by Anna Collins
"But why? Michel seemed like a nice guy" I asked.
"I know, but she had other plans. She asked him to dine with her in her bungalow on the coming Friday night and also informed that she lived alone" said Rick
"Dude, that seemed like an open invitation for doing anything he liked, you know what I mean" Danny winked.
"Yes, like you he also got very excited and said yes" Rick shook his head.
I sat up "how can he just say yes he hadn't even seen the face of that woman he was about to go out with?"
"Hmm, I know. But he was too much allured by her and she told him that she would show her face on the night of their first date. And she also asked Michel not to say anything to anyone about their meeting or the date. Michel promised her that he wouldn't" Rick smiled.
"Aww that almost sounds cute and not to mention very secretive" I added
"Michel came back home and was very excited about his date, he couldn't keep it within himself and told Rafael about the whole scenario. Rafael was repulsed and he strictly forbade his brother not to go there. And as expected Michel didn't listen, to ensure the safety of his brother, Rafael chose to follow Michel.
At the night of the date, Michel got all groomed up and set out for his date. Rafael followed him from a distance and they reached their destination. At first, Michel and that girl were chatting happily then he requested her to lift up the veil. This time, she agreed and when she lifted up the veil both Michel and Rafael were scared to see the ugly burn scars on her face. Michel took his steps backward and was all set to leave but she caught him and held him in her arms, her hold was so tight and forceful that Michel got strangulated and died on the spot. And by seeing all this Rafael got fainted near the tree, behind which he was hiding. In the morning some people found Rafael and took him home. The people who helped him told that there was no bungalow situated in that area." Rick stopped.
"Guys, if this story is true then it could be possible that the same veiled woman had kidnapped me. She practices black art and now I believe that she surely has some evil powers" I felt a knot in my heart as I said this.
"Freya. Just forget about everything. Surely that woman exists, and she seems dangerous too and we can not ignore the fact that she is dangerous. But we can't do anything about her, she is a witch and we are humans" Rick said.
"Yes, and all this drama started from the time you found this ring. Take it out and give it to me, I will destroy it. We want no connections with that woman and you only said that she told you that it was her ring." Danny exclaimed.
"But…guys this ring, it can be helpful" I hesitated, fingering that beautiful ring.
"Oh just give it to me" Danny rebuked.
Rick gestured me to listen to Danny.
With a heavy heart I took off the ring, surprisingly it came out very easily, but why wasn't it coming out when that woman was pulling it with her full effort? I wondered.
Chapter 36
Freya
Next morning, I woke up with a fresh mood and a super positive attitude. I decided to leave my past behind and to focus on my future. I had my job back and Kent said that if I keep doing the good work he would be happy to promote me in the upcoming Annual meeting.
While applying mascara, my eyes traveled to the red mark on my index finger, where the ring used to live. And I was forced to remember the dark shadows that were moving behind my back and were not ready to leave me alone. My bright face turned into a gloomy one in no time.
My phone buzzed it was an email from Tina, the personal assistant of Ben Wyatt and the email was a reminder that I needed to show up at Ben Wyatt's office in less than an hour. They were keen to discuss the share transfer proposal.
Damn! That day also I was going to Mr. Wyatt's office. I wanted to politely decline the offer. I knew he was very impressed with my smartness and bravery but there was no way I could accept that generous gift. I had zero knowledge about business stuff. On top of that if I accepted the shares it would enter into a one on one battle with Robert Hudson. Jeez! That guy could kill to get those shares. And for the moment I wanted to stay away from all the trouble in the world.
"It's decided Freya, you will go there and will decline the offer politely," I said to myself.
~
I was wearing a peach knee-length dress, it had a black border all over it. My hair was raised into a ponytail and I was carrying a black GUCCI handbag. I looked fresh as a daisy, there were not even a single sign of last night's traumatic event on my face. I looked like a smart and confident person. Great, in this way no one would be able to find out how scared I was.
It was a modern corporate building. It had 10 floors and the exteriors looked kinda lifeless. Most of the plants were dead and though there was no visible dirt but the place appeared to be dirty.
The automatic glass door flew open at the slightest touch of my foot. Except for the automatic door, there was nothing fancy about the interiors. Hudson's office was far better than this one. I thought.
I went to the 7th floor, as instructed and the receptionist asked me to go right inside.
The wooden door was slightly ajar and I could see that Mr. Wyatt was having a heated argument with someone who was wearing a blue business suit. First I thought that it would be better to wait outside. But as I saw that the blue-suited guy was Robert Hudson I decided to stay up and listen to the conversation.
Robert looked like he was worried about something and he spoke "Mr. Wyatt, please take my advice. Don't mix business with emotions. Your company is standing at no.1 position in the telecommunication sector and you want to ruin this by handing it over to a careless, foolish and incapable girl like Freya? What can she do except lying and cheating?"
