30. Past

When Liam was 17 years old, he had gone to Country B for a vacation with his parents. One evening, he decided to walk around and explore the place, that is when he had met a lovely and cheerful girl. She looked about 15 years old.

God she looks so beautiful.

He approached her and said," Hello I am Liam. Nice to meet you." He extended his arm for a handshake.

Lara looked at him from head to toe. He was wearing a casual blue t- shirt with black jeans. Though the clothes were simple, they were branded.

Styled hair, branded clothes, well built body.. Hmmmm... Must be a rich kid… I should be cautious…. She thought.

After a few seconds of thinking, she extended her arm and said," Hello. You seem to have come here for a vacation", she asked with a serene look.

" How did you know that??", he asked in utter disbelief.

" Simple. I know almost everyone in this area, at least by face. But I have never seen you before..", she replied casually.

The chatted for a while. She saw herself being able to talk freely with him, unlike her usual self.

Suddenly some masked men came out of nowhere and grabbed both of them and put them inside a van and drove off.

Both of them were shocked they tried to free themselves from their grip, but the men were too strong. Their hands and legs were tied. They gave up after a while.

They dragged them inside an abandoned factory and shut the doors.

It was dark, so they couldn't see anything.

Suddenly Lara felt something pierce through her left shoulder. It made her scream in pain. Suddenly she felt a pull upwards and the next minute she found herself hanging a few feet from the ground.

Then they turned the light on. She noticed that Liam was tied to a pole with wires. Tears were rolling down her eyes from pain. She was gritting her teeth trying her level best not to scream.

When he heard her scream, his heart shuddered. He got dragged and tied to something strong. When they turned the lights on, he saw her hanging there with tears flowing down her face. He noticed the blood forming on her clothes.

The men left immediately and so they couldn't get a look at them.

Liam found himself in a tight spot. He saw that she was trying her best to hold herself together. He didn't know how to comfort her. He decided to keep quite for a while. He looked around to see what kind of place they were in.

It looked an old warehouse. It was covered in dust and cobwebs. There were few rusted machines. There was a table and chair in the middle.

Soon it was night fall. He could hear her sobbing quietly. He felt so hurt. Though he couldn't understand if he was their target or if she was their target.

The moonlight shone through a lone window. It highlighted her teary face.

" Don't get scared little princess, I will take care of you. You are not alone….. I will not let those bastards lay a finger on you… I promise…. The moonlight is with us….", he said in a comforting voice.

She slowly looked at him. A small sad smile formed on her face. He would say few comforting words in an attempt to calm her in between.

Soon the warehouse returned to its eerie silence. They didn't know how long it had been since they were kidnapped.

After a while the door opened. A man in suit walked in followed by many muscular men.

Lara at once recognized the man." Bastard… My parents trusted you….. Is this how you intend to win against my parents…. I didn't think you would stoop this low….. You are unfit for being a scientist….", she sneered at him.

He only laughed at her.

Simon Feck was a fellow scientist of Lara's parents. She had met the guy quite a few times and had formed a good bond with him. Recently her parents had discovered a new formula. The man started showing his true colour. The guy wanted to get information about it to sell it in the black market but her parents hid the information very well.

When he realized that he couldn't persuade them in any other way, he decided to use his trump card, their daughter, to force them to spill the secret.

" Sorry miss. Your parents left me no choice.", he said with a sinister smile. Then the turned a camera on making a live video and connected it to her parents and started threatening them.

When Liam saw that she recognized them, he realized that she was their target. From the argument he understood that her parents were scientists and this guy cheated them.

When Simon so Liam, he smirked and said," Well.. Well.. Who is it that I am having the pleasure to meet here???"

Liam gritted his teeth trying to control his anger so as to not hurt her.

Lara's parents panicked and immediately informed the inspector who was their close friend. Soon they tracked her location with the help from Liam's parents who realized that their son was kidnapped with her. They immediately took off to the warehouse.

Seeing that there was no reaction from her parents, he decided to torture her more to get their attention. He asked one of the men to tug the rope that was tied to the hook through which she was suspended in the air.

She screamed in pain. She closed her eyes in pain. Tears started flowing with even more intensity. Then everything blacked out for her. She fainted due to blood loss, exhaustion and trauma.

Liam felt like someone stabbed him on the heart when he heard her scream. Soon he also passed out from dehydration and exhaustion.