Chapter 3 Drugged

• 2wqBlood continued to flow from Natalia’s lower body, and pain overwhelmed her, followed by an incredible darkness. Mrs. Kostas, with her hands bound, continued to move toward her daughter. On the sticky, gasoline-covered floor, her once noble and loving eyes began to sink, staring at Dante, sobbing, unable to speak.
• “Dante, look, your child is gone. Why are you still hesitating? If you don’t get rid of them, do you think they’ll let you get away with this?” Lola coldly reminded him, her sweet voice sounding cruel.
• “Okay.” Annoyed, Dante shoved Lola aside, stood up, and walked to the bathroom to make a phone call. “It’s almost time. Do it in ten minutes.”
• Then, he dragged Mr. Kostas and threw him into the empty bathtub, setting it on fire.
• As the fire started, Mr. Kostas was surrounded by flames, writhing helplessly. His clear face was quickly consumed by the fire. Natalia screamed in panic, but Lola covered her mouth, and then a sharp pain shot through her lower abdomen.
• Lola smiled faintly, threw a bottle of wine into the bathroom, and whispered in Natalia’s ear, “Consider this wine a tribute to your father. Your child shouldn’t live, nor should you, because my dream is to marry into a rich family and become a young mistress. If you don’t die, how can I marry into a rich family? Consider it a good deed you’re doing.”
• Lola’s voice was clear and crisp amidst the hiss of the fire, and the smell of burning mixed with the sweet scent of red wine, a 1982 Lafite... all blending with the cold March air.
• “Dante, let’s go. We’ll take this crazy woman with us. It’s okay, even if she’s not crazy, I can make her go crazy.”
• As her mother was dragged out of the room by Lola, Natalia, lying on the floor, could only watch, unable to move. Her vision gradually blurred, and she couldn’t even shed a tear.
• In her final moments, Natalia felt familiar hands lifting her, and heard a soft voice in her ear. “Natalia, sleep now. It won’t hurt if you sleep. Go with peace of mind. I will live well for you.”
• When Dante said that, he let go of her, and Natalia’s body quickly fell, crashing into the ice-cold water of Lake Banyoles.
• ...
• Her head throbbed, and Natalia struggled to open her eyes. Trapped in a nightmare, she couldn’t escape the suffocating pain. The blood, the fire, the harsh faces, the betrayal, the conspiracy carefully plotted for so long...
• Her fists clenched, tightening until the tips of her fingers dug into her palm. The pain was sharp enough to force her awake. Her eyes fluttered open with great difficulty.
• Her vision was blurry.
• There was a warm yellow light filling the room.
• Her body felt incredibly weak, as though she had no strength left, and she could only lie in the bed. The scent of alcohol lingered in the air.
• A faint sound of water dripping echoed in her ears.
• Natalia tried to sit up, but her limbs refused to obey. Her body felt limp, and on top of that, she was burning with fever. The heat was nearly unbearable. Was the air conditioning on? No, she distinctly remembered it being March, not summer.
• Suddenly, a bell rang—likely from the next room.
• At that moment, the dripping sound stopped abruptly, replaced by the voice of a middle-aged man. “Hey… Mr. Luiz, haha, hello, how are you?”
• “Oh, since you made the request, how could I not keep an eye on her?”
• “Well, I’m very satisfied. She could be considered the most beautiful student at your school. So smooth, so soft…”
• A sense of dread shot through Natalia. Her mind struggled to piece things together. She lifted her head, her vision sharpening just enough to see the state of her body. Her green chiffon dress was torn, exposing her smooth thighs. Her body felt utterly powerless.
• Nearby, discarded men’s clothing and alcohol-soaked pants littered the floor—both from the man and from her own body.
• No…
• This room… It felt wrong. It looked like a hotel room—white sheets, blankets, a bathroom…
• Natalia’s mind was clouded, unable to separate nightmare from reality. Had she died? Had Dante hired someone to hurt her? Was he trying to create false evidence of her sleeping with another man to turn the tables?
