CHAPTER 23: PLEASE RELEASE US!

The electric buggy stopped and Naomi knew they had arrived at their destination. The staff usher her inside the room with a bed and hospital equipment in the corner. A physician was standing beside the bed.

"Are we in the clinic now?" Naomi inquired.

"Yes," the staff replied.

"Can you please take off my blindfold now? I want to see this room with my eyes," Naomi requested.

"Sorry, ma’am, the blindfold will stay while the doctor performs a check-up on you," the staff replied.

Naomi bit her lower lip, annoyed. Sigh, they don’t want her to see the room. "Fine, just do it!"

The doctor performed screenings, physical exams and some tests to determine the mother and fetus’ well-being. The test lasted half an hour. After the check up, the physician informed Naomi that all her health stats were good.

"Everything is good, ma’am, you and your baby are healthy. I will provide more vitamins for you to be delivered to your room next week," the physician said.

"Can you please take off my blindfold? I want to talk to you in person," Naomi insisted.

"I’m sorry, ma’am, I can’t do that," the physician replied gently. "You may now go back to your room, ma’am," the physician ordered calmly.

"No, please wait. Can you take me outside of this building? I just want to see the sun and breathe fresh air. Just for a few seconds, please?" Naomi begged. Her voice trembled. She was desperate to see the outside world again.

"We are sorry, ma’am, we can’t do that without management’s permission. We have to take you to the next room. Our president wants to talk to you. You can ask for his permission. If he agrees to your request, we will bring you outside the building to see the sun," the staff told her.

Naomi stood up. "Alright, bring me to the room now!" she ordered irritably, looking forward to meeting the president of the facility.

Naomi and the staff left the clinic and proceeded to the last room in the hallway. While walking, she was trying to visualize the hallway and the entire structure of the facility, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t come up with the right picture in her mind. To her dismay, their footsteps are the only sounds she can hear.

She heard a door open and was ushered in. They lowered her into a chair. "Can you please take off my blindfold now? I want to see the president with my own eyes," she requested.

"No, ma’am, we can’t do that without his permission. We are sorry," the staff replied.

Naomi was seething in anger, fed up of their annoying repetitive replies. "I want to talk to the president now! Where is he?" she demanded. She no longer wanted to waste her time begging the staff for such a simple request.

"Everyone leave the room," a male voice ordered through the intercom.

The staff quickly left the room.

"Naomi, you may start your questions now," the male voice ordered.

Naomi sighed. She felt disappointed that the president was not in the room with her in his physical form. "Who are you? Why did you kidnap me and Alpha Maxwell?" she asked directly.

"I can’t tell you my name and it’s not yet the right time to reveal who I am," the voice answered.

"Is this place an illegal harvesting organ facility?" she asked.

The voice replied, "Nope, we are running a legal business here."

"Is this a human trafficking business?" she asked again to be sure.

"Nope," the voice replied.

She asked, "How many couples did you kidnap beside me and Alpha Maxwell?"

"I chose not to answer that question. Next..." the guy said.

"Is this your real voice?" she asked.

"No, of course not," the guy replied.

"But who are you really? Why are you doing this to me and Alpha Maxwell? Have I done anything bad to you and to your family that is why you kidnapped us?" she asked.

"No."

"But what is your purpose for doing this? Please answer me!" she yelled hysterically.

Heavy silence envelopes the room.

It seems the guy was hesitating. Will he answer her question or not?

"Please release us. I promise we will not report this facility to the police authorities," she begged.

"Sorry dear, we can’t release you yet. Wait until you give birth to your child and I will grant you freedom," the guy said.

She asked, "How about Alpha Maxwell? Are you going to release him too?"

"Yes of course, he will be released as well," he responded.

"How about the baby growing in my womb? What will happen to my baby?" she asked apprehensively, bracing for his answer, her heart beating rapidly in her rib cage.

"You can take your baby with you upon release," the guy answered casually.

"Are you sure?" she asked again, wanting his 100% assurance.

"Yes of course," the guy replied.

