The man in the car
943 Words
Chapter Three — The Man in the Car
The first thing Lushan noticed was the silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The kind that made every breath feel too loud.
She sat rigidly in the back seat of the black SUV, her wrists pressed tightly together as she stared through the dark window.
The world outside blurred past them.
Trees.
Streetlights.
Empty roads.
She had no idea where they were going.
Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it.
“Where are you taking me?”
No answer.
She swallowed.
“Who are you?”
Still nothing.
The man sitting in the passenger seat didn't even turn around.
Lushan shifted closer to the door.
She tried the handle.
Locked.
Of course.
Her eyes moved around the vehicle.
There were no obvious weapons. No other kidnappers besides the driver and the man in the passenger seat.
She wondered if she could overpower one of them.
The thought disappeared almost immediately.
She wasn't stupid.
She wouldn't last five seconds.
“Please,” she said, forcing her voice to remain steady. “If this is about my father, just tell me what you want.”
The man finally spoke.
“Stop asking questions.”
His voice was low and cold.
Lushan stared at the back of his head.
“You kidn*pped me.”
“I know.”
“And you're telling me to stop asking questions?”
“Yes.”
She almost laughed.
The absurdity of it made her anger rise above her fear.
“You people are insane.”
The man said nothing.
Lushan looked back out the window.
She needed to remember everything.
The turns.
The roads.
Anything that could help her escape.
They turned left.
Then right.
Another left.
She counted silently.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then the vehicle entered a long stretch of road surrounded by trees.
Her stomach sank.
She had never been here before.
After several more minutes, the SUV finally slowed.
A huge iron gate appeared ahead.
It opened before they even stopped.
Lushan's eyes widened.
Beyond it stood an enormous house.
Not a house.
A mansion.
Dark windows.
Tall walls.
Security cameras.
And men standing around the property.
She felt her blood run cold.
The SUV stopped.
The passenger door opened.
The man stepped out.
Then he walked around to her side.
Lushan pressed herself against the opposite door.
“Don't touch me.”
He opened the door.
“I wasn't planning to.”
“Then stay away from me.”
He looked at her for a moment.
For the first time, Lushan saw his face clearly.
He was younger than she had expected.
And there was something strangely familiar about his eyes.
Not familiar enough for her to recognize him.
But enough to make her uneasy.
“Get out.”
“No.”
His eyebrow lifted.
Lushan crossed her arms.
“I said no.”
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Then he leaned slightly closer.
“Lushan.”
Her blood froze.
She hadn't told him her name.
“How do you know my name?”
He straightened.
“Get out of the car.”
“How do you know my name?”
He turned away.
That was when Lushan understood.
Whoever these people were, they hadn't kidn*pped her randomly.
They knew exactly who she was.
They knew her family.
They knew her name.
And judging from the way he had spoken it...
They had been watching her for a long time.
She reluctantly stepped out.
The moment her feet touched the ground, two guards moved toward her.
Lushan stepped backward.
“Don't.”
They stopped.
The man in front of her looked at them.
“Leave.”
The guards immediately walked away.
Lushan stared at him.
“You're in charge?”
“No.”
“Then who is?”
He didn't answer.
He simply turned toward the mansion.
“Follow me.”
Lushan remained where she was.
“What if I don't?”
He looked over his shoulder.
“Then you'll stay outside.”
She glanced at the enormous gate behind her.
There was nowhere to run.
So she followed.
Inside, the mansion was even more intimidating.
Everything was expensive.
Dark wooden floors.
Massive paintings.
Crystal chandeliers.
But there was something unsettling about the place.
It didn't feel like a home.
It felt like a fortress.
The man stopped in front of a large double door.
Before he could open it, Lushan spoke.
“I want to know why I'm here.”
He looked at her.
“You will.”
“When?”
“When you're ready to hear the truth.”
Her eyebrows pulled together.
“What truth?”
He opened the door.
Lushan took one step inside.
Then stopped.
There was someone sitting in the chair by the window.
A man.
Older.
His back was turned toward them.
Lushan stared at him.
Something about his posture made her chest tighten.
The man slowly turned around.
Lushan's eyes widened.
She knew him.
She had seen him before.
Not recently.
Years ago.
At her father's company.
At a photograph in her father's study.
A man her father had always described with only one sentence:
“He's dead.”
Lushan's lips parted.
“No…”
The man smiled faintly.
“Hello, Lushan.”
She took a step backward.
“You're dead.”
His smile disappeared.
“That's what your father wanted you to believe.”
Lushan felt the room spin.
The man she had been told was dead was sitting right in front of her.
Alive.
And suddenly, the k********g wasn't the most frightening thing anymore.
The question was—
Why had her father lied?
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