• “The dose seems a bit heavy, and she still hasn’t woken up, hahaha. It’s good she’s not awake yet. It’ll be easier to enjoy her without resistance. Okay, okay, okay...” The man’s voice came from the bathroom, full of lust, his laughter echoing in the room.
• Drugs?
• Panic set in. Natalia couldn’t move her body. It was too weak, her limbs stiff and heavy. But she couldn’t let some stranger violate her—she needed to escape!
• The heat in her body intensified, and her mouth went dry. She wished she could tear off the remains of her dress, at least to cover herself somewhat. Her fingers fumbled desperately around her surroundings until they brushed against a metal hairpin still lodged in her hair.
• Without thinking about how it had ended up there, she grabbed it tightly, using every ounce of strength to stab it into her leg.
• The sharp pain pierced through her flesh, and the agony jolted her mind back into clarity. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she staggered to her feet, her bare feet touching the cold floor. Nearby, she spotted a woman’s bag, a white phone half-visible from within.
• She didn’t care if it wasn’t hers. With great difficulty, she bent down and grabbed it, frantically dialing 112 on the phone. Her heart raced. She had to get out of here.
• Just as her hand reached for the doorknob, the bathroom door swung open.
• A middle-aged, overweight man in his fifties stepped out, wrapped in a white bath towel. He was still talking on the phone. When he saw Natalia standing near the door, his smile vanished. He cursed into the phone, “Luiz, that damn girl woke up and is trying to escape! Damn it, get two people here fast!”
• As the old man’s voice thundered behind her, Natalia had already managed to crack open the door, but her drugged, weakened state betrayed her. She had barely taken a step outside when his grip seized her hair, yanking her back into the room.
• “You damn girl! You think you can run away?” he snarled, dragging her with violent force.
• The pain in her scalp was excruciating as he pulled her back inside, but Natalia couldn’t focus on it. Her mind was clouded, and her body too weak to fight him off. When the old man’s orders rang out, she knew there was no way to escape.
• Panic surged through her chest like wildfire. Desperately, she thrust the hairpin into his arm with all the strength she could muster. The old man howled in pain, loosening his grip just enough for Natalia to collapse to the floor in a heap.
• She lifted her head and saw him clutching the bleeding wound in his arm, his anger turning into vicious fury. His eyes locked onto hers, and Natalia knew—if he got his hands on her again, he would surely make her suffer until the end.
• There was no time to think. Her heart pounded as she scanned the room and saw a glass sitting in a cabinet. With a sharp motion, she grabbed it and hurled it at his feet. The glass shattered on impact, creating a barrier of shards.
• Without hesitation, she darted for the door, grabbing the phone on her way. The old man, barefoot like her, was forced to step on the broken glass, slowing him down for a few moments—seconds, perhaps—but it was enough.
• Natalia pressed 112 again, praying for a signal, but there was nothing. Her hopes plummeted. Was God really trying to kill her?
• Behind her, the sound of footsteps grew louder—more than one set.
• Desperation clawed at her. She pushed her body to move, but her legs were weak, and the steps behind her grew closer. She could hear the old man’s enraged voice. “Damn girl, I’ll kill you tonight!”
• Another voice chimed in, a man’s, calm and cold. “Mr. Hulk, don’t get angry! Don’t worry, this girl won’t escape. The drug will take effect soon, and she’ll be too weak to resist.”
• The words stung like ice. Natalia knew she couldn’t outrun them—not in her condition. She glanced back, her heart hammering as the men closed in. Her legs buckled beneath her, and she stumbled forward, the phone slipping from her hand. It hit the floor with a soft thud, but it didn’t stop there—it seemed to strike something solid before landing on the carpet with a faint crunch.
• “Damn it!”
• The curse didn’t come from behind her, but from above her.
• Natalia collapsed to the ground, her vision blurred, struggling to lift her head.
• There, standing above her, was a tall figure. She could barely make out his features, her face too close to the light.
• With the last shred of her hope, Natalia reached out, her hand trembling as she grabbed at the man’s pants. “Please… help me…”
• ***