What's going on? She thought in utter confusion, fear taking root in her heart. She was trembling so much. She wanted to calm down but how could she when there was a gun being pointed at her head.

"Mi-mister Sheikh?" Sadia finally managed to say. "Wh-at are you do-ing?"

"Quiet!" Zameer hissed in her ear, causing her to cringe and whimper, her heart pounding, threatening to explode as tears welled in her eyes.

"Pl-pl-ease," she began to weep. "Wh-y are......y-ou do-ing this?" She sobbed.

"I said," his grip on the gun tightly, pressing hard on Sadia's skin. "Quiet, if you know what's good for you." He growled, his breath harsh against her ear. Her heart almost stopped.

Zameer couldn't believe that he was so careless as to let his emotions get in the way and reveal too much. It was clear that this part of their business was left out of the Doctor's information. He was only assigned to bring in Dr. Sadia and be her escort and to keep watch on her. But things had taken another turn because he never thought that he would find Anissa in a state like that. And Thinking of Anissa caused him to lose focus as his emotions ran amuck but he tried to keep a firm hold on his emotions, especially now when the situation had changed so much so he only focused on the task at hand.

Zameer could feel her fear. The poor girl was shaking like a leaf. His senses caught her fresh floral scent but it got quickly masked by her scent of fear. Her trembling and shaking body caused him to almost pity her. Almost. But he didn't. He wanted this distraction. He didn't want to think about what he just saw a few minutes ago.

Dr. Sadia Rehman.

The poor girl was taken by surprise. She would've never thought that things would've come to this. How ignorant she had been. She was the daughter of such an important personality yet she didn't know her own importance and worked in blissful ignorance for her enemy. All this time, she was working for the most powerful Mafia that her father was fighting against and she didn't even know it. How ironic was it. And now, Zameer was going to execute his plans, swiftly and precisely.

"I d-do-n't-"

"I said to be quiet!" Zameer sneered. Sadia winces when she heard the ice coldness in his tone.

She almost jumped when she heard the soft click of the attached bedroom.

Shehryaar Ghulari made his way to his desk, his stance rigid as he came to the front of his desk, unbuttoned the front two buttons of his suit jacket and folded his arms across his chest, his gaze levelled in Sadia's direction.

Sadia shivered when she saw him, her body began to shake even worse then it already was when she sensed the dark aura around Shehryaar Ghulari. The air around him had become even more menacing, his features hardened and his cold piecing grey gaze just became even more sharp, making Sadia squirmish then she already was.

Normally, Sadia would've lowered her gaze in nervousness but right now, she was paralysed in fear. She had never seen a man look so frightfully terrifying.

This man that she was looking at was not the cold hard businessman that she had been working for. The Man standing in front of her had morphed into a different personality. Throughout her tenure in his service, Sadia knew that Shehryaar Ghulari displayed some suspicious traits of an antisocial personality. But she couldn't pinpoint it. And now, it just got confirmed that he really wasn't normal.

Sadia felt as if the temperature of the room fell low, very low as cold shivers ran down her spin, the hair on the back of her neck standing.

She saw the aura around Shehryaar become dark and menacing, almost as if a certain fearful maliciousness surfaced.

"You have exactly five minutes to explain to me why and how she reacted to him." Shehryaar sneered, pointing towards Zameer.

Sadia's eyes widened in horror.

Her heart was speeding at an abnormally quick rate but her mind was struggling to fight it, fight the fear. But the fear was too great.

"I-um," Sadia stuttered as the choke hold around her neck increased a bit to relay the underlying threat. "Unless you want me to hurt you, you will start talking right now." Zameer growled in her ear, causing her to whimper and shudder in fright. And the fear was so great that she started to cry. She had no idea what else to do. she was so scared: she didn't want to get hurt or get killed.

"For fuck's sake," she heard Shehryaar Ghulari grumble irately as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Zameer, lower your weapon." He ordered. Zameer immediately obeyed and released Sadia. She fell to her knees, hugging herself tightly as she cried.

No one had ever threatened her. Not with words and certainly not with a weapon. She had never been this frightened before in her life.

