approached as I stepped out of the car.
"Fill the tank," I said.
He nodded happily and began pumping fuel. When he finished, he simply turned to walk away as I blinked in confusion.
"You're not going to ask me to pay?"
The attendant turned back with a cheerful smile.
"The manager of the station showed me your picture yesterday," he said. "I was told to attend to you without collecting any fee."
He said it so casually, so innocently, that it almost made it worse. Then he walked back inside the station like nothing about the situation was strange.
I sat back inside the car slowly. My hands tightened around the steering wheel until my knuckles hurt.
How?
How had Nico already arranged this?
How did he know I would end up here?
I wanted to scream. To break something. But none of that would change the truth. I pulled the car back onto the road.
Ahead of me, the highway stretched in front of me. Turning right would take me to the borders of the city. Freedom. Turning left would take me back to Nico. This time, I didn't hesitate. The car turned left. The car was his, the station was his, with everything under his control.
I might not have chains around my neck. But I was still a prisoner.
And I had the terrible feeling that when I returned… Nico intended to break me so I never again forgot it.
I drove and I kept on driving and the tank did not empty until I got back to the main gates of his estate.
I am shaking but it doesn't show. At least I think it doesn't as I show my face and give my name and I'm instantly allowed to drive in.
My hands are steady on the steering wheel but my heart felt like someone had taken a hammer to it. My jaw ached from how hard I gritted my teeth and even then I couldn't help it.
I parked the car and pulled the key out. Getting out of the car I felt a lot of things some I couldn't even fully understand.
Anger, fear, shock but most of all anger. Mostly at myself for somehow I had been completely and utterly outsmarted and I was yet to fully figure it out.
A blank expression on my face as a guard was already waiting for me by the entrance apart from the usual two that stood there guarding the entrance. He looked like the rest, with a dark suit and dark shoes. His body was covered but a hint of tattoos could be seen on his neck.
"Boss Nico is waiting for you," he said and i allowed him to lead the way following behind him without question since there was nothing else to do. Refuse and I would simply be dragged or carried over to meet him.
Gulping down the fear that threatened to escape as i quietly followed. I told myself that I could deal with whatever followed but still my legs felt like jelly. Worse when I realized that the guard was leading me to a different part of the mansion.