She could hear the man''s voice outside. The sound was muffled by the door, making it impossible to understand what he was saying, but it was clear he was on the phone with someone.


    Amara began counting in her head, trying to estimate the passage of time.


    It wouldn''t be precise, but it would give her a rough idea.


    After what she guessed was about twenty minutes, the voice outside faded as the man walked away.


    He couldn''t have just left her there. He was probably going to the bathroom or getting food.


    Amara''s eyes snapped open. Her hands, still tied behind her back, fumbled in the pocket of her dress until they found what she was looking for: a small, secondary phone.


    It was a habit she rarely told anyone about, but she always carried two phones.


    Sometimes, when she was working outside the home—like meeting someone at a restaurant who was runningte-she would use the waiting time to get some work done.


    In those situations, she would use one phone to type and the other to disy her outline.


    The man was gone, but Amara had no idea when he would be back, or if there were others lurking nearby.


    What she was about to do was incredibly risky. If she was caught, she would likely be beaten. But she had to try. There was no other way.


    Fortunately, he had only tied her hands together, not to the chair itself, so her upper body still had some limited mobility.


    With great difficulty, she maneuvered the phone out of her pocket. Twisting her head to see the screen, she unlocked it and pressed the number one.


    It was the speed dial she had set for Elysia. The call went through.


    Thankfully, Elysia wasn''t busy. She picked up almost immediately, her voice sounding a little muffled. "Ama? What''s up? Did yound already?"


    Just then, the sound of footsteps approached the factory door. Was the maning back?


    Amara''s heart leaped into her throat. She whispered frantically into the phone Ely, I''ve been kidnapped... Trace this phone, now! Come save me!"


    The moment the words were out, she hung up and shoved the phone back into her pocket.


    At the same instant, the factory door mmed open with a loud bang, and a sliver of dim light pierced the darkness.


    Amara squeezed her eyes shut on pure instinct, her heartbeat deafeningly loud in her ears.


    The sound of the man''s leather shoes echoed on the concrete floor, growing closer with each step until it stopped right in front of her.


    A cold sweat was about to break out on her skin, but she fought to keep her body still, to show no sign of fear.


    "Wake up. Stop sleeping."


    Something cold and hard tapped against her cheek. Amara opened her eyes to see the man in sunsses standing over her holding a phone. He must have used


    it to wake her.


    Amara studied him. From his tone, it seemed he thought she had been asleep.


    Did that mean he hadn''t seen her on the phone?


    A wave of relief washed over her, and her racing heart began to settle.


    The man took off his sunsses, revealing a rough, angr face. He looked at


    her with curiosity. "Why aren''t you scared?"


    Was he trying to make small talk? Amara''s mind raced. "Why should I be?" she retorted.


    Her response made himugh, a short, mocking sound. "You''ve been kidnapped and you''re not scared? Are you missing a screw or something?"