Quote of the day : Sell not your mind. Retrace your steps, the way they lead burns like hell, but your path is paradise.

Ashley!

Ashley!

That was all Greg could think of as he woke up from the state he was in. He was forcefully hit by a strong smell, a very bad one at that. He felt lightheaded, and dizzy, it was like he was high on some drug or something. He felt what was underneath him, it seemed like he was on a bed, a hard one, he was laid face up. He opened his eyes slowly to assess his surroundings, what he came across first was a dirty white ceiling. He remembered clearly what had happened, he had been tricked by Ashley's father. He need no pointer to know that he was her father, the signs were there.

Greg turned his head to the side slowly, what he saw immediately jerked him up. He sat up hurriedly and made to stand up but was forced back down. He turned sideways to stare at his left arm that was handcuffed to the side of the single bed he was sitting on. He felt helpless, and hopeless. He had wanted to keep her safe, but he had failed woefully. He hadn't even been able to stop himself from getting abducted, so how could be save her.

He turned back to face Ashley slowly, he felt anger boiling inside him as he looked at the state she was in. She was laid on her right side, her arms were tied at her back by the elbow, with a chain. He could tell how uncomfortable and painful that would be for her broken wrist. Her ankles were also tied together, the floor she was lying on was definitely hard on her skin and she was putting on a damn sleeveless gown, but she looked like she was sleeping, or not, he couldn't tell because he couldn't see her face.

Then he turned to face the bed he was sitting on, he hadn't being tied, there was no restraint on him except the handcuff on his left hand. He had also been placed on a bed, his black suit and grey tie was resting on the bed. It was almost like the stupid man took great care to make him comfortable in his discomfort, while he made his own daughter feel nothing but abject misery. What sort of a father was that. He was a true definition of a psychopath.

Greg slowly turned to the other disturbing sight in the room, he hadn't paid so much attention to it because he had been concerned about Ashley. He stared in horror at the corpse, the person was a man in a white cloak, definitely a priest. The cloak was blood red, stained with dried blood definitely his own, now there was a reason for the odour in the room. He looked at the face of the man, trying as much as possible to ignore the obvious slash in his neck, that must have been how he died. He looked at the man face and found himself stifling a gasp of pain. It was Father Samuel, the priest of the church. He had thought maybe he had been transferred when he first saw Ashley's father, but he never would have guessed that the psychopath killed him.

How could anyone be so heartless to the point of killing a man of God. Seeing the body of the priest brought back certain unpleasant memories he would like to forget, he had never been the one to take death lightly, his mother's death was proof enough of that.

His attention was drawn back to Ashley, when he heard her cough, he looked at her as she wriggled on the floor, trying to find a suitable position for herself. Her wrist must be killing her.

"Ashley," he called out her name.

"Greg..." Greg said, moving about on the floor trying to face him. He felt his helplessness go deeper as he couldn't get up to go to help her, never had he felt so helpless before.

"Stop! Don't move, just stay as you are," he said sharply. He couldn't bare to watch her struggle that much.

"I'm sorry..." She said quietly.

"What the heck are you sorry for now?" he asked quite coldly. "You shouldn't be sorry for anything, if there is anyone who needs to be sorry, its that psychopath."

"Greg, there is something I need to tell you," she said sounding quite urgent. He noticed that she was trying to ease off her hand a little. He felt his anger boiling more at this point.

"Ashley, you don't need to say anything, save your breath. At least until we get out of here." Greg looked around trying to figure a way out, but it looked hopeless. It seemed he would have to wait for the stupid man to see what he had in store for them.

"Greg I have to tell you, you see, my father he is...he is..." She stopped abruptly when the door opened, and in walked the psycho still in that holy cloak. Greg wished he could burn it off his body right then.

The psycho scanned the room with a cynical look on his face, he crossed over the body of the priest on the floor and walked over to him with a smile. A very genuine one at that. Once he got closer he sat on the bed and gave him a longing look.

