The Criminal Diaries

      The situation has not changed over the past three days, and Helene is still a prisoner of Marcus and his accomplices. Nevertheless, her friends try not to lose hope that the police will find her someday and save her from what is threatening her in time. As Victor Johnson advised, they are now more focused on Peter, whose mental health makes them more worried every day, trying to spend their free time with him or calling him and sending him messages at times.       Edward, Natalia, Terrence, and Raquelle do not forget Peter even now, when they are spending time with Rebecca and Jamie. Who also invited Alicia and Frederick, Letitia and Anthony Rochester, and Adriana Lascano. All of them are aware of the current situation and are horrified after finding out that Helene got into great trouble and could die at any time.       “My gosh, hasn’t that girl been found yet?” Letitia surprises with widely open eyes, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear while sitting on the sofa next to Anthony, Adriana, and Natalia.       “Mr. Johnson is working personally on the search, but it does not lead to any results,” Raquelle shakes her head, while Frederick sitting next to her hugs her around the shoulders, and Alicia caresses her shoulder softly.       “They managed to find the car, the number of which the witnesses memorized,” Terrence adds, sitting comfortably on the sofa next to Jamie. “But sadly, they didn’t manage to track it on video cameras. The car has been noticed somewhere in the city multiple times, but all these trips weren’t connected at all.”       “Have they already questioned all the possible witnesses?” Anthony specifies, locking his fingers tightly.       “They questioned those who lived or worked not far from the place that Helene was taken away from, but they didn’t hear or see anything,” Edward confesses, hugging Rebecca sitting next to him around the shoulders. “Nobody recognized Helene or the criminals.”       “But they managed to find out that the car belonged to a certain Elijah Hartley,” Natalia adds, keeping her head on Letitia’s shoulder, while Adriana caresses her granddaughter's hand. “And he regularly violates the traffic rules and pays penalties for that. As far as we know, he was even deprived of his driver’s license for some time. And that man hasn’t paid many other penalties yet.”       “Didn’t they find the owners of the other cars?” Alicia specifies. “Well… The one Peter was taken away in… Or the one that almost hit Terrence?”       “Sadly, Peter didn’t memorize the number,” Edward upsets. “But Terrence thought of writing it down and giving it to Mr. Johnson. As it turned out, the owner of the car is a certain Shawn Oldman. He was caught driving in a drunk condition two times and almost sent the old woman to the afterlife when he hit her at full speed. He was supposed to get a long sentence and pay a 20000$ penalty. But he got away from it because he had never been on trial before and raised a daughter alone after her mother’s death. The girl doesn’t have any other relatives.”       “Yeah, so, these folks aren’t as holy and innocent as we thought,” Raquelle adds. “Like they tried to assure Peter.”       “Well, it means there’s a chance to get their home address, pay a visit to them, and question them,” Frederick throws his hands up.       “The police tried to pay a visit to Elijah Hartley, whom Natalia talked about,” Terrence confesses. “But that man does not live at the address he is registered to. At least, his neighbors said Elijah wasn’t almost there. To be clear, he arrives at that apartment rarely to put it in order.”       “Does it mean that man is living in a different place?” Rebecca concludes. “He has multiple apartments? Or he is renting one?”       “It’s hard to say, Mrs. MacClife,” Raquelle shrugs. “But Elijah hasn’t been caught by the police yet. Shawn wasn’t caught at home after a few visits. So, nothing works yet.”       “And Marcus?” Jamie asks surprisingly. “Did they check Marcus?”       “Not yet, but he probably got away from it, just like he did after all the murders he committed,” Natalia replies. “And it happens that the police cannot prove that Helene’s kidnapping and the attempts on Peter are his work.”       “Jesus Christ, it’s terrible!” Alicia throws gloomily, stroking his chin.       “Yeah, the guys got in trouble…” Letitia agrees.       “Anyway, they continue searching for Helene,” Terrence says with sadness in his eyes. “Though there are no clues yet.”       “Yeah, what about her doggy?” Adriana asks. “Did he get well after the wound?”       “Sammy feels much better, but he’s too weak yet,” Raquelle replies quietly. “I take him regularly to the clinic for ligations and control the process of his recovery.”       “We all watch him,” Edward confesses. “We go to Mrs. Marshall’s home every day to watch her and help her take care of Sammy.”       “Who is the doggy with now?” Jamie asks.       “Home, with Mrs. Marshall,” Natalia replies. “She said she’d walk with Sammy by herself and watch him.”       “How is she doing there?” Frederick expresses anxiety. “How does that woman take what’s happening to her granddaughter?”       “Bad,” Terrence pronounces with sadness in his eyes. “She’s got high blood pressure all the time and cries all day long from worrying.”       “And she calls Mr. Johnson every day with the hope that he has something to say,” Edward adds.       “Oh, poor Mrs. Marshall…” Letitia sighs heavily, running her hands over her face. “I can imagine how bad she feels…”       “Listen, ladies and gentlemen, we must come together and visit her one day,” Anthony says confidently. “Maybe, we can also help Mrs. Marshall with something. She’s such a good woman.”       “Yeah, and her husband was a wonderful man,” Frederick adds. “I’m sorry he died.”       “I’m even afraid to imagine what’s going to happen if she stays all alone,” Adriana sighs heavily. “Her daughter ran away and hasn’t shown up, her husband got sick and died, and her granddaughter is about to be killed at any time.”       “God forbid, Mrs. Lascano!” Rebecca raises her hands up. “God forbid!”       “I’m sure Helene will be found soon,” Jamie expresses hope. “I completely trust Victor and don’t doubt that he and his colleagues will track that girl and her kidnappers.”       “If everything were so easy, Mr. MacClife,” Raquelle says with sadness in her eyes. “It’s been three days, but the case is stuck at a dead point.”       “And Marcus has become silent again and doesn’t let us know about him,” Natalia adds. “At least, Peter hasn’t told us that he contacted him.”       “Oh, Peter, poor boy…” Alicia sighs heavily. “He's so unlucky, but one cad is trying to kill him and his girlfriend.”       “The guys and I are worried about his condition,” Edward confesses. “Looking at him makes us horrified. And his mood changes every minute: Peter may withdraw into himself and say nothing, but then he starts screaming hysterically and attacking us with fists.”       “And Peter is not allowed to stay with some sharp things,” Terrence adds. “They kinda hypnotize him. Until you take his hand and take the thing from his hand, he may 100% harm himself automatically.”       “It’s strange, I thought Peter felt much better,” Anthony confesses thoughtfully. “He looked healthy and confident in the past few months.”       “It just seemed to us, Mr. Rochester. Actually, Peter has never gotten well.”       “Yeah, Dad, the volcano fell asleep temporarily,” Natalia agrees. “But now, when Helene is in trouble, Peter can’t do anything to himself. His mental issues got stronger again.”       “At least, he doesn’t deny that he is far from being alright and doesn’t feel mentally healthy,” Edward notices. “Peter can take other people’s problems easily and looks confident and determined when trying to solve them. But he falls into a stupor when it’s time to solve his problems.”       “That boy makes a mistake by refusing to get therapy from a good psychologist,” Adriana says confidently. “It’s clear that he has some unsolved issues that are the reason for his problems.”       “The problem is clear, Mrs. Lascano,” Raquelle replies. “School bullying and a lack of support from adults. His mother drank a lot and never said a good word, teachers didn’t care about his problems, and he didn’t have a strong man who would teach him to snap back.”       “It means he hasn’t let go of anything and hasn’t forgiven anyone,” Rebecca throws her hands up. “Offence kills him slowly but rightly.”       “Mr. Johnson said the same words to us,” Terrence cracks a slight smile. “And he thinks there’s something we don’t know yet. Something Peter preferred to forget, like he blocked the memories related to that case.”       “And you know, my sweetie, I think he is right,” Alicia notices. “Until Peter talks about this problem with someone and lets it go, he will not get better.”       “The problem is that Peter has always been alone,” Edward says confidently. “Nobody supposed him. He’s been on his own since childhood. Everyone kicked him like a ball. No wonder that he went a little crazy, stopped trusting people, and began to harm himself with cuts and some kind of physical pain.”       “Helene is the only one who can help him hold on,” Raquelle adds. “And if something happens to her, Peter won’t take it. Trying to save him and hold him is gonna make no sense.”       “Yeah, he may try to kill himself right before our eyes, not even trying to hide,” Natalia sighs heavily. “Just like he almost did at Mrs. Marshall’s home. Peter went hysterical and threatened to cut his throat. The men had to make an effort to stop him and calm him down.”       “Jesus Christ…” Frederick opens his eyes widely.       “We must thank Daniel,” Terrence notices. “He’s the one who managed to calm Peter down and get closer to him to take the knife quietly.”       “I’m kinda getting worried about that guy’s condition,” Jamie expresses anxiety.       “And while we can do nothing, the guys and I try not to leave him alone,” Edward confesses. “Someone spends time with him, or we send him messages or call him often. Ask him how he’s doing.”       “And where’s he now?”       “Home, as far as we know,” Raquelle replies thoughtfully. “Peter doesn’t leave his apartment after Marcus’s attempt to kidnap him.”       “I wonder when that bastard Marcus wants to show up?” Anthony asks. “When will he stop torturing the poor girl?”       “Good question,” Adriana pronounces.       “If he actually wants to show up,” Terrence throws gloomily, crossing his arms over his chest. “Marcus kidnapped Helene not to get money. So, we don’t expect any calls about a ransom.”       “Listen, do you really think Marcus is the cad who committed hundreds of murders in the 90s?” Letitia asks hesitantly.       “Many things are proof of it, Mom,” Natalia replies. “Besides, he denied nothing when Peter was his prisoner.”       “I am deeply resentful that the police could not catch that asshole,” Frederick says confidently. “My God… Marcus killed people literally before people’s eyes, but he managed to avoid the punishment.”       “And I don’t understand how they could let that bastard go,” Jamie agrees. “Hey, catch him in crime, pack him, put him in jail! What else did they need?”       “And even if there were fewer and fewer murders, it didn’t mean he stopped doing this at all,” Anthony notices. “Marcus probably kept murdering innocent people in a less crazy mode.”       “Tangled story, I’m gonna be honest,” Alicia says thoughtfully. “Thank God, he didn’t reach London, but I clearly remember my parents and me following that case. We were afraid that he would defeat Elizabeth, Jackson, Raquelle, or Mr. Cameron. Everyone knew crimes happened in some cities located near New York, including Kingston.”       “I literally got gray hair on the day Raquelle ran away from home and didn’t come back after she learned about her parents’ death,” Frederick confesses, putting his hand on his heart. “I was terribly afraid that the stinker would catch her and kill her somewhere.”       “Oh, I also shook every time Terrence wasn’t in my view!” Rebecca exclaims. “It was so hard to think of my job when my child could be killed at any time.”       “And how I was worried about Letitia, Natalia, and Anthony!” Adriana exclaims. “I got married for the second time and moved to Mexico with my husband. I always wanted to go to visit them, but Enrique stopped me all the time and said being there was too dangerous. And my daughter and son-in-law minded and told me not to go. Though I couldn’t stay home when Natalia was born. I really wanted to look at my granddaughter and listened to nobody.”       “Yeah, that cad racked the nerves of literally the whole country,” Letitia sighs tiredly, rubbing her forehead with her hand. “It still makes me shake literally as much as the news about some terrorist attack.”       “I guess you understand what kind of horror we feel, knowing that our friends are wanted to be killed by the mentally ill man,” Edward assumes. “We aren’t even sure that Marcus really wants to kill Peter for the reason. It may be a lie.”       “Listen, guys, we don’t really know what to advise,” Anthony sighs heavily. “Probably, just wait. Now you can hardly do something.”       “But how long do we have to sit and do nothing?” Raquelle wonders. “Won’t it be too late when we have a chance to do something?”       “Mr. Johnson and his colleagues are our last hope now,” Terrence notices.       “Mr. Johnson is a very smart and responsible man,” Frederick says confidently. “I’m sure he will find that girl and will not give up.”       “Of course, there’s hope that the police may catch, for example, Elijah near his apartment,” Edward says thoughtfully. “But I think he’s gonna be super careful now and won’t show up there. And Marcus and his henchmen are gonna hide quietly in the bush.”       “They only have to catch them in crime,” Alicia says thoughtfully. “If Marcus, let’s assume, tells Peter to go somewhere, and the boy himself goes somewhere with the police who hide somewhere and wait for a good moment.”       “Or there will be no orders, and Marcus will tell his henchmen to bring him somewhere by force and deal with him quietly,” Terrence replies gloomily. “And the guys and I will not even know it.”       “Anyway, your main mission is to help Peter take it all,” Adriana notices. “Whatever the boy says, he needs you like never ever. He cannot take it all without you.”       “We know, Grandma,” Natalia pronounces softly. “Peter already knows he can even try to fight with us on purpose, but we will not leave him and will be next to him until the very end.”       “Yeah, we’ll no longer make the same mistakes and let him stay alone,” Terrence says confidently. “We understand Peter’s wish not to get us involved in this case to save us from bad things. But we won’t leave our friend in trouble and let anyone harm him.”       “That’s good you’re so determined,” Jamie nods in approval with a slight smile. “Now it’s time to show what your friend means to you. You cannot let him down now. No matter what, he does count on you.”       “The guys and I are the last people whom Peter may expect a betrayal from,” Raquelle says confidently.       “Oh, how do you all feel?” Alicia expresses interest.       “Holding on, Aunt. We wanna cry bitterly and scream in despair. But we understand there must be someone who should keep his mind aware.”       “Anyway, we feel kinda better together,” Natalia notices. “It would be hard to get through this on our own, obviously.”       “Don’t worry, guys, it’s gonna be alright,” Frederick assures. “And if you need something, we can do anything for you.”       “Thank you so much. Mr. Cameron,” Edward thanks with a slight smile.       “By the way, I think Mrs. Marshall would be really happy to see you all,” Terrence assumes.       “We will talk about this later and decide when we can go to the home of that woman,” Adriana promises. “Support her with good words. Let her know that she is not alone and can count on us.”       “Maybe, the Seymours would love to join us later,” Anthony adds. “They know the Marshalls well, too. And as far as I know, Anna has always been close to her and was never a part of her confrontation with Natalia and Raquelle, even if she never approved of it.”       “Anna told them what happened, and they’re worried about Helene,” Raquelle confesses. “They said they were ready to help if we needed it.”       “Maybe, Helene wasn’t always so sweet and good, but her grandfather and grandmother never did anything bad to anyone,” Letitia notices. “Wonderful, intelligent people, who were always ashamed of their granddaughter’s tricks.”       “It’s kinda weird that the girl didn’t behave so well in this situation,” Rebecca adds.       “Adults aren’t always an authority for children,” Adriana notices. “They don’t listen to them, they listen to those who are of the same age. If these guys are so sassy, others cannot just behave otherwise so that they aren’t called a black sheep.”       “But thank God, that girl grew up and understood her mistakes,” James replies.       “We’ve all grown up, Dad…” Edward says thoughtfully, sighing quietly. “We’ve all changed…”       “Can’t disagree,” Frederick nods confidently. “Now you’re not the people that you were two or three years ago. You are much wiser, learned to be responsible, started to understand how important love and friendship are…”       “As they say, things come with age,” Adriana shrugs. “Children don’t understand something, teens don’t understand something, and young people may need to live until old age to understand other things.”       “Yeah, what about your wedding?” Alicia asks. “We’re getting closer to August 30th, but these things are happening now…”       “Nothing changes yet,” Terrence replies thoughtfully. “We’re still getting ready.”       “But if we don’t’ find Helene, and Peter doesn’t get away from Marcus by that time, sadly, we will have to reschedule the wedding for an indefinite term,” Natalia says with sadness.       “Yeah, we can’t have fun when these things are happening,” Raquelle agrees. “And it would be bad toward our friends.”       “In the worst case, we can just think about the official marriage registration without celebration,” Edward adds. “Just like Mom and Dad did it. We can just get all the documents, pay money, and get a marriage certificate.”       “And if we want, we can celebrate it much later,” Terrence shrugs. “As it should be.”       “We’ll probably really think about the marriage registration without a celebration,” Raquelle agrees and runs her hand over her hair brushed into a tail. “We’ve been delaying this thing for too long, as I think.”       “It’s absolutely your decision, guys,” Letitia says softly. “Nobody rushes you – you’ll get married when you want it.”       “Yeah, you'd better reschedule the celebration for later,” Adriana agrees. “The girls are probably gonna be upset if they don’t have a chance to put on beautiful dresses and get tons of compliments.”       “Maybe, I would’ve agreed with you back then, but now I understand there are more important things than a wish to feel like a princess,” Natalia replies shyly. “All of this isn’t worth hysterics due to the loss of the opportunity to show everyone your dress and pose for a camera.”       “I will not be upset at all if I’m not able to walk down the altar in a gorgeous wedding dress,” Raquelle confesses. “I somehow said I would be ready to get married even without makeup, in old, shabby jeans and an oversized t-shirt, and with a messy bun on my head.”       “Oh, but how do we explain it all to Amanda?” Alicia sighs heavily, fixing her glasses slightly on the bridge of her nose. “My girl is gonna be so upset if the wedding is rescheduled. She’s waiting for this and getting ready so hard.”       “Nobody says the wedding’s cancelled,” Terrence notices. “Yes, the celebration is a question now, but we can’t say anything for sure yet.”       “We understand it all, Terrence, but the girl is waiting,” Frederick says with sadness in his eyes. “Moreover, Raphael and Amelia Sanchez are planning to arrive with their daughter, Hailey. They get along with each other and already miss each other.”       “Let’s not say anything so early,” Raquelle suggests. “We still have time. Who knows, maybe things will get better somehow, and we won’t have to cancel or reschedule anything.”       “It wouldn’t be easy for the guests,” Jamie says thoughtfully. “Many of them are super busy people who are literally busy every minute. Imagine how much effort they had to apply to change their schedule and come to congratulate you.”       “We’re gonna really feel super awkward for the guests,” Edward replies. “We won’t feel quiet if we have to cancel everything and explain the reason.”       “Anyway, we’re all adult and wise people, who’d treat all of this with understanding,” Anthony replies.  “And who are we to tell you what to do? It’s your day, your wedding, your celebration… You are the heroes of the day!”       “Yeah, if things aren’t good for you, I shall try to explain everything to Amanda and comfort her,” Alicia promises. “She will cry a little but understand it all. My daughter is a smart and non-capricious girl.”       “By the way, who did Amanda stay with since you and Grandpa are here?” Raquelle specifies.       “No one,” Frederick confesses. “Amanda stayed alone at home. She watched an animated movie when Alicia and I left.”       “You haven’t brought her to the home of Raquelle and me for ages,” Terrence notices. “Though we’d be so happy to play with her.”       “We haven’t met that girl for ages,” Letitia notices. “I like her so much, though.”       “Yeah, the girl is really wonderful,” Adriana smiles widely. “A positive child who may be the fire of hope in our hard lives.”       “Children aren’t busy with problems that adult people have,” Letitia replies. “The most important thing to them is to have their mother and father by their side, live happily, and love them and each other. To keep being in their safe cocoon and protected from evil and negative.”       “Not always,” Frederick shakes his head. “There are children who get through many tragic moments and carry this burden their whole life. Not all of them manage to stay in that safe cocoon.”       “You are right, Mr. Cameron,” Rebecca shrugs. “Absolutely right…”       A little tense silence settles in the air for some time, during which everyone just shares a look full of sadness. Natalia puts her head on the shoulder of Adriana, while Letitia caresses her cheek softly, and Anthony caresses her hand. Edward flashes a slight smile when Rebecca kisses him tenderly on his temple and strokes his hair down, and Jamie hugs Terrence around the shoulder and claps him slightly on the head. And Raquelle thinks about something as she is in the strong hug of Alicia and relaxes a little when Frederick caresses his granddaughter’s head and moves carefully some strands of hair off her eyes.       

