Chapter 18

It's been five days since Mona was trapped in the den of Mr Santiago. She was well taken care of but never allowed to step out of the room she was locked in.

Feeling very nervous and afraid, Mona tried all means to escape from the place but it was all in vain.

If only they hadn't collected her cellphone, she would have called for help. They refused to allow her to call anyone. They said they were waiting for her father.

Mona knew that her father must have fled already. Such a coward but greedy as hell! If only she hadn't fallen into his trap.

After everything she did to avoid this situation, she still ended up being taken by the thugs. Mona wondered what that old man, Mr Santiago was going to do to her.

"Let me out of here! You can't keep me locked up here, you bunch of cowards! How can you molest a woman like this!" Mona screamed her lungs out.

" Shut the hell up, will you? Or I will be forced to come and show you what we truly do to the women here!" Said one of the two guards stationed to guard Mona's room.

" Hey! I need to speak to your boss! You are keeping me here against my wish! Get me out of here!"

" Noisy bitch! If not for the boss's order, I would have taught her a lesson already" the guard said in anger to the other one.

Mona keeps screaming and making lots of noise." I am hungry! Get me some food! Are you still going to starve me to death? If anything happens to me, your money is also gone!"

" Shut up, you bitch!" Another one roared. He was getting pissed with Mona's incessant disturbances.

"Just let her be, Jake. She will get tired soon. All we have to do is pretend we are not hearing her"

" She is pissing me off, Dan. I just wish I could fuck the hell out of her before strangling that bitch to death" Jake said, fuming with anger.

" Get that thought out of your head, dude. Or you won't know how you die. She is in a no-go area till she is given out. She is worth fifty million dollars and more" Dan replied, giving the other man a stern look.

"Buh she is tainted! I bet the client wouldn't want her anymore. So she is not special anymore, dude"

" Still, get your eyes off her. Keep an eye on her. I want to go and get her a meal. We can't afford to starve her." Dan said, standing up.

" Okay, Dan" Jake replied.

Barely a minute after Dan left, Mona started screaming again. The guard, Jake, was becoming so riled up. He tried to suppress his anger so he wouldn't do what he would regret.

"You stupid assholes! Morons! Get me out of here! I won't stop screaming until you get me out of here!" Mona kept screaming, kicking hard at the door

"I told you to shut the hell up, you bitch!" Jake said with so much anger.

Still riled up in anger and pure frustration, he flung the door to Mona's room open.

"It seems you want to die!" Jake snorted as he grabbed Mona by the hair.

It's been a long time since he had wanted this opportunity. She was not going to cause him more trouble.

Like a flash, Mona raised her legs and kicked him hard on his crotch. His face contorted in pain and a groan escaped from his mouth. She turned around and picked up a jar nearby.

Mona raised the jar and hit him on his head so hard that he fainted right away.

Pushing him off, she grabbed his phone and made for the door. She have to let Ella know where she was.

Mona started running through the corridor. She doesn't know how she was going to escape but she believed there must be a way out somewhere.

She took out the phone and started dialling her friend's number with shaky hands. She wasn't all that brave! Her heart was pounding heavily at the thought of being caught again.

"Please! Please, Ella! You have to pick up!" Mona prayed as she continued running.

The phone kept ringing but no one answered. This won't do at all, Mona thought. With shaky hands, she took one last breath and called again.

This time, Ella picked the call!

"Ella! It's me, Mona! I have been caught by Mr Santiago and his men. I don't know where I am right now…" Mons said with a voice filled with tears and fear.

She quickly cut the call when she heard their voices and footsteps getting closer.

"Get that bitch right now or I will kill every single one of you!" Dan's voice could be heard roaring at the guards.

She had to escape from here as fast as she could.

************

Ella was so distracted all these days she hadn't heard from Mona. It's been five days now yet no calls or texts from her.

Ella had been searching for Mona from the second day she got missing. She had gone to Mona's neighbourhood but no one seemed to see her or her father.

They were not even aware that George was sick!

That's when Ella had a hunch that it might have been George's ploy to get Mona. Could it be that George had not given up on selling his daughter? Did he stage the sickness to kidnap her?

Ella heaved a deep regretful sigh before walking into the police station. She needs to know if there is any progress in finding her friend.

"Any news inspector Dave?" She asked, looking tired and frustrated.

"Not yet, Miss Bryan. But my team is working on it. The suspect had several dens spread across the state. It will be difficult to trace your friend without a hint but we are still working on it" Inspector Dave said.

" Please, you have to do whatever it takes to find my friend. I am ready to shudder any extra expenses the search would incur" Ella said frantically.

" Miss Bryan, you don't have to. The government must do its best in finding peace and justice and also making sure its citizens are safe. Don't worry, we will do our best" Inspector Dave answered with a smile.

" Can I use your restroom, please?" Ella said.

"Just take the left turn"

" Thank you," Ella said as she left.

Ella needed to splash some water on her face. She was just looking at the mirror for more than five minutes now. She still can't understand where those thugs could have taken Mona to.

She had been working and searching for Mona at the same time. It seems she would have to take some days off so she could concentrate on looking for Mona.

"Let me call my father to take some days off" she muttered to herself." Oh! It seems I left my bag over there."

She sighed and left the restroom looking depressed. Mona's disappearance had been weighing on her mind.

When Ella got to the Inspector's office, she got ready to leave so she could keep searching. She wondered if it was her father or…was it that man she had an encounter with at the bar?

But that man doesn't know Mona but at the same time, these rich men have connections everywhere. They can find whoever they want anytime.

"Thank you so much, inspector…" Ella said but the sound of her phone ringing stopped her words.

"It's been ringing since you left for the restroom" the inspector Dave said.

Ella looked at the caller and frowned." It's an unknown caller."

"Hold on Miss Bryan. Every call received at this point is very crucial. Can you try and hold the call for at least a minute so we can track the location, that's if it's from the" Inspector Dave said as he signalled one of his assistants.

Ella quickly picked up the call and much to her relief, she heard Mona's voice from the other end. She signalled to the police officer who immediately put the technicians to work as Ella received the call.

"Ella! It's me, Mona! I have been caught by Mr Santiago and his men. I don't know where I am right now…" her frantic voice rang over the phone.

" Where are you…"

"I…don't even know…I have been locked up since I came here…please help me! They are about to sell me off! I…"

"Mona ….Mona!" Before Ella could say anything further the phone had been cut off.

She looked at the inspector to see if it was enough to trace the call.

"We are tracing the location, Miss Bryan" Inspector Dave said.

In less than ten minutes, they got the location of the call.

"We got the location and it's about a thirty minutes drive from here. Let's go before they escape" Inspector Dave said.

Ella was overjoyed but also worried. She prays they get her before those people escape again.

Please, help save my Mona.