"Why isn't she picking up?"

"Why isn't who picking up?" Joelynn asked Jacob.

"My mom. She usually picks up right away but since last night...nothing."

"Maybe she's still asleep," Joelynn suggested.

Jacob shook his head, "No, she never sleeps this late. Do you think you can give me a ride back home?" Joelynn had driven Jacob to her place the night prior. He had made fun of how she had driven with one arm, but since it was her left arm, it wasn't really that difficult for her to do.

"Of course, but I'm sure she's fine Jacob. Don't worry."

"Yeah...I guess you're right," but he couldn't stop staring at his phone.

The ride back to Jacob's house was silent but Joelynn didn't mind. As soon as they arrived, Jacob and Joelynn walked to the front door which was unlocked. Jacob called out for Lupita, his mother, but she didn't respond. He walked to the kitchen and saw his mother with her head down on the table.

"Did she fall asleep at the table?" Joelynn asked as she saw the unfrosted cupcakes.

Jacob saw his mother but something didn't look right. He walked over to her, "Mamá?" He nudged her shoulder and immediately felt that her body was stiff. "Mamá wake up..."

Joelynn watched silently not understanding why Jacob's mother wasn't waking up.

Jacob yelled, "Mamá! Mamá wake up! Wake up now!"

When Joelynn saw the tears begin to stream down Jacob's face she ran over to Mrs. Torres and tried to feel for a pulse with her right hand. She felt nothing. She quickly dialed 911 and waited for an ambulance while Jacob hugged his mother's body and cried.

When the police and the paramedics arrived, they confirmed that she had passed hours ago and resuscitation was unnecessary. The police remained. As they continued their work with the medical examiner, Jacob sat in the living room with Joelynn.

"I should have been home last night," Jacob kept repeating.

"Stop beating yourself up about this. It's not your fault."

Jacob looked up at Joelynn, with his features contorted in an angry scowl, "You're right. It's not my fault. It's yours!"

Joelynn was shocked, "My fault?"

"Yes! Your fault! Jacob, let's have a movie marathon," he mimicked her from the night prior. "If I was home, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"You're just upset right now."

"Hell yeah I'm upset! You know what Joelynn...just go."

Joelynn stood there confused.

"Get out! Leave! What else do I need to say so that you'll get lost?"

Joelynn looked at her friend who was upset and crying. She was already done talking to the police so she nodded, "Fine. I'll go. I know you're not okay right now but call me if you need me."

Jacob scoffed and Joelynn balked at his coldness. As she left, she hoped that her friendship with Jacob wasn't irrevocably damaged.

That Night

"Am I losing my mind?" Eva asked herself.

The longer she was held captive, the more she felt as if she was on the brink of insanity...and that scared her. She was afraid she was going to end up crazy. She actually feared that more than death. The torture of not knowing but having to wait was unbearable. She wished he would just kill her and be done with it...or let her go. Eva knew he wouldn't be doing either. Not as long as she was pregnant with the Demon King's child. She placed her hands over the swell of her stomach.

David's child.

She wasn't sure how she felt about this baby. It would be a miracle if either of them survived. In her mind she imagined it would be a little girl with David's blonde hair and maybe her eyes. She started calling her Grace because in her mind, they could only survive by the Grace of God.

When she thought of David as the Demon King, it still didn't feel real to her. Months had passed since the day that he had tried to kill her and FBI Special Agent Sally Roux was forced to shoot him. She still couldn't equate the kind, charming, handsome David with the brutal serial killer known as the Demon King. He had everyone fooled. He had been her friend for years before he became her lover. Even that didn't last long because the idea of having someone care for her as much as he did was foreign to her and it scared her. She ended up pushing him away. He had been her friend, her confidant, her protector, and her lover. She knew it was insane but when she thought of him as David...she couldn't help but feel he was the reason she hadn't died yet. She pictured him as some sort of guardian angel.

Eva laughed at herself. This is exactly why she thought she was losing her mind. David could never be a guardian angel. "He's probably burning in Hell for all the shit he did as the Demon King."

It was the Demon King's fault that she was trapped here in this basement by one of his fanatical fans or disciples, as they like to call themselves. Eva thought of her captor. He was so obsessed with the Demon King, it was appalling. At first, she didn't understand why, but the more he told her about himself, the more she understood.