And this wasn't the first time Zameer was doing this to her. Even when the first time they met, even though he didn't brandish it to her face, he did show it to relay the underlying threat. She wasn't an emotional person. And she had never cried this much before. This was the first time. The first time she felt a fear so great that she felt like her heart would explode. So she cried. The only natural instinct that she knew.

Zameer sighed to himself. He knew that this was all too much for the girl but he had to do what his job required.

Sadia was so lost in her fear that her tears wouldn't cease. She would continue to cry. Sadia almost screamed when she felt someone touch her shoulder and when she looked up, she cringed and whimpered when she saw Zameer.

Zameer was also a scary looking man for her and now that she looked at his cold blank expression and serious brown eyes, she couldn't help but feel even more afraid.

"Stop crying." He commanded in a low yet gentle voice. Sadia shivered and squeezed her eyes shut, her arms tightening around herself. Zameer squatted by her side and pulled out an object from his pocket which was a handkerchief.

"Please stop crying. It won't help in your situation. It's better that you calm down." He whispered as lowly as he could. Sadia heard him. She knew that he was right. So she followed his advise despite her circumstances. She didn't bother with accepting the handkerchief and went on to sit on the couch. Taking a tissue from the coffee table, she wiped her tears and stared thinking. She didn't look up and kept her gaze to the carpeted floor. She willed her scattered thoughts into composure and tried to think but failed.

"Compose yourself immediately." Shehryaar's ordering voice boomed, causing her to flinch.

Both the men looked at her as she tried to stop herself from crying. They couldn't blame her for being so afraid. She was just a twenty one year old girl. Just a child in their eyes. But they weren't the Mafia for nothing. They fed on the fear of their victims.

Sadia immediately wiped away her tears but her eyes remained on the gun but she looked away and tried to focus.

She breathed in deeply, feeling her nerves calm as she thought. And thought until she finally understood.

Now she finally understood. All the pieces fell into place.

The trauma from the rape, the abuse, the mental torment and being forced to kill a person. Something like that would definitely have a crack at a person's sanity.

How could anyone be so cruel and brutal?

She was beginning to have an idea of the nightmare Anissa Ghulari must've endured. No wonder she's in a catatonic state because of it. And now, seeing Zameer, the nightmare must've threatened to end but she had gotten so used to living in a nightmare that the mere thought of breaking out of it sent her mind into a frenzy.

She had her doubts but now, she was sure that these people were bad news. For the past two months, she felt that something was being kept from her as she evaluated her patient. She knew that that there was still something that Shehryaar didn't tell her and now she knew why. Therapy failed despite it having good outcomes because of the lack of such knowledge.

It was too dangerous and too risky to share with an outsider like her even if she was hired for medical help. Shehryaar had told her only about the abuse and the violence that he had subjected his wife to: he never mentioned that he made her kill as well.

No wonder her trauma is so deeply embedded. She thought as everything began to fall into place and her eyes went up to the gun again.

Shehryaar sighed and snapped his fingers. Zameer immediately placed his gun back in his holster but remained in his stance, his arms locked behind his back.

"Speak now before I order your death sentence." Shehryaar growled.

Sadia's breath hitched in her throat as she flinched, her body starting to shake again in cold dread, sweat rising on her skin. She tried to control her tears. She made the mistake of looking at Shehryaar and one look from Shehryaar's intimidating glare sent her mouth flying.

"I-I think that," she paused to take a deep breath. "She might not j-just be......suffering from r-repressed memories." She stammered.

Sadia resisted the urge to cry but she knew that she would have to be brave. These men may be intimidating but she knew better: she needed to make it out of here alive. A part of her was screaming to run but a more rational part of her knew that if she tried anything reckless, then she'd end up getting shot.

However, she knew one thing, they wouldn't hurt her: she was a very important person and her disappearance would surely cause an upheaval, she was a young celebrity after all. and surely they wouldn't harm her. Her only mistake was that she kept every thing confidential so even in the event that something happened to her, no one would ever know about the culprits.

Now she only prayed that if she did her job and managed to get out from here, she would never get involved with the likes of such people again.

