BURNING PASSION

iliar, filled with a damp, musty smell that clung to the air. I blinked, trying to shake off the fog clouding my mi

rkness. Now I was lying on a rough, gritty floor, the paint on the walls cracked and peeling, as if the room had

mmed against the cold, unyielding metal, my palms stinging from the impact. "Hello! Is anyone there? P

ys. I held my breath as the door creaked open, and two men entered, dressed head-to-toe in black. One was broad and hulking, his face a s

n's hand was another syringe, the needle glinting under the dim light. Every instinct screamed at me to

, and icy fear flooded my veins as the drug hit me. "Perfect," I thought bitterly as my vision swirled and my body went

th me. I could barely move; chains and steel cuffs dug painfully into my wrists and ankles, holding me in place, evoking the image of captive slave. My attempt to break free proved futile. The question of why I was suggested to this

n't a

ess was torn, mascara smudged down her cheeks, which were streaked with dried tears. She stirred, and her ey

ure of confusion and accusation. "Me?" I replied with sarcasm. "Oh, I forgot - I chain

under my breath, frustration mounting. "Great, I'm stuck in this cargo with someone who doesn't seem to be much help." I rolled my

ering how I ended up in this mess,

nly spoke up. "My name is Sophia," she said, her voice barely above a

" she asked, her voice laced with concern. I shook my head. "I don't know, but I think we need to find a way out of here before we can figure that out."

ld. "I don't see anything," she said, frustration creeping into her voice. I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "We'll find something," I said. "We have to." She t

ted me again. I woke up here," I said, skipping the part about James and Scarlet's betrayal. "That was tragic," Sophia said. "I know, right?" I replied. "What about you?" She hesitated and sighed. "My parents got

phia smiled, dispelling the tense mood. "We went to a nightclub," she continued. "We partied, and I got tired. I wanted to go home when my friend came and dragged me

e name of the nightclub?" "'Tipsy,'" she said. "Oh my god, that was the same nightclub I went to. Could it be that the bartender is linked to all of this?" I freaked out. "In that case, this is

o," I said. "Look around you. We're chained, and even if we break out of these chains,

d I thought, 'At least they could give us food before they finally kill us.' I was tired, my hands aching from the chains, and Sophia had already cried herself to sleep. I thoug

hook off the last remnants of sleep, nerves sparking to life as I listened to the creak and groan of machinery outside. The

in her wide eyes. "Bella, we're on lan

She asked

they open the door, they'll have to unlock our chains," I murmured, m

ey just... kill us?" Her voice broke, and I saw the ter

y words rang hollow. Sophia's fears were contagious, and I struggled to comfort both of us. 'What if...' she started, her ima

ed, her voice barely above a whisper. I took a deep breath and tried to think clearly. We needed a plan,

ything we could use to our advantage. But there w

ilence. The metal of the chains seemed to grow colder against my skin as every distant sound outside the cargo hold o

ia whispered, he

to remain steady even as my thoughts

they just... kill us instead?" Her voice

op Sophia, we're

abandoned here, in the cold, endless darkness of the carg

n the ground, the faint shuffle of someone moving closer-made my heart slam harder in my chest. My sto

eath hitched. My hand tightened around Sophia's, but

ate. A shadow fell across

d my

ss, trying to make out the figures that loomed in the doorway. My heart pounded in my ears, drowni

e, his voice low and

ed. There was no

uld feel the raw terror in her touch. Her eyes locked with

in my throat, choked by the su

steps gr

t wide, and she w