Every night he would come down and give her food. Lately he had been coming to her a little tipsy from alcohol. She liked her captor when he had alcohol in him. He wasn't as careful. Eva was forced to listen to him talk about his mother and his hate for women. She understood why he chose prostitutes to murder.

The reporter in Eva was fascinated by his anecdotes. She couldn't help but remember what he said word for word. Eva once thought to herself that if she did escape, she could write an entire book about her experiences with the Demon King and his Disciple.

She thought of her job as a reporter. Her parents had been reporters and the need to unravel and expose had been drilled into her at a young age. When they had died, the only connection she still had with them was to write stories as a journalist. It gave her immense pleasure to inform the public of whatever new story she uncovered and she would be the first to admit that her job was her top priority. Eva knew that she would become obsessed with her stories to the point that she had found herself in some sticky situations in the past, but she persevered. She was a reporter and there was nothing in the world she would rather do for a living.

Eva looked around. She was sitting on her mattress. In her dress pocket was her shank, ready to be used. She just had to figure out how to get the chains off of her before she could escape. Beside her mattress was a metal bucket that she had to use as a makeshift toilet. He cleaned it out every week but it was disgusting and it smelled horrible.

"Damn I wish I knew how to pick a lock," she whispered.

"Evaaaa!"

She stilled as she heard him call her name. He sounded drunk. Eva smiled.

He came stumbling in with his keys and phone in one hand a McDonald's bag in the other.

"I got you some dinner," he murmured and threw the bag of fast food at her feet. She left it there and he became upset.

"What? You don't want it? You ungrateful..."

"I feel sick," Eva said in a voice that sounded sick. Before he could speak she added, "I think it's the baby."

He looked concerned and walked over to her, "The baby?"

Eva nodded.

He put his hand on her belly and then looked at her surprised, "You're not going to fight me today?"

Eva shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I know you care about his baby. You wouldn't hurt me."

He snatched his hand away, "I might. You still won't tell me who the father is."

She smiled, "If you unlock these chains, I'll tell you."

He laughed, "I have the key right here Eva...but I'm not going to unlock you." He held up his keys and jangled them in front of her. He then put the keys and his phone in his pocket and stood next to her. "I need to dump out your bucket. Go get it for me."

Eva sighed. She needed those keys that were in his pocket. As she held her bucket of waste, a very disgusting thought came to her. Her drunken captor was having trouble keeping his eyes open. She moved quickly. She splashed him with the contents of her bucket, causing him to sputter and curse. As he tried wiping his face, she pulled out her shank and stabbed him close to his chest. He yelled and she picked up the metal bucket and slammed it against his head several times until he fell to the floor. The metal chains were heavy but she had managed with sheer determination. He was on the ground, bleeding and unconscious. Eva quickly pulled out the keys and fumbled with the keys to unlock her chains.

She felt weak and unsteady. It felt strange to no longer have the weight of the chains hold her back. She looked at her captor's body and quickly stepped over him to leave the house. She didn't want to be close by if he suddenly woke up. She was in a blind panic. Her main priority was to get out of the house and get the police. She ran out of the basement and up the stairs. She could see a kitchen so she ran through that until she found herself in the living room. There was no landline in the house and she had left the cell phone in his pocket.

"Idiot!" Eva yelled to herself. She had also left the keys behind. She thought of going back to get them, but she was too afraid. She ran out the door and down the block. She saw some lights on at a neighbor's house and she ran to the front door as best she could. She was running on adrenaline but her body was physically weak. She slammed both hands repeatedly on the door.

"Help! Help me! Please help me!"

Even though she could hear people inside, no one opened the door. She felt very weak but pushed herself to keep moving away from the house she had been held captive in.

As if her guardian angel was looking out for her, she spotted a pizza delivery car parked in front of a house. It was still running. The pizza delivery guy was nowhere in sight, so he must have been inside the house.

"Thank God for idiots!" Eva cried.

She jumped into the pizza delivery car and began to drive. Nothing was going to stop her from getting to the police station. She slammed on the gas and drove. In her panic, she missed a stop sign and didn't see the large truck coming at her until it was too late.

Eva saw flashes of light.

She smelled smoke.

She could've sworn she heard sirens and a man tell her, "I'm going to feel for broken bones, okay?"

She didn't know what was real anymore other than the pain that enveloped her body.

She eventually felt numb and her last thoughts were an apology to Grace for not protecting either of them.