***

      After spending several days at home, Peter decides to walk in the city and go to the center of it, thinking the busy streets and a high number of people around can help him distract a little. Walking slowly on the sidewalk near the road with his hands put in the pockets of his denim jacket, the man looks around with his dead, red, and dry eyes that are covered with sunglasses. Even if he meets some street musicians and some jesters who try to entertain everyone, he remains indifferent to all of this, even if he stops to watch them a little.       At some moment, his cell phone makes a quiet sound with a vibration that has lately been the thing he often hears. Peter does not stop hoping to get a message from Marcus or some of his accomplices, who would tell him where to find Helene. But it’s not them, it’s his friends. Who send him tons of messages with words of encouragement and express their true anxiety. However, it does not irritate Rose at all, being happy that the guys show this kind of attention and do not forget him.       Peter is afraid to stay alone. He is afraid that he will have to get through all of this all alone. That’s why, despite the anger that he is full of, he tries so hard to hold himself down not to make anyone turn their backs on him with his hysterics. By the way, he is still ashamed of what he did three days ago at the home of Scarlett, whose wet eyes full of horror he still has in his memories and make his heart squeeze painfully. He is ashamed of letting himself break down before the eyes of the guys. Ashamed of the attempt to kill himself right in front of them, even if he knows well what kind of unbearable pain it would give them. He knows that his friends are not obviously guilty of what’s happening and just want to make him feel a little better and lessen his pain.       After getting another message with words of encouragement from Daniel, with whom he is sharing messages, Peter flashes a slight smile and sends his answer as he keeps going straight. But sometimes he moves his eyes off the phone to look around, not to run into anyone, and to cross the pedestrian crossing with no bad events. But at some moment, the man stops, goes aside, leans on the wall of the brick building with his back, and just sets his dead eyes into the distance as he keeps chatting with his friend. And when he needs to send a long enough answer, he just records a voice message, bringing his phone to his mouth.       A little later, Peter keeps going nowhere, while Anna joins his chat with Daniel, encouraging her close friend so hard, even though she also feels depressed enough. This chat helps him feel a little better, even if he does not have hope that Helene will be saved, and Marcus will go to jail. Moreover, everything Victor has done so far has not led to any positive results and has not dropped a little hint on the approximate location of his girlfriend.       And while Peter keeps walking somewhere, typing messages with both hands, he does not notice that Marcus shows up out of the corner, talking with someone on the phone. But when he sees the blond, who starts recording a voice message on the walk, the man tells someone that he will call them later and follows him determinedly. Since there are many people around, Mr. Longbottom has to make some effort not to lose him. Nevertheless, he does it well enough and decides to call Peter after he comes close enough to him from behind and sees that the guy stops in the middle of the road.       “M-m-m, look at this…” Marcus pronounces with a sly smile. “The lonely and unhappy Romeo is talking in the city without his gorgeous Juliet. Who will be dead very soon.”       When he recognizes Marcus’ voice less in one second, Peter almost lets his phone fall to the asphalt, but then he squeezes it tightly in his hand and puts it in the pocket of his denim jacket. Then he turns around sharply and tenses all his muscles with a heavy breath, looking at the one he hates so badly with his bloodshot eyes.       “Hello, Peter. It’s been a while.”       “You have shown up, old bastard…” Peter pronounces in a low, rude voice.       “M-m-m, don’t you want to greet me?” Marcus asks surprisingly. “Actually, educated people start a dialogue with a simple, ‘hello’.”       “Where is she? What did you do to her?”       “So, boy, do you feel bad without your sweetheart?” Marcus sneers evilly. “I get it, I get it. She is suffering without you, too, I’m opening up a secret.”       After looking around quickly, Peter sees a tiny passage between two brick buildings where nobody usually goes. The man grabs Marcus rudely by the collar and pulls him to that place by force, while the old man does not actually resist. Then the blond presses his opponent to the wall tightly and squeezes his throat with his fingers, setting his burning look into the eyes of Mr. Longbottom, who keeps looking amazingly quiet.       “I shall ask you just one time and tell you to answer my question shortly,” Peter says rudely, breathing heavily enough. “WHAT DID YOU THE FUCK DO TO MY GIRLFRIEND? WHERE DID YOU HIDE HER?”       Peter squeezes Marcus’ throat much tighter with his fingers.       “ANSWER, I SAID! DON’T DARE TO BE SILENT! OR I SHALL CUT YOUR THROAT! GET YOUR FUCKING ADAM’S APPLE OUT IF YOU DON’T ANSWER ME NOW!”       “Calm down, sweetheart, calm down,” Marcus raises his hands. “Don’t be so nervous.”       “Nervous? I have been the fuck RESTLESS! I cannot even imagine where Helene is and who she is with!”       “Helene is at a very trustworthy place that is well hidden from people. The girl is waiting for her death, while I play with her boyfriend as I want.”       “Tell me where you and your bastards hid her. Or I swear, I shall not be the fuck responsible for myself.”       “Relax, Peter, don’t be so excited,” Marcus smiles slyly. “Searching for her doesn’t make sense. Whatever you do, you will not catch her track.”       “I swear I shall strangle you with my own hands if something happens to her. If just one hair falls off her head.”       “What are you talking about?” Marcus surprises falsely. “Would you be so brave to do this? Wouldn’t your pants get wet?”       “It’s fine you decided to kidnap me and lock me nobody the fuck knows where. But I shall never forgive you for kidnapping Helene. Hear me, YOU WILL PAY ME FOR THIS!”       “Don’t scream like this, guy. You are in the city. There are many people around. Do you need watchers?”       “It’s alright, may everyone see who they live with. May they remember how one bastard terrified the entire country with cruel murders that he has not paid for.”       “I’m going to tell you just some words about Helene’s situation.”       Marcus moves Peter’s hand off his throat with no problems.       “The girl is alive yet, I’m not going to kill her now. Her behavior is far from good. I can close my eyes to her tears, but she’s been getting punished for trying to resist and run away for three days already.”       “What?” Peter explodes in a loud bass.       “Though I didn’t hope she would be sweet and obedient. So, my guys have to take some measures.”       “Shut up…” Peter hits his fist strongly against the wall near Marcus’s face. “CLOSE YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! ENOUGH!”       “By the way, they highly rated my generous gift that I gave them. My men are delighted by your girl. They admire her beauty if she has to be injected with a sedative or a soft drug.”       “If one of those bastards gets their smelly things into her, I swear I shall wrap them around their necks. BURY THEM, THE FUCK, WITH THE FACE ON THE GROUND! ALIVE!”       “They make the pleasure longer yet and do not rush to get their rods and use them against their slave. Though they do not refuse the temptation to caress her body a little.”       “Are you provoking me on purpose?” Peter wonders. “ON PURPOSE, YEAH? I SEE YOU HAVE GONE CRAZY!”       “I don’t control what they are doing to her. The guys can do anything they want to Helene. She is at their service. And the gal’s business is to be silent and please my loyal servants.”       “I advise those bastards to look around often as they walk outside. Because if I see at least one of them, they will be dead. I shall skin those assholes alive if they dare just to THINK about my girlfriend.”       “Do you really care?” Marcus surprises. “Do you care that she is about to be fucked by several men? I thought you were angry at her.”       “I’m starting to doubt her betrayer. That you have not proved at all. I have NOT seen any proof of Helene’s fault.”       “Do not rush to make conclusions, Peter. You will have proof. I remember everything. And I will show you your sweetheart is a bitch. Who is hiding so many interesting things related to her past.”       “Until I see them, I shall think you are a fucking chatter. The chatter that just wants to fuck my brain and make me suffer from loneliness and betrayal.”       “You will see it, my boy, you will. Just wait for a while.”       “Anyway, whatever you tell me, Helene will not stay alone with those assholes. I will find her wherever she is and take her out!”       “You will never find her!” Marcus says with his head proudly raised. “And I will not give you a chance to see her for the last time when it’s her time to give her life.”       “We will see it, old bastard!”       “Hey, kid, watch your mouth!” Marcus slaps Peter in the face. “If you weren’t taught to respect older people, I can fix it shortly.”       “Seriously?” Peter sneers evilly. “Respect the one who wants to kill my girlfriend? The one who cannot the fuck leave me alone?”       “You were super lucky to escape from my people the last time. In the opposite case, your tortures would’ve continued every day several times per day.”       “Yeah, since you did not do this to me, DID YOU THE FUCK DECIDE TO USE MY GIRLFRIEND FOR THAT?”       “You, asshole, deprived me of pleasure. The pleasure of watching you suffer from unbearable pain.”       “So, honorable, as it turned out, watching someone suffer is much more interesting than giving them to them?” Peter asks rudely.       “I just give my guys a chance to have fun,” Marcus smiles innocently. “They’d be happy to put you under torture and fuck your girlfriend with pleasure. And they don’t care about her condition: unconscious or not.”       Peter slaps Marcus strongly in the face and grabs him tightly by the collar with both hands.       “Do not make me enraged, old bastard,” Peter hisses through his teeth. “DO NOT DARE THE FUCK! OTHERWISE, I SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MYSELF!”       “Which claims do you have for me, boy?” Marcus throws his hands up. “I’m not the one to have sex with her. My age does not let me play with someone in bed.”       “But your age does let you do dirty tricks on me! It does let you ruin my life! THAT IS FAR FROM PERFECT ANYWAY! THAT IS FULL OF SHIT!”       “I shall not calm down until I see you dead in the ground. And I am not going to give up after every failure. I will be trying to get rid of you again and again until I do this.”       “Alright, you won!” Peter snaps. “Do anything you want to me! Even take me hostage and torture me again! But set Helene free immediately and let her live a normal life. And do not dare to hurt my friends.”       “No, Peter, do not even hope,” Marcus shakes his head. “If you sacrifice yourself so nobly, you will not save the gal from what is going to happen to her inevitably. Her fate is already chosen.”       “What did she do to you? WHAT? Why are you the fuck ruining her life?”       “The answer is easy – she fell in love with you and agreed to date you. One of the paragraphs in my plan of revenge is depriving you of all your close people. And since Helene means a lot to you, I must get rid of her to give you much more pain.”       “WHY?” Peter explodes. “WHY? WHAT DID I DO TO YOU? WHO ARE YOU, THE FUCK?”       “One beautiful day, you will know everything. I shall tell you the truth. About all your sins.”       “How long will this keep happening? HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO FUCK MY BRAIN? WHEN WILL THIS END?”       “Sooner than you think, my boy. Until I see you’re close to despair and craziness, it will be your time to pay for everything.”       “We will see who will pay!” Peter roars and slaps Marcus in the face. “Do you think I’m doing nothing? Do you think I lock myself in my home and cry with the thought that I can do nothing? No, honorable, you are wrong! I have already taken measures to find Helene as soon as possible and take her out!”       “Yes, yes, I got it,” Marcus nods with a mysterious smile. “I know you went to the police.”       “Yes, I did! And they are searching for Helene! Checking every single corner, every single place… Questioning all the possible witnesses!”       “Aren’t you wondering how I know that the grandmother of your gal went to the police to report the kidnapping of her beloved girlfriend?”       “I give a fuck!”       “I will tell you! The police staff members went to the home of Elijah, my right hand, my eyes, and my eyes, to question him two days ago. They established that he was the owner of the car, in which your sweetheart was taken away. And they arrived at the place where he was officially registered. Not knowing that Elijah does not live there anymore and is currently renting another apartment. He says his apartment is rented by a family couple that contacted him to tell him that the police were looking for him.”       “Yeah?” Peter rounds his eyes. “I have a different version! Nobody lives in that apartment, and neighbors see Elijah once per month in the best case!”       “I prefer to believe his words! Though who the hell cares? The police did not catch Elijah at the address where he was registered, and there is no information about him renting another apartment. I’m not the one to decide where he should live and with whom.”       “It’s alright, that bastard will arrive at his apartment one day, and his neighbors will call the police so that they pack him quickly and get everything they can out of him.”       “Do not even hope for this. Since Elijah is aware of it, he will not show up there at all.”       “So, the police will go to his workplace!”       “He works at home and can plan his work schedule by himself. But I decided to have some rest. I will come back to work after I deal with you and your girl.”       “It’s alright, no matter how hard you, rats, hide, we will find you anyway. Early or late, we will know where you are hiding Helene. The police are working on it so hard.”       “They can work. They cannot do this. That’s why I shall do nothing to you for going to the police. If it makes you and her grandmother feel better, it’s alright.”       “It’s too early to rejoice, honorable! The police do know what to do. And a random witness will surely betray you if we find them.”       “Do you think the guys and I will tell the police where we are hiding the girl so easily? That we are such brainless idiots that are ready to give up?”       “You will HAVE TO! You will have to say where you are hiding MY GIRLFRIEND!”       “We will keep pretending to be innocent, sweet, and puffy, as usual,” Marcus says. “We know nothing, we hear nothing. We will fold our hands and will not stop insisting that we are regular workers who work hard to earn money.”       “Do you really earn money honestly?”       “Relax, Peter, we do nothing illegal. No smuggling, no drug trafficking, or something forbidden. The worst thing we can do is to throw the unkindled cigarette or leave the trash in the wrong place.”       “Aha, and take away the innocent girl in an unknown direction, wound her dog, and drool fucking hard at the thought of the wonderful chance to get their fucking dicks into her.”       “The dog did not let the men bring the case to an end. So, they had to calm him down a little. I really hope he’s gone forever.”       “Keep dreaming! The dog is alright now. Yes, he is weak yet, but he is getting well as he should.”       “Sorry. But it’s alright, maybe he will be smarter next time. In the opposite case, he will get a bullet in his empty head.”       “You will get it if something happens to Helene!” Peter says rudely. “I’m not kidding, old bastard! If you give her a little pain, I shall answer you back. And if she especially dies, I shall personally take your life.”       “You will do nothing to me, asshole! Because you are a pathetic coward. And my people will not let you do this.”       “You will see how cowardly I am if I see Helene because of you. YOU WILL THE FUCK SEE IT!”       “Blah-blah-blah-blah!” Marcus throws with mockery in a squeaky voice. “What else can the cowardly one do when their pants are wet from fear? Just speak loud words and throw empty threats!”       “I AM NOT FUCKING COWARDLY!” Peter explodes, setting his widely open eyes on Marcus’s eyes. “NOT FUCKING COWARDLY!”       “Cowardly, Peter, you are nothing without your friends. You will never be brave, you will be successful, you will never be happy.”       “You are really lucky we are now on the busy street. FUCKING LUCKY! In the opposite case, I would be fucking happy to grab a thick stick and hit you on the head as strongly as possible. SO YOU DIE IMMEDIATELY!”       “If you kill me, you will be arrested!”       “Just like you, if you kill Helene.”       “I shall kill her, don’t doubt. And I shall kill you.”       “I repeat, if you touch her with a finger, YOU ARE DEAD!”       “You’ll prove nothing. Nobody will find her corpse. As well as yours. Because I shall cover all the tricks of the crime. Just like I did before. The police may know it’s my work, but they don’t have and will not give any proof. But I’m not going to give up and tell them something at my wish.”       “You are dead, asshole, YOU ARE!” Peter hits his fist sharply against the wall near the face of Marcus, in the eyes of whom he sets his icy look. “KILL! KILL, BASTARD!”       “Stop the fuck screaming! STOP THE FUCK SCREAMING!”       Marcus grabs Peter rudely by the collar with both hands, turns him around sharply, presses him to the wall, and squeezes his throat very tightly, depriving him of the opportunity to breathe.       “Don’t think naively that I cannot hit you one or two times on your neck just because I ask my guys to do all the dirty work,” Marcus says in a low, rude voice. “I cannot burn you down with an electric gun, making you rack your throat and twirl from pain. To grab the gun and kill you personally.”       Marcus squeezes Peter’s jaw tightly, while the blond looks at him with heavy breath with little scared eyes, understanding that his whole body shakes from fear.       “I can do this. I can do this without the guys’ help. No problem. But at the moment, I want to be a watcher and watch you suffer morally and physically. I want to make you go insane. So you stop differing between fantasies and reality.”       “Don’t try, my life has always been shitty,” Peter throws rudely. “I have ALWAYS been kicked, insulted, and humiliated. And I’ve been living for twenty-seven years with the thought that I am DEAD! DEAD! I'm some kind of zombie! My body is alive, but I am dead inside!”       “You must thank me for what I’m doing. I can end your sufferings once and forever. Let you end what your friends saved you from. Because of them, you keep suffering. They do not let you do what would be right.”       Peter says nothing and swallows nervously.       “You wanted to kill yourself, but the guys saved you.” Marcus moves his hand off Peter’s throat. “Yes, it seems like it’s a wonderful act! The one that loyal friends would do. But you keep dying slowly in a moral way. As you just said, your body is alive, but you’re dead inside.”       “As if I want it!” Peter throws in a shaking voice. “As if I love feeling like a milksop! Love getting all these nervous breakdowns and starting hysterics before my friends’ eyes. Love the fuck crying like a girl on their shoulders, NOT BEING ABLE TO CONTROL MYSELF!”       “You don’t understand yet that your friends are actually killing you. If they wished you the best, they would let you die quietly. Instead of holding you in this world by force, where you can expect nothing good. You should’ve never come to this world. It was an accident. The accident that was bad for everyone.”       Understanding that Marcus’ words are kind of true, Peter inclines his head with a heavy breath and thinks about something dark and bad.       “Though they don’t understand that if you really want to kill yourself, you will do it anyway. So that nobody knows about it. It’s like the case of a child and harsh parents: if they ban them from something and are like, ‘Because we told you!’, they will find a way to do it. As they say, the forbidden fruit is the sweetest.”       “The men and the girls are guilty of nothing!” Peter protests in a high, excited voice. “It’s just my problem! I am guilty of bringing everything to that!”       “No, Peter, you are deeply wrong. You did nothing bad to anyone, but literally the whole world is against you. Everyone hurts you. They’ve been doing it since you were a child. As if they say nobody needs you. Something went wrong at some moment. Your birth was not planned.”       “Shut up… Just shut up…”       “Hey, am I not right? Don’t I say what’s clear? And I don’t truly understand why all those people resist the fate and make you suffer so hard. What kind of friendship and love do they talk about when they like watching you suffer?”       “I don’t want to believe it! I DO NOT WANT! I DO NOT WANT TO BELIEVE IT’S THE TRUTH!”       “I do not make you,” Marcus throws his hands up. “I just give you my opinion about this.”       “You’re provoking me on purpose! ON PURPOSE! You want me to believe it all and turn my back on my friends, blaming them for all my problems. As well as I almost believed in Helene’s betrayer.”       “Helene is not as holy as you think. Trust me, I know something about her that can make you doubt your choice. Her actions were the reason why many people suffered, and her grandfather and grandmother were ashamed of everyone.”       “What happened in the past remains the past forever. I love Helene for what she is in the present. And that girl has never hurt me for the years we’ve known each other. She’s never stabbed me in the back. And she’s always been near in the worst moments of my life.”       “And you never thought she could befriend you on purpose to harm you very, very much one beautiful day.”       “She doesn’t need it! Helene loves me and will never betray me – I know it.”       “You are blind and stupid because you are in love. But soon, I shall open your eyes and prove that you screwed it up again.”       “You will prove nothing because you have nothing. My friends are absolutely right that you just want to frame my girlfriend.”       “I am sure you will be interested in everything you can hear from the people who know Helene and became one of her many victims.”       “Yeah? How much did you pay them?”       “For such important information about your sweetheart? Not so much! But I thought it would be great to thank such wonderful people. I got a trump card.”       “You will have to work hard to make me believe in this bullshit.”       “You will believe it, I don't doubt. And you will understand that your friends’ actions are not doing good things for you. They are defending the nasty bitch, and they love harming you again and again.”       “You’re the only one to give me pain. And I have no idea why.”       “Anyway, you'd better think about why your friends are doing all of this,” Marcus advises with a sly smile. “Think about the goal that makes those people prevent you from fixing what happened twenty-seven years ago and lie insolently that they love you and need you so badly.”       “The only thing I need from you is to set Helene free. Stopping to hold her at your home by force.”       “She is not at my home, I can assure you. So, even if the police come to visit me to search my house, they will find nothing.”       “Don’t worry, the police are checking closely all the abandoned houses in the city. I’m sure you are hiding my girlfriend in one of them.”       “They can. Fine. While they search everything, I have enough time to get rid of her. She has a little time to be a company of some flying and creeping living things and give her blood to mosquitoes. And greet mice and rats that she, as I noticed, fears to death.”       “It’s alright, I shall find her. Wherever she is.”       “Alright, keep believing that you will meet again.”       Marcus glances at the watch on his hand.       “I have to go now,” Marcus says thoughtfully. “I’ve spent too much time talking to you. I almost forgot that someone was waiting for me.”       “I wish a car had hit you on the way so you, bastard, die,” Peter hisses through his teeth.       “I wouldn’t also be upset if a big brick fell from the building over your head and killed you to the fuck.”       Peter says nothing and clenches his hands into fists tightly with an irritated growl, looking at Marcus with true hate and breathing heavily and loudly.       “Alright, my boy, I need to go! But I do not say farewell to you. I don’t know when our next meeting will take place, but I think it will happen soon.”       Marcus waves his hand at Peter with a sly smile.       “See you soon, Peter Rose. Don’t be sad for your sweetheart, she doesn’t deserve it.”       After looking at Peter with a contemptuous look and sneering evilly, Marcus turns around, goes somewhere to do his business with his head proudly raised, takes his cell phone on the way, and starts calling someone again. While the blond stays alone and watches him with a tense look, feeling that his heart is beating fast from great excitement, and he kind of lacks air.       “Don’t worry, Helene, I will find you,” Peter says under his nose. “I will find you wherever you are. Even if I have to turn this whole world upside down, I will not leave you. And that bastard can turn me against you as much as he wants. I’ll no longer believe any of his words. Any little words!”       Peter smashes his fist against the brick wall so strongly that he feels the sharp pain echoes in every part of his body.       “And he will not ruin my friendship with the men.” Peter leans on the wall with his back, massaging his painful hand energetically. “If I didn’t have them, I would’ve died a long time ago. Thanks to their support, I still have the strength to hold on and not to go crazy. Though if that old bastard doesn’t calm down, I may fuck everything off. Because I may not have any strength and hope.”       Peter exhales slowly with closed eyes as he leans on the wall with the back of his head and sets his dead eyes into the distance. At this moment, a company of teenagers goes by him, but they do not pay attention to him and keep talking about something, while the man watches them with sadness. With the thought that those people who have loyal friends do not even understand how happy they are.       

