[Warning: This chapter will be dark and angsty. It will reveal Leane's past, and her future. I promise the next chapter won't be this dark. And yes this is an author's note.

Disclaimer: All the events and the names written in the story below was purely fiction coming from my imagination and inspiration from some action thriller movies. Any similarities of events or characters are coincidental.]

My name is Leigh Ann Andrews. I am 25 years old.

Years ago I went to college in Los Angeles and graduated from UCLA in 2010 with honor, bearing a cum laude in law degree. I got job offers from a couple of high end lawyer offices in LA, but I ended up taking a job in Washington D.C. to get closer to my mom and brother Jake.

One day, I got informed by my ex boss in LA from The City Administrative Office, that an important lady in Washington was in need for a new personal assistant as her old one retired just recently. I absent mindedly sent him my curriculum vitae and application, not really putting my hopes up to get the job.

Two months later, I was a personal assistant to Ruth Giuliani, who a year later became the one and only Madam Secretary of Defense.

She was a middle aged lady with a bob hairstyle blonde hair, always styled and combed neatly behind her ears that were almost always adorned with pearls or another kind of simple yet elegant jewelry.

Her expression were almost always warm and welcoming, though you can see toughness and intelligence swimming in her eyes. Her attire was always businesslike and immaculate all the time. She radiated charisma and control. Wherever she went, she would always be accompanied by her two guards, Grant and Luke. Sometimes also by me if she needed.

When I asked her why she picked me as her PA when there were many more other candidates who were more competent and experienced than me, she only smiled lightly.

"Because you're cute," she said with an amused, motherly smile, "I was going to be with my PA everyday, and I won't pick someone who's tensed and serious all the time."

She was kind and patient with me; but her job now got even more hectic and stressful, which meant that my job got as hectic as well. Being a Secretary of Defense's PA was hard, though sometimes I did get to glance at the President.

I shook hands with The President more than once. I just want to let it out there. Okay.

By four and a half years serving Madam Secretary, I already knew her schedules, likes and dislikes. When to bother her and when to leave her alone. When she's mad or happy. When she's hungry or want some tea with only a half spoon of diabetic sugar in it. The point is, I was the second person who understand her well, right after her husband.

I had to work very hard with her, but I also learned so much. I had very little time left for myself and my family, so every time I came home mom always cooked like there's no tomorrow. My brother Jake and his hot girlfriend, Anna, would always be there too and I remember always feeling guilty whenever my phone rang in the middle of our dinner, though they know me being a PA to such an important person, means that being not left alone even on my day off was part of the job desk.

Nevertheless, Ruth treated me like her own daughter. Sometimes I wonder how she could care so much about me. One day I fell ill, but knowing her significant schedules for that day, I had to be there for her and steeled myself until at least late at night. But around midday, in the middle of her hectic business, she noticed my predicament and hurriedly asked Luke to drive me to the hospital, leaving her schedules in a mess but she insisted for me to get well. That's how I knew how lucky I was to be able to work for the kind, hardworking lady.

I made fast friends with Grant and Luke, Ruth's bodyguard. They were my close friends. They were in their middle 30's, both of them married. Grant had a beautiful wife and twin sons, while Luke's wife was expecting her second baby.

One day, I was on my way to Ruth's house with Grant driving the car. We chatted lightly, dropping off silly politicians jokes when Grant abruptly stopped in the middle of his speech.

"We're being followed," Grant said as I looked at his laser focused eyes through the rearview mirror, "Fasten your seatbelt and get your head down," he ordered, in which I, in the middle of panic, obliged.

He drove his car so fast and skillfully, dodging other cars as he tried to lose our tail. He took several shortcuts I didn't know exist or bothered to look at. He called for backup through his earpiece and just when I thought that we lost our tail, a van stopped our car in front of us and a minibus blocked us from behind.

We were trapped.

