LOGIN[Emily]
My heart raced as the men closed in on my hiding spot, the lyrics of the song echoing in the air, creating a dreadful difference in the tense situation. I fumbled with my phone, desperately trying to silence it. The alarm stopped, but the damage was already done.
“What do we have here?” A man with a menacing glare pointed a gun at me. The others stood closely behind him, their hands in their pockets.
I gulped as panic surged through me, but I knew I had to think fast. With trembling hands, I held up my phone, as if to show that it was a harmless device.
“Sorry, it’s just an alarm," I said. I tried to be calm and collected as though I hadn’t just witnessed a murder. It was the opposite of what I felt at the moment. The men exchanged glances, suspicion written on their faces.
“Music alarm? At this time?” he snickered, clearly unconvinced. I nodded frantically, my mind racing for an explanation that would sound plausible.
“Yes, it’s just a reminder to go to sleep. I must have set it without realising.”
“Well, you’ve got an interesting choice of songs for alarms, Miss. Surely it’s going to lead you into trouble one day,” he warned, the threat in his voice making my blood run cold.
The men behind him chuckled amongst themselves, amused by what the man had said. I was not!
The man pointing the gun at me was a stern-looking man with a very deep scar on the left side of his face. He stared at me as though he could see right through my lies and signalled for the others to hold back as he stepped closer.
I started ranting as he did.
“It’s just a silly habit, you know? Must have gotten it from university,” I forced a nervous chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood. “I sometimes forget to set it off. My apologies if it disturbed you. I’ll take my leave now.”
I didn’t even take a step, and his hand was on my shoulder, pushing me back.
“You’re not going anywhere, Miss.” He spoke close to my ear. The next thing I knew, his hands were tracing down the buttons on my shirt. It sent chills down my spine, and not the good type. His eyes were fixed firmly on my breasts as he made circles with his hand on my shirt before grabbing one of my breasts.
I let out a scream and pushed him back, but he was so strong that he barely budged.
“P...please stop," I yelled, shaken as it dawned on me what he planned to do with me.
He sneered and approached me again. I moved back, trying to get away from him until my back hit a wall. There was no escape!
The others joined him, and I was dragged to where the van was parked. I was shaking all over, fearing for my life and what they might do to me before they took it.
“Please let me go! I didn’t hear or see anything. Please believe me!” I pleaded, but it was of no use.
“Who are you trying to fool? You’ve been here the whole fucking time. You know what happens down here. You’re a beautiful lady. It wouldn’t hurt to have fun with you before getting rid of you.”
I was tossed into the back seat of the van, hurting my back in the process. The door was left ajar, and the man began unbuckling his belt.
No, please no, no!
Fear consumed me, pushing me to continue pleading as I erupted into sobs.
He got on top of me. I tried to stop him, but he pinned both my hands with one of his. He was too strong!
I resisted with whatever strength I possessed, trying with all my might to get him off of me. I would never be the same if it happened. It would scar me for life.
“Please stop! Stop, I don’t want this. Please!” I screamed, but he didn’t.
The sound of a gunshot filled the air and he quickly got off, alarmed.