***

      Helene has been locked in a poorly lighted room along with flying and creeping insects, little mice, and big rats for three days. Fear of all these living things and strong stress related to the current situation, the girl can barely sleep at night, and can barely swallow the cheap food and water she gets. That’s why she, to be honest, does not care that the criminals bring her something to eat and drink once per day, in the best case, because of her attempts to escape. All she wants now so badly is to come back to her regular life. But every day, she loses hope more and more because nobody wants or can save her.       Not knowing what to do, Helene only has to lie on the rotten bed with old, yellow bedclothes with a disgusting smell all day long. To light up the room a little, she has to burn tons of candles every day and make sure she does not start a fire accidentally. Her eyes have been wet from tears for ages and look terribly puffy because she rubs them with her hands that are far from being clean all the time. Her hair is already dirty and matted, so she may have to use a lot of hair conditioner to brush it well.       The current situation drives Helene crazier and crazier and makes her feel super anxious. Every muscle literally hurts from tension, her heart works at maximum capacity, a strong shake gets through her body, and hunger is not the only reason why she feels dizzy. Spending time all alone without a chance to talk to a close person and hug them tightly turns out to be a super hard thing. Helene really wants to find a way to get out of here, but she does not know how to do it, while the room is locked all the time, even a tiny and skinny girl would not get through the small window, and the room is on the top floor. Under the influence of despair, she forgets about Marcus and Elijah’s threats to turn her life to hell in case she tries to escape, understanding that obedience will not save her from death. Her wish to stay alive is high, but she has a very small chance of being rescued in this situation.       Embracing the pillow tightly and wetting it with tears, Helene does not notice that the door of the room opens quietly, and Luther crosses the doorstep confidently, raising his pants with an evil smile and raising his head proudly. Since the girl is lying with her back turned on him, he stops his eyes on the female thighs and buttocks for some time and then lets them slide over her slim, naked legs. All his muscles tense strongly, and his lips get dry from the wild fantasies that his imagination creates. Not thinking too much, the man comes confidently to the prisoner, who shakes slightly when she hears a quiet squeak of the parquet. After she turns on the sound, Marshall getting sharply pale jumps from the bed with a shout full of horror and presses herself to the corner of the room, setting her widely open eyes to her offender.       “Hello, beautiful,” Luther greets with a smug smile.       “W-w-what do you want?” Helene asks in a high, shaking voice.       “M-m-m, I see you’re missing here… Dying of boredom and having just to lie on the bed all day long.”       “When will all of this end? When will you finally let me get out of here?”       “Ne-ver. Never. You will spend your last days here.”       “I feel bad here,” Helene complains with tears in her eyes. “It’s dark, scary… Many alive things…”       “Yeah, yeah, I got it…”       “I’ve been bitten by mosquitoes a lot…” Helene scratches her hand covered with old and new blisters that she got after being bitten by mosquitoes. “Everything scratches…”       “You’re just so delicious, that’s why they bite you. And I completely understand them.”       Luther looks at Helene from head to foot with his filthy glance that makes her squeeze and put her head on her shoulders.       “How could someone be indifferent to such a sexy dolly? Luther licks his dry lips. “I need just one glance at you to get a lot of fantasies in my mind.”       “Please, don’t…” Helene begs in a shaking voice, closing instinctively her breasts that are seen from her décolleté on her top. “Don’t do this…”       “Why not, dolly?”       Luther comes close enough to Helene and runs his thumb over her lips, while she presses her back closely to the wall.       “Nobody can stop us… Rose is not here, his friends can do nothing, too… And I give a fuck about your squeak.”       “Don’t hurt me…” Helene makes a quiet sob. “I feel too bad…”       “Well, you’re guilty of this.”       Luther runs his hand over the curve of Helene’s waist, while she shakes sharply at some moment.       “You were told clearly that we would be your friends if you were sweet and obedient.” Luther squeezes tightly and presses her close to his body. “But you preferred to declare war on us. You preferred to be a rebel. I know you’ve tried to run away from here multiple times, thinking you could fool the guys as well as your sweetheart did it once.”       “What would change?” Helene breaks into a cry and sniffs. “What? You will kill me anyway!”       “Right, you will die soon. And Marcus is the only one to decide when. But he has not given us an order to kill.”       “That’s what I mean!”       “But he does not ban us from having fun with you at any time and satisfying all our needs with your help.”       After moving some strands of hair off her shoulders, Luther runs his fingertips over the curve of Helene’s neck.       “And torture you in case you do not obey and do protest.”       “I don’t wanna stay here! Please, let me go! Let me go!”       “It’s so naive to think we’ll get emotional at your tears and pleas of stopping it all,” Luther sneers evilly. “You’re acting like a girl taken hostage by a dangerous criminal from a blockbuster.”       “Why are you doing this to me? What did I do? Why? WHY? WHY?”       “Hey, hey, don’t scream, Marshall. Nobody will hear you anyway. But even if someone does, they will not help you.”       “I WANNA GO BACK HOME!” Helene screams hysterically. “HOME!”       “Hey, shut your fucking mouth, bitch!”       Luther slaps Helene strongly in the face, making her grab her cheek with a loud shout.       “I advise you not to make me enraged.” Luther grabs Helene tightly by the throat and presses her to the wall, setting his burning look into the girl’s red, wet eyes. “Otherwise, I will not be responsible for myself. Of course, I will not kill you, but I will do something to make you regret just looking into our eyes. Moreover, I’ve been having a super bad day since the morning. And I am very, very mad.”       “No, please…” Helene begs with pity in her eyes.       “And actually, you should accept the fact that you’re literally our property. Marcus gifted you to us. You belong to the guys and me. Which means we can do anything we want to you.”       “I’m not your toy!”       “You’re more than a toy! You’re a reward! The desired reward for everything we’ve done for Marcus. He’s always been super generous toward us and valued our efforts highly.”       “It’s wrong! It’s wrong!”       “It’s right…”       “Please, sir…”       “Oh, c’mon, Helene, stop talking some shit,” Luther frowns strongly. “I have my head torn from all of these talks.”       Luther runs his hands over Helene’s thighs and squeezes her buttocks.       “And actually, I came here to have some fun.” Luther raises Helene’s top and runs his hands over the naked part of her waist, belly, and back, while she tenses all her muscles strongly. “Since it’s my turn to watch you today, why don’t I use the chance?”       Squeezing Helene’s jaw tightly with his fingers, Luther tries to kiss the girl on the lips by force, but she starts turning her face sharply on different sides.       “No!” Helene exclaims. “No, don’t dare! No! Don’t touch me! No! NO! NO-O-O-O-M-M-M…”       But no matter how hard Helene resists, Luther kisses her on the lips determinedly, with pressure, while the girl screams hysterically and hits her offender on his arms strongly, understanding that she does not feel comfortable from feeling the man’s cold, cracked lips and feel that the frost gets out of his cold, big hands and runs over her skin.       “M-M-M-M!” Helene moans with widely open eyes. “M-M-M-M!”       “Ah, you’re fucking good, hellcat!” Luther smiles blissfully, turns Helene sharply on the side, and, grabbing her hair tightly at the roots, covers the girl’s neck with short and dry kisses. “Oh, yay… You’re really fucking delicious and sweet…”       “NO, STOP!” Helene keeps hitting Luther strongly on his arms and chest and pushing him off himself, even if she completely understands that she can do nothing against the bulky man with good physical data. “NO! DON’T DO THIS!”       “Finally, I can relax enough, knowing that nobody can stop me.”       Luther clenches and unclenches rudely Helene’s breasts with both hands and makes her shake in seizures with hysterical screams when he gets his tongue into her mouth and runs it around her tongue.       “Oh, I already feel that it’s getting super tight in my pants…” Luther exhales with a shake. “I can imagine how you would be standing on your knees and giving me a blowjob.”       “HELP, SOMEONE!” Helene screams. “PLEASE, SAVE ME! SAVE ME! I’M BEGGING YOU!”       “Don’t move, bitch!” Luther pulls Helene sharply when she tries to run aside. “If you give me pleasure, I will let you go.”       “NO! DON’T DO THIS! I DON’T WANT! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! DON’T DO THIS!”       “Fuck, close your fucking mouth, dwarf!”       Luther gives Helene a strong slap in the face.       “You were told to spread your legs, it means you must do this. Because Marcus gifted you to us.”       “STOP, PLEASE”!       Helene tries to get out and run aside, but Luther grabs her from behind, throws her rudely on the bed, falls over the girl, and has to fight her hand in hand for a few seconds.       “NO, LET ME GO, LET ME GO!” Helene screams with tears. “LET ME GO!”       “If you don’t shut up now, we will not feed you at all,” Luther threatens, grabs Helene tightly by the neck, and hits her against the mattress with the back of her head. “You will stay here HUNGRY! LIE ON THE BED FROM WEAKNESS ALL THE TIME!”       “PLEASE, NO!”       “LIE QUIETLY AND DON’T MOVE, BITCH!”       Helene keeps fighting off Luther so hard with strong hits of her hands and feet, while he raises her top and squeezes her breasts rudely, smiling widely at the thought that she has no bra. The man is acting very determinedly and does not waste time, unzipping her denim shorts at some moment and running his hand through her underwear.       “NO, PLEASE!” Helen cries bitterly.       “Make me finish it so I can close my eyes to all your tricks,” Luther says in a low, growling voice, grabbing Helene by the hair and pulling it painfully, while his fingers slide over the lady’s pubis and labia.       “I don’t want this…”       “I don’t fucking care. The important thing is that I get an orgasm every time I have sex with you. After every blowjob you make.”       “No-o-o-o…”       Not paying attention to the girl’s tears, Luther covers Helene’s belly generously with short kisses and holds her by the curves of her waist. While the brunette herself strains her vocal cords with her hysterical shouts and cries bitterly, wishing someone would save her from this nightmare that definitely has no end. And at some moment, Ronald shows up on the doorstep after seeing that the room is not locked, and the female shouts are spread from it. When he sees his friend lying over the fragile and short Marshall, he just smirks evilly.       “Wow, why did nobody invite me to join the party?” Ronald puts his hands on his hips.       “Have you ever participated in group sex?” Luther asks. “Don’t you wanna feel something new and fuck this cutie with me?”       “Ha, my pleasure!”       Ronald takes off his leather jacket determinedly, throws it aside, and comes to the bed.       “Marcus gave us such a wonderful gift, but we don’t use it at all.”       “Please, stop torturing me…” Helene begs in despair and exhales with a shake.       “Don’t worry, babe, if you behave quietly, you will not feel hurt.”       Ronald sits on the bed, runs his hand over Helene’s legs, and holds it on the inside of them.       “Just suck us hard and spread your legs widely so we can do our work and get pleasure.”       “No, please…” Helene cries bitterly.       “Don’t be shy, Marshall, show us all your dignity. Show us what Rose lost once and forever.”       “Help me, someone… Please…”       “Come on, slave, make the men, who are hungry for good sex, happy!”       Ronald runs his hand over Helene’s thighs and moves it to her belly, the muscles of which are tensed so that she feels pain.       “My dick wanna get out so hard and get into you to do its work. Though when I imagine you being nude on the bed, I am already about to finish.”       “Just like me…” Luther smiles blissfully, squeezing Helene’s breasts intensely.       While Ronald and Luther caress her body everywhere they can and cover some areas with short kisses, Helene tries to get out of the grip with no success, hitting both them with her hands and kicking them with her legs and resisting their violent actions that make her feel an all-embracing feeling of panic, a fast heartbeat, and the frost that squeezes every muscle of her body. However, at some moment, she manages to break free by hitting Ronald in his groin with her knee and pushing Luther off herself with a strong hit on his chest. The girl gets up from the bed and rushes to the door that is still open, thinking naively that she can finally escape this time. But somewhere in the middle of the way, she gets caught by Ronald from behind and is pulled aside, despite her resistance.       “NO, LET ME GO!” Helene squeaks, resisting so hard in Ronald’s arms as if she is something light. “LET ME GO! DON’T TOUCH ME!”       “So, as I understand, you will not show us your shell at your wish,” Ronald sneers evilly.       “LET ME GO! DON’T DARE TO TOUCH ME!”       “SHUT UP, SHORTY!” Luther roars and smashes his fist strongly against Helene’s face. “SHUT UP BEFORE I KICK YOU!”       “It’s alright, she will suck us anyway,” Ronald says confidently. “She will spread her legs for us as well as she did for Rose.”       “NEVER!” Helene racks her cords. “YOU WILL NOT MAKE ME!”       “Marcus allowed us to do it. So, you must have nothing against.”       “LEAVE ME ALONE!”       “Oh, you see how wild the gal is!”       “It’s alright, if she doesn’t eat for two or three days, she will not even squeak from weakness,” Luther smiles slyly.       “Yeah, we must not give her food for sure.” Ronald slaps Helene in the face strongly after she gets out of his grip with a hit on his chest.       “I shall tell Elijah to stop feeding her until she calms down.”       Luther grabs Helene instantly from behind so that her arms are pressed tightly to her body when she tries to escape through the open door again.       “NO-O-O-O-O-O-O!”  Helene strains her vocal cords. “LET ME GO! A-A-A-A-A-A-A!”       “Hey, shorty, are you provoking us?” Ronald asks rudely. “ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY? ARE YOU ASKING FOR FUCKING TROUBLE? HUH? HAVEN’T YOU BEEN HIT ON THE HEAD FOR AGES?”       