27. Amelia
The longer I sit here the more anxious I get.
The more I can smell the stale urine and toxic air.
The more I know that there is something else going on.
Matteo is staying cool and calm, but he's lying to me.
He keeps coming over and telling me the same thing, but it's been hours. You can't keep telling me the doctor is on the way, but then hours go by and nothing happens.
"Matteo." I stand up, ready to leave. Ready to do whatever it takes to get my daughter out of this disgusting place. "I want to go."
He comes over to me. "No, don't be ridiculous. Elle is resting, she's fine where she is, and the doctor is almost here."
Again.
The same lie.
"Does this doctor live on another continent? He's been 'almost here' for the past four hours." I don't hide my anger or my frustration at him.
He laughs, still casual, cold, not giving a fuck. "Amelia, have some patience. Do you want Elle to get the surgery or not?"
I look him up and down. The only donor who has ever matched my daughter - and my last hope at saving her. But in this moment he seems more like a trickster than something hopeful. He's up to something. I just don't know what.
"I'm exhausted. I don't want to wait anymore. I want to leave." I say sternly.
Matteo shakes his head. "Why don't you go and lie down in the other room with Elle? I'll come and call you when the doctor gets here."
I bite my lower lip. Looking around the room I see three security guys, two other guys dressed in surgical scrubs, and Matteo.
I don't stand a chance against all of them so I'm going to have to give it a little more time.
I walk to the next room, pull the other wheeled hospital bed over to Elle's bed, and lay down on it, pretending to close my eyes.
But I'm alert and listening to everything around me.
Matteo's phone rings. I hear him laughing, and then he says Stefano's name.
I'm locked onto every word as he explains to Stefano how he plans to harvest both of our organs and sell them on the black market.
I'm such a fucking idiot.
How did I not see it the moment I walked in here?
I've heard about these types of places. I've even seen things like this in movies, but I never in my entire life thought I would find myself in one of them.
I want to puke. Every muscle in my body is tight with panic. My stomach is churning and spinning, and I have to hold my breath to force myself to calm down. I count to ten, slowly, in my head. I feel like I'm stuck in a nightmare. But this is very real. And if I don't do something we are both going to die.
I have to get Elle out of here. Now. Before it's too late.
Stefano clearly has no idea where we are, and it sounds like he was threatening Matteo.
I'm the one who has to save her. Her life depends on me now.
I try to take in everything around me without moving too much. I don't want to draw attention to myself.
When I've got a good idea of the layout and where the different men are I plot the best route I can take to get out of here.
I'll have to carry Elle.
I'll grab Matteo's car keys. I can see them lying on the shelf near the door. Then I'll just have to run and hope for the best.
Luckily the way the plastic sheeting is set up, it will obscure their view of me right until I'm out of the door. If I time it right and move quietly they won't even realize I've escaped with Elle until I've got a good head start.
My heart is hammering so loudly I'm afraid any one of them might hear it.
As quietly as possible I climb off the bed, wincing when it squeaks.
I shake Elle awake and quickly clasp my hand over her mouth, pressing my fingers against my lips to signal that she shouldn't make a sound.
Her eyes are wide and terrified. My heart breaks to see her like this. I've made such a massive mistake bringing her here. I should never have put her in this position. I was just so desperate to help her.
As quietly as possible I lift her off the bed and wrap her legs around my waist. I whisper in her ear that she needs to close her eyes and not open them until I say it's ok.
Then I start walking towards the door.
Each step I take is more tense than the last. I feel as though my head is going to explode.
I wrap my hand around Matteo's keys. They grate along the shelf as I pick them up. I pause and look behind me. No one noticed.
I turn towards the door - I'm so close - I start walking and I don't look behind me.
The anxiety is so tense I don't know how my legs are still walking.
Then I'm on the stairway, and I still don't hear anyone following.
I'm down one flight of stairs, a second, a third.
That's when I hear shouts from above.
"Where the fuck are they?" Matteo's voice echoed through the empty building.
I start running.
"Fucking find them." He screams in anger.
I'm running as fast as I can, down the stairs; Elle's gripped so tightly against me I might be hurting her.
She starts crying.
"I know, baby; I'm so sorry; we're almost out."
We burst through the building doors into the very faint morning light.
I run straight to Matteo's car, pressing the button to unlock it, accidentally locking it again, swearing under my breath.
