“You have a key to his house?” I asked, as Callum opened the door. He walked over to the alarm and punched in the code.

“I stayed here for a little while when I first moved to LA to run the charity,” he replied. He was nervous; the hand holding the gun he had pointed at me again was shaking. I looked around for a way out, something to hit him with, anything at all. Unfortunately, Liam house was decorated in such a minimalistic way, there wasn’t much around at all. If I could get to the kitchen, maybe I could find a knife, though.

“Callum, I’m sure if you just explained to Liam that there was a mix up with the numbers…” I began.

“There wasn’t a mix up. I stole it. All of it. I stole millions from him, because he deserved it, but that isn’t what this is about.”

“You didn’t steal the money from Liam, you stole it from all those kids with cancer,” I replied. Bad idea. He pushed me against the wall, and pressed the gun to my temple. Pain screamed through my head as he pressed into my flesh.

“I’ve heard enough from you, bitch. Now, shut the fuck up or I won’t wait till Liam gets here to kill you. I’m sure seeing your pretty little brains splattered all over his floor will be enough to do the trick.”

I nodded silently and willed myself not to cry. I needed to keep my wits about me, stay calm, look for a way out.

Callum’s eyes were wild and angry, his words spitting out of his mouth furiously, as he pulled me to the kitchen and sat me in a chair. He grabbed some extension cords out of a nearby closet, and began tying me to the chair.

“Liam’s a monster,” he spat. “He threw my sister away like a piece of bad meat. As if she wasn’t even a real person, with real feelings. She loved that bastard, and he just turned his back on her at the first mention of money and fame,” he tightened the knots on my wrists, the cords cutting into my flesh painfully. “And then, when she died, he still didn’t even acknowledge she existed. All the years, all the interviews, all the chances he blew to memorialize Ally. He could have at least honored her memory.”

“But he didn’t,” he continued. “Not once. Not one fucking word. And then what does he do? He asks me to give away the millions of dollars he earned by fucking her over to some sick kids. What about me? What about my family? What about our pain? Our suffering?”

He finished tying me up and he stood back to inspect his work.

“Callum, I don’t think —,” I began once again to try to talk him out of this.

“Shut up!” he said, disappearing behind me. When I heard the distinct sound of duct tape ripping, my heart sank.

“Callum, please don’t —,” my words died as he slapped the tape over my mouth. I struggled against the cords, shaking my head, pleading with him with my eyes.

“Too bad you got mixed up with him,” he said, staring down at me. “You’re a pretty lady. You probably don’t deserve this, but how stupid are you to get mixed up with a bastard like him?”

He began pacing around the kitchen, looking at his watch.

“You know, he’s fucked thousands of women. You’re the first one he’s ever had over to his house. You’re the first one he’s ever looked at that way since Ally.”

“You must have some really good pussy,” he said, towering over me. Fear gripped my heart, and I realized exactly how helpless I was. Up till now, I’d hoped I could talk my way out of it, but now that I couldn’t speak, or move, I knew exactly how fucked I was.

Liam was my only chance, and he didn’t even know where I was. He must be worried sick about me by now, I thought.

Callum reached down and pushed the hair from my face, his eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

“You know, I’d fuck you myself, if you weren’t so tainted from fucking Liam.”

I groaned, attempting to beg him again with my eyes. He obviously was not swayed, because he walked away, leaving me alone in the kitchen, alone with my thoughts, alone with my fear.