Zara's voice had been shaking for a very long time. She had been talking and talking, and she didn't stop once. Every word she said felt heavy, like she was carrying a bag of big rocks. Every memory she shared was full of old pain. She told Henry the whole story—everything that had happened to her from the moment she met Aiden in the mountains to the day she ran away from the wedding. Her eyes kept looking out the window at the streetlights passing by. Each light reminded her of a memory she wanted to forget forever.
"Henry," she said, her voice small. "This is the part of my life where everything fell apart. It was a long, dark road, and somehow, it led me right back here to you."
After hearing Zara's entire story, Henry did not say anything for a minute. He just gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He was very angry, but he was also very sad for her.
"He used you," Henry said quietly. "He didn't see you as a person. He used you for a business deal."
Zara nodded her head slowly. The tears were running down her face now, dripping onto her coat. "Yes," she whispered. "At first, he was very nice to me. He acted like a perfect gentleman. He was charming, he was polite, and he was very caring when other people were watching us. But it was all a giant lie. It was a mask. When we were alone, he showed me who he really was."
Zara shivered. She felt cold suddenly, even though the heater in the car was on and it was a warm night.
"He was very cruel," she continued, her voice trembling. "He was arrogant and spoiled. He spent every single night drinking and going out. He was always with different girls, even when he told me I was the only one. When I tried to talk to him about it—when I tried to tell him he was hurting me—he just ignored me. He treated me like I was a piece of trash. He treated me like I was nothing."
For a few seconds, the car was completely silent. The only sound was the low humming of the engine and the tires on the road. Zara's voice faded away into the quiet. She looked down at her lap and watched her hands. Her fingers were shaking so much she had to sit on them. She had been living inside those bad memories while she was talking to Henry. It felt like she was back in that scary time all over again.
She took a slow, tired breath. "That was everything, Henry," she whispered. "That is the truth about Zara Thorne."
Henry swallowed hard. He felt a big lump in his throat. His face looked very soft and kind as he turned to look at Zara. Before tonight, Henry thought Zara was just a strong, stubborn girl who worked hard. He thought she was a person who was impossible to break. But now he saw a different Zara. He saw a girl who had been hurt very, very badly. He saw a girl who had been fighting a giant battle all alone for a very long time.
Henry leaned toward her. His voice was a little unsteady because he felt so much pity for her. "Hearing all this... it hurts me too, Zara," he said. "I had no idea your life had so much pain in it. I am so sorry you had to go through that by yourself."
Zara finally lifted her eyes and looked at him. She wasn't lost in her memories anymore. She was back in the present moment, sitting in the car with Henry. Her eyes looked very, very tired, but she was back in reality.
She spoke in an even quieter voice. "I moved to this new place to escape from him, Henry. I changed my name. I hid away. I thought I had left him far behind in New York. But he is like a shadow that follows me in the dark. He found me again. And now, he is sending me scary threats. He says that if he finds me, he will hurt me again. He says I belong to him. I am so scared, Henry. I don't know what to do."
Zara finished her story. Her breathing was still bumpy and fast. She felt a little bit better because a weight had been lifted off her chest by telling Henry the truth. But she was still terrified of what might happen next. She felt like someone was watching her.
Henry wanted to say something to make her feel safe. He wanted to reach out, take her hand, and tell her that he would protect her and her baby no matter what. But suddenly, a loud, crashing noise broke the silence of the night.
Then, they heard a terrifying sound—the sound of many feet running fast on the pavement toward the car.
Henry frowned and looked around quickly. "What was that?" he asked, his heart starting to race.
Before Zara could say a single word, the car shook hard. Someone had slammed their hand against the window from the outside. Henry turned his head fast. His heart was thumping in his chest like a drum. There were four men standing around the car. They were all wearing black clothes from head to toe. Their faces were covered with dark masks. You could only see their eyes, and their eyes looked cold, mean, and hungry for trouble.
"Zara, stay calm! Lock the doors!" Henry whispered loudly. He tried to reach for the door lock button, but he was too late. One of the masked men raised a heavy black gun. He didn't fire it; instead, he hit the glass window hard with the back of the gun. BANG!
"Open the door right now!" the man shouted. His voice was harsh and very scary.
Henry's heart jumped. "Who are you? What do you want from us? Leave us alone!" Henry yelled back, trying to sound brave.
The men did not answer him. They didn't care about his questions or his money. One man reached out, grabbed the handle, and pulled the car door open with a lot of force.
Two of the masked men reached in and grabbed Henry by his jacket. They dragged him out of the driver's seat and onto the road. Henry tried to fight back. He kicked his legs and pushed with his arms, but the men were too big and too strong. They threw Henry onto the hard, cold ground. When Henry tried to get back up to help Zara, one of the men hit him hard in the stomach with the heavy handle of a gun.
Henry groaned and fell back down. He couldn't breathe for a second. Everything went blurry.