I counted six armed men in ski mask came out and broke our car's window. I let out a scream as they yanked both of us out. We had no choice but to surrender since we were outnumbered and hopelessly outgunned. Our attackers spoke in a language I knew as Korean– North Korean I suppose, and they started dragging me by my hair harshly towards their van. I wailed and struggled against them. I looked at Grant, fear in my eyes.

Anger and murderous looks etched in Grant's face as he shouted with rage.

"Don't you dare put a hand on her, you bastards!" he shouted as he started kicking the guy that held him and he fought another who came at him. He pulled out his gun out of nowhere and shot at one guy.

The voice rang in my ears. Before Grant could take out the others, one of our attackers shot him in the gut. Grant fell on his knees, clutching his bloody stomach.

I screamed, kicked and flailed at the guy who held me. Rage and anger took away my fear at the sight of Grant barely staying conscious. He looked at me with a look that say 'everything's going to be okay', despite the agony and rage that invaded in his expression.

We heard a police siren blaring from afar, approaching. Hope bubbled up inside of me until one of the guy stepped forward and shot Grant one more time to finish him off.

"NO!" I screamed and trashed, managed to elbow my kidnapper in the face. Pained, the guy who held me let me go, but the others soon caught me again before I could reach Grant's limp body on the ground. His eyes were still looking at me, but it was unfocused and empty, blood pooling on the road beneath him and trickled his lips.

"GRANT! NO!"

Disbelief and rage was the last thing that registered in my mind before a sharp pain hit the back of my head and darkness swallowed me in whole.

The North Korean men hit me and kicked me like a dog. Pain was my friend for god knows how long. It might as well be for a lifetime. This time they broke my fingers and left me in this damp, dark, cold basement with no food and water.

"Tell me when and where the Secretary of Defense going to have her secret meeting with your President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," ordered my attacker with a thick Korean accent.

Ruth told me one or two weeks ago to record a faux meeting between her schedule. She shared a secret to me: She was going to have a classified meeting with some key people in the country.

"That sounds very serious."

"When the word nuclear is in the book, then yes, it is serious, Leigh Ann."

Nuclear? She wasn't even supposed to tell me any of this, so I didn't ask any further.

These terrorists tortured me endlessly already for that sensitive information. But I was not going let my pain and Grant's death be in vain and risked the lives of countless of innocent people.

I glared at him and swallowed painfully. Anger, hatred, agony and fear hung all over me. I answered with stern but shaking voice.

"I pledge... allegiance to the Flag of the United Sta-" he cut me mid speech, slapping me hard and kicked me in the gut until I coughed up blood.

"TELL ME!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" I cried and screamed in agony as he kept on his torture. His fist made contact to my face, my chest and stomach–all over me until I couldn't take it anymore.

I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was tied to a chair, a laptop was held in front of me. A video was playing on the screen, showing Ruth's horrified expression. Then I knew that it was a live video. A voice behind me spoke.

"Madam Secretary; Mister President," he began. His voice was different. His English was much better even though I could still hear a Korean accent to it. "Thank you for agreeing to speak with me. Now let's get straight to the matters at hand. Give us the coordinates to the whereabouts of our ship carrying our intelligence and weaponry that you take away from us."

"Just tell us where it is, Madam Secretary, and we will return your faithful, patriotic assistant to you– alive and in one piece."

He chuckled darkly behind me at Ruth's and President's constant silence. "Come on, Ruth. We both know how much you love Leigh Ann. How she reminded you of your dead daughter."

"Yes, we did our research. Give us the coordinates and you have my word, I will return her alive. No harm will come to your people in New York who are going to be celebrating New Year with their family, friends and loved ones," he said taunting them.

Ruth now was visibly breathing hard and trying to keep her composure in check while the President's face was purple of rage and frustration.

"D-don't give it to t-them, Ruth," I said shaking. The man behind me laughed and yanked my head back and I grunted in pain.

I didn't know how much more pain I could take, or how long I would last. I raked my brain past all the pain and hunger, thinking how best to help them find me.

