She hesitantly opened the files, and a flood of videos and photos appeared on the screen.
"That's a lot," Richard observed.
Adrienne clicked on the first video, which showed Linc and Juliette having sex.
"Huh? Why would she send me this? I thought she promised something life-changing?" Adrienne rolled her eyes in frustration and flung her phone aside.
"You've been quick to lose patience over small things lately. Could it be the pregnancy hormones?" Richard inquired, concern lacing his voice.
"Ugh!" Adrienne exhaled in annoyance.
Sensing her irritation, Richard extended his hand to soothe her by gently patting her back.
"Why don't we take our time and carefully review everything on the card?" he suggested.
"Okay. I'm sorry for snapping," she said with a soft, apologetic tone.
"That's better," Richard said, smoothing her hair affectionately.
"Come here," he gestured.
Richard picked up the discarded phone, settled back on the bed, and Adrienne snuggled up to him, resting her head on his chest. Together, they resumed examining the contents of the phone.
After the video of Linc and Juliette, they found nude pictures of Juliette, clearly taken by Linc while she was asleep.
Then came videos of Linc with Rosa, followed by clips of Michael with Rosa, and then explicit images of Rosa herself.
"Terrible people. Rosa and Juliette were victims too, just like me," Adrienne sighed.
The next video left Adrienne gasping in shock. She stared at it, aghast.
Ryan and Rosa?
"This can't be real. Ryan would never harm a woman," Adrienne declared, adamant in her disbelief.
She insisted the video was doctored. It showed Rosa unclothed on the floor of what appeared to be a hotel room, with Ryan striking her with his belt, then committing a degrading act upon her.
"Remember, Annabelle warned you about trusting him," Richard reminded her.
"People aren't perfect, I get that. But this? No, Ryan wouldn't do this... it's definitely fake," Adrienne maintained her stance.
"Okay. If you say so. Let's keep going," Richard conceded.
They scrolled through more videos, this time of Michael with various women.
"I'm starting to get bored. This just proves how dull porn can be, right?" Richard commented.
"It's so dull. How is this supposed to help me?" Adrienne yawned.
But the next image stopped Adrienne cold—it was a picture of her. Her expression shifted instantly.
"I'm sorry," Richard said, turning off the phone.
"No, keep going. I have a feeling we're close to finding the videos Michael and Linc made of me when I was kidnapped. Hopefully, their faces will be visible this time," Adrienne urged.
"If you're sure," Richard said, and turned the phone back on.
Adrienne's heart soared when they finally found the video with both Michael and Linc, their faces clearly visible.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Adrienne leaped up on the bed, her excitement palpable.
Richard watched her, surprised. He had expected her to be upset by the reminder of her past abuse, but instead, she was elated.
"Why are you so happy?" Richard asked.
"Don't you see what this means?" Adrienne said, kneeling over him.
She showered him with kisses—his hair, forehead, lips, nose, chest—everywhere.
"It's over, baby. It's all coming to an end now!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining with joy.
She hopped off him and began dancing around the room, shedding her dress to feel free, and joyfully moving to the rhythm of her own beat.
Richard watched, amused by her comical dance moves, yet loving every second.
"It's finally over!" she chanted.
***
Linc collected his possessions and was released from the police station the following morning.
"Bastards!" he muttered under his breath as he exited the gates.
He made his way to the street corner, searching for a taxi. After a brief wait, a cab pulled up.
"Head straight to Victoria Island. I'll pay double," Linc commanded as he climbed into the vehicle.
The driver nodded in agreement, and they set off.
"I'm going to make Annabelle regret this," Linc seethed, his fists clenched with fury at the thought of being deceived into a police trap.
Minutes into the journey, the cab abruptly stopped.
"Why did you stop? We're not at..." Linc's protest was cut short as the driver sprayed something into his eyes—pepper spray.
Blinded and in agony, Linc struggled as two men slipped into the car from both sides, trapping him between them.
"What's going on? Who are you?" Linc yelled, vision blurred and stinging.
"Keep quiet unless you want a bullet in your skull and your body left for the scavengers," the driver threatened, locking the doors.
One of the men seized Linc's arm. Despite Linc's attempts to resist and fight back, he was overpowered.
His wrists were swiftly handcuffed, and amidst the struggle, a blindfold was secured over his eyes.