[Lucent]The sting on my cheek was nothing compared to the sting on my pride.For a moment, I couldn't move, couldn't breathe and couldn't do anything but stare at the woman who had just slapped me in front of half the marketing department. The sound still echoed in my ears, bouncing off the cubicle walls and settling into the stunned silence that had descended over the floor.My hand rose to my face, touching the spot where her palm had connected. The skin was already throbbing. I could feel the shape of her handprint forming beneath my fingers. No one had ever slapped me before, not even my mama.I should have been furious. I should have grabbed her wrist, twisted it and reminded her exactly who she was dealing with. But I wasn't furious. I was shocked to my bones, but it wasn't the slap that had me frozen in place, but what she'd said. "Don't you dare talk about your son that way ever again!"'Your' son. Not 'my' son. 'Your son.' 'My son'. The phrase echoed in my head, looping
[Emily]"Are you sure?" I asked, even though I already knew. Even though I could see Lucent watching us from across the room, his eyes widening as he took in my reaction."I'm sure, Em." Lisa's eyes filled with worry. "He's going to be working with us. Every day. He's your …he's your colleague now."My knees felt weak. I gripped Lisa's arm tighter, using her to steady myself. This was a nightmare. It has to be. Any second now, I'd wake up in my bed, and none of this would be real.But I didn't wake up because this was real. This was happening.Lucent Volkov, the man who had called me a whore, the man who had looked at me with those cold blue eyes and told me I was nothing, was going to be working in the same office as me. Sitting in the cubicle right next to mine.And did he have to sit right next to me?!Did Elias know about this? I had to talk to him. I had to understand how this had happened."I'll be right back," I said, my voice steady even though my hands trembled with anger. "I
[Emily]The afternoon sun was warm against my skin as I waited outside Hayden's school, watching the stream of children pour through the gates. Backpacks bounced against small shoulders, laughter echoed across the playground, and somewhere a mother was calling after her daughter to tie her shoelaces before she tripped.I spotted Hayden before he spotted me. He was talking with Marcus, his best friend, gesturing wildly as he described something that clearly required a lot of enthusiasm. His gap-toothed smile caught the light, and my heart swelled the way it always did when I looked at him. "Mummy!" he broke away from Marcus and sprinted toward me, his backpack thumping against his back with each step. He crashed into my legs, wrapping his arms around me like he hadn't seen me in years instead of hours. "Hey, baby. How was school?""Good!" he pulled back, his green eyes sparkling with excitement. "But Mummy, everyone was talking about you today."I frowned, bending down to his level.
[Lucent] Cyrus leaned forward, "Take a guess." The words hung in the air between us, heavy and damning. I stared at him, my mind reeling. "He's killed before?" I didn't know if it was a statement or an expression of how shocked I was. "You're lying to me, I know you are." There's no way Elias is a murderer. I've done a lot of bad things in my life, but killing someone, the thought had never crossed my mind, despite how much I resented them, probably because I've had death staring me in the face ever since I was young. "Am I?" Cyrus's eyes were cold as he said. "You know nothing about your brother. How can you call me a liar?" He paused, letting his words sink in. "Elias is no innocent fool; he's got everyone wrapped around the false image he's created for himself. Even you." "What are you trying to say?" I demanded, suddenly tired of his twisted words and games. "I was there when he made the call to your father. He got you off the position, didn't he?" Cyrus's words rekindled
[Emily]I stood frozen in the doorway of Elias's office, my mind still reeling from the sight of Cyrus's face. My memories took me back six years, to that dark alley. I thought of the sound of a gunshot silenced by a suppressor. I thought of the blood that pooled on the concrete. Of Cyrus's men, dragging that dead man into the back of a car as if he were rubbish. And of how Cyrus's men had dragged me into the van, his hands on my body, the terror that had consumed me. And he'd nearly… He'd nearly assaulted me, but that bartender had saved me. What was his name again? Alan! Yes Alan. He'd warned me to stay far away from Cyrus and the man who had pulled the trigger, their boss."Emily?" Elias's voice pulled me back again; concern etched across his features. "You look like you've seen a ghost."I forced my legs to move, stepping into the office and letting the door close behind me with a soft click. The sound felt final, like a trap closing. My hands were trembling, so I clasped them t
[Lucent]The taxi pulled up to the entrance of LensCorp, and I stared at the building through the rain-streaked window as if it were the source of all my problems. Which, I suppose, it was.I paid the driver and stepped out, the humidity hitting me like a wet blanket. This city was nothing like any in Russia. Here, the air was thick and heavy, and everything moved at a slower pace that grated on my nerves. I was used to the sharp cold of Saint Petersburg, the way the winter wind cut through you and kept you sharp. But here, it felt as though the city itself was trying to lull you into complacency.I walked toward the glass doors, my jaw tight, my hands clenched at my sides. I could only think about the phone call from the man whose sperm had birthed me this morning. Every word exchanged was still ringing in my ears, and each step closer to the building only framed the flames of my anger."Lucent, I've decided to make some changes to your position at LensCorp. Elias brought up some val







