A/N: Huge thanks to PorkChopSmall for her help on this chapter :)


For a small moment, time seemed to freeze. It was like she couldn't breathe, even though it was not possible. Her breathing caught in her throat as she fought back tears. She tried to process what he was telling her, unable to believe that any of it was true.

Damon just stared at her, watching her features turn from shock and disbelief before finally settling on horror. He knew he shouldn't have told her about her father or anything like that, but he was tired of keeping secrets. Elena was desperate to know what was really going on, and Damon didn't really see the harm in telling her. Sure, it would scare and upset her, but if it involved her then he felt that she had a right to know at least the basics of her situation.

"W-what?" Elena stuttered, her bottom lip wobbling.

"That's what we want him to do," Damon said as he poured a glass of scotch.

"W-why? Why would you do such a thing?"

Elena tried to wrap her head around the idea, about her brother and father actually going through with what they said. What she didn't understand was why this gang of monsters had asked her family to deal with the issue. They surely had nothing to do with this! Or did they?

"Your father and your brother aren't exactly innocent," Damon replied. "They knew what they were signing in for when they signed the papers."

"What papers?" Elena begged him, more confused than ever. "Please just tell me."

He sighed and leant against the sofa. He cursed himself for choosing to open his big mouth. Klaus had given strict orders not to tell her anything about the situation, but now he was left without a choice. He could choose to not tell her, but he knew it wouldn't be fair on her. Damon ran a hand over his face and swigged the rest of his drink before turning to her.

"Your father fucked up pretty badly, Elena," He spoke. "Your father and Klaus were great friends. Your father had worked with us plenty of times, in fact, although he wasn't a member he was the one who arranged and hacked information when we had to access computers. Three years ago he came in here and asked us for help. His business was failing and he was desperate for money. Klaus gave him a huge sum without complaint or second thoughts, however in return he wanted Jeremy and John in the organization, officially. They accepted the deal and soon John and Jeremy became one of us. I wasn't around during that time, but I know everything."

Elena shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Damon spoke, becoming even more nervous with every word that he said. Why hadn't she known about any of this? How could her father and Jeremy accept such a deal of working for Klaus! She just couldn't understand why her father was so desperate that her turned to working for a gang.

"One night, the organization planned a hold up at a jewellery shop. Your father's job was to disable the alarms." He continued, not looking at her anymore. "They were in there for barely an hour when they smelled smoke and a police car stopping at the same time. Tyler, Ben, Alaric and Stefan were the only ones who made it out alive apart from John and Jeremy. Klaus wasn't there that night, however many people lost their lives. Tyler's girlfriend was pregnant and he couldn't get her out in time. Those that didn't make it out where either dead or taken into custody. Many members are, in fact, in jail. They wouldn't tell a single soul about us and the others haven't been caught because they were masked. Klaus suspected that John was the one who set them up because he had been saying that he wanted to leave the organization for months. He then found evidence in his house as he had been writing letters and planning it all out."

Damon swallowed. "Your father was trying to sell the organization to a policeman who wanted a promotion. The plan was that your father calls the police and this policeman would drag them to jail, thus the policeman would've earned a badge and a promotion. It didn't end up that way though, because the fire killed almost everyone."

Elena gasped. Was this true? Her father was once part of this organization? And her brother was just what, eighteen, nineteen years old? It was all starting to make sense about why all the men hated her and what they had against her family name. It was her family that got many of them killed. They wanted revenge and she was there way of getting what they wanted. Elena swallowed thickly, sinking back into her seat.

"John has been doing our dirty work since then," Damon concluded. "Klaus threatened his entire family, mainly you. You see, John did some terrible things when he was with us, and when we threatened him about informing anyone who had an interest in the matter, he didn't seem to care. We then resorted to threaten his family-you. We've been watching you for months, Elena, always using that as a little extra push to get John to do what we want. Klaus has had many of our men stalking you, learning everything we could about you just in case we ever had to resort to this method of motivation. Usually he obeys, but then Klaus gave him and Jeremy this task and he can't seem to do it. So we took you to motivate him"

Elena gasped at Damon's confession. How much had they seen? Had they always been there? Why hadn't she noticed before? And then, if her father knew about it all along, why hadn't he warned her?

Elena jumped when she felt Damon touch her hair, gazing at her intently. "But, in all honesty, I don't know if Klaus is ever going to let you go. You do look a lot like your mother. I won't be surprised if he choice to keep you around a little longer."

"Why do you always mention her?" Elena cried out. "She's dead! She has nothing to do with this."

"Oh trust me, Elena, your mother has a lot to do with this. However, that's all you need to know for now," Damon said. "Your father has to kill a CEO who has a lot of money and is also surrounded by a lot of security. If he succeeds, you might go home. Unfortunately, he hasn't been cooperative."

Elena let a tear slip from her eye, hugging her cold body. "My father's not a murderer." She managed to whisper.

"Sucks to be you, then," Damon said unkindly.


