The Life of Mrs. Fifty Shades | Chapter 14

The Life of Mrs. Fifty Shades

Chapter Fourteen

Christian

I stared at the opposite wall and thought of the one thing that gave me strength. I pictured Ana’s face. I pictured those sweet eyes, those full lips, and the golden heart that beat in her chest.

I had to get back to her.

Teddy and Phoebe needed me. I knew what it was like to not have a father. I knew what it was like to feel alone, like no one cared whether you lived or died. I couldn’t let my kids grow up not knowing me. They probably wouldn’t even remember me when they got older.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I’d been trapped in this room since I was drugged and deported. They put a syringe in my neck and knocked me out for two days straight. When I woke up, I was in this cell. There was a cot, a toilet, and nothing else.

I knew they didn’t have my family. If they did, they would have told me by now. They would have used Ana against me to empty my bank accounts. If she didn’t cooperate, they would have threatened to kill me. And if I didn’t cooperate, they would have threatened to kill her.

Or worse, my children.

She must have pressed that button on the pen the moment she was snatched. Crow’s men would have intercepted her and she should now be on the other side of the world. They would never find her, and even if they did, Crow was a powerful man. He could protect my family from anything.

At least that was one thing I didn’t have to worry about.

The door opened, and one of the guards walked inside with a tray of food. He set it on the ground next to the tray he brought me the day before. It was untouched—like all the others.

I never accepted food from an enemy.

He eyed the food with an annoyed expression. “What happened to the man who hates to waste food?”

I stared at him with the same cold expression, unforgiving and callous.

“You’ve got to eat eventually.”

I’d spent most of my childhood starving. I could go two weeks without eating before I finally felt the strain.

“Eat or I’ll make you eat.”

I kept up my cold stare, hoping he would take the bait and come close to me. All I needed was his arrogance to bloom, and he would be mine. Malnourished and exhausted, I was weaker than I used to be. But I’d still kick his ass.

He took a step toward me but suddenly thought better of it. He walked out and locked the door behind him.

Good decision.

***

The next day, my captor finally showed his face. Tall and thin, he walked inside with the same dark hair and gray eyes I'd seen so many times in the mirror. He lacked the strength I possessed, and he certainly lacked the intelligence. I could see it in his eyes.

He carried a chair with him and placed it in the center of the room. He sat down and stared at me, his expression unreadable.

My paranoia was dead-on. I shouldn’t have let Ana convince me he was harmless. I should have killed him the moment he stepped into my office that afternoon. A bullet through the skull, and I wouldn’t be in this mess.

“You’re refusing your meals.”

Whether it was a question or a statement, I refused to respond.

“That’s not going to get you anywhere.”

“Talking to me isn’t going to get you anywhere.” If he was just a few feet closer to me, I’d snap his neck.

He rubbed the back of his neck, struggling to hide his irritation. I was uncooperative in every way imaginable. I was the worst prisoner you could have. “We have Ana. And we’ll hurt her if you don’t cooperate.”

I detected the hesitance in his voice. It was slight, but I picked up on it. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes. We do.”

If they did, they would have used her against me sooner. There’s no way they tracked her down after four days. “Fine. Kill her.” I was calling his bluff because I knew she was safe. Under Crow’s protection, not a single thing could happen to her.

“You don’t love your wife very much, do you?”

“I guess not.”

“And the kids? I can drown both of them in a bath tub.”

Just the suggestion made the cords in my neck tighten. My hands wanted to ball into fists, but I kept them steady. Before I walked out of here, I would kill this man. I would kill him with my bare hands for even making the suggestion. “Do whatever you want. You’re wasting your time.”

His eyebrows furrowed, and he didn’t hide his rage. “You’re giving me that money, Christian. The sooner you do, the sooner you go free.”

“And the sooner you kill me.” Once he had this funds, he would shoot me in the back of the head. “Even if I wanted to cooperate, I can’t. The police have been notified that I’m missing. They’ll freeze my accounts so I can’t withdraw or transfer anything.”

He drummed his fingers on his thigh as he considered his next move. “I know you have cash stored somewhere.”

I did. I had a lot of it put away in case of a natural disaster. But I wouldn’t hand that over either. “You kidnapped a national celebrity. Everyone is looking for me. They’ll find me quicker than you realize. You can starve me. You can beat me. You can do whatever the hell you want. But I won’t crack. I’ll never crack.”

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