My mouth hung open, that idiot! he was abusing me. My first instinct was to go ahead and put a tight slap across his face. I stopped myself from doing that loud thingy, but I couldn't stop myself from barging into the office.
"I'm sorry for barging inside like this but I couldn't stay silent after overhearing the rude words of Mr. Hudson," I said.
"Not a problem Freya, please come inside" Mr. Wyatt smiled.
I also faked a smile and then turned to Robert, he looked rude as usual and was about to say something but I chose not to give him any chance, "who are you to call me names? Mr. Wyatt, can you remember the time when he told you that he was married to me? And not only that he was going out with your daughter so that she could convince you to give these shares to him. everyone knows what kind of a disgusting person he is. Mr. Hudson, before pointing out the scars of other people take a good look at yourself" I spoke in a jolt.
"I know everything Freya, and I also know what he did to you. That's why I am not willing to trust a man like him. Freya I know you have no idea about the business world but I have an excellent team who will be elated to teach you everything. And I will be there with you. So there is no reason to get nervous" Ben Wyatt assured me.
"Sure sir, I have nothing to fear when you are there with me" I bit my lower lip nervously.
"Freya, don't. You know that you won't be able to handle such a big responsibility. Say no" Robert warned me with his piercing eyes and his eyes reminded me of the eyes of that veiled woman. God! What was I thinking? I shooed away those thoughts.
"I am not incapable. I can do anything that you can do and maybe I will do it better than you" I winked.
Robert held my hand, his hold was very strong "you are going to regret it" his gaze mirrored the strong force that his hand was applying.
I wiggled my wrist in pain and he left my hand and walked out.
I rubbed my hand "Robert Hudson, I am not a weak creature. Mr. Wyatt where are the papers? I am ready to accept your offer" I said with anger burning in my eyes.
Chapter 37
Robert
"Nothing is going according to my plan" I punched on the sandbag in my office room. I had kept it here for the purposes of stress relief. Apparently, the word relief had no place in my life. I couldn't believe it, I lost my long d
esired thing; that too from a girl who wasn't even eligible to stand beside me. She was never competing against me. I shook my head, thinking about her foolishness.
"Sir, may I come in," someone said from behind the door.
"Yes, you may" I answered.
It was Mr. Cooper the new surveillance manager.
"Sir, I have replaced all the damaged equipment, and as per your orders, I have installed hidden microphones in all the warehouses and basements. Now you can hear each and every word they will speak" he informed.
"That's great. Now I will be able to solve the mystery behind the missing boxes. Thank You" I smiled.
"You are welcome sir and please let me know if there are any further orders," he said and left.
I had installed cameras and microphones in uncle Joe's room too and a part of me was feeling that I did it because the other night Freya had told me that Uncle Joe was involved with it. Did I actually trust her? No! I didn't trust her. I just put the cameras for….for a complete watch. Yes, I was not listening to Freya Lawrence, her blunt words left no impact on me.
Rubbing my face with my hands, I decided to focus on my work.
I was checking out if the cameras were working properly and that's when I saw Danny was entering the building of Hudson Industries. Why was he here? I zoomed on him.
He went straight into the office of uncle Joe. Now that was interesting. Two people who had no connection between each other were meeting up, what could be the reason. I turned on the volume and laid back on my chair.
Uncle Joe was surprised to see him, "Danny, I told you to come here earlier when Robert was not here. What if he sees you?" he spoke in tension.
"I don't care. And I don't want to work for you anymore. I thought that you are a small deceiver who steals from his nephew's company. But I never knew that you are a murderer and a kidnapper. I know you were behind Freya's kidnapping" he said.
I narrowed my eyes, what? Murder? Kidnapping? Stealing? Uncle Joe was involved in all three of them. I found it difficult to believe.
"Danny, you are making a big mistake, I know nothing about this kidnapping or murder" Uncle joe clarified.
Danny shrugged "I will not make the mistake of believing you anymore. Here, take this ring, this will be my last gig for you but don't forget your promise. I love Freya, and I will not let you harm her" he said boldly.
"Ahan Love? Seems like everyone is crazy for that chick. First Robert and now you. What is so special about her? Why is everyone is so keen to have a piece of her?" Uncle joe grinned, making Danny feel irritated.
"You were also ‘keen' to use her as a bail? Weren't you"? Danny smirked.
Ha-Ha, you got me, kid. It was so difficult to play the role of a good uncle when you are so bad from the inside" he laughed.
"She never knew that you were behind each and every step that she was taking. First, you made herthe house manager when you clearly knew that her only motive was nothing but revenge. But how were you so sure about her?" Danny asked.
