Fearful Corners

Chapter 2: Fearful Corners

Maya’s POV

“Can you at least put on something more feminine? You’re going to an interview that actually requires it, so can you do me this one favor?” Lizzy shoved a long dress toward me, her brows drawn tight, her pout looking more like an order than a plea.

I glanced at the dress, wrinkling my nose. “Do I need to scream through a microphone for you to understand that I can’t wear this?” My tone dripped with sarcasm as I pushed the fabric away like it carried a disease.

Lizzy groaned and tossed her head back. “Gosh! I am so fed up with you. How can you possibly wear joggers and a hoodie to such an important interview? And your hair…” She reached out, running her fingers through my messy strands, then withdrew as though my hair had bitten her. “Can you at least brush it so you look like a human being? Or maybe, I don’t know… a woman?”

Her judgment didn’t upset me. I crossed my arms. “This is me, Lizzy. This is how I show up. If they don’t like it, they’re free to send me home.”

“You’re unbelievable,” she huffed, folding her arms and dropping onto the soft brown cushion beside her.

I checked my watch, 9:21a.m. I was supposed to be at the location by 10:00. “I’ll get going before I’m late,” I said flatly.

“You’re really leaving like that?” she persisted, her voice chasing after my retreating patience.

I picked up my motorcycle helmet from the old wooden table, gave her a faint smirk, and headed to the door. “Thanks for sending me the address. I’ll call you when I get there. Wish me luck.”

“Oh really? You’re still not going to wear something feminine? At least stop hiding that drop-dead gorgeous figure of yours,” she said with a mischievous glint.

I shot her a glare. I hated when she said that. “I’ll leave you to your obsession.”

Without another word, I swung my leg over my bicycle and started down the road before she could launch into another lecture.

…..

The streets were quiet, too quiet. As my tires rolled along the narrow lanes toward the main road, a creeping unease slid down my spine. My heart picked up speed, each beat loud enough to match the rhythm of my pedaling. Why was I so tense all of a sudden?

Maybe it was the way the morning air felt heavier than usual… or maybe it was my mind replaying all the reasons why this contract felt too good to be true.

After several minutes, I arrived at the agreed location, a luxurious relaxation center, gleaming and out of place in the middle of nowhere.

I dismounted slowly, eyes sweeping over the building. Why would anyone choose such an isolated spot for a meeting?

My instincts whispered, This isn’t safe.

But I shoved the thought aside. “I’m here for the money. And that matters more than fear,” I murmured, stroking the bicycle’s handle as if thanking it for getting me here in time.

I checked my watch, 9:55 a.m. “Five minutes early. Perfect.”

“Are you the lady for the interview?”

The deep voice behind me sent a jolt through my veins. I spun around to find a tall man standing close, too close. He must have approached without making a single sound.

“Yes… I’m the one,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

“Good. Follow me,” he replied curtly before turning on his heel.

I hesitated for half a breath before trailing after him.

We walked in silence until we reached a wide, empty waiting area. I sat down as instructed, but the silence here wasn’t peaceful, rather it was suffocating.

No other visitors, no chatter, no movement except the slow tick of a wall clock.

Why am I the only one here? Why bring me to such a deserted place?

A cold thought slithered into my mind: This could be a trap.

The pay they offered, absurdly high. And now, this… the isolation, the strangeness of the setup, it all began to knit itself into a terrifying picture.

I pulled out my phone with trembling fingers, my thumb hovering over Lizzy’s number. If I couldn’t get out of here, she needed to know… at least to understand why I’d vanished.

But before I could press the call button, a voice cold and dull, cut through the air. “It’s time to meet the boss.”

I looked up at the man in the black suit, his face was unreadable. My pulse quickened.

We stopped in front of a golden door marked with a single, ominous letter: A.

“You’ll continue from here. Knock, wait for his permission, and enter immediately if he calls you in.” His voice was as cold as the room. Without another word, he disappeared, leaving me alone with the door and my dread.

“Gosh… this is worse than I thought.”

Then again, every instinct screamed Run! But I couldn’t. Running meant going back to poverty, back to the life I was desperate to escape.

I knocked softly.

“Come in,” a deep, commanding voice ordered from within, faster than I had imagined, but almost at the same time, a loud scream shunned through the air, the scream of a woman in pain.

My panic surged immediately. What was going on?

The door flew open from the inside, and a woman stumbled out, hair wild, clothes torn, bare feet scraping the floor. Bruises marred her skin, and her terrified eyes darted everywhere as she fled.

I stood frozen until she vanished from sight.

My hands shook as I stepped into the room.

“Close the door behind you,” the voice commanded again, louder this time, thick with authority.

My body obeyed before my mind caught up.

And then I saw him.

He was tall, impossibly tall, his frame outlined against the window. The light caught his sharp features, the kind you couldn’t forget. His back was to me at first, but when he turned, I froze.

The most perfect man I had ever seen… yet his face carried no warmth.

“Miss Maya, right?”

My throat felt dry as sand. I gulped hard, my pulse pounding in my ears.

And for the first time since agreeing to this contract, I began to wonder if I’d just signed my way into hell.