Ronald smashes his fist right against the stomach of Helene, making her double over with a hysterical shout.       “Since you have a lot of strength yet, we will fix it quickly,” Luther threatens in a low voice, grabbing Helene by the hair and pulling it back. “WE WILL MAKE YOU SHUT UP QUICKLY!”       Luther pushes Helene in the back strongly with his foot. That’s why she cannot keep her balance and falls to the floor, slightly scratching her cheek against a piece of broken board stuck out of it. Then the girl keeps crying bitterly and screaming hysterically, while the furious criminals getting green from anger start giving her strong hits on all parts of her body with their hands and feet. That’s why she gets some bruises, and a hellish pain caused by all these mockeries gets through the girl to the bones.       “Please, stop!” Helene screams heartbreakingly and doubles over sharply after a strong hit of the foot against her chest from Ronald. “It hurts!”       “If you don’t want to listen, we will do our best for your last days to turn into a real hell,” Luther says and hits Helene against the floor with the back of her head. “We will put you under everyday fucking torture. THE ONES THAT ROSE AND HIS FRIEND COULD ONLY SEE IN THEIR DREAMS!”       After beating Helene crying bitterly a little more, Luther and Ronald grab her under her arms, raise her up, pull her to the bed by force, and throw her on it as she screams. Then she, shaking like a bunny does in front of a wolf and looking at her offenders with a heavy breath, creeps back sharply and presses her back to the headboard of the bed, pressing her legs covered with bites of mosquitoes and bruises to herself.       You will not escape from us, Helene Marshall,” Luther says confidently. “At your wish or against, but you will do EVERYTHING we say. And we give a fuck about whether you like it or not.”       “No, no, no, don’t do it, please!” Helene begs in despair, covers her head with her arms, and doubles over, feeling like a little, unprotected girl in front of two tough men. “Please, God, no!”       Helene screams loudly when Ronald grabs her by the ankles and pulls her sharply onto himself, and tries to feel her up and kiss everywhere, along with Luther. And they do this, even if the prisoner resists much harder, but her strong but weak hits do not impact her offenders at all. Together, they subdue their victim’s will with no problems and use the fact that they can do anything they want to her except killing.       “No, if she keeps twirling as hard as a fish, we won’t be able to fuck her and get pleasure,” Luther shakes his head and closes his eye with his hand when Helene scratches it with resistance. “Ugh, fuck! She scratched my eye!”       “Hey, Winchester, find the ropes now!” Ronald demands determinedly. “I’ll hold her.”       “Ah, I can’t open it… Oh… And it’s watering…”       Rubbing his eye energetically, Luther gets up from the bed and leaves the room to find the ropes, while Ronald falls over Helene, raises her hands above her head, and kisses her neck generously.       “You’re really a hot chick!” Ronald pronounces with enjoyment and leaves a few kisses on the breasts of the crying Helene and the area between them with a quiet moan. “Luther drools over you for the reason.”       “Why?” Helene wonders in a quiet, shaking voice and shakes sharply when Ronald bites the skin on the curve of her neck painfully. “WHY?”       “For being born so beautiful. And for getting in touch with Rose and becoming his girlfriend. The girlfriend of the one whom Marcus hates to death.”       Helene tries to push Ronald’s face off herself with no success when he tries to kiss her shamelessly on the lips that he pulls and licks, feeling disgust caused by the bad smell from his mouth.       “God, I will not take it…” Helene thinks with tears in her eyes, still trying to resist with no success. “It’s disgusting. It’s disgusting that they’re doing this… I feel dirty… A dirty whore… I’m ashamed… Ashamed of Peter… Ashamed of my grandma… And my grandpa is probably twisting in the grave at what’s happening. They’re now playing with me like a slut. Marcus gave me to them as a toy. A fucking doll…”       “Now…” Ronald smiles evilly, running his hands over the curves of Helene’s waist and belly. “Now we will undress you… We will not spend too much time on foreplay. We will get into, finish it, get out, and go.”       “NO, PLEASE!” Helene screams hysterically. “PLEASE! NO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O!”       “Found!” Luther exclaims happily, coming back to the room with two skeins of thick rope.       “Bring them here!” Ronald replies. “We will tie her legs up and then tie her hands to the bed.”       “The ropes are tough and thick – she will not untie them. She could only scratch her long nails against it. Or break them at all.”       “Lie quietly, dolly!” Ronald presses Helene’s wrists tightly to the bed, raising her hands above her head. “LIE QUIETLY, I SAID!”       “PITY ME, FOR GOD’S SAKE!” Helene screams at the top of her lungs with tears. “NO-O-O-O-O!”       “Hold her, hold her, Ron, hold! Hold her tight!”       “It’s okay, man, tie her up!” Ronald exclaims with a wide smile.       Despite all the attempts of Helene to resist and break free, Luther manages to tie her legs up with a strong, trustworthy knot.       “Hey, let’s tie her hands up!” Luther exclaims and throws a skein of the rope that Ronald catches with no problems.       “To the headboard?” Ronald suggests.       “Yep, tightly! So she doesn’t untie it, just like Rose did.”       Again, Helene screams, protests, resists, and calls someone for help, but Ronald and Luther raise her hand above her head and tie them tightly to the headboard some time later, immobilizing the girl in this way. While she falls into hysteria at the thought that she is absolutely helpless now.       “NO-O-O-O-O!” Helene screams heartbreakingly, shaking her hands sharply, while they start to hurt from being tied up too tightly. “NO-O-O-O-O! LET ME GO! NO-O-O-O-O-O!”       “Hey, hey, quiet beautiful, quiet,” Luther says quietly, raising Helene’s top and caressing her naked belly. “When you calm down, we will untie you shortly.”       “But now we can caress your gorgeous body quietly,” Ronald says in a low voice with a mysterious smile, clenching and unclenching Helene’s breasts intensely.       “Why are you doing all of this?” Helene wonders, moving her wet eyes to the ceiling. “My God, why?”       “Aw, it’s so nice to watch helpless people who can do nothing to you,” Luther smiles widely. “The tied Rose, the tied you – I get a lot of pleasure.”       “I don’t even know if we should fuck her at the same time or one by one by lot,” Ronald says thoughtfully, caressing Helene’s crotch through the denim fabric with his fingertips. “Someone gets into her mouth, someone gets into her back or front.”       “If it itches fucking hard so that you can’t take it, I can give up on you,” Luther suggests. “So, you can fuck her in your favorite pose.”       “I’m old-fashioned in this case and prefer classic. I had some experiments, but the best things are the ones that are checked by time.”       “But I wouldn’t mind adding something new to my sexual life. Especially now, when I have such a young, attractive girl near me.”       “Not a virgin, of course, but who cares when she’s got youth and beauty?”       “Absolutely agree.”       “No, please…” Helene begs in despair, looking at her offenders with wet eyes, with a heavy breath. “Pity me…”       “Damn, it’s a shame there are only you and me here,” Luther exhales disappointedly. “Otherwise, we could take a lot of photos and record some videos.”       “To send them to Rose later?” Ronald smiles mysteriously.       “M-m-m, genius idea! I’m sure Marcus would be happy to play a dirty trick on him.”       “But I’m not sure if the blond doesn’t get a heart attack. Understanding that he can’t run to us and beat our faces for having fun with his gal.”       “Well, since Rose wants proof of Marshall’s unloyalty so badly, we can organize it. Moreover, Marcus somehow asked us to find a way to provoke that freak much more.”       “Peter will not believe I agreed to do this!” Helene exclaims. “No way!”       “Maybe, it’s true, but some doubts are gonna torture him anyway,” Luther replies confidently. “In case you didn’t know, betraying is an unforgivable thing for any man. It doesn’t matter who betrayed him: a man or a girl.”       “I’ve never betrayed Peter! And I will never do! Even under a gun!”       “You will tell these things to mice that run here often. There is nobody else here.”       “It’s alright while one of us has fun, another can record us on videos kindly,” Ronald assures, caressing Helene’s lips with his thumb, and runs his hand over the girl’s belly that she sucks in unconsciously.       “Ah, I do feel that we’re gonna have a lot of fun!” Luther exclaims cheerfully, putting his hand on the inside of Helene’s thighs.       “Aha… And next time, David and Darren will have fun with the slut gifted to us by Marcus.”       “A wonderful slut!” Ronald notices funnily. “Who you don’t need to pay a lot of money. The one that would be good even for a fucking beggar.”       “Oh, I can’t wait to finish!”       “Me too. So, let’s stop talking and work on this now.”       “No, please…” Helene begs again. “Don’t do this. Don’t do this.”       “We will, babe, we will.”       While Helene shakes her head sharply and shakes her hands and legs, Ronald squeezes her jaw and brings his lips to her lips to leave some short kisses on them. Luther pays attention to her naked legs, over which he runs his dry hands, and stays a little longer on her thin ankles. The girl feels as unprotected and vulnerable as never ever, while she is tired and deprived of any opportunity to resist and run. She is in despair that she only has to strain her vocal cords with hysterical screams, and cry bitterly, while two unfamiliar men feel up her body so insolently and are about to get into her underwear and take the clothes off her to do their work quickly.       “Listen, brother, I kinda have a headache from her screams and squeaking, ‘let me go, pity me,’” Luther says gloomily, squeezing Helene’s breasts painfully with both hands.       “We will fix it now!” Ronald exclaims cheerfully. “I saw a rag that we can use to close the gal’s mouth.”       Ronald gets up from the bed and starts walking through the whole room to find what he needs, while Helene shakes in seizures and tries so hard to break free, and Luther runs his hand through her unzipped denim shorts and gets his fingers into her vagina.       “Please, stop!” Helene screams heartbreakingly. “I don’t want this… Please, don’t do this… For God’s sake! PLEASE, NO!”       “Fuck, SHUT THE FUCK UP, BITCH!” Luther roars, slaps Helene in the face strongly, and closes her mouth with his hand tightly. “SHUT UP BEFORE WE PUT YOU TO FUCKING SLEEP!”       Helene tries to say something, but she can only moan painfully and shake her hands and feet with tears that roll over her cheeks from her red, puffy eyes.       “It’s your time to understand that you will die soon. DIE! NOTHING WILL SAVE YOU! AND UNTIL THEN, WE WILL BE DOING ANYTHING WE WANT TO YOU! YOU GOT IT, ASSHOLE? YOU GOT IT, I AM ASKING YOU?”       “Hey, we will solve this problem quickly now,” Ronald says confidently, coming to the bed with a thick rag in his hands. “She will only be lying and moaning.”       With these words, Ronald closes the mouth of Helene screaming hysterically with the rag tightly so she cannot say a word.       “Yeah, it’s much better!” Ronald exclaims and moves some strands of hair off Helene’s face.       “M-m-m-m!” Helene moans with widely open, wet eyes. “M-m-m-m!”       “I think it’s not still enough,” Luther throws gloomily. “She will keep fucking our brains and screaming louder than a pig.”       “It’s alright. If she keeps doing this, we will hit her hard with an electric gun.”       “You have it now?”       “Oh, yay, my friend!”       “You’re awesome! Just awesome!”       “Don’t distract from the process, buddy!”       Clapping Luther on the shoulder, Ronald sits on the bed and runs his hands over Helene’s arms raised above her head.       “I will not leave until I fuck her.”       “I’ve been dreaming of it since the day she would’ve drowned if her fucking dog hadn’t brought Rose there,” Luther says, unties the rope on Helene’s legs, spreads them aside, and caresses her groin with his fingers, while she tenses her thighs strongly. “I lost my head when she passed out and shut up. I could see how sexy she was.”       “Yea-a-a-a-ah…” Ronald pronounces with the heat, looking at Helene from head to foot with a filthy glance and feeling that all his muscles get tense. “She’s really sexy… And it’s fucking hard in my pants.”       After making a moan full of enjoyment, Luther and Ronald keep caressing and kissing Helene’s body with no shame, while she cries bitterly and feels that her heart is beating like crazy. At first, the girl believed that someone would come for her, but her hope of something like this is getting weaker every day. Maybe someone is looking for her now, but nobody can even guess which direction they should move on. Nobody can guess that she is experiencing the violent actions of two men. And she is sure that it will happen many times, while she is here all alone, without any protection.       “God, why do I have to take it all?” Helene wonders, setting her dead, wet eyes to the ceiling. “Will I really not get out of this trouble? I don’t wanna die… I don’t… I don’t want these people to rape me. I’m scared… Really scared…”       At this moment, Helene tenses the muscles of her stomach that Ronald is caressing now with both hands.       “Is this my punishment? Is this the karma for all my actions of the past? Do I have to suffer because of being a stupid idiot and doing what I’m ashamed to remember now?”       Helene sniffs quietly, squeaking quietly from pain when Luther squeezes her breasts painfully and pulls her nipples after he raises her top.       “Please, God, help me! Help me get out of here alive. Give a sign to the guys. Let them find me… Before they bury me in the ground. I can’t do this without them. Because I’m too weak against these jackals. I can’t… Can’t… I’m in a hopeless situation. All my hopes are on Peter, the men, and the girls. They’re the only ones to help me. Please, for God’s sake, save me. I don’t wanna die. I don’t…”       Helene starts crying much more bitterly when Luther takes the denim shorts off her slowly but confidently, puts them on the edge of the bed, and wants to take off her underwear. Ronald pays attention to the girl’s breasts that he clenches and unclenches rudely with quiet moans. Much more horror shows up in the girl’s eyes when Luther unzips his jeans and encourages Ronald to do the same. And when they get their pants down, Marshall turns her head aside and closes her eyes tightly, feeling that her panic is growing rapidly every second at the realization of what is going to happen now if nobody stops this nightmare right now.       

