CHAPTER 7: THE FIRST STRIKE

ATHENA'S POV

I’ve been pacing to and fro about the room for hours, feeling like all the walls here are pressing in on me.

I stare at the window, my heart pounding and my mind running several miles in my brain.

Suddenly a knock at my door startles me.

“Miss Athena?”

I recognize that hesitant voice, it's Reed, Xander’s assistant.

I remember seeing him at the Gala and too be honest, he's the only person I've seen so far and in this mansion who doesn’t look at me like I’m just a person without something called a brain in her skull.

I go closer to the door and place my palm on it, “Reed?”

I hear him shifts uncomfortably, and assume that he's probably glancing at the four guards by the door.

“Mr. Knight asked me to check on you.”

I arch a brow at that. “And you’re doing that with the door locked from the outside?”

He clears his throat awkwardly, “I— I didn’t lock it. It's the guards that went down to eat."

My ears pick up the last words of his sentence immediately, "They went down to eat?"

"Uh... Yes."

My heart hammers and I excitedly tuck a strand of my hair behind my ears.

"Then help me,” I ask.

“I need to get out of here; just for a little while to get fresh air and a minute to think. Please.”

However he stammers, “Miss Athena, I— I can’t—”

“Reed,” I say firmly, lowering my voice.

"You know this isn’t right; he’s literally keeping me prisoner. I’m not asking you to disobey him, I’m just asking you to help me breathe.”

“Just… fresh air?” I hear him say.

I nod, desperate for him to let me out. “I swear.”

He sighs, and I hear him jiggle some keys and slot one into the door.

“Okay. Okay. But don't open the door yet so I’ll distract the guards at the back entrance first. But please… please be careful.”

Tears prick my eyes when I hear his words and the click sound of the door unlocking. “Thank you.”

---

The hallway is very quiet as I slip down the corridor.

Reed’s distraction works---- whatever it was---- worked.

I only managed to see two guards with their backs turned to me, just long enough for me to slip through the service door and down the elevator.

When I walk out of the door and the large building entirely, the night air hits me like a blessing.

My God, I even realised it was night already.

Closing my eyes, I breathe in deeply, enjoying the freedom I once didn't know I had, and then breathe down, opening my eyes.

Then I continue walking out, heading through the packing lot where I know my car is since I drove there myself when I moved in.

I’m almost there, when suddenly, a shadow darts across the lot and I freeze, thinking it's one of the guards.

But then another shape appears on the other side and walk towards me along with the first, and I finally see that it's two men with masks covering their faces.

This aren't Xander's guards at all, I think but before I can scream, one lunges at me, hand clamping over my mouth.

“Shut up!” he hisses, dragging me toward a black SUV.

I thrash in his grip, feeling my heart slamming in my chest as every biological cell in my body scream at me to fight back.

“Get the door,” the second man orders.

Adrenaline pumps up in my blood, and I stomp hard on the first man’s foot, pushing my head back and slamming it right into his face.

He curses, but I’m already diving toward the ground and in the process, my fingers brush against the loose gravel, scraping some of skin off.

I'm wincing in pain when I hear one say, “Grab her!”

Hands reach for me, but I’m too fast, or rather desperate to save my life and so I roll under a parked car, scraping my knees this time and tearing my dress.

I hear a shout and footsteps retreating as they chase me around the car.

Right now I literally crawl out on the other side, darting my eyes around wildly and then see that there's an alleyway on the right with a side door or something.

Tear begin blurring my vision and I sprint towards it, stumbling in and enter into the elevator I find there, literally hitting the floor button multiple times for it to start.

By the time I get back to the penthouse, I’m a mess------ my dress is torn, my hair is matted and my hands are shaking.

Reed meets me right when the door opens and his eyes widen with horror.

“Miss Athena----- what happened?”

I stagger past him, feeling too... dazed to respond to his question and walk into the living room, which is the first room to the left.

The living room is empty except for one figure— Xander, who's standing near the top up bar with a glass in his hand.

He turns slowly, locking his eyes on me and then explodes.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

I flinch.

“I—”

“You risked the safety of my child for what? A walk in the moonlight?”

“It wasn’t—”

He slams the glass down and the sound makes me jerk, rattling my nerves.

“Do you even understand what could have happened to you? To my heir? My guards are looking for you everywhere!!”

My voice cracks as I overshadow his voice so he can hear me, “I was attacked, Xander!”

He freezes and my chest heaves in relief that's he's stopped shouting at me, so I continue.

“... they were two men in masks, and... they tried to drag me into a car.”

His face changes and his expression immediately darkens.

“Where?” he demands.

I shake my head, and now for no reason at all---- completely unlike me---- tears start streaming down my face.

“I— I don’t know. They just came out of nowhere.”

“Did they touch you?” he asks and I nod.

He sucks in a breath harsh instantly, “Someone dared to lay hands on what’s mine?”

I can barely meet his gaze. “I—”

“Get her a doctor,” he growls to Reed that's standing somewhere behind me.

“And double the guards.”

I hear Reed scurrying away just as Xander's eyes meet mine.

“Go to your room. I’m going to find out who did this.”