Chapter 5: Nora's Pv; the alarm

I wake up with a terrible headache. Damn I hurt. All the veins in my skull are throbbing. I slowly open my eyes and try to adjust to the dazzling light. I close my eyes and recent events come back to me.

I was in a restaurant waiting for Uncle Mike who as always was over ten minutes late when about a dozen armed men burst into the frame. At first I thought they were there to steal something from reception, but when I saw them approaching me I knew I was the target. I immediately took fright, there was reason. These men were as wide as a brick wall. The first to approach me took the bottle of wine that I had taken on the next table in the face and a good kick in the balls. I was kicking, scratching, biting here and there. If they were really planning to kidnap me, I still wasn't going to let them. As I struggled with these two men, gunshots were heard. I was frozen for a moment and it was enough for one of the men to overpower me. Before I could move I felt a needle in my neck and it was pitch black.

I'm in a room and not a small one. I get up with difficulty and look around me. The room is large, well ventilated and with a beautiful decoration. At the window, I could see a very beautiful and vast garden. Where I was? I had no idea and didn't intend to stay.

I open the door and the long hallway in front of me was empty, silent. I walk cautiously and descend the long steps very discreetly. The stairs lead to a huge living room that I have no time to appreciate. I practically walk on tiptoe. My steps are meant to be light, but quick. Finally I reach the door which I suppose is the one that opens onto the garden. I reach out and grab the door handle, but before I can turn it, the door swings open from the outside.

“Where do you plan to go like that sweetheart? »

My God, this man is really, really tall and he has an accent. I do not know what to say. He grabs my arm and forces me to follow him into the living room. When we got there, he swung me into the chair with such force that I thought I was going to pass out.

“Olga? Olga? the man shouted throughout the house. He looked really pissed off. I didn't think it was possible that he could change his expression again since the first one on his face was already scary. A beautiful woman in her mid-thirties arrives in a hurry. She's beautiful, tall and blonde, her lips covered in blood red lipstick, a big chest that would knock any man off their feet. Damn this woman is living temptation. She would make any man do whatever she wants.

She approaches and the two begin to exchange in a language that seems strange to me. I can feel that the woman is having a hard time since only the man was just gesticulating and shouting. I look at the door that has remained open and ideas run through my head.

I jump up and run for the door, but I'm grabbed by the hair before I can set foot outside. I scream, but the grip on my hair tightens. I only have my eyes to cry. I hear the woman named Olga say something and the man lets go of me while throwing me into the chair. She called him Ivan earlier before talking to him. Oh so this gorilla is called that. I glared at him and he did the same to me.

Ivan: Listen to me very well. You better not make it difficult for us. I'm not like those two idiots who let themselves be ridiculed by you.

- Who are you and what do you want from me?

Ivan: This question, you will have to ask the boss. While waiting for his arrival, you do what I say and you don't play the mischievous with me, because my patience has limits.

- Do you think I'm going to stay there watching you do what you want without flinching?

Ivan: It's in your interest. The boss would surely not appreciate this attitude and in case you don't know, here we are in Russia on one of the domains of the boss. It covers an area of one hundred and thirty hectares, seventy of which are raw forest. You don't have a passport or any identification so most likely you'll end up in a brothel or dead before you can even reach the first police station and that's of course if you manage to get out alive. this pretty heart forest.

I remain frozen. Did he just say I was in Russia? How was Uncle Mike going to find me now? Did these men kidnap me just for fun or to hurt someone? I don't matter to anyone but Uncle Mike. My heart sinks and my tears flow. The man whispers something to Olga in Russian, I suppose, and he walks out. She comes over and says to me in an accent that would have been cute if I wasn't devastated.

Olga: Come miss, I'll feed you. After two days of sleep, you must be super hungry.

- Two days?

Olga: Yes. Then you could shower and change. The boss has taken care to leave you some clothes.

- Who is he and what does he want from me?

Olga: As you understood, my name is Olga and the man from earlier is Ivan. We are responsible for taking care of you until the boss comes. I can't say anything more.

- When will I see him then?

Olga: I don't know friends if I can give you any advice, never try to stand up to the boss, because the result would be really disastrous for you.

- My name is Nora and I would like us to talk to each other since I'm going to spend some time if not all my life.

I follow Olga in the kitchen and sit on one of the chairs and eat what she serves me. After I finish, I go to the room where I woke up earlier. I take a good shower. When I go out, I find clothes on the bed. Even if they weren't to my liking, I put them on anyway. These clothes stuck too close to the skin, whereas I preferred them loose, very loose even.

I get off and Olga gives me a guided tour. I don't know who this man is or why he was picking on me, but I had to admit that he was damn rich.

It has been four days since I woke up in this house. I spent most of my time reading or helping Olga in the kitchen. There was no telephone or computer, only the TV, which, moreover, broadcast everything in Russian.

I was bored and mostly I wondered what Uncle Mike was doing. He had to come get me otherwise how will I live in the future? He was my pillar, my strength. When Mark Donovan died, he was the one who helped mom and me the most. I considered him much more than this man who was ready to dump a woman who had left everything behind for him because of a pair of breasts. Mom's family is a mafia family, yes, but mom had everything going for her, but she gave up that luxury for him. She paid a heavy price for what her family considered a betrayal. I read in his diary all the atrocities his father did to him for this. That's why I hated Donovan all this time and the Cabrals even more. I never broached this subject with Uncle Mike. He doesn't even know that I know some members of the Cabral family (even if only one of them knew me and didn't know who I am) otherwise he would have forced me to leave this New York.

I was in the library crying than reading. I missed my mother and uncle Mike too. The door opens and Olga lets me know the boss was there and wanted to see me. I wipe away my tears and follow her to the door of what appears to be an office. My heart began to beat very hard. I was afraid of what or rather who was behind that door.