Chapter 17

READ WITH CAUTION** VIOLENT SCENE AHEAD— VERONICA A whiplash of iced water choked me as I coughed violently. White stars danced before my eyes, which intensified only as a hard slap followed on my face— "Wake up, you drab!" A harsh voice violently rang in my ear that suppressed with aching cries of a child. Despite significant physical weakness, the sound compelled me to open my heavy eyelids. "C-cad-dence!" I gasped. My daughter was held by a terrifying looking man, his fingers pinching her cheeks roughly. My little daughter was struggling and crying in pain. "N-oo! Ple-ease!" I cried out. I wanted to rush to her, but I'm hopelessly tied up to a chair with shackles. "Wh-y are yo-u doing this to us?" I screamed at them, only to be laughed at. I don't know for how long we're here, nor I have no time to think about our whereabouts. I'm, in fact, unsure who these men are. I only remember being cornered by a car, then waking up in this dark room, tied up, with my daughter in their hands. O