Zara screamed as loud as she could. "Stop it! Stop it! Leave him alone! Please, don't hurt him! He hasn't done anything!"
The man closest to Zara's side of the car reached in and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her toward the open door.
"Leave me! Let go of me!" she cried out. Her voice was breaking with pure fear.
The masked man leaned his face very close to hers. Zara could smell the cold night air on his black clothes. "We are not here for him, girl," the man said in a low, scary growl. "We want you. You're coming with us."
Before Zara could try to run or scream for help again, the man pulled out his gun. He pointed the dark metal barrel right at her head.
Zara froze. She felt like she had turned into a block of ice. Her breath stopped in her throat. She looked at the scary black gun and knew that if she moved even an inch, something terrible would happen.
"Get in the other car. Now," the man ordered.
Zara shook her head, tears filling her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. "Please, no. Let me go. I have not done anything wrong to you. Please let me go!"
The man did not listen to her. He didn't care about her tears. He grabbed her arm roughly and dragged her out of Henry's car. Zara tried to struggle. She tried to pull away, but the gun was too close to her. It was too dangerous to fight back.
Henry saw them taking Zara. He tried to stand up, even though his stomach hurt very badly. "Let her go!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "Take my money! Take my wallet! Take the car! Take anything you want, just leave her alone!"
One of the masked men stepped toward Henry. He kicked Henry back down to the ground. Then, he pressed the cold, round barrel of his gun right against Henry's chest.
"Move one more time, and you die," the man said.
Zara saw the gun pointed at Henry's heart. She gasped, and her heart skipped a beat. She saw Henry lying on the ground, helpless. She realized that if she kept fighting or trying to run, these mean men would kill Henry right there in the street. She couldn't let him die because of her.
"Henry, please! Don't get up! Stay down! Do what they say!" she screamed. She didn't want him to get hurt.
The leader of the masked men opened the door of a big, shiny black car that was parked nearby with the engine running. He started pulling Zara toward it.
Zara was desperate. She grabbed the side of Henry's car door and held on as tight as she could. Her knuckles were white. "Please! Don't take me! I don't want to go! Help me!" she begged.
The man was tired of her screaming and fighting. He pushed her hard into the back seat of the black car. "You talk way too much," he growled. "Sit quietly and don't move, or things will get much worse for your friend over there."
Zara's whole body was shaking like she was in a freezer. She felt like she was trapped in a terrible, dark dream. She did not want to leave Henry behind. She held the car door and refused to let go. She was trying to be as brave as she could.
But then, the man standing over Henry stepped closer. He pressed the gun even harder against Henry's chest, right over his heart.
"Move, or he dies right now," the man said to Zara.
Zara's eyes got very wide. She looked at Henry lying on the ground. He couldn't move because of the gun. She realized she had to give up to save his life.
She let go of the door. All her strength left her body. The masked man grabbed her arm and pulled her deep into the back seat of the black car.
Henry was panicking. He felt completely helpless lying on the ground. "Please! Take me instead!" he cried out. "I have money! I have everything! Don't take Zara! Take me!"
But the men did not want Henry. They had a different, mean plan for him. One of the men took out a long, strong rope. He tied Henry's hands tightly behind his back. Then he tied Henry's feet together so he couldn't run away. Finally, they took a thick piece of cloth and tied it over Henry's mouth so he couldn't scream for help.
The men picked Henry up like he was a heavy bag of flour. They carried him to the back of his own car. They opened the trunk. It was small, smelly, and very dark inside. They pushed Henry into the trunk and slammed the lid shut. CLANG!
Now Henry was trapped in the dark. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't move his arms or his legs. He couldn't even call out Zara's name. He was all alone in the dark, wondering if he would ever see her again.
Inside the black car, Zara sat very still. Her hands were trembling in her lap. Tears were falling from her eyes like rain. The masked man sat right next to her in the back seat. He kept his gun pointed at her the whole time. He didn't say anything. He just stared straight ahead through the holes in his mask.
The driver started the engine. The big black car began to move away fast. Zara looked out the back window. She saw Henry's car getting smaller and smaller in the distance. She knew Henry was inside that trunk, tied up and scared. She felt so guilty. She felt like this was all her fault.
The black car drove faster and faster. Soon, they were far away from the spot where they had been stopped. Henry's car was left behind, silent and empty on the side of the dark road.
Zara pressed her hands to her face and sobbed quietly. She could not believe what was happening. Just a few minutes ago, she was safe and warm with Henry, telling him her secrets. Now, everything had changed. Her worst nightmare had come true. The man from her past—the monster Aiden—had finally sent his people to catch her.
Zara is gone! Henry is trapped in the dark trunk! Where are they taking Zara? Is Aiden waiting for her? And how will Henry escape?
The mystery is getting deeper and more dangerous! Don't miss the next episode of THIS STORY to find out what happens to Zara and Henry!