"DC, Ibiza Night Clu–" before I finished my sentence I was yanked senseless by my hair painfully. I cried as I hit the cold hard ground.

I could only hope that they caught my information and hopefully catch these guys. They had to find me, or else, I would surely die.

Earlier I saw one of them, still fully covered in ski mask, long sleeved shirt, pants, and gloves. But I saw the fresh, smudged logo of Ibiza Night Club on his exposed wrist. I concluded that we were still here in DC. And by the reaction of my kidnapper, I was right.

The man who seemed to be calm as he talked to Ruth and Mr. President, angrily threw punishing punches at me, ignoring the fact that we were still live with the White House. He pulled me back up to my seat to face the camera. My eyes blurred at the abuse but I could hear the President's angry shouts through the laptop speaker.

This time my kidnapper's fake patience was gone.

"You wasted my patience, Mister President," he spat violently, "Now you and Ruth will get a front row seat as you watch your faithful assistant meets her maker. Her blood is in your hands."

He yanked my head back and dragged a blade on my collarbone and chest, drawing fresh blood off of me. I screamed and flailed, but with my body being tied off there wasn't much I could do. All I knew was pain and agony.

I heard my agonizing scream pierced through the entire basement. My existence at that moment only consisted of pain. Heck, I didn't even remember my name. At this point death didn't seem like a bad idea– pleasant even. Then hopefully I would just stop feeling and forget everything.

Then I felt the knife on my neck and as it sliced my flesh. I welcomed death like one would welcome an old friend.

The scene changed. Now I saw events like rolling videos.

I saw a news headline that reported that the Washington Police Department had taken into custody a group of North Korean terrorists who planned on setting off bombs on several locations at the city during the New Year's Eve. Their track was first found at Ibiza Night Club in DC from a classified informant.

I saw a funeral. It was solemn. So many many people lit up candles and brought flowers. The President, Ruth and Luke was there, their expression somber and crestfallen, along with other people I did not know. My mother came into view and placed her favorite cross necklace on the the beautiful, glossy brown coffin. Then it dawned on me:

The funeral was mine.

Now I saw Jake and mom, looking slightly older but their faces were of happiness and joy. Anna walked on the aisle. They exchanged their wedding vows and kissed. Now they were doing their first dance. Jake and Anna gazed lovingly at each other. Anna embraced her husband and whispered.

"If Leigh Ann were here, she would be very happy for us," she said as tears of happiness welled up in her eyes. My brother nodded and pulled away a bit, smiling at her before pulling her into a kiss.

During the reception, my mom came to them and hugged them both. A man around my mother's age was there by her aide, holding her hand as he congratulated my brother's wedding. The man looked down at my mom, his eyes filled with affection towards her.

Then I saw me in my medieval dress in a vast, old forest. Legolas smiled at me. His eyes danced with excitement at everything around us, my expression mirrored his. We gazed at the mighty tree in front of us. Our faces were like children's face who finally see for themselves that Santa Clause is real.

Gimli grunted beside us and exclaimed, "Lad and lassie, I would very much like to move on if you two finished praying to the tree!" I and Legolas laughed at him. Gimli huffed. The dwarf the rolled his eyes at us.

I saw Aragorn and Arwen kissing at a stone courtyard lovingly. Their moments of intimacy ruined by two beautiful little kids, a boy and a girl running towards them. The boy ran after the girl. With a high pitched screamed, the little girl yelled, "Adar, help!"

Aragorn laughed, "Come here, my daughter," he chuckled as he scooped up the girl in his arms. Arwen caught the running boy and planted a kiss on his chubby cheek. The boy giggled at his mother's kisses, then brought a hand up her head, pulling a white petal off of his mother hair. The petal of the White Tree of Gondor.

[Author's Note: Tell me what you think about the chapter. I know it's dark, but do not fret, I'm not all about angst! Let me know what went through your head as you read this chapter. Your opinions and critics are welcomed! Thank you again for reading, my preciousssss]