Liz had been sitting on the floor, her dress soaked from the water Otto had poured on her. The wet fabric clung to her, making it almost transparent and outlining every curve. Without a bra, her breasts were visible, her body shape elegant and striking. Her dark hair, partly covering one eye, made her look like a model mid-photo shoot. Her beauty was undeniable. It was the kind that men would trip over themselves for a glance.

"I swear to you, sir, I've never had a boyfriend, let alone a baby. I'm telling the truth," Liz said.

"You think I kidnapped you just to ask questions I’m not sure about?" Otto replied coldly.

" Have you thought of the fact that You might be holding the wrong person?," Liz asked firmly. “These days, people tend to look like other people and….

“What in the world is she….SHUT THE HELL UP!” He yelled then took several breaths to calm himself. "I'm holding the wrong person you say? My spies traced you, dug up your records, brought me everything and I mean every single thing about you and yet you claim I’m mistaken?"

"Maybe they confused me with someone else," Liz murmured, close to tears. “That was why I was trying to explain that I might just look like the person you're looking for but I'm not.”

"Oh, shit," Otto cursed, rubbing his temple. Her words made his head ache, but he refused to believe her. His instincts screamed she was the one he was looking for and it only meant that she was lying. He pointed his gun at her abdomen.

"You said you don’t have a baby, right? Then what’s this scar for, huh? Come on, tell me." Otto’s eyes narrowed, thinking it must be from a C-section.

Liz’s gaze dropped to herself. She was practically naked in front of a room full of men. Her body stood out in the worst way possible. She tried to cover herself, but her hands were tied. Shame burned in her. Being almost naked, no, she was naked. Being naked before one man was bad enough, but in front of several was unbearable. She could do nothing but face it.

"I… I got the scar from an operation. It wasn’t childbirth. I swear that’s the truth," Liz said, curling her body as much as her restraints allowed.

Otto glanced at his men, then threw his gun to the floor. He removed his blazer and wrapped it around her, covering her. Without warning, he lifted her like a groom carrying a bride, strode out of the dungeon, and ordered his men to stay behind.

He carried her into a luxurious bedroom and dropped her onto the bed without caring if she landed roughly. His expression was sharp, almost disgusted. He climbed onto the bed and began untying her hands.

Her initial thankfulness that he was helping her immediately vanished. Liz froze. He’d just shown a trace of care, but now he looked at her like she was something vile. What was he planning?

"What… what are you trying to do?" she asked, but he didn’t answer.

"Hey, sir, what are you trying to do?" she pressed again. Still, no response.

Her panic rose. She struggled, ranting, hoping he’d leave her alone, but he stayed over her, unmoving. She kicked out by accident, brushing his lower body. His eyes darkened murderously.

"If you keep screaming, I’ll cut your tongue out, cook it, and feed it to you," he said, his voice a cold blade. “Oh just you dare me and see.”

Liz went still instantly. It felt like Dracula himself had spoken. She had never met anyone so scary. She'd seen them in movies during those kidnap scenes but never had she seen one in real life.

Otto untied her wrists, and she stretched her arms in relief, kissing them as if they were alive. He moved to untie her feet, but as soon as she was free, she tried to scoot away.

Otto caught her with a hard stare. "You think I believe you? No. I want answers."

"What do you mean?" Liz asked cautiously, though she already feared what he was implying.

"You said you’ve never done anything like this, but your medical papers—" he stopped and took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket—"say you had an egg retrieval surgery two years ago. You donated your eggs but used a different name. Are you telling me you don’t remember signing any papers? The surgery?"

Liz frowned, confused. "Egg… what? No! That can’t be true. I’ve never—"

"Don’t lie to me! No one can forget something so significant unless that person is suffering from amnesia" Otto shouted and slammed the papers down on the bed. "The scar from the surgery is real, and the DNA from those eggs is linked to the child I’m trying to find. So, can you explain how that’s possible?"

Her heart raced, and she looked at the papers, unable to understand the complicated medical words. She couldn’t remember anything—no clinic, no surgery, nothing at all.

"I don’t know what you mean, like you said, no one can forget something of this magnitude and I definitely don't have amnesia." Liz said quietly, her voice shaking. "Someone must have used my name—"

"Your name? Your ID? Your signature? And the proof from your body?" Otto’s voice was full of anger. "You were part of this, even if you don’t want to admit it."

"I promise, I don’t remember!" Liz’s voice was breaking. “I have no idea what this is about. Please, let me go. I'm just a poor writer.”

Otto moved closer, standing over her. "Whether you remember or not doesn’t change the truth. You are the biological mother of that child, Liz. And I will find out the answers… no matter what."

Liz felt like the walls were closing in on her, and what was once a fancy room began to feel like a prison. Each word he said felt heavy and painful. If what he said was true, what else had been taken from her that she didn’t even know about?