"What did you just say to me?"

"N-no." Annie stuttered as she scooted backwards on her buttocks to get away from Lukas, who stood in front of her looking so enraged that his face was a bright shade of red.

Lukas reached out and grabbed her ankle,jerking her closer to him, no doubt giving her rug burn on her bare thigh. He had refused to return her clothes, saying that she didn't deserve it. She was only let out once a day to ease herself and he didn't allow her to take a shower, claiming she didn't deserve it.

Annie felt gross. It wasn't helping that she was pregnant too, seeing as she needed to constantly pee. But Lukas didn't care and she had to go in the corner of the room when she couldn't hold it back. She wasn't spared for doing that. Lukas had beaten her until her back and buttocks became to raw to sit down.

Currently, Lukas was standing over her- his trousers and boxer resting around his ankles- demanding that she suck him off since 'she was flaunting her body at him' and also because Skylar wasn't around. And when she refused immediately, he had punched her jaw and shoved her on the floor. Annie barely managed to fall of her back because of the baby.

"Fine. You want to be like that? Get your ass up and bend over the table." Lukas growled as he grabbed her hair and threw her in the direction of the table with chains.

Annie winced as she got to her feet shakily and went to hold the edge of the table, leaning forward a little. Bruised and scars littered her thigh, arms and back. The only places that had been spared was her belly and chest, and that was because Lukas said he didn't want to hurt the baby for her mistakes.  He even made her eat more to keep the baby healthy, although she wasn't sure if the baby was healthy, seeing as her own ribs were starting to show.

Anything she did  even slightly aggravated Lukas and earned her a beating. If she took too long to get out of bed. If she took to long in the toilet. If a crumb dropped on the floor. Absolutely anything would have him chaining her to the table and flogging the willpower out of her until she was a sobbing mess.

She had shot down any sexual advances he made towards her and that got her beatings frequently. She could hardly feel the stings after the first ten strokes, her body would go numb each time. She refused to cheat on Jovon with his cousin, whether it be by force or willingly. She refused to cheat on him even after he treated her like crap.

Lukas had told her she could always say no to his advances, but whenever she did, he always beat her afterwards. And Annie continued to say 'no'. But she was afraid that one of these days, he was going to snap and take her by force despite her the lack of her consent.

More often than not in the five days that had passed, she was beaten every second of the day and sometimes at night. Her cheeks and lips were sporting dark purple bruises and cuts from the numerous times she'd been slapped. She had seen the bruise in the toilet mirror yesterday night.

"Look at you acting like a faithful little bitch!" He sneered as he walked up behind her with a thin plastic cable. It stung more than the leather or plastic whip he used. "He treated you like crap. Pushed you away, hit you even. And you're being faithful to him? Gah! You're more stupid than I thought you were. Am I not good enough for you? Is that it? Answer me bitch!"

And with that he brought the cable down on her backside which made Annie cry out at the sharp sting.

"Count, you pathetic whore!"

Crack!

"One."

Crack!

"T-two."

Crack!

"T-t-three."

Fifty-five times. Annie lost her voice somewhere between thirty-one and forty-one. And that must be why he extended the number, because his signature mark was thirty-five. As always, by the time he walked away Annie couldn't hold herself up after he uncuffed her. She fell on her side with a thud. Lukas shoved her out of the way with his boot as he went back to hang the cable on it's rack.

"You'll be lucky if you get anything to eat tonight." He grumbled as he left the room.

That wasn't unusual either. Most of the time they brought food to her when they felt like it. And the food mainly consisted of the same Stale bread, dried chicken and carrots. Annie had gotten to the habit of hiding the carrots to have something to eat the next day or at night. The only thing she had endless supply of was water- mostly.

She hadn't seen much of Skylar ever since the day she had been brought here. She'd come down a couple of times to place another small glass of water on the table for her, but she said nothing,even when Annie asked her something. She was clearly under the orders not to talk to her.

Annie wondered constantly if her parents knew what type of person Lukas was. Maybe they know that Skylar was back in town and even noticed that Lukas was not often around them. When she met Lukas, Annie had thought that he was nice. Even after he asked Jovon to give her prenups, she had been thinking that perhaps he loved his cousin like a brother. How wrong she had been. She had been doing some thinking and came to the conclusion that Skylar must have convinced him to betray his own family somehow. Maybe she held some kind of power or secret over him. The Lukas that took care of her when Jovon abandoned her wasn't the same one she was seeing here.

She had thought about her family too. But she mostly thought about Jovon.

She wondered if he was searching for her. If he had left that pregnant girl when he realized how much he missed her. She wondered if his eyes still crinkled at the sides when he smiled. She wondered if he had decided to take Genesis back home with him just as he ought to. She wondered about where he was currently. What he was doing and with whom.

