Making her way down a remote column staircase, Ariel reached the landing and pushed the door open, realising she had reached the bottom most basement of the carpark which looked almost empty. Judging by the silence, Ariel knew that neither Evan nor Leon had come after her. She brushed her hair off her face and lumbered towards the distant ramp, clearly exhausted. Her heels ached from the run so she removed her high heels and walked barefooted.

Am I really fired, just because I rejected him?

She tried to come to terms that this time her firing was for real. The way he spoke was so different from all the other times when he threatened the same.

As much as she would do anything to keep her job to get the money, Leon had unreasonably gone too far. He was the one who broke the contract since he acted inappropriately towards her first! However, with so much power he wielded as a celebrity, Ariel knew there was not much she could do. No way would she lose her sanity and dignity for the sake of the money, and she wasn't going to whore with him for it either. The reality that she had just lost her million-dollar cash prize was finally sinking in.

With trembling hands, she texted Rita for help in sheltering her and Andy, briefly explaining that she had been fired for real. She waited for a while but Rita did not respond. Perhaps she was busy since she was met with lots of overtime work.

Wiping the tears off her face, Ariel replayed the unfortunate turn of events when a mouth whistle alerted her attention. Her sadness turned into a shocking grimace when she saw Darryl leaning on a pillar with his arms folded, staring at her. She ignored him and continued her way, but he ran up and jumped in front of her.

"What do you want?" she said through gritted teeth.

"All alone in bare feet? Where are you going, my love?" Darryl fondled with her hair.

"None of your business and I'm NOT your love," she slapped his arm away but he grabbed her arm.

"Let go!" she tried to free herself from his grip but he was strong. There was no one in the carpark except for them.

"Hold it, hold it, hold it," Darryl spoke in a spooky, casual calm and released his hold. "I just want to know how my son is. Erm...what's his name?"

"Son? What right do you have to inquire about your son whom you've never met!"

"Mmm...right. Shall we be together again? That way, he can see me."

"Together?" Ariel let out a sarcastic laugh. "After all these years, how dare you decide to come back into our lives as and when you see fit? Besides, you already have a wife!"

"I'm not with her anymore," he grinned wider. "Com'on baby, let's be a family again. Let's bath in the millions you've got and live this high life like everyone here tonight. I never thought you would be this famous."

"You want to come back to me, just for the fame and money?"

He pulled Ariel towards himself and forced a kiss on her, but she pushed him away and slapped him hard, wiping off his disgusting kiss from her lips. Darryl rubbed his cheek before letting out a derisive laugh, "Don't you want our son to have his father in his life?"

"You're not his father. You've never been there for him since day one. Besides, I don't have a million dollars. So, dream on!"

Darryl's expression faded, "What do you mean? You work for Leon Waltz and you won, didn't you?"

Ariel shook her head, "I walked away from the win as of today."

Darryl's brows gathered under a darkened frown as he processed her words. It began to make sense as he noticed her in bare feet and her eyes looked like she had been crying. Was she for real?

"You mean you quit?"

Ariel walked away without answering him.

Upset that he was ignored, he grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Let go, let go!!" she tried to free her hand and used her purse to hit his arm away.

Incensed by her hits, Darryl slapped her across the cheek. Shocked and realising she was in danger, Ariel kicked him in the groin and shrilled, "Get away from me, you jerk!" She ran as fast as she could, but he managed to get up despite the pain. He overtook her and grabbed her hair.

"B****! Don't you dare!" He choked her neck while she tried to pull his hands away but in vain. Remembering one of the defensive moves that Evan taught her, Ariel turned her body to the side, angled her elbow upwards and sliced his hands down, giving a quick punch in his face with the same elbow.

"HELP, HELP!" she hollered as she raced towards the ramp of the carpark. She threw her shoes and her purse at Darryl as she glanced back to see him chasing after her but missed with each hit. Darryl pounced on her and pinned her down to the ground with his body weight on her back. Aching in pain, Ariel finally stopped struggling when she felt a cold object pressed against her head and heard that recognisable clicking sound.

Darryl pressed his head against the side of her head and whispered, "Be a good girl now." He pulled her up by her hair and covered her mouth with his hand, forcing her to walk into the back of a small, black van with the gun still to her head. After tying her hands and feet with a rope and plastering her mouth with a strong tape, Darryl oscillated between insane laughter and bellicose outbursts, "Do you know what s*** you got me into? I bribed a Fujita employee with a generous amount just to have my catering company picked for this job. I borrowed so much money in order to hire the best people and the best supplies to make this work. Even with all that trouble, that blood-sucking billionaire refused to pay a third of the amount after discovering the bribe. Do you know how ****ed up this is, huh? DO YOU?!" He kicked her stomach and struck her head with the grip of the gun. Ariel howled a muffled cry.

