Gloria felt head splitting pain as consciousness returned slowly to her, she raised her hand up to her forehead, or tried to before realizing it was strapped down and she moaned in pain as she tried to open her eyes.
The bright light caused her to close them tightly once more as she turned her head to the side and felt the harsh starched sheets of what must have been a bed that she was laying on.
"Ah, finally awake I see." a familiar voice sounded and it sent a shiver of fear down her spine.
"Robert?" she asked groggily as she once more cracked open her eyes and his fuzzy outline appeared before her.
"Yes Gloria, it's me. That fuzzy feeling in your head is from the sedative, I'm afraid it was quite strong."
"Sedative... what... what's going on?" she asked as she tugged at her bonds and looked down at the heavy white straps around her wrists.
"Why am I tied down Robert?" her voice more anxious now that the fog of the sedative had started to clear.
"I'd say you were restrained for your own safety, but really it's for mine and the staffs." he replied with a slight chuckle.
Finally things clicked in to place and Gloria realized she was at Robert's clinic, strapped down to one of the gurneys he used with his clients.
She'd only met Robert twice before, both times in social settings, both charity events that he and his wife had attended. What she feared though was that Robert knew that she had seen his wife many more times.
As if reading her mind he started to speak, "You know my wife and I have an understanding, our little dalliances outside of the matrimonial bedroom are fine. As long as all they are are dalliances. No long term attachments. If you had been satisfied with a few nights in Wendy's bed then this wouldn't be required."
Looking around Gloria felt like there was something off, Robert's clinic was on the 30th floor of a hi-rise, yet just outside of the window she could see green trees.
"Ah, you've noticed we're not in the city any more have you? Yes, well, this isn't my clinic in Manhattan, it is my other clinic, the one even my wife doesn't know about. You see soon after I graduated medical school and setup my city clinic, I was approached by a very rich client with particular tastes."
Gloria tried once more to pull herself free of the restraints but had no luck.
"Tastes that no woman would willingly submit to, but that with his almost limitless wealth he could easily procure an unwilling woman as long as he could find a willing surgeon to do what he wanted. I had to admit that at first I was hesitant, the risks seemed to outweigh the benefits, but he was quite convincing, especially when he setup this private island for me."
The shiver of fear that had run down her spine settled in the pit of her stomach, "Robert, I... I don't know what's going on, but if you let me go now..."
"Oh Gloria, we're too late for that I'm afraid. I've kept you unconscious for just over a week now, your old life no longer exists. I must say it was easier than I thought it would be, everyone keeps everything in their phones these days and no one things about the security of it. Why once the team grabbed you, all they had to do was swipe your thumb across your phone and they had access to everything they needed. You bank accounts, your e-mail, everything. Officially you book a flight out of the country and departed just two days afterwards. Breaking up with my wife over text messages was so cold of you. You e-mail, messaged and facebooked all your friends, telling them how upset you were and that you just had to get away for a while."
The knot of fear grew larger as she realize he was serious, "Robert... please... I won't talk to Wendy again. Just let me got and you'll never see me again!", she said with real panic in her voice.
She had intended on taking Wendy for as much money as she could, the rich socialite had turned out to be a much easier target than she had expected with her lesbian interests well known throughout the gossip circles.
"Well fortunately Wendy found consolation in the arms of a pretty young redhead for a few nights to lift her spirits. Why I heard she is heading out to the clubs tonight, on the prowl once more, with you firmly in her rear view mirror."
Gloria struggled once more, "Fuck you Robert, she deserves better than you!" she blurted out, her fear turning to anger for just an instant.
"Oh, and better than you too Gloria. Once I had your phone I did some digging, you've left quite the trail of broken hearts haven't you? And most ended poorly when they found out just how much of a gold digger you really were. But there was one in particular that interested me... Ivan."
"No!" was all she could say as she thrashed against her restraints. She'd almost snagged Ivan two years ago, it was only when she tried to siphon off some of his money with a little check forgery that he'd caught on. She'd fled as soon as it became apparent he was getting too close to finding out the truth, taking several heirloom pieces of jewelry with her.
She'd sold them on the black market for a profit and financed her return home, but she knew what he'd do to her if he ever got his hands on her again.
"Robert, look, we can work something out."
"I'm afraid not, after talking to a few of my eastern European clients to satisfy myself he was the right kind of person who would appreciate my work, I made a call to Ivan. He was very interested in my proposal and provided some very detailed specifications he wanted implemented."
"You... you can't... I won't go along with it, I'll fight you to the end! I don't care where we are, I'll find someone to help me escape and then I'll report you to the authorities and you'll be locked up forever you bastard!"
"No, I'm afraid not. This island is outside the jurisdiction of any country and even if you were to escape this building, you'd find yourself in the middle of the ocean with no way off. My staff are paid handsomely for their loyalty and you'll find them unsympathetic to your plight."
"Fucking bastard, I'll kill you!" she screamed as Robert walked up beside her and smiled.
"I'm sure you would like too, but I'm going to leave you with a little thought to occupy your mind overnight before your surgery in the morning. Your never going to see me again once you leave this clinic, in fact once you are delivered to Ivan I'm sure you're never going to see the outside of his basement. I'd suggest you enjoy these last few weeks at the clinic, I'm sure what comes afterwards will be far worse."
Gloria just blinked as what he said sunk in and then she heard the door close as Robert left her room, leaving her to consider it for the rest of the night.
* * *
Gloria had little sleep that night, Roberts warning playing through her head again and again. She watched the sun rise through her window until finally her door opened and in walked two nurses.
