**Knock Knock, Knock Knock!**
Rose Spencer instantly woke up from her dream after the harsh sound of knocking on the door. She swallowed hard, trembling as her heartbeat began to pound violently. Tears welled up as she stared down at her fingers, weeping.
Her aunt Karen, who was sleeping beside her, also woke up and said, "Don't worry, dear. It must be your cousin."
**Bang!**
Suddenly, they heard the loud sound of a pistol being fired. Karen and Rose were terrified. Sensing the danger, Aunt Karen said, "Rose, you stay here. Let me check it out!"
After saying this, she opened the door and walked downstairs. The house was silent, but the living room light was on.
"Aaaaaaaaaaa!"
Rose shivered upon hearing her Aunt Karen’s scream. She swallowed again and decided to hide instead of checking what had happened, but she didn’t know where to go. The room had windows, but they were barred with iron rods, so escaping was impossible.
She didn’t have large cupboards to hide in either. Unsure of what to do, she heard footsteps approaching the door. It opened, and Rose quickly decided to hide under the bed.
The door creaked open, and the lights turned on. Rose could see several pairs of men’s shoes—so many she couldn’t count. Terrified, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Someone lifted the bed from above her, and she knew she was caught, but she still didn’t dare open her eyes.
"She’s the one," a voice said.
It felt like her final moment had come. She opened her eyes and stammered, "Wh... Who are you?"
The man in a white suit replied, "That doesn’t matter to you."
"Wh... Why do you want to kill me?" Rose asked, her voice trembling.
The man smiled. "Ma'am, we don’t want to kill you."
Rose asked again, "Then why are you in my house?"
This time, the man didn’t answer. He simply gestured to his men, and two strong men grabbed her. "Ma'am, there’s no need to struggle. You can’t win against us. It's better to surrender."
Rose remained silent as they dragged her downstairs. When she reached the bottom, she saw something that made her scream, "Aaaaaaaaah!"
Two bodies lay on the floor—her uncle and aunt.
"Uncle! Aunt!" she screamed.
The man in the white suit smiled cruelly. "They’re dead. No need to cry over them."
Rose struggled against the men holding her, but they forced her into a car and tied her up, including her mouth.
---
**The Next Day...**
Rose Spencer finally opened her eyes and found herself in a dark room. It was so dark that for a moment, she thought she was blind.
"Who are you? Where am I? Somebody, please help me! Can anyone hear me? I can’t see!" she cried out.
She heard footsteps in the distance, followed by the sound of a door opening.
**Err...**
The door creaked, and a few people entered. "Thank God I’m not blind," Rose thought. Then she screamed again, "Who are you? Why are you doing this? Please let me go!"
The men remained silent as they turned on the lights. Rose gasped when she realized she was in an enormous, luxurious room—far bigger than her old house.
The men opened the curtains and placed food on a nearby table. "Ma'am, to your right is the door to your cloakroom. Inside the cloakroom, you'll find another door leading to the washroom. This is your breakfast. Please wash up and eat properly. Thank you," one of the men said before they left.
They didn’t respond to any of her cries. Trembling, Rose wondered where she was. Was she still in her city? Her country? Thousands of questions raced through her mind, but no one was there to answer.
Exhausted, she went to the cloakroom to freshen up. After bathing, she changed into the clothes provided and washed her dirty undergarments, which she had worn for three days.
Despite the luxury of the washroom, it wasn’t the time for admiration. She returned to the room and ate her breakfast, knowing she had no choice—even if the food was drugged or poisoned, she was too hungry to care.
After eating, she looked around and noticed a window. Rushing over, she peered outside and saw several men practicing martial arts. They were numerous. Among them was the man in the white suit from the previous night, leading the group.
Rose bit her lip and thought, "Why me, God? Why always me?"
As the man finished practicing, he glanced toward her window. Panicking, Rose quickly closed the curtain, her heart racing. The image of her dead uncle and aunt haunted her, and she cried throughout the day, though all she received in return was more good food.
---
**That Evening...**
A woman entered the room carrying a food tray. She placed it near Rose and said, "Ma'am, this is your dinner."
Rose had reached her breaking point. She grabbed the woman’s hand and shouted, "If you don’t tell me where I am and why I’m here, I won’t let you go. Just tell me now. Please, I’m begging you."
Terrified, the woman screamed, "Help! Help me!"
Rose widened her eyes in disbelief. "I didn’t even hurt you! I just want answers!" she pleaded.
But it was too late. Several armed men in black suits stormed in and pulled the woman away from Rose.
"I wasn’t doing anything! I just want to know what’s going on! Why am I here?" Rose cried, but the armed men ignored her as they took the woman out of the room.
Left alone again, Rose finished her dinner. She knew if she wanted to escape, she’d need to stay strong. A hunger strike wouldn’t get her anywhere.
As she finished eating, someone knocked on the door. Rose smirked, thinking, "As if I could say no and you wouldn’t enter anyway." But she didn’t dare say it out loud.
"Who’s there?" she asked. Before she could finish the question, the door opened. There he was again—the man in the white suit. He walked straight toward her and greeted her, "Good evening, ma'am."
Rose remained silent, fear still etched across her face. The man smiled cruelly. "I hope you’re enjoying the facilities provided by our boss."
Rose wanted to curse him but was too scared to speak. She stared straight ahead, wondering what his next move would be.
The man smiled again. "Ma'am, I trust you’re satisfied with everything we’ve provided."
