Mistaken by the Billionaire Marquess

CHAPTER 12: Abducted

– LIA –

DARKNESS. That was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. Though, I’m not really if I opened my eyes since I can’t see anything. At first, I thought I became blind. I can feel my eyes blinking but the scenery is still the same. It was dark.

Coldness. That was the first thing I felt when I tried to move my body. I though I was paralyzed, but I felt my body suffocating from something that hugged to so tight. My feet felt something cold and my hands can’t move freely. I tried to touch something with any part of my body, but it was still the same. It was cold.

“Hello?” It was the first thing I said when I opened my mouth. I had a difficult time separating my upper and lower lip. I felt dehydrated. My throat hurts and it felt dry that even whispering one word will scratch it until it bleeds.

No one answered me. Silence covered the whole place I’m in. I tried focusing my hearing to something. I tried imagining that there are a lot of people around me. I closed my eyes, thinking that my friends are just right there and they’re walking towards me to remove me from this darkness.

I can hear them talking. I can hear their voice. I can hear them calling my name even if I don’t see anything, even in my imagination. But I don’t care, at least I can hear them.

I thought that those voices and sounds are real, but when I opened my eyes, I heard nothing but my own breath. My friends’ voices are gone. Instead, I was greeted by the quietness of the whole place. The silence was so loud that I thought I was already deaf.

Cold. Dark. Empty.

If I can’t feel my heart beating, I would think that I’m already dead and that I’m in the middle of a verdict whether I will enter the heaven or not. I even tried moving my head to see something, hoping that there will be even a small dot of light. However, in every way I turn my head to, darkness welcomes me.

I squeeze my brain to remember what happened before I got here, but it doesn’t work. My memories prior to this are blurry. The last thing I remember is when I was watching those people singine in the city center.

What was I doing there, anyway?

Noticing that I breath so heavily, I tried to make my breathing calm. Deep breaths followed slow exhaling, then repeat. I did that a lot of times until I felt that my body is slowly transitioning towards relaxation state.

When I finally have a calm mood, I tried guessing where I am. I can’t see anything, but I can feel that I’m tied up – maybe in a chair. My feet felt the cold metal while my hands touched the rope that was tied to it.

I tried finding the other end of the rope, trying to remove it from my hand. When I realize that it wouldn’t work, I started moving my hands up and down to the side of the chair, hoping that the metal can cut the rope. However, after series of doing that and getting exhausted, nothing happened.

I started moving my body, trying to remove the rope that was tied to my stomach and attached to the chair when I suddenly heard a clicking sound.

With that, light started entering the area. It hurted my eyes. I felt like I was staring directly at the sun. If I thought I’m dead, I will think that’s the gates to heaven.

Or maybe… it’s really heaven.

A beautiful woman entered the place I’m in. I can say that she kind of old, but her beauty remain. She’s wearing a dark green semi-formal dress and a few jewelries in her body. Is she an angel?

She started walking towards me. I felt that my mouth is still open because of the admiration I felt towards the woman, but my body chose not to close it.

When she was already near me, she slowly sat down and didn’t remove her stare at me.

That’s when I realize that there is a table right in front of me.

The woman flick her hand, and as if a cue, more light scattered inside the place. I have to close my eyes since it hurted me and I felt my eyes burning.

After some seconds, I slowly blinked my eyes while adjusting my sight to it. When I finally opened my eyes fully, I looked around.

I was in a small room, tied up in a chair with a table in front of me. There was no any other things inside. Just me, the chair, the table, and the woman.

I looked at her, not knowing what to say. Should I say that I find her beautiful? Should I ask her where am I? Should I ask her what happened to me?

My mind is still not recovering and my memories prior to this are still hidden somewhere in my brain. I’m trying my best to dig it up but my effort’s not working.

“We meet again,” the woman talked. “Dennise.”

Her voice soothed my ear. Her voice is so angelic that it didn’t suit her age. If I’m going to close my eyes and listen to her talk, I will think that it was some sort of lullaby helping me to get some sleep.

But, wait. Dennise? Did she call me Dennise?

Hearing that name, my memories started flashing through my eyes. It flashed to fast that I have to blink so hard.

I remember it now. I was drugged! That Kelleon drugged me! He did something to Chynna!

Remembering my memories, I started feeling furious. I was about to let my madness out when the woman spoke.

“You know why we looked for you, Dennise. You can’t just escape after what you did.”

Surprisingly, my madness was gone. Her voice is like a switch that can make me calm. My other self’s telling me that she’s really an angel.

I tried opening my mouth to speak, but it still hurts like earlier that I have to stop talking after every word.

“I’m… not… Dennise,” I talked very slowly. It just took me three words but my throat is already exhausted.

The woman closed her eyes and sighed deeply, as if she was making herself calm.

“I thought my son mistook it when he said that you denied your identity, but now I know that he was right,” she said with a firm voice while staring at me intently.

She steepled her fingers and leaned forward. “Dennise, if you will tell the truth right now, your punishment will be lessened.”

I blinked a couple of times. I don’t want to get mad at her. She seems really kind. If that Kelleon is the one in front of me, asking me to confess that I’m Dennise, I would have shouted at his face while showing him my middle finger.

“I’m not… Dennise,” I repeat, a little bit faster this time.

The woman didn’t move. If I heard her right, I’m sure that she’s Kelleon’s mother. I just noticed that they have the same eye color.

“If you’re not Dennise, then who are you?” she asked while looking at my eyes.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

I blinked before speaking. “Maria… Mahalia… Mendoza.”

Her eyes widened for a short time, but her eyebrows furrowed afterwards. She remained like that for a couple of seconds before resting her back on the chair.

“You’re really… giving us a hard time. So, I will get straight to the point,” she crossed her arms in front of her. “Dennise, where is the necklace?”

I stared at her. I don’t have any idea on what’s she’s saying. I don’t know what necklace is that.

“What… necklace?” I asked and cleared my throat afterwards.

“The Blue Pearl of the Sea,” she answered. “I know that you know it. My son showed it to you the first time he brought you to our house.”

I tried to dig up that memory, or something similary to that. But then I realized that the memory of that event is not on my mind, but on Dennise’s. She’s talking about her son’s ex-girlfriend, and I’m not that person.

“I don’t know… anything about… the necklace,” I responded, getting a much deeper sigh this time.

She closed her eyes and then she stood up. She raised both of her hands and shook her head slowly, as if she was accepting defeat.

“We know that you’re the one who did that, but we can’t find any evidence,” she said and she started walking towards the door.

“You made a clean job. I’m impressed,” she held the doorknob and turned her head to me.

She was about to say something when I interrupted because of a certain memory that surfaced on my mind.

“Alejandro… Mariano… Estrada,” I spoke slowly, making sure that I’m saying the correct name.

The woman furrowed her eyebrows after she heard me. I saw her hold on the doorknob tightened.

“That man… is married… to Dennise. Ask… Chynna,” I said, slowly feeling asleep. Am I drugged again? But, I didn’t eat nor drink anything.

Before my eyelids lose their strengths, I saw her opened her mouth to talk. But my hearing was gone even before I close my eyes to sleep.