***

      Wishing to distract themselves from the problems, Daniel and Anna went to the clinic where Cassidy is still getting therapy for her drug dependence and helping new patients who arrive here get used to everything. But the girl went to her boyfriend's sister alone because the man was called by her doctor for an important talk. Anna found Cassidy walking in a company of young girls on the green territory of the clinic, where most of the patients spend a lot of time. Seeing the beloved girl of her brother, she says something to her companions and runs happily to the unexpected visitor, while they go aside.       “Anna!” Cassidy whoops happily as she literally attacks Anna with a strong hug.       “Hi, Cassidy,” Anna greets with a wide smile.       “Listen, I didn’t see you for like hundreds of years!” Cassidy steps away from Anna and takes her hands. “Where have you been?”       “I’m really sorry. It just happened so.”       “My bro comes to visit me very often, but I can’t remember when you were here the last time.”       “But today, I finally fixed this thing.”       “Oh, yeah, are you kinda alone today?” Cassidy looks around quickly. “Where is that creature with feathers? Didn’t you take him with you?”       “Nope, Daniel’s with me,” Anna laughs shyly. “He will come now. Your doctor called him when we were coming here and asked him to give him two minutes.”       “That’s how…”       “Not sure, but it seems like they wanna talk about your release.”       “Oh, to be honest, I don’t wanna leave this place.”       Cassidy takes Anna under her arm and starts walking slowly in circles with her on the entire territory.       “It’s so cool to be here! I’ve met so many cool people with similar interests and fate.”       “Yeah, yeah, Daniel said you didn’t feel bored here,” Anna replies. “You made friends, and you’re helping new patients get used to this place.”       “I’m literally a close person to everyone here! If someone needs something, everyone runs to Cassidy. Because Cassidy is happy to do anything.”       “Doesn’t it get you exhausted?”       “Nah, it doesn’t do at all! Vice versa, I love helping people, talking to them, comforting them…”       “That’s how…”       “I got much better when I shared my story in one of the sessions of a group therapy for the first time. The lady asked us to say everything we had inside. Explain why we decided to take drugs. Confess who we were ashamed of and who we harmed. In short, everything. And I told them everything at once. And then I cried. But I felt much better in the end.”       “It’s cool your brother paid so much money for the reason since your therapy is effective.”       “Your wish to get cured plays a major role in this case. There are many guys who were brought here by force. Someone still resists, but someone understands that people do it all for the best and agrees to get therapy.”       “Right,” Anna shrugs. “Your therapy is so successful ‘cause you want it.”       “I understood a lot when I suddenly turned into a pathetic beggar that had to live in random places and rob people to buy just a little dose of drugs.”       “Listen, Cassidy, since you get along with people, why don’t you go study to become a psychologist?”       “Psychology?”       “Yeah, I think you could be a psychologist. You should think about your future now.”       “Honestly, I’m still not sure about what I wanna do,” Cassidy sighs heavily. “I don’t feel like I'm ready to work. Though I understand I should do it.”       “First of all, you should solve your studies issue. If you have an opportunity to graduate from school and get a certificate, you should use it.”       “Daniel insists upon graduating from school, too. But I’m not sure if I can do this. To be honest, I was a horrible student.”       “I’d be happy to help with your studies,” Anna replies. “I was pretty good with it. And I graduated from school with a golden medal. And I passed all the exams at the university brilliantly. And I still remember a lot from what I learned at school.”       “I dunno, Anna, I can’t say anything. Though I don’t exclude the possibility that I may try to do everything I’m interested in. Because… If I don’t like something, I can always choose something different. Something I like.”       “Of course, you can! And Daniel would be happy to help you get a profession.”       “Anyway, I wouldn’t even mind trying to learn to be a psychologist. I kinda like helping people… There was a moment when I worked as a volunteer a little. And I liked that experience.”       “Although your brother doesn’t have a music education, the men and I are working a lot with teachers: vocal, guitar, musical notation… He understands that he must develop his talent, but loving doesn’t mean being a professional.”       “Well, Danny has had a talent for music since childhood. But as you know, he didn’t take it too seriously initially.”       “Everyone has their own talents.”       “Well, you could be a first-class cook and work in an elite restaurant. Your cooking skills are super high.”       “Maybe…” Anna pronounces shyly.       At this moment, Cassidy and Anna come to the stoned fence and just stand near the one.       “Hey, does it seem to me that you’ve got a kinda sad face?” Cassidy notices thoughtfully. “And your eyes are kinda red…”       “It’s true,” Anna agrees, crossing her arms over her chest.       “Are you crying there all day long? Don’t tell me my brother hurts you!”       “No, no, Cassidy, it’s okay.”       “Don’t be shy! If that asshole treats you badly, tell me immediately. So I can kick his ass freaking hard and make him regret it.”       “The problem is not Daniel, sweetie.”       “Nope?”       “Nope, everything’s fine between us,” Anna smiles shyly. “I’d say even better than ever.”       “But what’s wrong then?”       “The problem is Peter.”       “He is still tried to be killed.”       “He is.”       “So, is everything much worse now?”       “I’d say so. The danger is also threatening Helene now.”       “Come on? But what did she do?”       “I don’t know, Cassidy…” Anna shakes her head. “But the case is very serious.”       “My gosh, what’s the hell happening?!” Cassidy resents. “Such sweet and nice guys didn’t please someone!”       “At first, she was almost drowned, but now some stinkers took Helene in an unknown direction, and we can do nothing.”       “Come on?” Cassidy opens her eyes widely. “Taken away? Helene? You mean, kidnapped?”       “Yeah… It’s been three days already.”       “It’s awful…” Cassidy closes her mouth with a hand. “Poor girl…”       “I’m even afraid to imagine what’s happening to her now. Where she is, who she is, what they wanna do to her.”       “Hey, have you already gone to the police? Have you reported the kidnapping?”       “Yes, Helene’s grandmother has done it. The police are working on the search for my friend, but there are no clues yet. Of course, we know something about the owner of the car, in which she was taken away, but he wasn’t caught at the address where he was registered, and his neighbors say they meet that man rarely.”       “And what’s gonna happen?”       “I dunno… The guys and I are absolutely powerless now. We only have to wait and believe that Helene will be found alive and healthy.”       “I wonder who needed it all? Who hates these two so badly?”       “The criminal named Marcus Longbottom, who was well known in the 90s.”       “Marcus Longbottom?” Cassidy opens her eyes. “The one who killed hundreds of people in the cruelest ways that ever existed?”       “He is.”       “Wait, is he free now? I kinda thought he was caught since murders stopped.”       “No, he hasn’t been caught. That man lives quietly and pretends to be innocent, planning to murder two more people in parallel.”       “What a freaking twist… How could the police let him go?”       “Nobody knows it. Besides, Marcus’ fault hasn’t been proved. He denied everything and provided himself with a trustworthy alibi that nobody could protest against.”       “He thought it would work again?”       “Maybe.”       “Then you must find Helene as soon as possible before that asshole kills her. He will 100% not pity her, just like he did not pity any of those victims.”       “Ah, I’m dreaming about it…” Anna sighs heavily. “But nothing’s changed in the past three days.”       “My God…”       “But Daniel and I recently chatted with Peter, who told us he ran into Marcus somewhere in the city. But that man didn’t answer the question about where his girlfriend was. Though he confirmed that it was his work.”       “Anyway, I’m really sorry about what happened.”       Cassidy caresses Anna’s shoulder softly.       “The situation is hard, but I’m sure Helene will be found. Maybe, someone will show up with a claim of ransom.”       “He’s not doing this for money. To give Peter as much pain as possible. Marcus knows how much Helene means to him. At first, he turned him against my friend, saying dirty things about her, but now that man gave an order to kidnap her and took her away nobody knew where.”       “Gosh, poor Peter… He’s such a cool guy, but he’s suffering a lot. Is he probably going crazy from grief?”       “He is,” Anna nods with sadness in her eyes. “The guys and I are worried about his mental health and try to watch him. We visit him at home, go somewhere in the city, or send him tons of messages.”       “Ah, I’d be so happy to support him…” Cassidy sighs heavily. “Let him know that I’ll always be near and ready to listen.”       “We will tell him you’re worried.”       “Yes, please, sweetie, tell Peter that he can count on me in everything.”       “As you wish!”       When Cassidy and Anna want to continue their talk, they distract themselves because of the appearance of Daniel, who looks depressed but tries not to show it.       “Here I am, girls!” Daniel exclaims.       “Oh, our creature with feathers has shown up!” Cassidy pronounces surprisingly.       “Sorry, sis, I had to have a talk with your doctor.”       “Anna has informed me already.”       Daniel takes Cassidy in a strong hug, and she kisses him sweetly on the cheek.       “I don’t kinda see much happiness from the visit of your older brother and his beloved girl,” Daniel puts his hands on his hips.       “Ha, do you naively think the only thing I do all day long is thinking of you?” Cassidy crosses her arms over her chest. “Keep dreaming, Dan! I have too much to do!”       “Ah, yeah, pardon, I forgot! You need to talk with all the patients and doctors in the clinic! Indeed, how would you get time to think of me?”       “Don’t worry, I have five minutes per day to think of you and understand that I miss one unbearable asshole.”       “M-m-m, I’m so happy,” Daniel smiles innocently, putting his hand on his heart. “I scream from happiness!”       “Yeah, guys, you don’t give up on the MacClifes at all!” Anna laughs shyly, crossing her arms over her chest. “All of you have family fights all the time.”       “Nothing special. I’m just doing the duty of the older brother: kick the kid and caress her depending on when she needs it.”       “You’ll see how I’ll kick you if you dare to hurt your sweetheart!” Cassidy exclaims. “If her tears aren’t related to something else, expect your disgusting behavior.”       “Relax, sis, I take care of my sweetheart like a brilliant.”       Daniel comes to Anna and, hugging her by the waist with one arm, kisses her sweetly on the temple, while she looks at him with a tender smile.       “I will never leave her without my attention. Especially now, when something hellish is happening to us.”       “Yeah, yeah, Anna has already told me what happened to Helene.” Cassidy moves her eyes down to the ground filled with green grass. “I’m so sorry. I hope that girl will be found soon.”       “Thanks, but there’s a small chance to find Helene yet. The police haven’t tracked the criminals who kidnapped her. And the leader of their gang, Marcus, refuses to say where she is and what he wants to do to her.”       “By the way, I haven’t understood how you actually know Peter’s identity. You said you didn’t know who needed it.”       “We learned it one week ago when those assholes took Peter in the same way.”       “What? Peter? He was kidnapped, too?”       “Yeah, but luckily, he managed to escape. And before he did, he had met the asshole, who started all of those attacks on him.”       “I’m surprised that he could actually move, remembering that he went to our home beaten, in blood, with bruises,” Anna shakes slightly.       “Oh, yeah, I was deeply shocked and became speechless for two moments. Rose could barely walk and winced from pain that he felt everywhere.”       “Gosh, what the hell is that?” Cassidy wonders. “Why is fate so cruel to Peter? The guy’s been unlucky! Some assholes have been poisoning his life and making him feel despair all his life! And now that bastard can’t get off him and kidnapped his girlfriend.”       “Looking at Pete makes us horrified. He can barely take what’s happening. At first, the blond tried to hold on somehow, but Helene’s kidnapping broke him down.”       “He had a nervous breakdown on the day we found it out,” Anna confesses. “Peter was so desperate that he threatened to kill himself right before our eyes. The men barely calmed him down.”       “I feel super terrible, while he stays alone at home,” Daniel says thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair. “Peter may come back to the old ways and start to cut himself secretly from us. He wasn’t okay, but now his condition is much worse. And if that bastard kills Helene, we will be able to do nothing. Peter will 100% commit suicide.”       “Gosh, guys, you’re telling me scary things!” Cassidy exclaims and swallows nervously.       “It’s true, Cassidy. If we lose Helene, we will lose Peter.”       “But it can’t be happening that the criminals thought about everything! They probably missed something that could let us track her.”       “Maybe, it’s true. But we can find nothing yet.”       “The police must hurry up before that girl can be saved.”       “The case is under the control of our familiar policeman,” Anna confesses. “He accepted the application from Helene’s grandmother and questioned us.”       “And the problem is that the guys and I have a show scheduled for tomorrow,” Daniel says with sadness in his eyes. “A small group of people will come, and it’s gonna be an acoustic show. And we’ll be answering our fans’ questions.”       “Can Peter play in his condition?” Cassidy expresses anxiety.       “He says he can. But I’m not sure about it. Pete looked distant and failed it all often during our latest rehearsal. The guys and I aren’t mad, and we get it all, but how do we explain it to our fans? They may swear at you for any little mistake. But Rose feels too bad now.”       “Didn’t you have any opportunity to cancel the show? Why did your manager give a damn about his condition? Does he only think of money?”       “George wanted to cancel everything, but Peter insisted that the show wasn’t. He doesn’t wanna let down the guys, the team, the fans, and me. Like, everyone paid a lot of money to see us.”       “I’m sure people will understand everything if the show is cancelled or rescheduled. Are we robots? With no feelings and emotions?”       “In his opinion, you need a real reason to cancel the show.”       “Is your bad mental health not a reason?”       “I think he’s just ashamed of letting the guys down due to his problems once,” Anna assumes. “They couldn’t record the album, and their manager was mad. Yes, nobody knew what was wrong, but still…”       “If Peter really feels so bad, people will understand it,” Cassidy replies confidently. “And they won’t judge him. Your fans are adequate and understanding enough.”       “Anyway, Edward, Terrence, and I need to save the show as a trio. Peter will hardly be able to perform to the fullest. Or maybe he’ll feel so badly that he’ll refuse to go on the stage two minutes before the show.”       “It’s gonna be hard for you three, too,” Anna notices. “You feel depressed, as well.”       “What can we do? We’re musicians! Public personas, who must leave their personal problems behind the door, and make their fans happy. They want us to be professionals in any situation.”       “Since you decided to perform, try to play it as perfectly as possible,” Cassidy advises.       “We will try. But looking at the broken and unhappy Pete, we wanna hang ourselves, too.”       “Just remember you’re not alone.” Cassidy caresses Daniel’s shoulder softly. “You can come to your close people and ask them for help and support at any time.”       “Thanks a lot, Cass,” Daniel smiles a little falsely, caressing Cassidy’s cheek with the back of his hand. “It means a lot to me.”       “Oh, at least I’m happy everything is fine between you two! If you fought and wanted to break up, you’d be two steps away from a mental hospital and a straightjacket.”       “Oh, yeah! If something makes me worried about my relationship with Anna, I’m gonna have a nervous breakdown, too.”       “And I just recently began to treat what happened to me much quieter,” Anna confesses hesitantly. “I just recently started to feel myself and forgot everything I always heard from Julian and his father. I mean… I didn’t forget. I just started to take it easier. With the thought that the problem wasn’t me, it was them.”       “I sometimes think of everything I’ve had to get through,” Cassidy confesses with sadness in her eyes. “Everything Eugene did to me. I’m still working on this question with a psychologist. Yes, I feel much better now, but my wounds are still open.”       “Eugene paid a lot for all his dirty tricks,” Daniel says confidently. “He will no longer bother us.”       “I know, but I’m still scared anyway…”       “Don’t worry, Cassidy,” Ana replies softly, caressing Cassidy’s shoulder. “You’ll no longer have to get through that hell. And all your potential will be checked by Daniel’s harsh check.”       “The harshest one!” Daniel raises his index finger. “And if someone dares to hurt you, they’re gonna have to deal with me!”       “Now I only wanna make friends,” Cassidy confesses. “I wanna meet people with similar interests. Those with whom I can share my happiness and grief.”       “Well, you don’t have any problems with it.” Daniel glances at the girl walking by and waving her hand at Cassidy. “Literally, the whole clinic knows you. Anyone who comes by greets you.”       “I know. I just want to let you know that friendship is more important to me than relationships with boys.”       “That’s good! You’re too little for relationships!”       “I’m not little!”       “You don’t even have an education!”       “Who cares?”       “They care!”       “Shut up, idiot! You gave a damn about your studies and went to school after Mom and Dad’s lectures. And now you dare to tell me about how important my education is.”       “Your education does matter!”       “Studies can’t prevent relationships!”       “They can!”       “Oh, come on, bro, shut up!” Cassidy waves her hand.       “In short, I said everything. When you’re healed, solve your studies issues, profession issues, and work issues, you will make relationships. Under my close control.”       “Maybe you will care about your own relationships, okay? I will solve the problem of mine.”       “You’re a stupid kid yet.”       “You are stupid!” Cassidy smiles slyly. “Since you haven’t proposed to Anna and made her my sister-in-law!”       “Now we can’t even think about it,” Anna replies shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Even Edward, Natalia, Terrence, and Raquelle are thinking about rescheduling the wedding in case Helene is not found.”       “Listen, cutie, do ya feel okay from living with the man that is doing this to you? Why don’t ya press on him a lot, tell him to give a ring with a brilliant…”       “All in time, Cassidy.”       “Get married already!” Cassidy exclaims. “Whatcha waiting for? I don’t get it! You’re such a cool couple! I can’t imagine a better sister-in-law! And Mom and Dad would be happy to accept her! They’d propose to her on Daniel’s behalf.”       “Don’t worry, sis, it will surely happen someday,” Daniel assures, hugging Anna around the shoulders. “I promise that Anna and I will be officially married someday.”       “You will go to the altar with me! I shall personally walk next to you by the guests and give you personally to your lady.”       “Actually, a bride and her parents walk down the altar.”       “Let’s change it! I, your beloved sister, would be happy to accept the role of your parents and lead you to a new, happy life.”       “My gosh, I think you’re waiting for our wedding more than us,” Anna laughs shyly.       “Of course, I am! It’s the wedding of my bro! The bro, who has grown up after getting super close to thirty, chose a really decent girl: beautiful, smart, educated, careful. Just like Mom and Dad wanted! As they dreamed!”       “Oh, oh, you only knew about a part of the girls I dated,” Daniel notices. “And you didn’t drink tea with them regularly to know everything about them.”       “But I knew one thing: your taste for girls used to be freaking terrible!”       “Okay, I agree!” Daniel raises his hands in front of himself. “Now I’m also surprised by what I could like about some of them.”       “That’s why I will be insisting on your wedding with Anna, who is the only girl that I wanna see as my sister-in-law so badly.”       “Oh, gosh, Cassidy…” Anna pronounces shyly with a slight blush on her face as she looks down.       “Okay, friend, don’t worry!” Cassidy puts her arm around Anna’s neck. “We will get this pretty boy! Do our best for him to get married to you early or late. And then make a beautiful baby with you. Maybe, even two.”       “May things happen when it’s time,” Anna replies shyly.       “And not now, for sure,” Daniel adds thoughtfully.       “I watch you!” Cassidy exclaims, showing her fist. “When I finish my therapy, we will work on this question.”       “Oh, Cassidy, my restless sister…” Daniel claps Cassidy slightly on her head. “What do I do to you?”       “Listen to me and do your best to be happy.”       “I am already happy.”       Daniel takes Anna in a strong hug and caresses her head tenderly.       “Anna is the reason why I don’t go crazy in critical situations. The reason why I’m able to get through all this shit and help the one who needs it.”       Cassidy says nothing and just smiles sweetly when Daniel kisses Anna on the top of her head, caressing the girl’s cheek at some moment. And while the red-haired lady closes her eyes tightly from pleasure, presses herself closely to his chest, and puts her arms around his waist with both arms, the man blinks secretly at his younger sister. Who smiles at him back mysteriously, clearly remembering that her brother told her about ordering the engagement ring to test his luck and propose to his sweetheart to live together not just like lovers but like officially married people.