I felt the world blur as I inadvertently mmed into the steering wheel, hunger gnawing at my insides.


    A hand instinctively clutched at my stomach. ''My child. Am I going to lose my child again?''


    A wave of excruciating pain swept over me as if I were pleading in a dark void or being torn apart. The pain was unbearable.


    A bucket of ice-cold water was thrown over me, snapping me back to reality.


    Blinking my eyes open, I wasn''t in a quaint mountain cabin but an abandoned, cavernous factory. It was my rebirth, another life.


    I got kidnapped. Again.


    "Mph..." A muffled struggle sounded beside me. Turning, I saw Kate tightly bound as well.


    A sick part of me was relieved. This time, I wasn''t alone in my misery. My thoughts must get twisted to have found sce in someone else''s suffering. One of the kidnappers, with a ski mask obscuring his face, removed the gag from Kate''s mouth.Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Kate yelled, "Who are you people? Do you even know who I am? I''m Kate Goodwin, from the well-known Goodwin family!"


    The kidnapper chuckled, "We know. That''s why we can demand a hefty ransom. Call your folks. We want ten million dors, or you''re dead meat."


    At the mention of ten million, Kate snorted, "You''d better hope you live long enough to spend it!"


    The kidnapper scoffed, allowing Kate to dial a number. She called ude, and even I listened intently, wondering if he woulde to rescue us.


    Kate said, "ude, I''ve been kidnapped. They''re asking for ten million. You have to save me."


    Silence lingered on the other end.


    Kate''s voice cracked, "ude, won''t you save me? I''ll have you know ire is here, too."


    ude''s tone finally shifted, "Kate, are you staging another scene?"


    I couldn''t help but smirk. ude always knew Kate was a drama queen, but it was hard to awaken someone pretending to sleep.


    Kate yelled desperately, "ude, I''m serious. Help me!"


    Beep. Beep. The line went dead.


    It was just like my previous life. I called ude for help, but he thought was faking and hung up. It was Kate''s turn, and I couldn''t help but find the timing ironically perfect.


    Then my phone rang, the kidnapper pulling it from my pocket, "ude."


    I frowned, wondering if he hung up on Kate to check on me. That was irony at its finest.


    But as the kidnapper answered for me, ude''s voice came through coldly, "Where are you?"


    Before I could reply, gag still in ce, Kate screamed beside me, "You jerk, I told you ire and I got kidnapped. Don''t you believe me?"


    ude sounded impatient, "Kate, stop your drama. Where''s ire?"


    Kate screamed like a mad woman. "If I die, she dies, too!"


    I couldn''t help butugh at the absurdity. Seeing Kate so desperate was like looking at my past self, abandoned by those I thought loved me.


    Beep. Beep. The line went dead again.


    "So, with no rescueing, who do


    we start with? After all the trouble of


    capturing them, it''d be a shame


    QUT


    to have a bit of fun first." The kidnappers exchanged lecherous nces, eyeing us up and down.


    I noticed my shirt, soaked from the cold water, clinging to me, revealing more than I wished. Instinctively, I curled in on myself, trying to@over up.