Rose nodded in fear, much like an animal would in submission to a human’s threat.
The man clapped, and several women, including the one who had served her dinner, entered the room.
"Ma'am, these women are your caretakers. You can call on them anytime if you need anything. If they don’t do their job properly, here’s my card," he said, placing a card on the table. "Here’s a phone. You can call me if anything goes wrong."
Rose remained silent.
The man continued, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ll be coming daily for feedback."
Still, Rose said nothing.
The man clapped his hands again. "Since Ma'am has no questions, I assume she’s very happy with the arrangement. Everyone, leave now."
Everyone began to exit, including the man in the white suit. Suddenly, Rose’s trembling voice broke the silence.
"Why me?" she asked.
The man turned and replied, "Because your name is Rose."
Next day.
The sun was shining bright in the sky, but for Rose Spencer, it was a do-or-die day. A girl kidnapped the day before yesterday had knocked out a maid and disguised herself as that maid. Rose had swapped their clothes and covered the maid with a quilt, hoping no one would notice her escape.
Taking a deep breath, Rose finally left the room. She had no idea where to go and couldn't afford a single mistake. But she was clever enough to choose a random path and walk with confidence.
She was lucky. After wandering for a bit, she spotted the main gate. Excitement surged within her, but she had no idea where to go. The maids here always covered their faces, so she did the same. However, she noticed no maids used the exit.
"How will I get out?" she thought. "And what if someone questions me?"
As she bit her lip in nervousness, someone suddenly called out from behind, "Hey you, what are you doing here?"
Rose froze. She hadn’t seen any maids around, which meant this wasn’t a place they usually went. She had no idea what to do.
The man came closer and repeated, "I asked you something. What are you doing here?"
With no other option, Rose splashed a glass of water at the guard and bolted for the exit. She knew she’d get caught eventually, but she had no choice. As she ran, she realized no one was following her—not even the guard who had questioned her.
Reaching the exit, she saw a group of men practicing martial arts, including the man in the white suit.
"Oh sh*t! Now they’ll catch me," Rose thought. But she kept running, pushing herself harder. To her surprise, no one chased after her. The men merely paused before resuming their training, as if nothing had happened.
For a moment, Rose wondered if she had become invisible. But she knew that wasn’t true—she was still visible.
After running for what felt like an eternity, she reached a road.
"Thank God, I’m out!" she thought and kept running. Rose wasn’t much of a runner, but today she was running for her life. Exhausted, she wondered why no one was chasing her, but she couldn’t stop. She had to keep going.
She saw a few gardens and food stalls along the road, but no people. The whole area seemed deserted except for one shopkeeper. Desperate for food, she checked her pockets and found some coins in the maid’s dress.
When she reached the shop, the shopkeeper handed her food without charging her. Rose was taken aback.
"Why is there no one around?" she wondered.
"Why didn’t the shopkeeper charge me?"
"Where is everyone?"
"Why didn’t anyone follow me?"
Her mind buzzed with questions, but she was too hungry to think. She quickly devoured the food and kept running. But the road seemed endless, and she saw nothing but a few shops and gardens. Tired, she sat down on a bench, reflecting on her life.
At 21, she had wanted to do something for her parents, who were no longer alive. They had only ever lived in rented apartments, and Rose dreamed of buying them a house. But now, her parents were gone, and she had been kidnapped. Her uncle and aunt were dead, and there was no one left to pay for her college.
But Rose was determined. She couldn't let her circumstances defeat her.
"If life is tough, it means you’re God’s favorite. God wants you to be strong. Don’t give up," she whispered to herself over and over, trying to stay motivated. Eventually, she fell asleep on the bench.
---
Rose's eyes fluttered open as the sun blazed down on her. She needed shade. But as she woke fully, she realized she was surrounded by guards—and the man in the white suit.
"Oh no!" she thought, cursing herself for falling asleep. The maid must have woken up and alerted everyone.
The man in the white suit smiled. "Hello, ma’am. How are you feeling now?"
Rose gritted her teeth. "You can't just take me like this. I’ll call the police!" she shouted, turning toward the shopkeeper. "Call the police! I need help!"
The man in the white suit chuckled. "Ma’am, you’re still in our master's territory. This road is part of our domain."
Rose was shocked. "You mean the shopkeeper...?"
"Yes, he's one of our workers. Everything you see here is part of our empire. We didn’t stop you because we knew exactly who you were, even in that maid's disguise. There’s a CCTV camera in your room. We watched everything."
"Then why didn’t you stop me?" Rose asked, her voice trembling.
"Because you're free to roam within our territory," he replied with a smirk. "We treat our guests well. You’re allowed to go anywhere—except..."
"Except what?" Rose asked impatiently.
"Except asking to leave the empire," he finished. "Why would you want to leave? This is a beautiful place, and you can do anything you want here."
Rose clenched her fists. "So you kidnapped me, killed my family, and now you're allowing me to wander freely in your 'empire'? How generous!"
The man remained silent for a moment before speaking again. "Ma’am, the sun is blazing. Let’s head back to the mansion and talk."
It wasn’t a request—it was an order. Without waiting for her response, the man signaled his men to get into their cars. Rose reluctantly followed and got into the car that had been opened for her.
---
In a dimly lit room, a man and a woman watched everything unfold on a large screen. The room was filled with photographs of Rose, and the man’s expression was unreadable. His hands were tucked into his pockets as he observed Rose's every movement in silence.
The woman behind him spoke softly, "Sir, I don’t think that..."
