27. Gia

As consciousness slowly seeps into my mind, I find myself in a foggy haze, my head pounding with every heartbeat. Blinking away the darkness, I realize with a jolt that I"m tied to a chair, my limbs bound tightly against the wooden frame. Panic surges through me as I struggle against my restraints, but the ropes hold fast, cutting into my skin with each futile effort.

My heart skips a beat as I see Chloe sitting nearby, also bound. She stares at me with wide eyes, fear and confusion etched across her face. "Chloe," I say, my voice hoarse with emotion. "Are you okay?"

She nods slowly, tears welling in her eyes as she struggles against her own bindings. "I"m scared," she whispers, her voice barely above a whisper.

I swallow hard, trying to push down the rising tide of fear that threatens to consume me. "It"s okay," I say, forcing a note of reassurance into my voice. "I"m going to try to get us out of here and get you safely back to your dad."

"Why did you take me from my aunt and my dad?" Chloe asks, her voice trembling with uncertainty. "And why did you tie us both up?"

I pause, searching for the right words to explain the inexplicable. "I have a twin sister," I say finally, my voice barely above a whisper. "Do you know what that means?"

She nods slowly, her eyes wide with understanding. "It means there"s two of you," she says softly.

I nod, a knot forming in my stomach as I think about Mia and the havoc she"s wreaked on our lives. "My twin is… evil. She's evil to me like Ursula is evil to Ariel, the Little Mermaid," I say, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. "But we"re going to get out of here and be okay, like Ariel. I promise."

As I speak, I notice movement in Chloe"s pocket, and my heart skips a beat as I realize what it is. "Chloe," I say, my voice trembling with hope. "What"s in your pocket?"

"It"s Louie," she says, a hint of relief in her voice. "He was in my pocket the whole time."

I've never been so happy in my life to see that albino squirrel.

"Can he get out of your pocket?"

"Yeah, he's hungry and keeps trying to eat the ropes."

"Louie, you're such a smart squirrel."

Chloe cocks her head to the side as I struggle to wriggle free of the ropes on my arms. Chloe watches me before mimicking me in the same way.

"What if they come back?"

"If they do come back, I'm going to do everything I can to keep them away from you. When we get loose, we're going to make a run for it. If they come in before it, I will distract them. I want you to run straight down to the front desk and find an employee or security guard and tell them to call your dad and the police immediately. Do NOT go with anyone unless it's your dad, okay?"

"Okay."

As Chloe and I work feverishly to loosen the ropes binding our hands and feet, I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, lending strength to my trembling limbs. With each tug and twist, the ropes begin to give way, the fibers fraying beneath our determined efforts.

Just as we manage to free ourselves, a sharp click echoes through the room, the sound of a key card sliding into the lock. Panic surges through me as I realize that our time is running out, and I glance at Chloe, urgency flickering in my eyes.

"Chloe," I whisper urgently, "pretend you"re still tied up, but give me Louie."

She nods silently, handing over the small creature as she maintains her facade of captivity. I quickly tuck Louie into my pocket, his tiny form a comforting presence against my chest as I prepare for what"s to come.

"As soon as I have her distracted, run," I whisper to Chloe, my voice barely above a whisper. "Go straight to the front desk and don"t look back. You're brave like Wonder Woman, okay?"

She nods, her eyes wide with fear and determination as she braces herself for the coming confrontation. With a deep breath, I steel myself for what lies ahead, my heart pounding in my chest as the door swings open and Allison steps into the room.

Chloe maintains her guise of captivity, her eyes wide with fear as she stares at Allison. "Help me!" she cries, her voice trembling with emotion.

I feign surprise as I untie the last of my restraints, pretending as though I"ve just managed to free myself. Allison lunges at me, her fists flying as she launches into a frenzied attack. I duck and weave, dodging her blows as I fight to defend myself. The room spins in a blur of motion as we grapple with each other, the sound of our fists connecting echoing in the confined space.

Chloe gets up and sprints out of the room. Allison lets out a guttural moan as she starts swinging at me again.

With a sudden burst of energy, I manage to land a solid blow to Allison"s jaw, sending her staggering backwards. In that split second of distraction, I seize the opportunity to make my move, sprinting towards the open door with all the strength I can muster.

Just as I reach the threshold of freedom, I feel a sharp pain shoot through my side, and I stumble, the world spinning around me as darkness threatens to overtake me.

But then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Louie leap from my pocket, his tiny form a blur of motion as he launches himself at Allison. She screams in terror, flailing wildly as if she"s been stabbed.