Breathing in deeply, she willed herself into composure, mustering all of her courage, all her strength as she drew a conclusion.

"I can't say this.....for certain. From what I-I can say, There are two.....possibilities." She swallowed. "But in the beginning, I had theorised..... that maybe with dissociative amnesia, she.....might even be suffering from a dissociative personality disorder." She claimed.

Shehryaar narrowed his eyes at her. "What the hell is that suppose to me?"

"It means," she sighed, choosing her next words carefully.

"She might've......developed twin personalities." She told. The room was silent. Shehryaar's glare was set on her and Zameer's eyes also didn't leave her. With blazing cheeks and a hammering heart, she willed herself to continue. "The personality that we see now, the one that doesn't know anything and the personality that's locked up in her head, the one that does......know and possibly, it must've been the one to not acknowledge you. You said that she doesn't touch you unless you tell her to. The circumstances....... or the psychological trauma that she must've been through might've split up her personality. One that is still intact......and the one that was desired out her but was against her nature. It's either this or," she stopped to take a breather.

"It's highly unlikely, but from what I gather," she stopped and took a look at Zameer. "She only recognised Mr. Zameer b-because, from what you said earlier, a part of her knew......that you were dead. Now I'm not sure, but......perhaps that part of her, subconsciously......was informed of the fact and believed that Mr. Zameer was deceased.......but one look at him must've been a strong psychological stimulus, enough to trigger her repressed memories to resurface. Now it can be one of......these possibilities. But the conclusion is that she's still there. Her old personality is still present inside her mind. It will require some sort of another........psychological trigger to bring her back." She concluded, drawing in a deep breath as her eyes fell to the floor.

The room became shrouded in a deadly silence.

Sadia could hear her heart pounding against her ribcage but she didn't raise her head.

She didn't know how much time was spent. She had done her job. All she wanted now was to leave, run back home and never leave again. She would have so much to tell her father and aunt. Baba was right. I should've been careful I-

Her thoughts were interrupted when her arm was jerked and she was pulled up from seat.

"What are you-" she was silenced when Zameer taped his hand to her mouth and began to drag her out of the office.

Sadia struggled, her mouth trying to scream but was muffled by Zameer's hand. Sadia tried to get away but Zameer was strong, his grip on her was too tight.

Sadia couldn't understand much except that she was being pulled down stairs until they reached a door. Zameer removed his hand and before Sadia could scream, she was pushed into a room

Sadia lost her footing and fell to the cold hard ground. She screamed when her arm scraped against the granite floor, making her bleed.

But it wasn't important. She quickly got to her feet and tried to run but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a bright light hit her directly at her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, her legs ready to run but when she heard the click of a gun so close to her face, she froze.

She didn't want to open her eyes but she had no choice. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, The hollow barrel of Zameer's gun was pointing at her face.

Her heart threatened to explode as her eyes squeezed shut once again.

She didn't want to die and the serious cold look in Zameer's eyes told her that he would pull the trigger without hesitation. But why wasn't he doing it? Why was he pointing the gun instead of shooting her?

She thought all these dreadfully terrifying thoughts but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes and face death. And the mere thought of death caused her chin to wobble, as tears began to leak from her sealed eyelids.

"Do you want to die?" Zameer said, breaking the silence, his tone menacing. Sadia's eyes flew open and locked with his dark eyes which bore a terrifying gleam.

She shivered hard in fear, her body convulsing as tears poured down my cheeks like rain.

"N-n-no," I manage to choke.

His gun was still cocked in her direction, the aim directly in the centre of her eyes.

"P-ple-please," She sobbed, unable to stop her body or her voice from shaking. The fear of death was all consuming.

She was not ready to die. Not in the least. She had so much more to do, She had so much more to accomplish before She faced God. No, death was not what she wanted or what She needed. And for that, she was willing to do anything to get myself out of this situation.

But She was scared out of my wits right now. The man had a gun pointed directly at her face! And one look in his deadly dark eyes showed her that he was going to shoot without any hesitation.

