Chapter Sixteen

**FOUR MONTHS AGO**

Sam started to come too but when she tried to move her wrists, she felt something sharp cut into them, looking down she tried to focus her vision and realized she had been tied to the chair with barbed wire. She tried to call out, but the gag was firmly in place, and she could make little more than muffled sounds, that’s when she saw someone come into the room. Sam tried to shout but it was no use and the person before her merely laughed at her attempt, he came closer and she could see he was wearing a mask, she didn’t know how she knew but she was sure she’d been kidnapped by Thomas O’Brien. “I see your finally awake, please scream all you like, no one will hear you.” He loved seeing the fear as it flashed across Samantha’s eyes, Thomas knew this was going to be fun, he stepped behind Sam and removed the gag so they could speak to each other. “You’re Thomas O’Brien…” he chuckled and answered back, “And your just as smart as they say detective Samantha Riley. I wonder if your father feels the same way?” That last part threw Sam for a loop, “What do you mean my father? I’ve never met him…” Thomas laughed again and pulled out a piece of paper to hold in front of Sam, it looked like her birth certificate but this one actually listed a name for the father.

“Your lying, my aunt told me she didn’t know who my father was! She would have told me!” Sam was on the verge of tears when she screamed at Thomas, he was taken slightly aback but still amused at what was unfolding. There was however one thing he absolutely hated, and it would set him off time and again, he hated when people called him a liar. He went over to the worktable and grabbed the tape and walked back in front of Sam, he grabbed her face and pulled it close to his, “I NEVER lie believe me I have no reason to!” his tone was firm but harsh he ripped off a piece of tape and placed it over Sam’s lips, he then grabbed the leather gag and placed that over the tape. “You’ll learn quickly there are very few things I tolerate detective, being called a liar is not one of them.” Hot tears streamed down Samantha’s face as she tried to scream again to no avail, Thomas continued on though, “Believe me I was just as shocked when I found out, but now that I know this is very advantageous for me. We’re going make a little film and send it to dear old dad and your team, you will cooperate, or I’ll kill you and send them the body.” Sam quieted down, the look in Thomas’ eyes showed he meant business, he went to work setting up a camera while she watched.

Back at the lab they had finished processing the evidence from the crime scene and had very little to go on, but they had a theory as to who might have Sam. Based on what they knew which was very little they were still sure that it had been the O’Brien brothers, everything seemed to match their MO, down to the smashed phone and the empty syringe. Alex had pulled some DNA from the syringe to try and match against Sam’s, what he got instead was the shock of a lifetime. He called Matt into DNA lab and closed the door, “What’s going on Alex, did you match the DNA to Sam?”, Alex was hesitant but answered anyway, “I did…but there’s something you need to know Matthew…I don’t know how to say this...” Matt could see the pain and uncertainty on Alex’s face, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but there was an unexplained need.

“She…Sam…Samantha’s not your niece Matt…” It pained him but Alex knew he needed to let his boss know what he found, “What… that’s… explain yourself, Alex!” He didn’t want to be cross but what Alex just said made his blood boil, “She’s not your niece…. because she’s your daughter Matthew.” He handed him the test results, “I swear I ran it at least 3 times and the alleles show as parent and child not distant.” The news floored the detective, he actually had to sit down, his mind was just having a hard time processing the news given to him. “You’re sure about this Alex?” He knew there was no reason for his colleague to lie to him, but he just couldn’t understand why his wife would lie to him. He was sure and he apologized profusely to Matt, but the fact remained Sam was Matthew’s daughter which meant they had an even bigger problem at hand. Once he was able to calm himself down Matt went back to his office and closed the door, he decided he would go through the evidence and paperwork to try and take his mind off things. As he was working his computer pinged to let him know he received an email, what he thought was a message from the team was something far worse.

As soon as Thomas was done setting up the camera, he moved over to the worktable and pulled it closer to the chair where Sam was. Having moved it closer Sam was able to better see everything that was on the table: knives, tape, wire anything and everything that could be used to inflict pain and suffering. Thomas then moved so that he was now behind Sam, he pulled her hair back, so it was behind her shoulders and then proceeded to remove her shirt with scissors leaving her in her tank top. Sam tried to move away but cried out in pain as the barbed wire binding her wrists cut into her skin, Thomas simply laughed at her plight. Satisfied with the way things were he decided it was time to record the video to send to the crime lab and stood in front of Sam, facing the camera he began, “Missing something detective Riley, or should I say someone?” Sam knew what was coming next, Thomas moved out of the way to show Sam tied to the chair. He then moved behind her and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back so that she was forced to show her face to the camera. Sam cried out in pain as Thomas continued on, “I wonder if she’s as strong as her father?” He looked at the camera as he said that last question and smirked, Sam was still struggling against Thomas and was starting to test his patience. He released Sam’s hair and grabbed one of the syringes from the table, uncapping it he pushed the needle into her neck and pressed the plunger down. Samantha started to lose consciousness but not before she heard Thomas tell Matt that he knew she was his daughter, “Guess she’s not, if I were you detective Riley, I wouldn’t waste too much time, not if you want your daughter back alive.” And with that Thomas took the camera back to their small office, upload the video and sent it to Matthew at the crime lab.