Regine woke up in a dark room. Her head was pounding and her body ached all over. She tried to move, but she was tied up. She looked around, but she couldn't see anything in the darkness.
"Where am I?" she croaked.
"You're in my basement," a voice replied.
Regine's heart sank. She knew that voice. It was Mark.
"Mark?" she said. "What do you want?"
"I want you to pay for what you did," Mark said.
"What are you talking about?" Regine asked. "I didn't do anything."
"You killed my sister," Mark said. "And now you're going to pay for it."
Regine's eyes widened in shock. "I didn't kill your sister," she said. "It was an accident."
"I don't care," Mark said. "You're going to die."
Mark turned on a light and Regine saw that she was in a small, concrete room. There was a table in the center of the room and Mark was sitting at it. He had a knife in his hand.
"Please, Mark," Regine said. "Don't do this."
Mark stood up and walked over to Regine. He bent down and looked into her eyes.
"I'm going to make you suffer," he said.
Mark raised the knife and Regine closed her eyes. She waited for the pain, but it never came.
Instead, she heard a loud crash. She opened her eyes and saw that Mark had fallen to the ground. He was holding his head and blood was streaming from a cut on his forehead.
Regine looked around and saw that a brick had been thrown through the window. A man was standing outside the window, holding a brick in his hand.
"Regine!" the man shouted. "Are you okay?"
Regine nodded.
"I'm coming in," the man said.
The man climbed through the window and untied Regine. He helped her to her feet and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Who are you?" Regine asked.
"My name is David," the man said. "I'm your husband's brother."
David helped Regine out of the basement and into the street. He hailed a taxi and took her to his apartment.
At David's apartment, Regine told him what had happened. David listened patiently and then he called the police.
The police arrived a few minutes later and took Regine's statement. They then went to Mark's apartment and arrested him.
Mark was charged with kidnapping and attempted murder. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
Regine was grateful to David for saving her life. She knew that she would never have been able to escape from Mark on her own.
Regine sat on the couch in David's apartment, still shaken from what had happened. She couldn't believe that Mark had kidnapped her and tried to kill her.
"Where is James?" she asked David. "Why isn't he here?"
David looked at her sympathetically. "I'm not sure," he said. "I haven't been able to reach him."
Regine's heart sank. She had been so focused on escaping from Mark that she hadn't thought about where James was. Now she was starting to worry.
"What if Mark has him too?" she asked.
David shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "Mark didn't mention James at all."
"But why isn't he here?" Regine asked. "He should know that I'm missing."
David shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I'll try calling him again later."
Regine sighed and leaned back on the couch. She was exhausted and emotionally drained. She just wanted to go home and be with James.
David saw how tired she was and suggested that she get some rest. He showed her to a spare bedroom and left her to sleep.
Regine lay in bed, but she couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about James and wondering where he was. She also couldn't stop thinking about Mark and what he had done.
She knew that she would never be able to forget what had happened, but she was determined to move on with her life. She would never let Mark control her again.
The next morning, Regine woke up feeling refreshed. She went downstairs to the living room and found David making breakfast.
"Good morning," he said. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay," Regine said. "Thanks for everything you've done for me."
"You're welcome," David said. "I'm just glad I could help."
Regine and David sat down to breakfast and talked about what they should do next. Regine wanted to go to the police, but David convinced her to wait until they had more information.
"We need to find James first," he said. "And we need to figure out if Mark has anything to do with his disappearance."
Regine agreed. She knew that David was right. They needed to be careful.
After breakfast, David took Regine back to her apartment. He promised to call her as soon as he had any news about James.
Regine went inside her apartment and collapsed on the couch. She was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. She was too worried about James.
She closed her eyes and tried to think. Where could James be? And why hadn't he contacted her?
Suddenly, she heard a noise. She opened her eyes and saw that the front door was slightly ajar.
Her heart started to race. She stood up slowly and walked towards the door.
She hesitated for a moment, then she slowly pushed the door open.
James was standing there, looking at her.
"James!" Regine cried, running to her husband and throwing her arms around him. "Where have you been?"
James smiled and hugged her back. "I'm here now," he said. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here to protect you."
Regine pulled back and looked at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.
James sighed. "I was captured by Mark too," he said. "I was searching for you when he grabbed me. He locked me in a room in his basement, but I managed to escape."
Regine's eyes widened in shock. "Mark captured you too?" she said. "But why?"
James shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "But he's not going to get away with this."
James and Regine sat down on the couch and talked for hours. They told each other everything that had happened while they were apart.
Regine told James about how Mark had kidnapped her and tried to kill her. James told Regine about how Mark had tortured him and tried to brainwash him into thinking that Regine was the one who had killed his sister.
When they were finished talking, James held Regine close and kissed her.
"I love you more than anything in the world," he said.
"I love you too," Regine said.
They knew that they would never forget what had happened, but they were determined to move on with their lives together. They were stronger than ever.
**********
Flashback: The Night Before Mark Captured Them
Regine and James were sleeping in their bed in their village home. They were both exhausted from a long day of work, but they were also happy to be together.
Suddenly, Regine woke up. She had heard a noise. She sat up in bed and listened.
"James?" she whispered. "Did you hear that?"
James stirred and opened his eyes. "What was it?" he asked.
"I don't know," Regine said. "But I heard something."
James got out of bed and went to the window. He peered out into the darkness.
"I don't see anything," he said. "Maybe it was just the wind."
But Regine wasn't so sure. She had a bad feeling about it.
"I'm going to get dressed," she said. "We should be careful."
James nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'll go check the doors and windows."
Regine got out of bed and started to get dressed. She was halfway through putting on her shirt when she heard a loud crash. She froze.
"James!" she cried.
James came running into the bedroom.
"What was that?" he asked.
"I don't know," Regine said. "It sounded like it came from the living room."
James grabbed a baseball bat from the corner of the room and they both went to investigate.
The living room was dark, but they could see that the front door was open.
"Mark," James said. "It must be him."
Regine gasped. "But why is he here?" she asked.
"I don't know," James said. "But we need to get out of here."
James and Regine ran back to the bedroom and climbed out the window. They ran into the night, not daring to look back.
They ran until they were out of breath. Then they stopped to rest.
"What are we going to do?" Regine asked.
"We need to find a place to hide," James said. "Mark isn't going to give up easily."
James and Regine found an abandoned barn on the edge of the village. They hid inside the barn and waited.
They waited for hours, but Mark never showed up.
Finally, James decided that it was safe to leave. He and Regine walked back to their house. As Mark entered the house, James noticed that Regine was missing.