"Pl-please just le-t me go. I wo-n't tell anyone." It disgusted her that her voice shook so much but She was afraid. She was so afraid. Oh God please save me. She prayed.

"And why should I do that?" He muttered, his voice void of emotions. "I've been ordered to kill you."

All of a sudden, for some reason, despite her fear, anger rose in me. How dare he!

"Th-en, get on w-with it." She blurted out but her eyes widened when she realised what she said. What the hell am I saying? Why the hell am I provoking him. She thought. No, I need to commence this in dialogue. She thought and tried to think. Think of anything that could possibly convince this hard and stoic man to let her go.

She opened her eyes and studied him. He didn't shoot yet, that meant he was clearly having second thoughts. Because if he wasn't, why would he be stalling? Earlier, she had read wrong; he was hesitating.

She breathed in deeply and stared at him right in the eyes. She hated the blush that crept up her neck when his dark eyes connected with hers, his handsome face expressing no emotion.

But Sadia tried to be brave. There was a chance that she could possibly outsmart Zameer Sheikh.

"Please," she murmured. "You don't have to kill me.....I-I didn't attain any information. And I can k-keep it confidential. I don't have any p-proof. So please," she beseeched but clearly, Zameer was unfazed. She tried to be smart, but apparently that's all that she can be but at the moments, it was failing her as well as her efforts to be brave: She can never be brave even if she tried because of her quiet nature.

He didn't say anything. And when she heard the click of the chamber, her heart almost stopped.

Zameer assessed her reactions. She was flustered and frightened beyond reprieve and slowly, he was drawing her into the position that he wanted her to be. But for some reason, his heart was beating fast. He didn't understand why he felt this way. He felt almost queasy, his chest tightening a bit and making him feel uncomfortable.

Fucking focus. He reprimanded himself, his fingers tightening around the weapon he held. And Sadia saw that.

He's going to kill me. He's going to do it. She was practically hyperventilating now.

"Please please wait!" She swung her hands forward in surrender. "Please don't shoot. Please!" She screamed and began to cry. Oh God, I hate myself for being so helpless right now.

Bingo. Zameer smirked to himself. He had her exactly where he wanted her.

He didn't say anything as Sadia continued to sob. Zameer noticed that Sadia had cried a lot this day. And could he blame her? Of course he couldn't, she was a silent girl and kept to herself but this much display of emotion caused his heart to almost shake. But again, he steeled his will and shut down his emotions. You don't empathise with your hostages. He told himself.

"Do you wish to die, Dr. Sadia?" He inquired.

Sadia was taken aback with his question. What the hell type of question was that?

"O-of course n-not." She mumbled through her tears.

"Will you do anything to live?"

"Yes." She choked, feeling cold shivers run down her spine. Is he going to let me go? She thought, not thinking clearing or letting her fear ridden brain conjure up anything that would make her read the situation. All she knew was that she wanted to get out of this place alive.

"Then will you do anything I say?" He asked.

"Yes." She immediately agreed without thinking it through but apparently She didn't have the luxury to think right now.

"Alright then," he lowered the gun, much to Sadia shocking surprise and relief. She let out a breath that She didn't even think that She was holding in.

He walked towards her and caught her arm and began to drag her out of the room. Sadia didn't dare speak, fearing that he might change his mind as he made her walk down the stairs. They exited through a door and into an alleyway. Sadia saw Zameer's black Mercedes parked.

She was relieved beyond belief. Is he letting me go? He didn't kill me than that means he's letting me go. She thought in joy.

"Are you letting me go?" She inquired in a hushed voice. He scoffed and pulled opened the passenger seat door and shoved her inside. "No," he stood by the door and leaned inside so that he was inches away from my face.

"You said you'll do anything to live, right?"

"Yes." She gulped, not liking the sound of it as Zameer's face held an unreadable expression.

Suddenly, He smirked as his eyes flashed and Sadia saw his expression change from deadly lethal to mischievous.

"Welcome to the dark world of the Mafia Dr. Sadia. You've just become our most important collateral at winning many battles in this Mafia war.

Sadia felt her heart skip a beat.

Collateral? Me? She thought in utter confusion and dread.