I knew Allison is terrified of anything she deems a rodent. She hates squirrels and has an unnatural fear of them. That"s why I was so glad when Chloe told me Louie was here.

Louie is running up and down her arms and clutching on for dear life as he can. Allison is losing her mind as she sprints out of the room and slams herself into a wall. I'm about to make a run for it when Mia comes at me from the side, kicking me and causing my knee to buckle.

I fall down. She grabs me up before grabbing Louie off Allison and throwing him against a wall. He slides down and lands on the floor, lifeless.

"Get your shit together. Help me take her down. We have to get out of here before someone comes looking to see why you were making so much noise. Get the kid."

Allison walks back into the room.

"Shit," she cries out. "The kid is gone."

"How in the Hell," Mia hisses before she shakes her head. She glares back at me. "I'm going to pretend like you're my drunk sister. It's how we got you in here. If anyone asks, I'm taking you to a rehab facility. Do not try to get away or I will kill that little fucking brat next time I catch her."

I can feel the gun go into my side before I nod. I can only pray that Chloe made it to the front desk safely since neither Allison nor Mia knew she was gone.

I feel disoriented and nauseous as if I"ve been thrust into the middle of a swirling storm. My head throbs with every heartbeat, and my limbs feel heavy as if I"m moving through mud.

Blinking away the darkness, I realize with a sinking feeling that I"m no longer in the hotel room. Instead, I"m being dragged along by Allison and Mia, their voices a distant echo in my ears as they pull me toward the exit.

No one pays us any mind as we make our way through the lobby, a group gathered at the front desk oblivious to our presence. I try to call out for help, but my voice catches in my throat, muffled by the fog that clouds my mind.

Please let Chloe have made it to the front desk. Please let her see me and someone stop what's happening.

They drugged me again. I can't move. I can't speak. I feel like I'm drunk, like I'm moving through mud again.

Outside, an SUV waits for us, its darkened windows offering no glimpse of the outside world. With a rough shove, I"m thrown into the backseat, the impact sending waves of pain shooting through my already battered body.

As Allison and Mia climb into the front seat, the car lurches into motion, the world spinning around me in a dizzying blur. I try to stay awake, to fight against the overwhelming urge to surrender to the darkness, but it"s a losing battle. My eyelids grow heavy, and I can feel the numbness creeping up my side, radiating outward like tendrils of ice.

Desperately, I try to focus on the sound of Allison and Mia"s voices as they argue in the front seat, their words a jumble of anger and frustration. But even their voices begin to fade into the distance as darkness closes in around me, swallowing me whole.

"How in the Hell did you let the kid get free? She was our one shot!" Mia screams. "We were going to get a payout from her asshole father and then we were going to get a payout from her Grandfather. You're such an idiot!"

"You told me to leave and make sure that Matteo and the others were dead, which they are. The paramedics were there when I went by, there were three body bags.. Gia should have still been unconscious when I got back."

"Well, you fucked up the dosage somehow."

"You filled the syringes."

Mia hisses back at Allison before she reaches out and backhands her.

"You better hope that Christoph or Don Vincenzo give us the payouts they"re supposed to. The Don will give us a quarter million for that little girl, we just have to make him believe we still have her or we get her back. Christoph has millions in his bank account, you were supposed to take all of that from him but I haven't seen a dime of it."

"I have Christoph's money."

"Then where the fuck is it?"

"It's safe. We need to dump Gia somewhere, get the money, and then leave before this all blows up in our face."

"No, I have to go back for that little brat. They didn't realize I wasn't Gia."

"They're looking for Gia. I sent the text asking for the ransom, like you told me to."

"That's fine. I'll show up as me, then. They won't question me. I already told Josh I was going to come up and help look for Chloe."

"Chloe will know you kidnapped her."

"No, the little brat won't say a word if I threaten her first.."

"What do we do?"

"We will go back after that little brat. We will dump this dumb bitch somewhere and make it look like she's to blame for everything. The CIA might not have done anything to her for your sins even though they had all the proof right in front of their noses, but they won't ignore abduction and endangerment."

With one final, futile effort, I try to cling to consciousness, to hold on to the fleeting fragments of reality slipping through my grasp. But it"s no use. I look down, feeling something sticky on my side and see a pool of dark red liquid coming out of my side.

As Allison and Mia"s voices blend into a cacophony of screams and shouts, I surrender to the darkness, slipping into unconsciousness once more.