"When Robert walked out from the interview, I saw the anger in her eyes and at that moment I felt that this girl has it in her to fight back, that too with attitude. I really liked her and wanted her to continue with her revenge plan but then she made the mistake of poking her head into my business, she found out that I was stealing from the company" he sighed.
"Hmm, she is very smart," Danny said fondly.
"Not so much. She never found out that you were my man" Uncle Joe winked.
Danny frowned "because she trusts me and I did all the bad things to her. I stole the file from her, the file that contained all the details of Robert's 'maniac' activities"
"And I paid the greedy creative head to publish it and gave all the credits to poor Freya. Hey, she deserved the credit for her 'research'" uncle Joe smirked.
After hearing that I could no longer hold back myself. I rose from my chair and went to the first floor with both my fists clenched with anger.
I kicked open the door and hurried inside.
Uncle Joe was startled to see me there "mm…Robert, what's the matter, son? Why did you take the trouble to come here?" he asked, looking everywhere except for my eyes.
His fake tone added fuel to my anger and I pushed him to the wall and then grabbed his neck between my fists "What are you doing?" he tried his best to break free but my hold just went stronger with each passing second. "Are..y..oupla..nning to ki..ll me?" he tried to speak.
"That's you right? You are the one who enjoys killing and troubling people. How can you stoop so low? I thought you were my own blood" I yelled.
He was sweating and panting. His face was all red. "I…wi..lldi..e…lea..ve..me" he requested.
I sighed and left his throat and said "don't even try to lie. I have the recorded proof of your confession. Yes, there are cameras and microphones in this room"
He breathed generously. Then adjusted his tie "Fine, go ahead and disclose it to the police and I will give the statement in the press about your sinful activities, the activities that you do at night behind closed doors" he winked.
My blood started to boil and I grabbed him by the collars "you will not dare to do that" I shook; he had touched my weakest point. This was the only thing in this world that made me defenseless and weak.
He laughed "relax son, it's a give and take thing. You protect my secret and in turn, I will protect yours" my hands were shaking, so he easily managed to get rid my hands that were around his collars.
"Take care, son" he grinned, patted on my shoulder and then left the room.
My own uncle was nothing but a back stabber? I felt sad and angry both at the same time. What was going around me? Everyone was busy in going against me, that made me realize what a horrible person I really was!
I felt so low about myself. I sighed and closed my eyes as a drop of tear rolled down to my cheeks.
***
Rebecca lay still on the soft grass and soon the scattered winds whistled to notify the arrival of rain. She didn't move, not even a bit. Her eyes were closed and one might think that she was sleeping peacefully but that was not true. She never slept, even the sleep felt scared to kiss her eyes.
The rain fell softly as if it were aware of all her hardships; both behind and ahead. Each droplet alighted on her skin with just enough calmness to command her mind to the present, to pull her away from the pain of the past. The transparent beads fell over her face;they were more numerous than the scars that were resting on her skin for more than several decades. She raised her eyes to a gray layer that touched the mountain top, there was more to come before the skies cleared, of that she could be sure.
"I can't believe it. She saw you, yet you let her run away?" Joe asked he was holding an umbrella in his hands.
"Freya...do you know what is the meaning of her name?" Rebecca asked without moving or opening her eyes.
"And why will I care about that?" Joe shrugged, holding the anger within himself. He could not afford to lose his temper in front of her.
Rebecca chose to ignore him and kept speaking, "Freya was the name of the most powerful and beautiful Goddess. Indeed, she is very beautiful, isn't she?"
Joe looked at her with shock written all over his face.
"I think master will be very pleased with her" she hummed.
Joe's eyes raised his forehead "Oh, this is what you have in your mind for her. But don't you think she is very young for this? Will she be able to take it?" he asked.
"With her powers and that glow of pureness she will be able to do anything. But we will use her for our own good" and her lips curled into a mysterious smile.
***
Chapter 38
Freya
Oh God! What have I done? Why did I sign those papers? I frowned sitting on the cold floor of my bedroom holding the papers in my hand that said that I was the new owner of Wyatt telecommunications. And I only did it so that I could win against that monster and now it seemed nothing less than a huge mistake. I had no idea what t
o do with all these shares.
On the other hand, Emily Wyatt was hell angry at me, she believed that I manipulated her father to get these shares. Now she hated me.
Soon the news would be publicly declared and like Emily, everyone would have a repulsive attitude towards me.
The bell rang and I went to the living room to answer the door. "I got this" Kate squealed and ran to the door. It was her boyfriend. Well, that explained the black cocktail dress and smoky makeup, madam was going out for a date come sleepover. Bloody selfish woman! She had the time to jump on the lap of her boyfriend but could not use a bit of her brain to help me out. I so wished that veiled woman would have kidnapped her instead of me, then they both could have become the best of friends. Everyone was so mean, I hated everyone. Correction, not everyone, Danny, and Rick were quite supportive and very helpful.
