Ashley blinked to convey that she would behave.“Okay,” Nikolai began. "Where were we? Ah, yes. The reason you were taken was your boyfriend, your to-be-fiance, the richest drkadzija [motherfucker] of Norwich, Jake Grayson. You see, Miss, we are from the Zetelica."Zetelica? Ashley remembered the infamous name from an article she read in Newsweek magazine. The Zetelica was a branch of the Serb mafia based in Norwich.They allegedly ran organized crime syndicates across the city and had friends in high places. Their activities ranged from shark loaning to drugs to contract killing."Ah, from the look on your face, I can tell you have heard of us," Nicolai said. "The long and short of the matter is- your boyfriend and our leader, Leo Zetelica, bid for the same piece of land in Sweeney County.""Grayson outbid us and purchased the land, disregarding several warnings from us. The brat has already started a new industrial project there, bringing further humiliation to us. So, you see, we m

Ashley's eyes widened in terror. It was like something out of a gore horror movie. She did not know how to react to her captor's pronouncement. Her body went numb, her stomach turned, and she wet herself. Pavlov broke into maniacal laughter. "Kurva se samo naljutila!" [The slut pissed herself!] Nicolai joined him in amusement. In some twisted sense, the scene was hilarious for the two villains.Nicolai stepped towards her with the machete. Pavlov extended an arm and patted his friend's back.Nicolai suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Sta je to?" [What is it?]"Ne zaboravljate li nesto, Nic?" [Are you not forgetting something, Nic?]"Hajde, covece. Nemamo vremena!" [Come on, man! We do not have the time!]"Pogledaj to dupe!" [But look at that piece of ass!]"Ok, dobro, ali nemojte to reci nasem vođi!" [Ok, fine, but do not breathe a word about this to our leader!] Pavlov threw up his arms to indicate that he understood. Nicolai turned to go. "Imate petnaest minuta." [You have fiftee

Any soul who has ever been to Palmer Estate and set foot inside Palmer House has left with the mind blown. The mansion has over two hundred rooms within walls that enclose over 50,000 square feet. Bedrooms and living rooms aside, it has playrooms, study rooms, gymnasiums, music rooms, hearth rooms, parlor rooms, sunrooms, and so on. The household has only one child, and yet, five full-fledged playrooms form part of the mansion. The largest playroom has polished stone walls with magical forest motifs. There are mushroom stools and murals of friendly woodland creatures. An overhead star map can be lit up at night, along with the forest murals. The room houses Large Duplo Lego sets, indoor slides, toy trains, and every stuffed animal one can think of. Any child from the city would call it a dreamland.However, little Ashley prefers to play in the outermost guest hall. It is an oblong, windowless chamber next to the parlor room. Guests are made to wait in the parlor room before being u

Ashley's eyes opened a crack. The surroundings were cramped and dimly lit. She lay on her back; her wrists and feet were bound with duct tape. The place smelled of mildew and armpits. A splitting headache and nausea hit her, but she held back from groaning. Ashley's eyes had adjusted to the lighting, and she could see two thickset men looming over her. The Serbs! Zetelica!They seemed to ignore her for the time being, assuming she was knocked out. It took Ashley another minute to realize that she lay on the molded carpet of a vehicle in motion. 'A van? A large wagon?' Because of the poor lighting, her captors did not notice that she had returned to her senses.A blinding migraine overwhelmed her for a few seconds. Ashley let the memories of the day flood back. 'Let me review the situation. The testosterone capsules have worked, apparently. They dulled the longevity of the sedative that Milan gave me in the coffee. I woke up much earlier than I was supposed to.''But then, what

The 50th floor of Malory Towers had a banquet hall so spacious that it dwarfed the town hall of Norwich City. Ten years back, when the 50th story was constructed, Jake's late father, Richard Grayson, had named the cavernous den Chive hall after a street he grew up on. Chive street belonged to rural Scotland. The name was reminiscent of Richard’s journey from a hapless boy on the streets of central Scotland to the wealthiest man in one of the leading cities in America. His rags to riches story was fit for a movie screenplay. Unfortunately, Richard suffered a heart attack three years back, leaving his staggering empire for Jake. His son was a swashbuckling businessman and took Grayson Enterprises to greater heights. However, he did not share the same roots of sentimentality characteristic of the founder of the company. The previous year, Jake had renamed the banquet space to Elysium Hall. Regardless, Elysium Hall lived up to the grandeur of its name. The ceiling, fifty feet high, was