"What?" He bellowed, his body shaking with panic, fear, and finally rage.

"Look everywhere. She must be here."


Michel looked around bewilderedly around the living room, moving from the kitchen to the dining room. Then the bedroom upstairs.

Michel searched every nook and cranny of the house. When he couldn't find her, he looked again. He searches again and again.

She must be here. But Fanny was nowhere to be seen.


Michel was standing in the middle of the living room, his head pounding, his chest aching.

She wasn't here, but he sensed her.


It was an inexplicable feeling, but as soon as he entered the house, his heart sped up. It was almost as if he knew that Fanny was here. His skin throbbed with a strange sensation as he closed his eyes.

His heart felt heavy in his compressed chest, his lungs ached as he breathed through the pain of defeat again.

Fanny. Where are you?

Michel heard a scream.

"Boss."

"Michel." His eyes opened, and he stared at a man pointing a gun at him.

He didn't get a chance to raise his gun or even get out of the way.

So, trying to dodge, he fell to the ground as gunshots rang in his ears.

Seconds later, he felt a sharp pain run through his right leg.

"Damn it." He cursed.

Michel heard a scream and then a scream of pain behind him so looking down at his leg he saw it was bleeding where the bullet had passed.

Still lying on the floor, he turned to see Kaylin pulling her heel out of the man's chest.

"Fuck! Those were Louboutin heels. Now they're covered in your dirty blood." She glanced back at Michel.

"Are you OK?"

"Just a scratch..." He mumbled back.

It is such a lie. The bullet had passed through his leg and is now lying inside.

Kaylin noticed everyone was staring so she looked back at her bloody heel.

"What? I told you it helps. I'm out of ammo."

"So you just throw your heel at a man, hoping it kills him?" Carlos asked as Michel stood up, ignoring the burn on his leg.

"Very good." She answered, taking off her other heel and standing up barefoot.

"How now?" Charles asked, looking disappointed.

Michel ignored his question, his eyes wandering around the house one last time.

They searched everywhere.

Mr. Did Aiden touch her? Is that why he's not here?

Trying to limp, Michel's legs twisted into the carpet, and he nearly fell again.

He straightened quickly and glanced down at the damn carpet, wanting to rip it off with his bare hands.

But something else caught his eye, and all thoughts of tearing up the rug were gone. The rug was bundled around his feet, and underneath was a wooden door.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he pushed the rug out completely.

Kaylin gasped as the other two immediately stepped closer.

The rug is not there to decorate. It's there to cover something - to hide a door on the floor.

Carlos cursed under his breath, watching the closed door.

"There is no basement. We checked." Charles added, eyes wide.

"So what the hell is this door?" Michel growled in response.

Without waiting for an answer, he bent down and opened the heavy latch.

When it was undone, he pulled the door open, and it hit the floor with a loud bang.

"Stair," Kaylin muttered.

Michel's tongue felt heavy, body numb.

She was in there. He knows that. He feels it.

Charles came to stand in front of him and turned on the flashlight of his phone.

Michel took the first step, his heart pounding, frantic.

They go downstairs in the dark, and only Charles and Carlos' phones are used as flashlights.

As soon as they landed, Kaylin pressed her hand against the wall, searching for a light switch.

Seconds later, the basement was lit. It's not complete. No walls or bricks. It looks more like a dungeon.

Michel's legs trembled as he took another step inside.

One more step. A few more times until a foul smell hit his nostrils and made him stop.

The stench is terrible. It was almost impossible to breathe. It smells like vomit.

Fanny. Is she here? In this place?

His heart clenched painfully as he stepped forward on shaky legs.

The more adventurous go in, the worse the smell becomes.

"I thought I was going to get sick," Kaylin mumbled behind Charles's back.

"Damn it, where is this?" Carlos growled.

Michel is not dead. He was very much alive, but at that moment, he really felt like he was going to die.

The thought of Fanny being in a place like this was almost unbearable.

When he finally reached the far end of the basement, he stopped dead in his tracks, his stomach twisting painfully.

"Are not." He whimpered, eyes widening at the sight before him.

When he hears them swearing behind his back, he knows they're seeing exactly what he's seeing.

Fanny.

She turned her back to them, facing the wall.

Michel couldn't see her face, but he knew it was her. He felt it in his heart.

She was there. His fanny.

She was right in front of him, lying on the cold hard floor, pushed against the wall.

There are chains around her ankles and wrists.

And she was barely covered, her white dress torn until nothing covered her body.

"No no." Michel lunged forward, ignoring the burning pain in his leg.

Falling down beside her, he was too scared to touch her body.

Fanny looks very fragile. Too small. She's lost weight, and some of her bones are really showing.

He reached forward and gently pushed her messy hair away from her face.

Her face was covered in dirt, and it seemed a little bruised.

"Fanny?" He whispered painfully, gently touching her cheek.

So cold. Her whole body was cold, freezing cold.

Michel's heart pounded as he frantically looked behind him.

Their faces are masks of horror.

"She's cold. She's so cold." He repeated as he looked back at Fanny, his mind and heart going wild.

Pain ran through his body.

Everything is painful. It wasn't just his legs, but his heart that hurt the most.