Brielle awoke to a soothing coolness on her head. Instinctively she raised her hand to touch the spot. With a growing sense of dread she looked around. The darkness surrounding her greeted her with an unwelcome familiarity.

Damn it. She was lying on the ground in the very same cellar she had escaped from some time before. She really was going to die in the dingy, musty old place. No one would ever find her in there.

I should have visited Disneyland when I had the chance, should have got married already, should have owned a house, maybe got myself a pet, guess no kids for me in this life...funny how everything works out.

"Where is she?" bellowed a familiar voice through the door.

Great now I'm hearing things.

"She's...around." said a cool voice that Brielle knew belonged to Zachary. She sat up quickly and rushed to the sealed metal door, trying to peer through the minuscule space between the hinges. A dim white light was visible through the cracks. Must be flashlights. Brielle could barely make out two figures standing close to one another.

"Release my collar, dear brother. Or she dies sooner." drawled Zachary. Brielle gasped as the second silhouette hesitantly moved away from Zachary.

Brother.

Jack.

Jack was here...for her...

She was saved!

She felt her spirits soar for the first time in hours. She was drunk with happiness and relief. He had come to rescue her. He hadn't forgotten about her after all.

"What do you want?" Jack's voice was hoarse. Brielle wondered if he had caught a cold.

"In return for the girl?" asked Zachary, his voice infuriatingly unperturbed.

"No." said Jack coldly. "Not Brielle. I mean what do you want with me?"

"I want everything." said Zachary mincing no words. "You hand over Dixon Enterprises without too much protest and the casualties will be minimum."

Brielle's breathe hitched. What would Jack do?

"Zachary, you and I both know that is not going to happen." said Jack coolly as Brielle sighed with relief.

"Here." said Zachary, and Brielle heard the flapping of papers. "All you have to do is sign here. Or you'll never see your darling Brielle again."

"Why do you keep coming back to Brielle?" asked Jack in a steely uncaring voice. "She means nothing to me. "

Ouch. That was probably my heart cracking.

"Nothing?" repeated Zachary.

"None." said Jack in an indifferent tone and Brielle wished he had stopped there. His next words were enough to shatter her resolve completely.

"She is of no importance to me. I was only putting up with her because I knew she would lead me to you. Now that I found you, we can settle this once and for all. What happens to Brielle is not something that matters to me."

She couldn't help the tears that rolled down her cheeks and into the cold, unforgiving floor. She was glad that he wasn't giving up on his company and his dreams, but to know that he was giving up on her and that she had never truly been of any significance to him, broke her heart. He was using me, just like Zachary did. I'm just a pawn in their horrible horrible game.

Brielle slumped to the floor, her grip on the door going slack. She had been about to cry for help, but now realized it wasn't worth it. It would probably be less painful to die in the cell than to escape only to know that she was unloved, unwanted and not needed.

The wound on her head wasn't hurting her anymore. It seemed as though someone had medicated it. Where was the agony when she needed it? The absence of the numbing physical pain did nothing to alleviate the stinging in her soul.

"I want to offer you a deal." came Jack's voice. "The Kormins and you can have 50% of the company and the associated assets."

"You are willing to forfeit 50%?" asked Zachary in surprise. "Thats unexpected."

"So do you want it or not?" asked Jack huskily and Brielle wished he would stop talking.

"Oka---" started Zachary but was cut off by two loud voices.

"Hold it right there. We were promised 25% each. That is a total of 50% for us." said a gruff voice. Brielle peered through the crack between the hinges to see two thick, burly men with matching moustaches stand next to Zachary. "We will not share the 50% with the useless Jones."

"Shut up you buffoon." snapped Zachary. "If he gives us half the company, we'll still be quite rich. Later I'll find a way to take the rest from him."

"I don't trust you Zachary." said the other burly man. "You might ditch us and take everything for yourself."

"I won't okay?" said Zachary in a pleading voice. He was certainly a magnificent actor, thought Brielle. He looked good too. She couldn't help but wonder why he was wasting his time lusting after Dixon Enterprises when he could easily have been making a fortune in Hollywood. I can't believe that's my first love, thought Brielle.

"No." declared the two men. "We reject your offer Jack."

"No no, we accept." amended Zachary.

"Make up your minds." said Jack as he lit up a cigarette. Brielle cursed under her breath. She disliked smokers, especially those who lied to her. I sure can pick them.

"I say fuck it all. Lets kill this bastard." yelled the moustached man on the left. He pulled out a gun and everything seemed to happen all at once.

BOOM.

A wooden casket behind them shattered. The bullet had missed Jack by a few millimetres. Brielle's heart jumped to her throat. Was it really so easy to stop caring?

"So that's how you want to play it." said Jack playfully. He's not scared, or disturbed at all? He even seems to be enjoying himself.

"I wasn't gang leader back in high school for nothing, you know." said Jack as he dug into his jacket. "Harvey, did I get you on the shoulder last time? Sorry about that old buddy, but you started it."

"I know. I got your leg didn't I?" sneered Harvey. "You may have been gang leader but that was years ago. Our skills have only got better, while you chose to reform."

"Well, I couldn't have lived like that all my life." said Jack merrily. "It was a good time to change for the better, pity you guys remained the same."

"Its three against one, Jack." hissed Zachary. "Say your prayers. Chris do it now!"

The bullets from Chris's revolver released at the same time as Jack's. It was a question of who would move faster, and Jack did. Chris cried out in pain as the bullet shattered his shoulder blade.

"CHRIS!" yelled the man named Harvey as he turned angrily towards Jack and fired thrice. Jack swiftly got out of the way, and managed to tackle Harvey to the ground. Wrestling with a man twice his size was proving to be difficult.

While he was preoccupied Zachary came up slyly from behind him and shot Jack squarely on his back.

"BRIELLE!" came Jack's pained yell as he cascaded to the ground.

Brielle watched in shock as blood dripped from Jack's clothes, where the bullet had pierced through. It had probably hit his heart.

"Is he dead?" asked Chris rolling out from under Jack's limp body.

Zachary kicked Jack with his leg roughly. There was no response, as a pool of blood started to form on the floor where Jack had fallen. "Yup he's dead."

Brielle felt sick.

Jack was gone. She didn't care if Jack had never loved her. She didn't mind at all. In that moment she would do anything to trade places with him, just so he could be alive. I loved him. Damn it all. I still do. I love him so much. So so much.

She didn't want to escape anymore. What was the point? Without Jack nothing was worth the effort. It had all been her fault. If she had been smarter and listened to Jack about dating Zachary, none of this would have happened. If only she had not gone out of the taxi to buy her souvenirs Jack would be alive and everything would be alright.

Perhaps she would make better choices in her next life. God knows she blew it this time. Forgive me Jack. I'm so sorry.

So this was how it was going to end.

Just then there was a loud noise, sounding like a bomb going off. Dust and debris was everywhere and Brielle found herself covered in it. She spit out the sand in her mouth and dusted her eyelashes on her sleeve. She squinted at the sudden light that had appeared overhead. A small hole, big enough for her to squeeze through had formed on a corner of the ceiling. She could even see the sunligt stream through.

A thick rope slid down the hole all the way to the ground.

"Hi there." said a cheerful voice. Brielle looked up to see a man peering through the hole. He looked rather like a young boy when he grinned. "Want to quit moping and get out of this place?"

Brielle's body moved in its own accord as she gripped the rope tightly as he pulled her up.