Darryl pulled her hair and twisted her head towards him, "You could've have saved me. But you turn out to be a useless, good-for-nothing, just like her." He gave a final blow to her head and knocked her out.

----------

"Let her be," Leon said to Evan after Ariel ran off.

"But sir, she could-" Evan tried to reason but was cut off by Leon's dismissive wave.

"Just let her be! You want to get fired too?" Leon threatened, his hand still nursing his cheek from her painful slap. If she wanted to be this stubborn, stupid and plain hard to get, so be it! He would make sure she knew what kind of trouble she got herself into after rejecting him!

More than forty-five minutes passed since their argument.

Leon was sure Ariel had reached home by now since the penthouse was not too far away but he continued to feel an unspoken sense of lurking uneasiness that would not stop bothering him inside. He sent a message to her to make sure she had reached home safely but received no response. Assuming she was still in her foul mood, Leon gulped down his wine, not in the best frame of mind to play up his act as the perfect boyfriend to Jasmine that he failed to react to her touches.

"You're not responding," Jasmine whispered. "Is it because of your chef?"

"Please stop it. I'm not in the mood," he replied curtly.

"Don't forget, everyone's watching," she reminded. "Why bother about her since you mentioned she's unwell and needed to head home to rest? Let's have our fun. How 'bout tonight?" She caressed his chest suggestively.

"Dream on," he turned away from her and continued his drinking.

"Hmph! Suit yourself," Jasmine sulked and crossed her arms, losing her appetite for the last performance of the night.

Leon checked his phone when he realised he received a message from Rita.

Rita: Leon, is Ariel done packing her bags? I heard that u fired her n I can't believe it! I hope this isn't true! I told her that she can be at my place tonight but she has not replied. I've called n msged her a few times, but no answer. Is she with u?

Leon frowned at the message.

Leon: She's not with me. I'll check up on her n let u know

With the feeling of worry growing in him, he messaged Camila to check if Ariel had reached home.

Camila: Nope. She hasn't arrived. Isn't she suppose to be with you guys?

Leon: Can you call her now? Let me know if she responded

20 minutes later...

Camila: I've called her 10x n sent a few msgs but she's not responding. Beth has done the same. No word from her. This is so unlike Ariel. She always responds! Is everything ok?

Worry evolved into a panic. Leon left the table abruptly without responding to Jasmine's question on where he was going. He called Evan, "I need you and the rest of the bodyguards to find Ariel NOW! She's not responded to everyone I know who tried to get in touch with her. There's no time to lose! I'm afraid something terrible must've happened to her..."

--------

Ariel opened her eyes slowly. She felt pain all over her body, especially her tummy area where Darryl kicked her. When she tried to move her hands to nurse those painful areas, she realised that her hands and feet were bound. Remembering the altercation between her and Darryl, Ariel panicked at the dark surroundings of the inside of the van and screamed through the tape on her mouth. Darryl was nowhere nearby and the van was not moving, so she knew needed to get out quick before he would do something deadly to her. Ariel motioned her body to the van's back door and kicked it hard a few times with her bound legs but they were locked. She tried wriggling her hands out of the rope but the knots were too tight. She screamed and cried, hoping that someone could hear her. However, her screams were muffled by the tape and no one came to check on the van.

Ariel regretted leaving the table so soon over the stupid text bickering with Leon. The realisation that she may die today made her replay the good times she had with him and their last kiss, making her forget their heated argument in the moment. Leaving Andy behind without a mother and not being able to be in his life ever again engulfed her, tears mercilessly flowing down her cheeks. A while ago in the night garden, she wished she was dead. Now, she regretted making such a wish!

She kicked at the van for a final time when the sound of metal clinking on the van floor caught her attention. A shiny object could be deciphered under the faint light glowing from the small opening gap between the closed van doors.

Feeling the object with her toes, Ariel realised it was a small fruit knife. Since her hands were bound on her front, she adjusted her body position so that she could grab the knife with her fingers. Forcing herself to sit up, she tried to slice through the fibres of the rope on her legs. Each time she tried, the knife kept falling off her hands but she continued repeating her steps. It was very uncomfortable and tiring and she accidentally cut the skin on her leg a few times since she relied on touch than on sight. But the thought of not seeing Andy, Leon and all her loved ones again spurred her not to give up despite the pain. She persevered on until she felt the fibres of rope being successfully cut through. The rope loosened at the wriggling of her feet and they were finally free. She kicked the van doors a few times with her feet and body weight while screaming for help at the same time.

Once again, total silence greeted her back.

All she could to do was to pray and figure out how to escape.