"You are awake, how do you feel my dear?" the psycho asked calmly. Greg wanted to rip his head off at the moment but refrained from doing so. He looked at the man quizzically trying to figure him out.

"Okay, I'm going to save you the hassle, first of all I'm definitely and certainly not dear to you. And secondly, untie her!" He said cocking his head sideways, with a glance at Ashley.

The psycho gave him a very funny look, "why do you want me to untie her?"

Greg grunted and reached up to his neck to pull his tie, but it turns out it wasn't on his neck any longer. "In case you didn't notice, your daughter has a broken wrist, which you are the main cause of. And she is currently tied down in that weird position definitely hurting, and you have the guts to ask me why?" He finished this with a raise of his eyebrow. He knew he was been recklessly foolish by speaking this way to the psychopath who has him and Ashley captive, but the man looked quite dumb. He stared at Ashley who was still where she was, deadly quiet. Very unusual.

"She is not and will never be a real daughter to me!" He yelled. The man looked enraged as he said this, and so different from the man who came in two minutes ago. Greg wanted to smack the stupid man, he was a fool if he didn't realize what a great daughter he had. Turns out all fathers are naturally stupid. "You shouldn't concern yourself with her, you should be more than grateful she is that way."

"Grateful for what? Look I don't know what you plan to achieve with this, but if you really want that sick plan in your head to work, I will suggest you untie her." He said calmly. And why the heck was he calm in a situation like this. This man might look a little not right in the head, but he has killed a person, and currently had him and Ashley in his custody, so he was still a person to fear. But he didn't care, right now he just needed to have Ashley's pain relieved.

The man looked at him for a long time with those hazel eyes of his, eyes that were so similar to that of Ashley. He must confess he hated seeing such resemblance on them, he wished he could just pluck those eyes out or something. After some minutes of silent brooding, the psycho stood up and walked slowly to where Ashley was. He raised her up gently and busied himself with untying her hands.

At this point Greg started thinking of possible ways to outsmart this obviously dumb man, he needed to find a way out of this. His phone wasn't an option since he couldn't feel it on him anymore, so he was damn sure the psycho has it. He looked round the room, aside the bed be was seated on, there was nothing else in the room, except some tiny window. And there was no way any of them could fit into it even if they did find a way to leave. His thoughts went to the two fools he had hired to protect Ashley in the first place, they should at the least be aware of her absence by now, so what the heck were they doing.

He focused his attention back on the psycho and noticed that he had actually untied her, but he only untied her hands. The bastard. Greg watched Ashley curiously needing to see her face, but she only bent her head, it was like she was avoiding looking at him. Now what could be wrong?

"I gave you your wish so it is only fair that you grant one of mine now Kane." He was shocked as he heard what the psycho just uttered. Firstly no one called him Kane except the idiot Davis, but that only happens when he calls him by his full name. And secondly how did he know his name was Kane.

"Who are you?" He asked with a deadly quiet voice.

"Ohhh I see the bitch didn't tell you," he said, giving a dirty glare towards his daughter, whose head was still bent.

"And I see that you have mental disorder." Greg retorted, he wasn't enjoying the conversation. For fudge sake he hadn't planned on spending his day like this, he had hoped to finish at work and go home to Ashley and his sister, but here he was having a convo with a deranged man while his girl was sitting there hurt.

"I see she has brainwashed you," he said with a chuckle, standing up from his kneeling position. "She is very skilled at that, just like her mother, but don't worry son. I will free you from her evil clutches today."

"Hold up, I think you mistake me for someone else, I'm not your son. I have a father and I know who he is," even if he is very annoying. He added silently.

"That bastard is not your father, he had never been a father to you, I was a better father. He took everything away from me, so now I'm going to get my revenge!" the psycho said with anger.