I pull the door open and practically throw Elle onto the passenger seat then I leap into the driver's side and start the engine as two security guards come bursting through the doors of the old building.
I slam my foot against the accelerator and the tires screech loudly in protest, trying to grip the tar, and then the car shoots forward.
I scream in fright. Everything is happening so fast. I have to focus. I have to find my way out of here.
I drive too fast. The white Mercedes the guards are in is right behind me. They keep flashing their lights and once or twice they take a shot towards my tires.
Elle is crying loudly and has crawled into the leg space in front of the passenger seat.
I can't focus on her now.
I need to save us.
But I don't know where I am.
The Mercedes slams into the back of the car I'm driving, and I'm jolted forward.
The car starts spinning out and despite my best efforts to pull it back I only seem to make it worse.
One of the tires catches on the edge of the pavement and we roll.
Now everything is moving in slow motion.
I see my hair splashing around my face. I see the sky disappearing as a black road replaces it. I hear metal grinding and see sparks flying as the car slides, upside down.
I'm reaching out towards Elle who has her hands locked over her face.
Then everything goes black as we slam into the wall of a building.
I sink into that blackness, still filled with panic and fear.
I wake up to men grabbing me.
Immediately I start screaming and someone slaps me through the face.
"Have you got the kid?"
"She's in the back."
"Help me with this bitch; she's fucking trying to kick me."
They have Elle.
I go against all of my instincts and stop fighting, because what's the point of getting away if Elle is still trapped with them.
My cheek is stinging from the slap. My head is throbbing from the accident. When I reach up and gently touch the side of my skull my fingers come away sticky with blood.
My eyes won't focus properly, and the entire world is spinning.
They throw me into the back of the car with Elle and I grab her and pull her onto my lap.
She's in shock. She isn't even crying.
I hold her close against me and keep repeating the same thing. "It's going to be okay, baby girl. It's going to be ok."
The guards take us right back to the abandoned building and yank me out of the car.
Guns are drawn because they aren't taking any chances; they push me back into the building with Elle on my hip, holding tightly onto me.
All the way up the stairs I'm trying to figure out how I can get us away, but I feel hopeless. I just don't see how I'm going to be able to escape again. That was my one chance and I fucked it up.
Tears are streaming down my face when they lead us back into the room.
Matteo walks over to me and stares down at me.
One of the men pulls Elle out of my arms and lays her down on the bed again, but this time he straps her down.
"Stop, you're hurting her." I cry out in horror.
Matteo slaps me hard across the face and my ears begin to ring loudly in my head.
"Strap her down as well." He tells the guards.
They haul me into the air as though I weigh nothing and slam me down onto the bed. It cracks and strains under the impact. They strap thick leather restraints around my wrists. I notice that they are stained with blood and I have to fight against the vomit threatening to spill from my throat.
Matteo is talking to one of the doctors for a while - then he comes over to me.
He runs his hand over my leg, up my thigh. His touch is hot and unwelcome. I cringe at it, but I can't move far.
"Such a waste really. Someone as pretty as you. But the truth is I'll make more from you selling your body parts than I will if I sell you as a complete whole. Plus, you know, the risk of letting you live is one I'm just not willing to take at this point."
"Please, Matteo, just let Elle go. Let her go. She doesn't deserve this. Do what you want with me."
"Sweetheart. I will do whatever I want with you. But I can't let Elena go. It's a twisted world but the truth is that a child's organs fetch a much better price than an adult's. Younger, healthier organs."
"She's sick. Her organs are failing."
"I don't have to tell the client that." He shrugs.
"Please," I scream in desperation, and he slaps me again.
"Don't fucking do that. No one can fucking hear you, so it doesn't even matter, but I don't fucking want to listen to that."
I'm crying, tears are flooding my cheeks, onto the bed behind me.
Matteo leans close and wipes his thumb over my cheek.
"It really is a pity. I wish I had a little more time. We could've had some fun before all of this went down - but this time - the surgeon really is on his way. I'm done waiting for my half brother."
I shake my head in disbelief, trying to deny that any of this is actually happening.
Matteo chuckles.
"I'll let them work on Elena first. You can watch it. You can watch them pull her apart, piece by piece, carefully removing all the puzzle pieces that make up her little body."
I scream again and he slaps me so hard I black out.