TRAPPED AND TERRIFIED

Mary lay on her bed, staring at the TV screen while a young man lay beside her. The room reeked of cigarettes and wine. The reporter on the TV interviewed Detective Brad, who had just announced that he had solved the murder of Dr. Anderson. Noah, the son of the late Mafia lord Kendrick, was the real murderer, but he was also dead. Mary snorted in disgust and turned to the young man next to her, kissing his back.

Mary sprang up from the bed, revealing her old, wrinkled buttocks and her pink pajamas. She dropped the bottle of wine on the nightstand, and her phone beeped. Mary read the message, and her heart sank.

The $20,000 she received from Ashley was gone. She was sure she had $10,000 left. The man on her bed had robbed her. She angrily woke him up and demanded to know what had happened to her money.

"What did you do with my money?" Mary asked.

"I used it," he replied nonchalantly. "Did you think $2,000 was enough to hire me? I hacked your account balance and took what was rightfully mine."

"The money I gave you wasn't enough?" Mary said, slapping him hard across the face.

The young man caught her hand before she could strike him again. He twisted it, causing Mary to cry out in pain, and then tossed her back onto the bed.

"Don't you ever touch me again," he said coldly.

He quickly dressed and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Mary sat on her bed, seething with anger. She knew she would have to confront her daughter again for more money. She wondered how she could do it without starting another fight.

As Mary sat there, she couldn't help but think about the murder case on the TV. She knew Kendrick and his son Noah well. They were bad news, but she never thought Noah would kill someone. She wondered who had killed him and if they would ever find out.

***

Melody slowly opened her eyes, greeted by the strong scent of food and the sensation of someone tapping her on her bare ass. She jolted up in shock as she realized Mason was standing over her, offering her the food he had prepared. His eyes lingered on her chest, and she felt exposed and vulnerable.

"Good morning, sweetheart. I hope you slept well," Mason said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Melody felt a lump form in her throat as she tried to speak. "What...what are you doing here?" she managed to stutter out.

"I brought you breakfast, of course," he said, still eyeing her body. "You look beautiful this morning."

Melody's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she pulled a dirty blanket tightly around herself, using it to shield against the cold floor. She glared at Mason, who noticed her discomfort and took a step back. He held out a plate of food and reassured her, "I promise I won't hurt you, Melody. You have nothing to fear from me."

"How did you know my name?!" she shouted, but he didn't respond.

But Melody knew better than to trust a stranger, especially one who was offering her food and staring at her like a piece of meat. "I don't want your food," she said firmly, pushing the plate away.

Mason's expression darkened as he leaned in close to her. "You should eat, Melody. You need your strength for tonight."

The words sent a chill down Melody's spine. She had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly what he meant by "Tonight." "I'm not going to be one of your whores," she said firmly, her voice trembling slightly.

Mason's eyes narrowed as he studied her. "You're a beautiful girl, Melody. You could make a lot of money doing this with me."

Tears welled up in Melody's eyes as she thought about the possibility of being used for money yet again. "I don't want to be a whore," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Mason reached out and wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I don't know what you've been through in the past, Melody. But being my whore would be the best thing you could do with your life right now. And trust me, I'm not going to let you go."

Melody shook her head, feeling helpless and trapped. "Please, just let me go. I won't tell anyone about this."

Mason's grip tightened on her chin as he forced her to meet his gaze. "You're not going anywhere. And you're going to eat that food."

Melody felt a wave of panic wash over her as she saw the anger in Mason's eyes. She knew she had no choice but to do as he said if she wanted to survive. With trembling hands, she picked up the plate of food and began to eat, her stomach churning with fear and disgust.

As she ate, Mason watched her with fascination, sensing that the young girl in front of him had a lot of emotional baggage. "You're going to be just fine, sweetie," he said, his voice dripping with false reassurance. "I'll take care of you. And I'll make sure you never go hungry again."

Mason locked Melody back in the room and headed towards Ashley's office where his men were having a meeting. As he entered, he saw his men standing around, talking. Mason sat on the chair and placed his feet on the table.

"What's the plan, boys?" Mason asked with a smirk on his face.

"We were thinking of planting a bomb in Ashley's car, boss," said one of Mason's men.

Mason nodded his head. "Sounds like a good plan. And what about Ashley's security guards?"

"Don't worry about them, boss. We already have a man on the inside who will handle them," replied another one of Mason's men.

Mason leaned back in his chair and grinned. "Good. And what about the mansion? We'll need to keep it intact so we can sell it."

"We'll burn it down after we kill Ashley, boss," said a third man.

Mason chuckled. "Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to take care of Ashley first."

Melody's cries could be heard faintly in the background, but Mason ignored them. "Alright, boys. Get to work on that bomb. We'll take care of Ashley once and for all."

Mason's men nodded and left the room. As they exited, Mason's smug expression turned into a scowl.