Greg actually felt lost, whatever this man was spitting out of his mouth wasn't making any sense to him. He couldn't make sense of anything, he didn't understand why a man would kidnap his own daughter, kill a priest, and also kidnap his daughter's boyfriend. And then stake some stupid claims. What on earth was he trying to achieve? Like why would he feel so much hatred towards his own daughter?

"Call him!" the psycho said stalking towards Greg. The psycho brought out Greg's phone from the pocket of his holy robe, amazing who would have thought he would be foolish enough to keep his phone, anyone could track them down. It seemed like this man was utterly stupid or he just doesn't care about the outcome of what he was doing.

"Call who?"

"Alfred Marshall, the man you call your father." He said spotting a glare.

"And why should I call him?" Greg asked again, trying to ignore the fact that this man had once again known something about him, which he didn't tell him. He wondered how much the man knew.

"Because we are having a tea party and we need guest. And if you don't, it will be your loss. I'm doing this for the both of us, that man and this...girl," he spat out staring down at Ashley, "have taken so much from us. It is about time we get our revenge."

"Hold up, what the heck are you saying? What has my father got to do with you? And what tea party?" He asked, getting a whole lot more confused at the situation. This was beginning to look more like an absurd theater instead of a kidnap to him. "What do you want? Is it money? If it is, you should have said so..."

"I don't want your money!" He said, his eyes filling with hurt, now why is that? "I just need my revenge and you, now call him!" He shoved the phone into his face.

"You are a very complicated fellow, aren't you?" He said.

"I see you are still so stubborn," the psycho said curtly, and stalked towards Ashley. He bent towards her cupping his stupid hands around her neck, strangling her, his eyes saw red immediately. Greg watched Ashley as she clawed helplessly at the psycho hands with her right hand. "Call him, or I kill her, either way I still get what I want."

"You will really kill your own daughter," Greg said with disbelief. It was at this point he began to realize that his father wasn't as bad as he had thought.

"She will never be a true daughter to me, no daughter would hurt her father as she did," he said with a murderous tone and pressed on Ashley's left wrist with his knee. Greg saw her face scrunch up with more pain, tears were flowing out of her eyes now. The handcuff on Greg's hand was biting into his skin now from the way he was pulling at it. It was at this point he knew that there was no going back, this man felt no remorse for his own child.

"Please stop, please." He found himself saying, his voice was quiet and beginning to break. Oh Zeus, how helpless he felt.

The psycho turned to face him with a smile letting go of Ashley's neck. She clutched her neck immediately, he so much wanted to go over to her then, but couldn't. The psycho stood up and walked over to him, placing the phone in front of his face.

"I will dial the number, all you have to do is invite him to the church, I'm sure you can think of what to say." He smiled as he said so. The psycho soon dialed his father's number, Greg wondered how he figured it out since he had saved the number with 'Dumbo.'

"Son," his father's voice flowed through the phone immediately he picked up. Greg felt a whole new length of anger wash through him, how much he hated talking to this man. "Son, you called, is anything the matter?"

"Not at all father, I'm having a little tea party, and would like for you to come." He said repeating the words of the psycho.

"Tea, okay son, I'm glad you thought of inviting me. Where should I meet you?" His father's voice sounded so expectant. It was weird he must admit, he wasn't used to this father.

"St. Mathews church."

"A church? Why church?" Confusion was clear in his voice.

"Well I'm currently there for some urgent business, so why don't you meet me up here. So from here we can both go over to my apartment." Greg said. He expected his father to be wise enough to decline, because it wasn't possible for a son who claimed to hate you to suddenly call for a tea party. Or is it?

"Okay son I will be there now," his father said, and the line went dead. Greg stared into the face of the man before him who had a self satisfied smile on his face.

"This tea party of yours had better be great because it will be the last you will ever hold," Greg said coldly.

"Ohh it will be son, now let me go welcome our new guest." He said leaving the room. Once he left Greg stared at Ashley who was by now clutching her left arm, there was a look of guilt and fear all over her face, and he hated it.

Chapter forty one.
Mary Aden.