01: The Door She Shouldn't Have Opened

The Door She Shouldn't Have Opened 

ELENA hurried through the glass doors of Lunaris Tech Innovation, her short heels clacking against the polished marble floors in frantic rhythm. She was smiling… no glowing, because for the first time in a while, she had slept peacefully. No nightmares. No anxiety. No husband’s excesses. Just a clean, soft morning breeze and the hope of a new day.

But she was very, very late.

The receptionist, Lydia, gave her that familiar raised brow as the digital clock on the wall blinked 9:42 AM in bold red. Elena flashed a nervous grin and half-jogged into the corridor, her bag swinging wildly against her hip. Her braid bounced behind her as she weaved through employees already settled into their routines.

Her shared office was on the second floor, tucked in the corner of the expansive administrative wing. She pushed the door open and exhaled— only to inhale a sharp breath immediately.

Her desk.

Her once-cleared, neatly arranged desk from yesterday, was now drowning under a fresh mountain of files.

She stood still, blinking repeatedly. “God,” she muttered, dragging the word out helplessly. She had cleared everything yesterday, worked late just to make sure she cleared it. Everything. So how on earth—

The office was a rectangular space shared by four junior staff, each with modest cubicles divided by half-partitions. Papers, staplers, worn-out office chairs, sticky notes, and a humming old AC made up the scenery. The fluorescent light above flickered occasionally, as if it was tired of the job too.

Two colleagues were present: Martha, typing aggressively, her neck stiff as always, and Darel, headphones on, bobbing his head to whatever loud nonsense he was listening to this time. The third person, Ifeanyi, wasn’t on his seat, though his bag and scattered pens showed he had arrived.

Neither of them looked up at her. It wasn't unexpected, it was typical of them.

Elena sighed and slumped into her squeaky chair. She gently set her bag on the floor and rolled her wrist, preparing for a tiny moment of prayer— her daily ritual. A quiet pleading for strength to her God.

She bowed her head slightly.

But a loud THUD slammed onto her desk, putting a temporary halt to whatever she was about to do.

Her head jerked up immediately.

Clinton.

Ah! Jerk!

Clinton was the assistant supervisor from the next unit. And the bane of her existence.

He towered above her, face arranged into that irritatingly smug expression she hated— a half-smile that wasn’t a smile, more like a smirk that said ‘I enjoy your suffering’.

“Go— good morning, Clinton,” she greeted, her voice tight.

He didn’t respond. He was too busy rifling through the files on her desk, whisking some away with the efficiency of someone who didn’t care how disorganized he made things.

“Late today,” he said finally, selecting a stack of files and slapping them back onto the pile.

“I—”

“Take these to Mr. Eamon. He is waiting.” His tone was sharp and final. “Right now.”

Elena blinked. Once. Twice.

Eamon?

Like, ‘the’ Eamon?

The CEO who barely showed himself except during quarterly meetings? The man who had an entire floor to himself? She had never stepped foot in his office. Junior staff like her carried files to his personal assistant, not directly to him.

“I don’t underst—”

“No questions. Just obey.” He cut her off, his voice colder than the AC unit.

And with that, he turned and walked out, leaving the scent of his obnoxious cologne behind.

Elena stared at the files, her pulse skipping like a faulty drum. Why today? Why her? She didn’t even finish settling into her chair.

But she had no choice.

She gathered the files with trembling hands and stood, smoothing her cream shirt. Her shoes squeaked against the floor as she exited the shared office, clutching the documents like a lifeline.

The hallway to the CEO’s floor always felt different and quieter, colder, even more intimidating. The elevator dinged open and she stepped inside, watching the silver doors reflect her nervous face.

‘Just drop the files. Don’t embarrass yourself. Don’t faint. Don’t babble. Don’t—’

The doors opened to the top floor, and the atmosphere changed instantly.

This was no ordinary office environment. The air was cooler, scented faintly with something minty and expensive. The silence was absolute, the kind that echoed. The walls were lined with tall frosted windows, and the floors were pristine black marble that gleamed like water.

She approached the massive oak door with the gold nameplate:

**EAMON VALERIUS

Chief Executive Officer**

Her heart hammered. She could even hear her heartbeat.

But before she could steady herself enough to knock, her nerves took control.

She grabbed the handle and pushed the door open without thinking.

And walked into something she could never unsee.

The office was enormous, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the entire city, sunlight pouring in like molten gold. A dark wooden desk sat near the center—large, intimidating, polished to perfection. Bookshelves lined one wall, filled with thick volumes and old manuscripts. The air was warm, quiet and luxurious.

But none of that registered fully.

Because right in front of her— standing close to the desk— were Eamon and the financial director, Ava.

Ava was perched on the edge of the desk, her back arched slightly, eyes closed, lips parted as if anticipating a kiss. Eamon stood between her legs, one hand on her waist, the other on her neck…

But what made Elena freeze—

Was the sight of his fangs.

Not the small, costume-like ones used during Halloween, no, but long, sharp, gleaming canines protruding from his mouth. Inches from Ava’s neck.

He wasn’t about to kiss her.

He was about to bite her.

Elena’s blood iced.

And then—

SLAM!

The door she had left open closed on its own, hard enough to shake the room.

Ava’s eyes flew open.

Eamon’s fangs disappeared instantly, retracting as though they had never been there. His head snapped toward Elena, eyes blazing with something primal, something not human.

Elena choked on her own breath.

The files slipped from her hands, scattering loudly across the polished floor.

For one heartbeat, nobody moved.

Silence reigned.

Then Elena spun around and bolted.

She ran out of the office, almost tripping over her own feet, her chest tight, her lungs burning. She didn’t stop. Didn’t breathe. Didn’t think.

Because she had just seen something impossible.

Something terrifying.

Something she was never supposed to witness.

And she knew…

Her life at Lunaris Tech Innovation would never be the same again.