The Truth

Preface

The young girl wakes up slowly, a groan leaving her lips. At the moment, it felt like it was any other morning. She would get up, get ready for school, then go downstairs and eat breakfast with her family. However, something was beginning to feel strange. The girl normally didn't wake up with an ache around her wrists, a knot in her neck, or a huge amount of back pain. Her bed was way to soft for that. Another groan escaped from her, as she picked up her head with her aching neck and finally opened her eyes. The harsh led light she was met with, had her squinting. The girl was starting to realize that wherever she was...it wasn't at home with her family. Panic started to build within her and all of a sudden she couldn't remember how she got here.

"Luca...Enzo..." Her dry throat and her crack voice surprised her. When was the last time she had any water? "Guys..this isn't funny." This room scared her. There wasn't any noticeable doors or windows, it felt like the room was taunting her. Making fun of the fact that she was stuck here without an escape. "I don't like this joke...let me out.." She cried out weakly, her hands beginning to shake. Why didn't they open the door yet? Why weren't they in front of her making fun of how scared she is? Where were her other brothers to join in on the teasing? Where her parents to scold her brothers about making fun of her? "Luca!...Enzo!...please," she cried out. "Someone let me out!" She shouted this time, hoping to emphasize the point that this practical joke was no longer funny. Why did a room like this exist in their house anyway?  When no one answered her calls, the girl began to beg. Over and over until someone heard her.  She would kill her twin brothers for this joke if she ever got out of this room. After another couple of minutes passed by, the girl hung her head in defeat. She hoped that whoever did this stupid prank would think it's worth it.

"Well well well look who's up and about. I thought the princess would never wake up!" A voice, a different voice, than one she knew cut through the silence. Her head picked up at the sudden intrusion of silence, relieved that someone else but her was in the room. Until she made eye contact with the man. Her eyes widened in recognition. She knew that man. He was the man at the market. The man that slipped those files about her parents into her bag. If this man was here, then that would mean this wasn't just another one of her brother's jokes. This would mean, the girl was...kidnapped? But who would want to kidnap her? Why would they want to kidnap her? Was it because of her family? Because they were successful and well off? "What do you? What do you want with me?" She spoke weakly, "Why am I here?" The man chuckled at the girl, relishing in her obliviousness of the situation. He walked towards the dark corner of the room and pulled a chair out of nowhere. Part of her was jealous that he got to sit on something, while she was left looking up at him from the floor.

He leaned forward in his chair with his hand out, reaching towards the girl. He ran his fingers through her hair, making the girl shiver in fear. "You my dear, are here because believe it or not you're something precious. Whether it be to your parents," He let out a dry chuckle, "your brothers, or your friends. You're something special and I've taken you." The man took his hand back and smiled down at her, an evil glint in his eye. "Your family took something special from me. They took it without a second thought. So I did the same," he reached from behind him and pulled out a knife, causing the girl to shuffle away in fear. "I was going to kill you. I was going to watch as the life let your eyes and finally begin to feel some sort of relief with my life," he put his head into his hands, dragging them through his hair. The man chuckled and looked back up at the girl, twirling the knife around in his hands. The girl at this point, was shaking with fear, tears running down her face. She didn't know what this man was talking about. Her family was kind, lovable, and very respected throughout the city. There was no way they were capable of doing anything like taking someone away from someone else...right? "But then I did some digging and found many interesting things. Like what exactly your family does for business, where you came from, and the fact that you my darling know nothing about it." He laughed again, standing up from his seat so he was towering over her. He slowly kneeled down towards her, until they merely inches apart. The man took the knife, lightly tracing her scalp with it, making the girl flinch away. "I thought 'why should I take the easy way out when I could watch it all crumble?' When I could watch their something special turn against them? Leave them in a way that would hurt more than taking your life." The man forcefully grabbed her chin into his palm, making her cry out in pain. "If you don't get it by now, your family isn't who you think they are. Whatever they told you or made you believe is nothing but lies. They're not your heroes or your knights in shining armors. They're monsters who deal in drugs and weapons. Who kill and torture people who get in the way of that business, without a second thought, without hesitation." He let her chin go and the girl wasted no time in moving away from the man.

What the man said couldn't be true. The girl couldn't-wouldn't believe that her parents, her brothers would be capable of anything like that. Her dad was the protector of the family, her mom was caring and gentle, and her brothers were her trustworthy shields. She was raised with so much love that she could never think that her family...no, she would not entertain these thoughts any longer. The man was wrong. He was lying. Shaking with newfound anger, the girl looked back up at the man. "You're lying!" She shouted, her voice heavy with tears. It seems like she hasn't stopped crying ever since she woke up in this strange room. "My family would never do something like that! I don't believe you!" The man was shocked for a moment at her outburst, but quickly smirked and sat back in the chair. "How naive could you be?" The man asked rhetorically, "But good thing I don't come without proof. I would have a hard time believing it too if I was oblivious as you."

Proof? This man had proof? Proof of these so called crimes that her family had committed. A part of her...a part of her wanted to see this proof. She's had suspicions about her family before, but nothing as big as the man was claiming. For goodness sake, the worst she has thought about the family business was that they owned strip clubs or something! Not...guns and drugs, things that could hurt people. But proof, proof would change everything, especially if that proof was real. The curious part of her wanted to see the proof, to confirm with her own eyes what her family was really up too. The other part of her however, didn't care about the man or his 'proof', the girl wanted out of this place as soon as possible.

"I don't care!" The girl shouted, shuffling away from the man again. "I don't care what your proof is! Let me out of here! Let me go!" The girl was attempting to get away but with her wrists and her ankles tied up, her efforts were fruitless. The man watched her with a sick satisfaction, by the way she was reacting his plan would turn out exactly the way he wanted it too. "Sweetie, it's so cute how you think you have a choice," The man walked towards the girl, picked her up, and even through the girl's kicking and screaming, he placed her on the chair he was sitting on before. The man gave her another sickening smile, before leaving the room. He came back in the room, quickly with another chair and a laptop in his arms. The man sat down and opened the laptop, he clicked on a few things before he faced the screen towards her. "Look closely," the man commanded, "is there anything that you recognize?" The girl didn't want to listen to the man but there was nothing else she could do. She couldn't fight, she couldn't run, and she definitely couldn't escape. There was nothing she could do, but listen and hope that the man wouldn't hurt her anymore. She broke eye contact at the man and glanced at the laptop screen. At first she didn't see anything that stood out to her, but when she took a second glance that's when she saw it. She recognized herself from her baby pictures, but the other two people she didn't know. Was it? They couldn't be...right? But the other two people looked way to similar to her. Were these her biological parents? Once she came to that conclusion, she looked back up at the man with wide eyes. All the man did was chuckle. "Now watch dear Mackenzie as the world you know crumbles," the man spoke.

As the video played, Mackenzie could feel her world doing exactly that.