Eventually, she got her answer when Lukas stormed downstairs with a newspaper clutched tightly in his grasp. He threw it at her and the front page was a picture of Jovon standing outside a hotel she recognized as 'The Grand Hotel' in the heart of Philadelphia. The title read:

Latin most eligible bachelor makes an appearance in Philly this morning. Rumor has it that he's here to look for his lover, Ansela Mckade, after she was said to be kidnapped for the second time.

Annie's heart swelled with hope, knowing that Jovon was in Philly looking for her. He looked a bit rough on the cover. His hair was messy, not swept into it's usual gelled style. His eyes had dark bags under them as if he had barely slept a wink. Was he looking like this because of her?

"I have good news for you, my lovely princess." Lukas smirked as he walked towards the stairs. "Your beloved would be joining you here very soon. And you can have the reunion you, oh, so desperately wish for."

Annie's heart stopped beating for few minutes. Lukas was going to kill the both of them when that happens. She hoped that the police would get to her first before that happened.

*                            *                           *

The hotel restaurant was buzzing with people, seeing as it was time for breakfast. Soft classic music drifted in the air and the smell of fresh rolls and coffee lingered too.

Any other day, he would have basked in the warmth it promised, but he could barely concentrate as it was. The two detectives sitting across from him regarded him quietly, and he wished he knew what they were thinking. Did they believe what he told them?

During the telling of his story, they'd interrupted occasionally to ask him to clarify a point, but when he finished, they had ordered a cup of coffee and sandwich to go with it.

The TV on the wall behind them was showing a big news story of the day being documented. He cursed softly under his breath when a picture of Annie came up and her mother made a brief statement to whoever held their daughter hostage to let her go and how they would pay whatever ransom was demanded for her return.

Jovon had barely slept since he arrived yesterday morning. He couldn't stop thinking about where Annie was, and if she and the baby was okay. He'd learned from the police department that she had told Gemma King that she was pregnant. Which meant she had to be five months or so now. During the last five month, he'd thought about everything and came to the conclusion that he was ready to accept Annie and the baby as his own. These past months had been horrible and he missed Annie greatly. He saw her in everything he did, be it sleeping or eating. Even Kassinda noticed and commented on it once.

"What I don't understand," Detective Pedro said as she wiped her oily hands with a napkin. "Is why you didn't come forward all this while after learning of her disappea-rance."

Jovon replied without a moment's thought. "Anger. I was angry that she cheated on me with my Lukas and even tried to claim his baby as mine. I was fond of her and was willing to do anything she asked of me, but when I learned about her infidelity, I decided not to have anything to do with her."

D.I Schneider exchanged glances with his partner. "What about when she was injured?"

"I thought she was lying, because the video was sent from her phone. How was it possible that she would send a video to me after she was badly injured?"

"That's true. But what's to say that you didn't kidnap her out of spite for her betrayal?"

"I didn't."

"As if I'd believe that." Detective Pedro snorted. "How then do you explain the death of Americus Phim and Demetria Konstantin?"

Jovon frowned. "Demetria is dead?"

D.I Schneider reached into his jacket and withdrew a white envelope. He took out a picture and slid it across the table to Jovon.

Jovon reached for it with shaky hands. A body that was burnt beyond description stared back at him. He felt his pulse quicken and his mouth went dry. Not able to take the sight that very much reminded him of his wife, he slid the picture across the table.

"The last time I heard from her, she was out of the country to relax."

"The same day she called you was the last time she was heard from. It appeared that her gas was leaking and she turned a match on or something." Detective Pedro said. "But whoever did it wasn't smart enough, because autopsy showed that she had been beaten before she burned, and she appeared to have been sitting down when she died."

"And do you know what's funny?" D.I Schneider took a sip of coffee from his cup. "That was the same way Americus Phim died. Something about a leaked gas and match or was it lighter? And you're both tied to the scene."

Jovon felt bile rise in his throat. He got what they meant when they said that, but there was no way he could kill the woman he loved and his unborn child in cold blood.

D.I Schneider continued. "You were there when your wife died in the fire. I heard you sustained some burns, but you could have purposely done that so no one would suspect you."

"I didn't kill my wife and my son." He pursed his lip. "And I have nothing to do with Demetria's death."

"I didn't say that, you did."

"But you implied it."

Detective Pedro shrugged as she leaned against her chair. "Several witnesses claimed to have seen you and Demetria together whenever you went to Santiago. Americus also filed for divorce two days before her death."

Jovon's jaw dropped open. Literally.
Americus filed for divorce? Where? When? Why? They'd gone out to her favorite restaurant that day after dropping Genesis with her grandparents. When did she have the time to file for divorce?

"That's not true. Americus would never do such a thing."

