"The tragedy is all right there… in the very beginning when he smiles at her. When she instantly forgets. Forgets how dangerous he is." –Anne Eliot, Almost

Prologue

There's no way out. There's no way out. She searched the tiny concrete room for an escape. No windows. No way out of the cage. Nothing.

Why was she sitting on plastic? A sheet covered the entire floor. A single bulb hung from the ceiling. The faint smell of bleach lingered in the air. Bars surrounded her. It was like she was in a lion's cage. What was going on?

The hunger and panic took over, and she knew no more.

Three days. She had been in this place for three days, and no one had come. It was as though she had been buried alive. No food. No water. Just slowly rotting away. She tried everything to get out, but it was useless. She wished her dad would come and get her. Save her. But he wasn't coming. Don't cry. She had to stop crying.

Footsteps. Someone was coming to help. She tried to yell, but nothing came out. Her throat was too dry. The door opened and in came a man.

"You've kept nicely," he said smiling. She looked up at him. She saw he was wearing black leather gloves. He was not her rescuer. He was her captor.

She scrambled away to the corner her back pressed against the cold unyielding metal. There was nowhere to hide. Please, not like this was all she could think.

He frowned. "There's no need to be frightened. I haven't started yet." He barked out a laugh that made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.

"Do you remember me?" he asked softly. "I sent you those letters. Love letters. I sent you three."

Those creepy poems were not love letters.

"We had opportunities to meet," he continued. "I would wait for you to come to your usual spots. But you never paid me any attention. I'm a firm believer in love at first sight. You see I'm a bit of a romantic. You're not though. You ignored my love like I was something stuck on the bottom of your shoe." His face twisted with anger. "You've disappointed me, and now you have to go."

A silent scream stuck in her throat. She could see it in his eyes. This man had killed before. This man was going to hurt her before he killed her. And nothing she said or did would stop him. That was why he starved her for three days. So she had no strength to fight.

"Do you know anything of chivalry?" he asked as though they were talking in a park instead of at a crime scene. "Knights pledge their love to one lady. That knight cannot look at any other woman than the one he has pledged his troth to, even if she marries. You must understand the only way I can move on to my true love is to dispose of you."

She screamed. The sound broke through. She kept screaming until her voice was horse. He quietly waited until she was done.

"That was a waste," he said irritably. "We're too far out and underground for anyone to hear you. Sorry, love. But I have to break my heart and end you."

He took something out of a bag. This was a dream. A bad dream. A nightmare. Wake up. Wake up. Her eyes darted around the room. There must be something she could do. Something. Anything.

"Blood is life," he said setting up a video camera. "First it changes colors when it seeps out of your skin. Then it keeps draining and draining until there's nothing left. I can't help myself from watching it. But your heart, I'll keep with me forevermore."