chapter one
captured;
Maddie knew that she couldn't trust her memory very much. Which was curious, since her mind was one of the things that most fascinated her about herself. No, she wasn't ashamed to admit it, she was quite clever and resourceful.
But that didn't prevent the fact that Maddie's memory was a jumble of recollections, inventions, and black holes. There were plenty of those: voids in her head that simply had no way of being filled, they haunted her day and night. And maybe that's where the thought comes from, that Maddie can't trust her memory.
If she was honest, unconsciously, the girl doubted even the simplest things. Every day, when she got up, Maddie would look at herself in the mirror and go over the important information that should remain in her brain even if she felt like discarding it.
Her name was Madison Fray, although her mother's husband wanted her to use her last name. She liked the nickname Maddie and she rarely said her last name, because it was an internal conflict. She was not a tall girl and she had a peculiar cut in her black hair. She had green eyes and skin as pale as her mother's.
She had several things clear in her head, trying to never forget them: she had an older stepsister whom she loved very much, she had to call her mother every time she had an episode and she was the stepdaughter of the president of the United States.
Curious, if you asked her. Her mother had been mistreated, humiliated and raped by her ex-husband, she was a woman with too many wounds that not anyone could treat, but even so and with her broken pieces, she had managed to find love again. Maddie herself could affirm (although deep down she slightly doubted it) that she clearly remembered when she met Adam Graham at the age of 12, in '99, a couple of years before he became president.
Maddie was happy with his life. It had taken her a few months to get used to the attention and care that a class family received, it had taken her time to adjust to the fact that there was a new man in her family, she'd had to make an effort to trust Adam and managed, with dedication, to establish a nice relationship with Ashley, her stepsister. Maddie could tell that she was living through her golden age.
"Is it true that your new bodyguard is gorgeous?" Maya's question brought the dark-haired girl out of her reverie, shifting her gaze to the blonde next to her.
Maya Marsh was the daughter of a senator. She was a pretty girl with long blond curls and bright blue eyes. Despite the sweet and childlike air that her beautiful face with fine and delicate features could have, Maya was one of the main feminist revolutionaries that existed in the prestigious Smart Point Wissen institution, creating her own rules by putting on the pants stipulated for men and wearing a t-shirt that said "don't look at my boobs" when they were allowed to wear civilian clothes.
"I don't know, Maya," Maddie snorted, rolling her eyes slightly "But I hope so, so I'd enjoy a little bit of having someone follow me around.
Riley Maxwell, the brunette, daughter of a successful businessman, sitting across from the blonde and the dark-haired girl, slightly furrowed her eyebrows, looking at Maddie curiously.
"Will you have the same bodyguard as Ashley?" Riley questioned, bringing a fry to her mouth. fry that Maya had smuggled in, since in SPW she could only eat organic food "I mean, I know that you love Ashley, but what a pain to share even the bodyguard"
Maddie shrugged.
"Adam said the new one would be just for me," she said simply "Can you imagine him being handsome and young? God, that would be for the best"
"But it would be a thousand times older," Maya snorted. "You're barely 17, Mads, that's pedophilia and it's disgusting."
Maddie frowns and looks curiously at Riley. The brunette shrugs her shoulders slightly, denoting that she hadn't understood the term that her blonde friend had used either.
The blonde rolled her eyes in annoyance. It would not be the first time that she tries to explain to her friends one of the terms that explains how bad society is these days, but none of them seem to really understand what it means, so Maya had suddenly given up on explaining things to them.
Suddenly, a stern woman entered the rest yard. Immediately, Riley stuffed the chips under her green plaid pleated skirt. Maya rolled her eyes at the presence of the Coexistence Coordinator, Miss Keene. All SPW students completely hated her, since she would rather yell than talk and she was too strict.
Miss Keene moved quickly to where the three girls were. Maya remained in her nonchalant position, while Riley noticeably tensed. Maddie straightened her back and she prayed that she would not come to treat her in a special way because she had a direct relationship with the damned president of the United States.
"Miss Graham." Maddie closes her eyes for a few seconds. "The government service have requested you, by order of your father"
For a few seconds, the black-haired girl tenses. No, she thinks, almost immediately, it's impossible. And she thinks that, even though she's actually Adam Graham's stepdaughter, it's much easier for the rest of the world to say that she's his actual daughter, like Ashley. So, no, Miss Keene is not referring to her father, she is referring to Adam.
"Uh, should I go now?" Miss Keene nods. "Just a minute, I have to go get my things to the classroom"
The woman shakes her head. "Your partner, Mr. Lock, has already taken care of helping you with your belongings." Immediately, Maddie notices the boy holding her backpack a few meters behind.
The black-haired girl nods and stands up. She adjusts the green skirt, preventing anything from being seen. She buttons the black jacket button with the institute's logo on the right side and tucks her short black hair in the back of her back. She turns slightly and waves goodbye to Maya and Riley, making a mental note (even knowing she'll probably forget it) to call them to tell them whatever happened with Adam.
Quickly, Miss Keene guides her to the imposing exit of the institute, where a very informal van was parked. Maddie frowns, something doesn't quite add up. She stared at the man standing by the pilot's door. He was a stocky man, with blue eyes and very muscular, in an intimidating way. He wore a black suit, with a red beret that was completely out of tune. But what caught Maddie's attention was the large scar that covered much of the man's face.
"Well, see you next week, Miss Graham." Miss Keene departed, leaving her alone with the man.
Maddie turned to see him, feeling her heart race.
"Where's Logan?" she asked.
"Indisposed," the man replied curtly. "get in the truck."
"And Ashley?" he asked again, holding on to her backpack, "Logan, usually takes her home first, maybe that's why you showed up a couple of hours earlier. Maybe-"
"Miss," the man cut in threateningly. "Get in the truck. Now."
Maddie let out a defeated sigh and with trembling hands she opened the back door. Then the sight in front of her made her eyes widen. Ashley with teary eyes looked at her with equal alarm. A white cloth was inside her mouth and a rope bound her hands at her feet.
Strong hands pushed Maddie back into the car, closing the door behind her. Hastily, the dark-haired girl threw herself upon the blonde, pulling the rag from the girl's mouth, looking at her with terror in her eyes.
"Maddie…" Ashley stammered, stopping herself from crying.
"What...? How...?" But, the girl couldn't finish her babbling, when a sound of leaking gas made her shut up.
She looked up and frowned at the front of the car, some sort of white gas seeping out of the vehicle's vent. A feeling of sleepness washed over Maddie completely, before everything went black.
She had been kidnapped.
I have to admit there is a itty bitty, little bit of an age gap between maddie and leon cause, well, long live relationships with older men! haha just kidding, sort of-
so, about the pedophilia coment, let's remember it's early 2000's and young people weren't aware of all this terms we all know now, so i'm trying my best to make it look more realistic and acording to the decade
now, english is defenetly not my first language, so i want to apologise for the basic english and all the grammar mistakes i know i made, fell free to correct me or advice me, i would love to read all the sugestions. For now, see ya in the next chapter