The day was passing by at an agonizingly slow pace. Elena spent the time watching television and looking out of the window, desperate to feel the sun on her skin. She put her hands against the glass and felt the coolness of it against her warm skin and for a moment she felt relieved to feel a change of air.

When she had begged Damon to unlock the window, he had said no, and all she wanted to do was cry about her life, her luck. She knew now that the chances of getting out of there were slim. She knew that her father was not a murderer. He couldn't do such a thing and she wasn't sure if she wanted him to. That would be a huge stain on his soul, and she just wished that she could find a way herself.

She also knew that the others were going to return soon and that fact frightened her. At least Damon tried not to hurt her too much most of the time, but she was very scared of Tyler. The last time she was there he had tried to sexually abuse her, and she knew she was very lucky that that night didn't end up in rape. And then there was Klaus, who had beaten her to a pulp and sent her pictures to her father. These people were monsters, monsters that preyed on her, the weak.

She glanced up at Damon who seemed dead tired as he worked on some papers like every other night. She didn't want to know what his work involved, however he seemed stressed out. He was drinking whisky as if he was drinking water, trying to calm himself down.

At about nine pm, he switched off the lamp and looked at her tiredly. "The others will be back in a few days now. I think you should start sleeping in the basement from now on."

Elena nodded as he led her to the dark, cold basement. She went and sat down in the chair, still stood in the middle of the room. She placed her hands behind her back and waited, her head bowed down. She waited for him to tie her up again, but the sound of items being moved made her look up.

To her complete surprise she found that Damon was pulling a small, old mattress from behind the boxes, placing it to the side of the room before pulling out a blanket neatly over the makeshift bed. She had honestly thought he'd tie her to that chair again so she was confused.

"Come here, Elena," Damon called, yawning a little as he reached into the cupboard and pulled out a pillow.

Elena came forward hesitantly, stepping closer to him. "Y-yes?"

"You can sleep on this tonight." He spoke softly, but she could see that it was because he was shattered.

"Aren't you going to tie me to the chair?"

"Do you want me to?" He snapped.

"N-no…" Elena mumbled.

"Then get into bed, now."

Elena nodded her head a little and slipped off her slippers and dressing gown, crawling under the covers. She just rested her head on the pillow, holding out her arm for him to tie her up. However to her surprise he just walked out, eyes half closed and went back to his bedroom.

She waited to hear the door click shut, only to hear nothing.

Oh my God, she thought. He hadn't locked the door.

Maybe it's a test, she thought to herself as she laid still. Maybe he was testing her to see if he could trust her. Was he waiting outside the door, prepared to beat her if she even tried to escape? Or had he really forgotten to lock the door, the one thing keeping her from escaping this hell hole?

She waited patiently.

Five minutes.

Fifteen.

Forty five.

Dead silence.

Hesitantly, Elena wrapped the gown around herself and slipped into her slippers, her hands closing around the door handle. It opened in one swift movement and Elena wanted to cry with happiness. She heard Damon's snores from where she was stating that he was in a deep sleep. Carefully she walked in the hallways, in hope of finding the front door unlocked. She didn't turn on any lights and the house was pitch black so she used her hands in fear that she would break something.

Her hands finally closed around another handle, however to her horror it was locked. Elena didn't want to give up, so with supreme effort she checked every window, ready to jump if she had to. They were all locked, and just when she had almost given up she remembered the backdoor. She hesitantly reached for it and her heart filled with hope again when the door swung open, leading her to her freedom.

She froze for a moment, looking out into the night and then behind her again, checking to make sure that Damon wasn't there. When she was sure that she was truly alone, Elena took a small step outside and into the night. She took a moment to look around her surroundings, noting that there were no houses nearby.

In fact, the place she had been held captive in for over a week seemed to be based on some sort of farm. There was open land for miles, but she could make out a line of trees not too far away. If she could make it there, then surely she would find someone who would help her.

Elena smiled a little, a small tear falling from her eye as she wasted not another moment and started to sprint for her freedom.

She ran as fast as she could without looking back. Her muscles were aching painfully now and she was desperate, out of breath.

Just a few more steps and I'll be out, she thought and prayed as she fixated her attention on the open gate. A few more steps and I'll be free. She ran faster, this motivation enough to give her the hope she needed.

But it didn't go the way she planned.

As soon as her foot was a centimetre away from the gate, Elena felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart almost stopped as she was pulled against a hard, cold chest.

"Just where do you think you're going, sweetheart?"

No. This couldn't be. Elena recognized the voice right away, that dangerous voice with the British accent.

Klaus.

She turned her head around to see him smiling evilly at her, and saw the other men coming towards their direction. None of them were wearing their masks now, all grinning at her as she shook. Right at that moment, Elena wished that she was dead. She didn't even realize that she was crying and shaking until she felt the moisture on her cheeks.

"You've been a very bad girl, Elena," He smirked, "Bad girls need to be punished."


I'll be updating this story once a week (Friday-Sunday) since School has started.

Next Chapter will be DARK.

Please review!