The next second, the violent sound of someone kicking the door shattered the silence.

Once. Twice. Three times.


With a thunderous crash, Brandon burst through the door.

Brian's grip vanished as I tore the blindfold away. Through the blinding light, I saw Brandon throw his brother violently to the floor.

Brian scrambled up and lunged back at him.


I frantically scanned the room, spotting a sharp fountain pen on the nightstand.

Brian had used zip ties to bind me—the pen tip could easily cut through them.


I inched toward the pen, the brothers' violent struggle becoming background noise.

"How dare you kidnap her!"

Brandon's fury was palpable.

"By what right are you interfering, brother?" Brian sneered.

"As an ex-husband? Or as a man who failed to keep her?"

"I am your brother," Brandon's voice was cold as steel.

"And I'm the one who can send you abroad and make sure you never set foot in this country again."

I saw Brian's body stiffen—the threat had clearly struck a nerve.

I began sawing at the zip tie with the pen's metal tip.

"Huh," Brian seemed to be forcing himself to stay composed. "You think I'm still that child you can push around?"

"In my eyes, you always will be."

Brandon's tone dripped with contempt.

"Always resorting to such low tactics. Just like your mother."

The words cut through Brian like a knife, stripping away his facade.

A sound like a wounded animal escaped his throat.

"Shut up!"

In this moment—with Brian's attention completely diverted by rage—I gave one final, desperate tug.

With a snap, the zip tie broke, but my momentum sent me tumbling from the bed onto the carpet.

"Anna!"

"Anna!"

Both men lunged toward me.

Brandon reached me first, but his eyes fixed on the marks covering my neck.

He stared at me in disbelief, his eyes reddening.

"What. Is. This?"