Do you remember?

Chapter Twenty

***Biggest cliffhanger I have ever written at the end of this chapter***

I had rushed home and ran up the stairs to my bedroom. I unpacked the folded piece of paper from my wall. I hesitated. I promised Theo I wouldn't call it. But I wanted to know the truth. I needed closure. The faster I found out why she died the faster I would begin to heal. It's not like Theo had to find out anyway and besides he would forgive me. He always forgives me.

I unfolded the piece of paper and stared at the digits on the tiny piece of paper. I typed them into my phone, it dialed as I held it up to ear.

"We have been waiting for you to call! Please be patient, a driver will come to your house and pick you up" a pre-recorded voice said.

My stomach flipped. What if this was another trick? What if they were trying to kidnap me again? I pushed all the questions out of my head. I couldn't be doubting this. I needed to do this, for Rowan. She deserves to have her killer rotting in jail. I plopped down on my bed, stating out my window to the road. Why couldn't someone just talk to me over the phone? I thought about the mysterious man. He seemed so friendly and intellectual to be a criminal. Why did he feel that I needed to know the truth?

A limousine stopped in front of my house and soon after a a knock sounded on my door. I grabbed my coat and headed downstairs. I opened the door to the limousine driver.

"I am here for Valencia." He said with a smile.

I nodded my head, indicating I was Valencia and he walked out to the car, opening the door for me. I thanked him. I had never been in a limousine before, that I can remember at least. It was plush and cozy and oddly extremely freezing. The man rolled down the sectional between us.

"There is some water, soda and champagne in the fridge back there." He said.

I scooted over to the fridge and opened it up. There were types of sodas that I had never heard of before. I decided on something not sugary and grabbed a sparkling water. I took a long swig. I have never had water that tasted this good before. The more I drank the weirder I began to feel. My head began to dizzy and my eyes slowly drifted shut.

"Sorry, we had to drug you. Our location is very secure and we can't trust anyone these days." the mysterious man said.

I looked around in confusion. We were in a skyscraper that overlooked a city. I wasn't sure of which city. The room was sat in seemed like an office but it was large and decorated heavily. There was candles, a love seat and a few armchairs, desks, and a beautiful long conference table. The furniture was expensive, I could tell just by looking at it.

"Can I know your name?" I asked, wanting some information out of him.

"Ahh, Yes. My associates call me Haines but feel free to call me whatever you'd like." He said, leanings back on his chair and his feet on his desk.

"Let's get started..." He began, "I cannot tell you everything now but I will just get to the essentials. I run an organization. I bring down evils in the world without government help. I do things mostly like releasing human slaves and such. All good work. Anyways, Rowan had a special talent. She was beautiful and very deceitful. She was the front of the operation. She would go under cover and try to get enslaved by these 'rings'. Then I would come in and kill the people, release the girls. Whatever. Then a trip went bad, she got beaten up pretty badly. She had leaked some information about our organization. We all 'died' there is no Haines or Rowan."

He stared at me his eyes squinted waiting for the information to soak into me.

"What about Gina and Nolan?" I asked.

"Oh no they're dead." He laughed.

How could he laugh at such a thing?

I replayed what he said over and over again. My heart was pounding. My breath hitched. My mouth fell agape. Was he saying..? I shook my head not being able to believe it. Why should I believe this man? I barely knew him. But then a familiar presence walked into the room. A way too familiar presence. The smell of perfume clouded my nose. That perfume. I whipped my head around, not being able to believe my eyes. I felt like I had been thrown down a mountain and just hit the bottom. The breath was knocked out of me. I was feeling to much to even process my emotion to cry or scream or anything.

"Rowan?" I said, breathlessly.