The Vanished

Chapter 2

She followed the stranger nervously, at the same time alert like an eagle. With arms wrapped tight against her chest as if some kind of self-protection, she walked towards the room. The young man opened the door and gestured her to walk in as he kept standing out by the door. Throwing him one anxious look, Natalia stepped inside, the door got shut behind her with a loud thud that made her flinch.

Present in front of her were four highly muscular men standing in black in a protective manner around an old man who was seated on the couch. Acknowledging her approach he sprang up onto his feet. Natalia found her lost voice and directed her next words at him strongly. "Where are my daughter and my mother?", She asked them boldly, refusing to get intimidated by the men around her.

"They are safe", the old man answered in a strong voice "for now", he added with a smile. "What do you want?", Natalia questioned him, looking him at the eye.

He reached for a file in front of him and stretched out his arm to Natalia. She took the file carefully from his hands and started scrutinizing the content curiously. Inside was a photograph of a scenery. Beautiful lake, distinct mountains, green trees, bright sky. Perplexed Natalia looked up from the photograph and fixed her gaze on that man. "Do you know this place?", He asked her, calmly.

"No", Natalia shook her head negatively. "Try to remember", he pressed further. Natalia looked up closer at the photograph, but to remember nothing. "What does this mean?", She raised her voice now, furious by the way she was being played here.

"You will want to keep your voice down ", he warned her. "I want you to stop playing games and tell me where this place is RIGHT NOW", he barked at her.

"I DON'T KNOW", Natalia stressed on each word, as she was shaking with anger. The man glared at her for few moments silently and then nodded at one of his bodyguards, who immediately started making his way towards Natalia. Surging with adrenaline, Natalia acted by her instinct, she tried to escape through the door that was already guarded by two muscular men. She had no escape she realized and so she did what she really didn't want to do. She gave up and surrendered. The bodyguard pinned her down on the floor and handcuffed her behind her back. Then with sheer force pulled her up on her knees again.

"You did not do the right thing", the old man told her with a smirk on his face. Natalia didn't know where she was being taken as she was blindfolded almost immediately after that. She could feel strong arms carrying her for some time and then she was dragged towards a car, from where she was being transported to some distant unknown place. After long minutes the car finally stopped and she was again forced out of the car. She walked through unknown paths and was then pushed down on a soft landing, a bed she assumed. They removed her handcuffs and her blindfold.

Natalia gave them the boldest look she could manage. She was determined to not showing them her fears. "I really have no idea what you guys are talking about", she yelled after him, but he left her before she could even complete her sentence. Natalia rose up from the bed and moved around the room slowly scrutinizing every single detail of the room. It wasn't anything interesting that needed study but yet she did what she thought she had to. The room was small yet modern. The lamp by the bedside looked like an antique. She couldn't ignore observing that there wasn't a single window in the room. She was entrapped within four solid walls and had no escape, she realized. Natalia started rummaging her brain for the possible reasons she could have been put in this situation.

Few hours passed by, and she was still left with her own thoughts. A slight knock on the door alarmed her again. Another unknown man entered. He slowly walked in and took a place on the couch silently.

When Natalia didn't attempt to talk he started the conversation. "Forgive me for the harsh methods", he said. Natalia gave him a loathing look but didn't speak again. "Let me introduce myself to you", he continued. "I'm Andrey, Andrey Yahontov", he introduced himself. When he received a lack of response from the other side he kept speaking. "I'm an investigator", he declared and showed her his Identification card. Now, this received a response from Natalia.

"What is this all about? You cannot kidnap me like this. Is this investigation legal?", she raised her voice now. Mr. Yahontov raised up from the couch so that he could stand in level with Natalia. "What if I say it is?". Natalia stared at him speechless for a few moments. "Even then you have no right to blackmail me in the name of my family and get me here against my will. I can take legal action against you for this", she screamed at him. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience I have caused you. But we didn't want to raise any alarm in that place", Mr. Yahontov answered her. "But it could have waited till the seminar ended right?" Natalia fired back. She was furious over the way she was treated by an investigator, who had got nothing absolutely nothing against her.

"I wish for your co-operation Ms. Jennings," Mr. Yahontov told her, switching into his professional mode again. "It's about the three mysterious disappearances and one suicide that happened three years back. And I believe you have a strong connection to the individuals in question here" he said, stretching out his hand and producing a file to Natalia. Along with the picture of the beautiful scenery that she saw earlier. She now saw four faces that have been haunting her since the past three years. The faces were staring at her, their eyes piercing hers. Not being able to see them any longer she returned the file back to him.

"So ready to talk?", He asked her, folding his hands against his chest.

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