NEMOPHILIST || ej.

【 VII 】

Y/N's day had been a torturous stretch of nothingness, filled only with her gnawing hunger and the cold bite of isolation. 

The morning had dragged on as if time itself was mocking her, moving slower with every growl of her empty stomach. She had barely eaten, her strength ebbing with each hour that passed, and hope... well, hope had taken a backseat to the anxiety that gnawed at her from within.

But then, as the afternoon sun struggled to pierce the gloom outside, she heard something that made her heart skip a beat—a voice. Not the familiar, gravelly tone of her captor, but someone else. Her pulse quickened. Was it possible? Had someone found her? Could her father have finally tracked her down?

The flutter of hope was quickly squashed when she realized it was just a phone call. Her captor hadn’t even checked on her all day, and yet now, there he was, angrily speaking into a phone as if she didn't exist. She crept closer to the door, pressing her ear against the rough wood, desperate to catch every word.

“She won’t break!” Jack hissed, his voice laced with frustration. But his frustration sounded more desperate---as if he were a kid that just lost a match in his favorite video game. “And now I have to leave the safety of the reserve and go get her food from town.”

Food. The mere mention of it made her stomach twist with both hunger and a bitter sense of helplessness. She hated that she was at his mercy for something so basic. But at least he hadn’t forgotten about her. Yet.

The voice on the other end was unfamiliar—deeper, more commanding. “Don’t take too long on this mission, Jack. He wants this to be quick. She’s an assignment we’ll discard after we get ahold of her dad. That man knows too much; we can’t afford to wait any longer.”

Jack. So that was his name. Hearing it felt like ice water being poured over her.

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat. Discard of? The words clung to the air like a death sentence. They were planning to kill her. And worse, they wanted something from her father—something important enough to keep her alive for now. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob. What could they want from him?

She heard the creak of furniture as Jack sat down, settling in for what seemed like a tense conversation. Y/N pressed closer to the door, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure he would hear it through the wood.

“All I’m saying is that you have a small time frame here, Jack. Get her father, and then kill the girl. You have a week,” the voice on the phone continued, more muffled now as if Jack had taken it off speaker. But the cabin was so quiet that Y/N could still make out every word.

Her blood ran cold. A week. That was all the time she had left. Panic clawed at her insides, but she forced herself to stay calm. Think. There has to be a way out.

“Bring her to the mansion if you don’t want to leave her alone. Natalie and Toby can watch her in the meantime. Don’t fail me.”

There was a loud crash, and Y/N flinched. Jack must have ended the call and vented his frustration on something nearby. But she couldn’t focus on that now. Her mind was spinning, trying to piece together the fragments of information she’d just overheard. They’re after my father. They need him for something.

Her thoughts darted back to the phone call Jack had forced her to make when she’d tried to contact her dad. Was that part of their plan? A way to lure him here? The idea made her stomach churn. Her father was walking straight into a trap, and she was the bait.