Love x betrayal

chapter 14: the kidnap

Sadie stood outside Serena’s house, her heart racing. She’d been here many times before, but today, something felt different—off. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. Serena opened it almost immediately, her smile faltering when she saw the tension in Sadie’s eyes.

“Hey, are you okay?” Serena asked, stepping aside to let Sadie in.

Sadie forced a smile. “Yeah, just a lot on my mind.”

Serena led her to the couch, still studying her closely. “You sure? You seem… different.”

After a brief pause, Sadie blurted out, “Serena, do you know my mom?”

Serena looked startled. “Your mom? No, why would I? What’s this about?”

Sadie quickly covered. “Oh, nothing. She once lived here, that’s all.”

Sensing the shift in conversation, Serena let it go and gently said, “You know you can trust me, right?”

At this, Sadie’s thoughts wandered to Jake. She remembered all the terrible things he’d done and felt a pang of guilt for doubting Serena, her best friend. Maybe she’d been wrong to suspect her.

She nodded, pushing aside her doubts. “I know, Serena. I do trust you.”

With that, Sadie decided to drop her investigation into Serena. Jake was the real threat, the one she needed to focus on—or so she thought.

**One Day Later**

As Sadie was walking home from buying groceries, a truck suddenly screeched to a halt beside her. Before she could react, a group of men rushed out, grabbing her. Her attempts to scream were silenced as they blindfolded her and bound her hands tightly.

Panic gripped her as she was roughly thrown into the truck’s cargo area. The vehicle’s engine roared, and the motion made her disoriented.

When the truck finally stopped, the men dragged her out and guided her through a cold, unfamiliar place. Sadie’s blindfold prevented her from seeing anything, but she could hear the muffled sounds around her.

A voice broke through the confusion—strangely familiar, yet unsettling. “Sadie, you’re here to pay your dues and bring us money. You’ll be having some ‘fun,’ as people call it—p**********n, really,” the voice said with a mocking laugh. “But don’t worry, it’s just for a while.”

Despair washed over Sadie. “Who are you? Please, let me go!” she cried, but the girl’s voice faded as she walked away.

Before leaving, the girl told the men, “You guys can enjoy her. You did a good job.”

The men’s harsh voices grew louder as they held Sadie. “Shhh, you’ll enjoy it, pretty girl. Your body is so nice.”

In a frantic struggle, Sadie kicked one of the men, causing his nose to bleed. Enraged, he slapped her. The men then forced pills into her mouth. As the drugs took effect, Sadie’s vision blurred and dizziness overwhelmed her.

Just as she thought everything was over, the door burst open, and several men stormed in. They swiftly overpowered the original captors and took them away. One of the new arrivals gently lifted Sadie, and before she lost consciousness, she heard a reassuring voice say, “You’ll be alright.”

When Sadie finally came to, she opened her eyes to find someone sitting beside her. She gasped and tried to move, but the person quickly hushed her. “Shhhh,” the figure said.

Sadie’s eyes adjusted, and she realized it was Jake. She sat up, confusion and relief mingling in her voice. “You saved me. Why?”

Ignoring her question, Jake examined her with concern. “Did any of them touch you? Your face is swollen,” he asked, his eyes dark and intense.

“Uh, one of them slapped me, but I was blindfolded. No one else really touched me,” Sadie replied.

Jake’s gaze was a mix of cold anger and concern. He instructed the maids to take care of Sadie and told her they would talk later. As Jake left the room, Sadie managed to say, “Thank you.”

Jake looked back at her with a smirk and said, “Of course. I’ll protect my woman.” Then he walked out.

Sadie spent the night in the unfamiliar, yet safer, location, her mind racing with questions and her body still recovering from the ordeal.