"But what is the point of all of this? What is this kidnapping all about? Because this is madness! I don’t get it at all!" she yelled furiously, confused more than ever. She wants to lash out at the faceless guy but he’s not even in the room.

The guy took a deep breath and said, "Trust me. Just trust the process, you will understand everything in the end."

"What process are you talking about?" she asked, enraged, her voice rising.

"We took a gamble in this process. The results are yet to be determined, but we believe things will get better with time. So don’t worry, you are in good hands," the guy said reassuringly.

Naomi’s forehead creased. "What do you mean? What are you talking about? I don’t understand your reasoning. Why would you kidnap two innocent people and imprison them in a room, forcing them to fall in love? Is this the bullshit process you are talking about? This stupid love game?" she asked, her nostrils flaring.

"The Love Game has a deep meaning. One day you will understand why we have to do it. Everything happens for a reason. Just trust the process. You won’t be harmed. Your stay here in the facility is safe. We will provide for all your needs. You have nothing to worry about. We got everything covered," the guy said reassuringly.

"No matter what you say to me, I don’t trust you. You are trying to gain my trust but I just can’t shake that feeling that you will kill us one day," Naomi said, bursting into tears as the desperation sinks in.

"No. That will never happen. Please don’t cry," the guy said, his tone filled with concern.

"Release us now!" Naomi demanded.

"No. That’s not possible. You and Alpha Maxwell will stay in the room until you give birth to your first child," the guy replied in a firm tone.

Naomi sank into despair. The thought of the guy leaving so soon worries her. She still has so many questions to ask, and so many clues to uncover. "Can I make a call to my father, please? I just want to tell him that I’m still alive and I will go home soon. I don’t want them to worry about me. Please?" she begged.

She was greeted with silence. The guy didn’t reply.

"Hello, are you still there?" she asked, panicking.

"I’m still here," the guy replied.

"Can I make a call to my father now? I promise you I won’t tell him that you kidnapped me," she assured him.

"No. That’s not possible, dear." The guy refused her request.

"Please have mercy on me. I need to inform my family that I’m still alive! Please allow me to call them!" she insisted. Her tone carried urgency and desperation.

"I’m sorry, you can’t call your family. But you can write them a letter. I will instruct my staff to send the letter to your family. As long as you do not mention kidnapping in your letter, your family will definitely receive your message. My staff will read your message first to make sure you don’t reveal to them what exactly happened to you and Alpha Maxwell," the guy explained.

Naomi felt a tiny ray of hope. A letter will do, it’s better than nothing. She just wanted her family to know that she was very much alive. "I will definitely write a message to my family back home," she said excitedly.

The guy spoke, "Do you have more questions to ask?"

"Can Alpha Maxwell also send a letter to his family to inform them that he is still alive?" she asked.

The guy replied, "OK. No problem."

Naomi felt relieved. Alpha Maxwell can also send a letter to his family. It’s better than nothing.

The guy spoke, "Your time is up. Is there anything you wanted to ask before you go back to your room?"

"I want to see the outside world again. Please give me a few minutes in the sun. I just want to breathe fresh air and see the world again. Please?" she begged.

"Alright, I will honor your request. The staff will take you there. But you must behave. Do not attempt to escape. You will only get hurt. Your baby will suffer in your tummy," the guy warned her in advance.

"I promised you I would not escape." Naomi lied through her clenched teeth.

"Good. Our meeting is over. My staff will take you outside," the guy replied.

"Wait, don’t leave yet! I have another question. You and Zero are the same person?" she finally asked the question that was bothering her mind.

"No. We are two different people," the guy answered.

"Can I talk to you again?" she asked.

"Yes, definitely at some point in time," the guy replied. "Time is up!"

Silence took over the room.

She knew he was gone. The silence says it all.

A few minutes later, the door opened and the staff came in.

Feeling excited, Naomi rose to her feet. It’s her first trip outside after not seeing the sun for a long time. She will definitely take note of her surroundings for a chance at escaping one day.

Naomi and the staff left the room. They moved on to their next destination.