***
Linc was bound to a chair, and as his blindfold was removed, he blinked his eyes open, still feeling the burn.
"Surprise!" Adrienne and Richard exclaimed in unison.
"Huh?" Linc grunted.
They wore masks, yet their identities were unmistakable.
"Welcome to our humble abode. Beautiful, isn't it?" Richard remarked.
"What the hell! Let me go!" Linc demanded.
"I asked if it's beautiful," Richard's tone hardened.
Surveying the room, Linc's gaze fell on the decrepit equipment—a machete, an axe, a wheelbarrow. These relics triggered a memory of the farmhouse where he and his father had tormented Adrienne years earlier.
"It's bringing back memories, isn't it?" Adrienne prodded.
"What do you want from me?" Linc inquired, a hint of fear in his voice.
"Tied to a chair, surrounded by these tools, and you're unsure of what's next? You're about to become the experiment subject of Dr. Richard and his assistant..."
"Nurse Adrienne!" Adrienne chimed in.
"Enough games! Release me!" Linc bellowed.
"Scream all you want; no one will hear you," Richard retorted.
Richard moved to a table set behind Linc, where a collection of pristine, gleaming knives of various sizes lay next to a pair of gloves.
He selected a pair of gloves and a small knife, akin to a dinner knife. After donning the gloves, he turned back to Linc.
"Rip his shirt," Richard instructed one of his men.
"You can't break me... you are wasting your time," Linc spat out, gasping as he struggled against the man tearing at his shirt.
"Is that so? We shall see," Richard countered.
He pressed the blunt knife tip against Linc's left shoulder, twisting it gently, causing discomfort but not breaking the skin.
"Fuck you, Richard! Fuck you, Martin!" Linc cursed.
"He's not even pleading for mercy. Use the sharper knife," Adrienne suggested, contemplating.
Switching to a sharper knife, Richard barely touched Linc's skin before it drew blood. Linc's continued squirming caused the blade to slice further.
Adrienne, seeing the blood, felt a wave of nausea and collapsed to the floor.
Richard immediately abandoned Linc and rushed to Adrienne's side.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Richard asked, concerned, checking her forehead for signs of fever.
"My stomach... I feel sick. I need to lie down," Adrienne managed to say.
"Let's get you to the car," Richard proposed, ready to support her.
"Don't worry. I'll go myself and wait for you. Make sure you give him a good beating," Adrienne said.
"Fuck you, Adrienne! I swear, I will kidnap you again and when I do, I promise to shove my two fists into that stupid hole of yours and pluck out your intestines," Linc spat.
Richard let Adrienne stand on her own for a while and then he attacked Lincoln, slapping him hard across his cheek.
"Looking at you tied up to that chair, I think I made the right choice," Adrienne said.
"Right, baby?" Adrienne said to Richard.
"Yeah, you did," Richard smiled at her.
"You see," Adrienne began, "... I was just going to collect evidence and have you sent to jail, maybe for life, but then I thought about all you did to me and the people I care about and I realized, I was so stupid," Adrienne mocked.
"My baby here wanted to kill you with his bare hands and I stopped him..."
"She made me go easy on you for a while," Richard added.
"I'm so sorry I did that to you. I love you as tough as you are," Adrienne hugged Richard.
Adrienne and Richard were deliberately trying to annoy Linc and Linc was just watching their act, clearly irritated by their show.
"So, now. We have decided to... wait for it... " Adrienne said, locking eyes with Richard and simultaneously, they shouted,
"Kill you ourselves!" and they burst into laughter.
"Isn't that exciting?" Adrienne said.
"Tell me, how excited are you?" Adrienne smiled at Linc like a clown.
"But don't worry, you still have a few hours to enjoy your last day on earth before we kill you and feed your body to wild animals," Richard chipped in.
“We’re such nice people, right, Lincoln?” Adrienne taunted him.
“I’ll be in the car while you give him a preview of what’s coming tonight. Don’t hold back,” Adrienne said, caressing Richard’s cheeks through the mask’s fabric.
She kissed him briefly and then left the room.
Outside, she removed her mask, feeling the fresh air on her face.
She breathed a sigh of relief as Linc’s cries and screams echoed. Richard was torturing him, and Linc’s pain gave Adrienne a strange pleasure.
“Music to my ears.”