Once Tony and I had finished our little outburst, he made me hold his hand until we arrived at the conference room. I found this very unfair. He was treating me like a child...... okay I am kind of a child but it was still stupid.
"Stand here with Pepper." He said, letting go of my hand. Pepper smiled at me and I returned the favour.
"Okay."
When Tony stood behind the podium a lot of people in the audience started yelling out questions. It got really loud, so I put my hands over my ears until they calmed down. I didn't listen much to what they were talking about, I found it kind of boring, and sat down on the step next to Pepper after about 10 minutes. I brought a piece of my hair between my fingers and began playing with it.
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"Mr. Stark, can you explain who was in the pink iron suit?" This question caught my attention, because, well, it was me.
I saw Tony hesitate, I could tell he was debating just telling them it was a secret, but both of us knew that basically everyone already knew it was me. They just wanted him to confirm it.
"That would be my daughter." He admitted and nodded toward me. Everyone's heads spun around to see me and I waved awkwardly from the step.
They began asking questions about me, which caused me to continue eavesdropping.
"What's your daughter's name Mr. Stark?" Someone asked. How did they not know already? I mean, not to sound selfish... but it's all over the news?
"Victoria Maria Stark." Tony smiled proudly. I grinned back.
"How old is she?"
"She's eleven."
"Where has she been for the past eleven years?"
Tony's expression changed quickly, from happy to be gloating about having a daughter, to disappointed to being asked that question.
"Denied. Next question." That was the Tony I knew. I covered a laugh.
"Is she adopted?" Someone yelled out. Don't they get it?
Tony gulped. "No. She's mine." He said through gritted teeth. Oh no, he was getting mad.
"Then where has she been for the past decade?" That was the final straw. Tony grabbed the microphone from the stand and held it closer to his mouth.
"Alright, listen here buddy, you ask one more question and I'll shove this microphone so far up your a—" That was the last thing I heard before Pepper covered my ears.
One of the guards standing next to the podium grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him back, whispering something in his ear. Tony's face still gleamed with rage. There were people yelling at him all across the room now. This was madness. I stood up and squeezed between Pepper and the wall to try and protect myself. Tony was arguing with the guard that pulled him away, throwing hand motion after hand motion toward the crowd of people who were still yelling and screaming at him and each other.
Suddenly, a bang echoed around the room. Dust fell from the ceiling and I guarded my eyes with my hands. People were screaming. I looked up and the crowd of people were now running out of the room in all directions. There was a man standing in the middle of the room amongst the chaos, holding a gun in the air. My heart felt like it was beating in my throat. I immediately looked to the podium where I saw Tony being dragged off with the same guard as before. He looked toward me and tried to get out of the man's grip to get to me, yelling at him to let go.
"Dad!!!" I screamed.
The man with the gun looked in my direction and an evil smirk plastered across his face. He lowered the gun and shoved it in the back of his belt. Then, he plunged at me. Before I had time to react, his arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me off the ground. I let out a screech and saw Tony, who was nearly dragged out of the room now, become even more violent with the guard.
"Dad!! Help me, please!"
But it was no use. The guard took Tony out of the room, and the man with the gun took me in the opposite direction. As the man ran, I hit my fists against his back and swung my legs vigorously to try and get him to put me down. But my 'eleven year old' muscles weren't any match to his. I could still hear the screams and rapid footsteps of people trying to escape, but they soon became muffled when we entered a dimly lit hallway. The man pushed a door open and the cold, now rainy, weather hit my skin like a ton of bricks.
"Let go of me!" I yelled at the man, but he continued running. We were in an alley way now, and his running caused his shoes to splash water up onto my face and hands. I spit out the muddy water.
I grunted when I was harshly thrown into the back of a vehicle. I tried to run back out the door, but it was slammed in my face and locked. I hit my hands flat against the window, even though I knew it wouldn't do anything. The driver side door opened and I threw myself into the front seat. The man that kidnaped me grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back into the back seat. My back hit against the seat with a thud. The air was basically knocked out of me, and I coughed when trying to regain my breath again. I gave up and scooted into the far right corner of the seat, behind the man's seat so he couldn't see me. He started the car and slammed on the pedal, which threw my body back once again. I put my knees to my chest and began crying into them.