"I knew you was going to say that." Detective Pedro sighed. She rummaged through her worn strap bag and withdrew a laminated paper. "This is a copy that was supposed to be sent to you the day she died."

Jovon took the paper with a pounding heart. And there he saw what he refused to believe. Americus did file for divorce and the date showed that he was to receive it the day she died. He felt sick to his stomach.

Detective Pedro slid another paper and some pictures across the table to him. "Demetria was working on something about your wife. We found this paper with your name and a threat that you were going to kill her if she didn't stop investigating. That is also pictures from the night Ansela Mckade was kidnapped for the second time.

"It also happened that Jared was killed the same night he was supposed to give us information about Bridget Tyson. His house was also set on fire with him in it. The same case of gas leaking in his apartment. His body was found in the living room face down. The story would have been believable if there wasn't a hole the size of a bullet in the back of his head."

Jovon inspected everything as his gut tightened with each passing minute. Everything was just as they said it to be. But what made him pause was the picture from when Annie was kidnapped again. He felt like he knew that man, but he couldn't tell where he knew him from.

He felt really familiar. Like someone he knew very well, but no memory came to him.

"I have nothing to do with either if this cases."

"Not directly." D.I Schneider said. "But in a way you are. Each of these victims are tied to the disappearance of Ansela Mckade. Meredith Sheldon would have died in a fire too, if her dog hadn't gone in first."

"Meredith and Brown eyes are dead?" Now he was really sick. Jovon leaned forward as he fought to keep his breath under control.

Detective Pedro and D.I Schneider exchanged looks at his shaken appearance. Then as if by mutual agreement, they packed away the pictures and documents. Pedro knew that Jovon had a therapist, she had even spoke with the man. But they still had to test their theory.

He didn't know anything about it.

They both got to their feet at the same time but it was Pedro that spoke.

"Stay in the hotel and don't even attempt to leave Philadelphia or we will place you under arrest. We'll be keeping an eye on you." She said as a parting shot before she and her partner left the restaurant.

Immediately they were out of sight, Jovon headed to the men's room. He quickly splashed water on his face to calm his raging nerves. He was responsible for so many people's death without even being aware of it. Americus died because she was involved with him. The same thing happened to Demetria.

And now Annie.

Whoever was after him was determined to ruin his life by killing people that mattered to him. Sooner or later, Annie's body would turn up the same way.

His body trembled.

He wouldn't let Annie die. He had lost the person he loved along with his baby and he was damned if he let history repeat itself.

With his new found determination, Jovon wiped his hands with a tissue. He went to do his business in one of the stall as he brain-stormed on how to get the kidnappers to approach him. As he emerged from the stall, he was brought up short.

Lukas Russell stood there, his stance in traditional cop mode: feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended with a very deadly Smith & Wesson pointed directly at Jovon.
Confusion pulled Jovon's brows into a frown. "Lukas? What the hell?"

"You're very easy to deceive, you know that? But you still managed to elude every trap I set for you."

The picture he saw earlier flashed through his mind and it clicked to place in his head. "You're The Revenge?"

Lukas laughed low and mean. "The revenge is an illusion, but it kept everyone busy. Threw them off track, which was all I needed," He gestured with his pistol. "Put your phone and whatever you have with you on the floor and kick it over to me. Then facedown on the floor. Don't try anything. I don't want to have to shoot you."

Jovon complied. Lukas was too far away for Jovon to effectively disarm him, and he couldn't help Annie if he was dead.

Lukas tied Jovon's arms behind his back and pulled him to his feet. "We're going to go through that door and you're going to smile at me and chat normally. If you do anything otherwise I will kill Annie and your baby."

His baby?

As much as he wanted to ask what he meant, Jovon remained silent. Lukas draped his jacket over Jovon's shoulder, so to anyone looking it seem as if Jovon crossed his arms behind his back.

"Don't worry. When I finally kill you, it's going to be like going to sleep. The smoke will get to you before the fire. It will be a peaceful death.

"You're going to let the fire do your dirty work." Jovon said as they walked out of the restaurant and towards the hotel parking lot.

Jovon berated himself himself for not seeing through Lukas. It was clear to him that there were reasons he showed up whenever he was out for a business deal or a  party.  He was the first to arrive when he and Americus almost died. He was even there when Annie ran from the airport.

Then it hit him like a lightning bolt out of the blue.

There was no way he could have predict what Lukas would do. He wasn't a psychic and he couldn't read minds. No amount of experience would do any good. All he could do was stay alive and find a way to help Annie.

Lukas came to a stop beside a red Volvo. He opened the trunk and shoved Jovon inside it.

"Don't worry,"  Lukas' voice was calm and soothing. "The fire would be a clean death, Jovon. That I promise you."

Then he brought down the butt of his gun on Jovon's temple.