Excerpt: Annette's Secret Life

The man opposite said to her, “Would you like anything, water or coffee, perhaps?” What an odd question that is, Annette thought, considering I have been essentially kidnapped. And if I take the water or the coffee, God only knows what would be in it.
She said, “No, thank you,” in what she hoped was an extremely chilly tone. But if it was, she could not tell by the demeanor of the man opposite her. In fact, she thought she might have seen a ghost of a smile.
“Well, then let’s get started,” he said. “The fact is, Annette, we’ve been watching you for quite a little while. I would say, 3 or 4 years. We know quite a bit about you.” He looked into her eyes briefly, and then apparently not seeing what he wanted to find, opened the file and began turning the pages.
Annette could read upside down. Her name was on the top of just about every page. They had her utility bills, cell phone logs, bank statements and Netflix queue. My Netflix queue?
“What is this? Who are you people? Isn’t this illegal? I want to make a phone call. Don’t I get a phone call?” Annette wanted to sound outraged and indignant but could not help but think that her voice sounded hopelessly whiny and high-pitched.