Chapter 21

Vanessa Bender opened her eyes slowly and nothing but darkness met her eyes. Where am I? What happened? She tried to move herself, only to find out that her hands were tied at the handrails of the loveseat she was seating on.

"I see that you're finally awake."

Vanessa was startled to hear a voice. She heard a click and was suddenly blinded by the sudden opening of a light above her. She looked to her right and saw a handsome man, with jet black hair and soft green eyes looking at her. She bit her lip, Where am I? Is Joe here? She looked around for her boyfriend inside the fancy room and saw that there was no one else but her and the man inside the room. Oh Joe…I need your help.

"Don't look so scared. I'm not going to hurt you," the man said softly, walking slowly towards her. "Now, I'm just going to free you from those ropes. No need to worry. I won't hurt you," he repeated again. When he reached Vanessa, he went beside her, bent down and worked on the ropes on both sides, setting the girl free after a few seconds. Vanessa stood up right away and backed away from the man.

"I'm Marc," the man introduced, after a few moments of silence. Vanessa didn't answer.

"I hope this won't scare you, but I know that you're Vanessa… right?" Marc asked with a soft, sincere smile.

I don't care if your smile is charming, Vanessa thought, her defenses up. She looked at the guy in front of her suspiciously. Then, she looked around the room which resembled an expensive hotel bedroom. There was a queen-sized bed with blue and white floral cover, complimenting the light blue wallpaper of the room. A small dresser was beside the bed. On the other side of the bed was a large cabinet and beside the cabinet was a closed door. I wonder where it leads to…a bathroom maybe? she thought. If I want to escape from here, I should know where I'll go. She looked at the door where the man entered. Should I go there? Opposite the bed was a full body mirror and beside it was a painting of a little girl on a swing. Why am I here? What happened? Vanessa thought hard and remembered what happened: hospital, car, chloroform and darkness.

Marc, on the other hand, has a different thought in his mind. She's so much like Belle! When I first met Belle, she was so defensive. And beautiful, just like this girl. He cleared his throat and said, "Would you like anything? Juice, soda, water or cookies perhaps? I can call the maid to serve you anything you want."

"You kidnap me, then you expect me to suddenly act like a guest for you?" Vanessa asked, annoyed by the man's attitude. She was surprised when Marc looked at her with a surprised look. He's either a nominee for Best Actor or he's genuinely surprised…

"What?" Vanessa asked again in the same annoyed voice, taking deep breaths.

"Oh, I'm sorry for treating you that way, if it's not what you want. And for staring at you like that… I'm sorry. You just reminded me of… someone very special to me," Marc suddenly looked away then turned his eyes away from Vanessa.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't notice you were behind me and, here, let me help you," the young man bent down to help the blonde teen whose dress was now ruined, splashed with some sweet tea.

The girl didn't reply, she kept dabbing at her sky blue dress with a tissue.

"I'm really sorry. Look, um, I know you're probably upset right now for what I did. Maybe I can pay you back or something-" Marc Edwin wasn't able to finish his sentence when the girl suddenly spoke up.

"You're right about me, being upset right now. The last thing I want to you to do is to show off at me, telling such things as 'paying back'! I don't need you're money," she lashed out, her blue-gray eyes ablaze with anger.

"Wha-" Marc was very surprised to hear the teen's reply. 'She thought I was showing off!'

I didn't thought she would be the girl of my life, Marc thought, smiling at the memory.

"Excuse me? Where am I? Why did you kidnap me?" Vanessa asked, her voice showing anger despite the slight fear in her eyes, breaking into Marc's thoughts.

"I'm sorry. Like what I said, I'm Marc. Don't worry, you're in a safe place and-" Marc was stopped short when the tall, blonde girl got angry again.

"Safe place?! Oh, great, you knock me out with chloroform, kidnap me and now you're telling me I'm in a safe place?!" Vanessa wasn't finished. "What do you want with me? You're behind those attacks, aren't you? You're the reason why Gwyneth's in the hospital! And why my friends and my boyfriend were hurt!"

Marc was speechless. She reminded him of Belle but at the mention of the word 'boyfriend', he remembered that this is Vanessa Bender in front of him, not Belle Smiths. "Yes, I won't deny that. But I've got a reason why I'm doing that."

"Oh really? What is that?" Vanessa countered, her voice firm, trying hard not to show the man in front of him that she's afraid. "Before you kill me, I want to know the reason behind all of this first." I'm learning, she couldn't help thinking. Too much of hanging out with the Hardys, she thought, biting her lip as she realized how much she wanted to have Joe with her right now. I'm so scared.

"Kill you?!" Marc couldn't help cry out. Is this girl insane? Why would I kill her? "Why would I kill you?"

It was now Vanessa's turn to be confused. "Huh?" If he won't kill me… why would… oh! He must be using me as part of his trap to get Frank and… Joe!

"If you're going to use me as part of your trap to get Frank and Joe, I'd rather have you kill me than hurt them," Vanessa said, blocking her emotions inside. "But I'm sure they'll save me anyway," she added confidently, trying to be her optimistic self. She was more surprised when Marc started laughing.

"I don't know what you're talking about this trap to the Hardys. But one thing's for sure, I won't kill you. I just want to have you with… with me." He shook his head, a smile forming in his lips. This is going to be great. It's like… like I have Belle with me again! He looked at Vanessa again and asked, "Can I ask you again if there's anything you want?"

Vanessa was just speechless. Totally speechless. What does this guy want? Me?! What's the connection with the case? I'm so confused.

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