The Dark Secret of the CEO by Sofia de Orellana

Chapter 1

“…Isn’t it taking too long, Sir?”

“She’ll wake up. Soon. …Isn’t my daughter so pretty already?”

“Yes, yes…”

I hear someone chuckle, a deep voice. After a couple more seconds of struggle, I finally manage to open my eyes. Oh, crap, it’s bright…

“Good morning, my Sleeping Beauty.”

A silhouette appears above me, blocking the light. I blink a couple of times, trying to distinguish those facial features. A smile like a shark amongst a greyish, perfectly combed beard, and two piercing, ice-cold blue eyes. …Who’s that? I can’t help but keep blinking repeatedly, my eyes dry as hell. Where the heck am I? What’s going on? I want to move. My body’s so damn heavy… What’s that weird smell, too? I try to move my head, look around. This place is so… white. All monochrome, white and metal. Sanitized and cold like a hospital. No, wait. It looks like it must be cold, but I don’t feel cold at all. Nor hot. Just… neutral. So weird…

I do feel something hard and sturdy underneath me. I’m not on a bed. A table?

“Can you hear us?”

I turn my head, finding another man on my right, seated and staring from behind his glasses. I do hear them. I want to answer, but… my throat hurts! It hurts so much, like it’s completely dry, and raspy. I want to talk, but I don’t even know how to breathe! I can’t feel any air moving through my lungs, my throat… I try to inhale, but it feels empty, like my organs are moving for strictly nothing.

“Answer us,” the man insists. “Can you hear us?”

He’s wearing a white coat and scrubs? I just nod by reflex.

“I… I-I do.”

The air I finally feel seems so strange in my lungs, my throat. My own voice sounds different. Deeper, raspier.

“Good.”

“Give me your hand, Dear,” gently says the bearded one next to me. “Let’s have you sit up first.”

I feel his cold hand grabbing mine, and very gently, he helps me sit up. My body feels so heavy, I thought I’d get a bit dizzy or something, but there is none of that. Just some strange… nausea. I try to ignore it and sit up, to finally realize where exactly I am…

“Is this a… mortuary?” I mutter, a bit confused.

I’ve never been into one, but there’s no mistaking it. I’ve seen enough crime shows for that. Those rows of chrome cupboard doors with numbers on them, and this aseptic, cold hospital atmosphere, without any patients… I look down, and notice I’m sitting on a silver table, like one they put the bodies on. Except that I’m very much awake and alive, and not naked nor covered by just a sheet like I’d imagine a corpse to be. Instead, I’m actually wearing a long-sleeved black dress I’ve never seen before…

“What the…”

“Seems like you’re a quick one,” says the guy in the doctor outfit. “Yes, this is a morgue. Your death was pronounced at thirty-four minutes past one this morning, and it’s now… ten in the evening.”

“My… death? But I’m not…”

“Oh, no, you’re dead. According to the humans standard, you were dead the minute your heart stopped beating, although you were formally pronounced dead a few minutes later. But you did die at around one o’clock this morning.”

makes no

don’t understand anything that’s going on. Not only do I feel… extremely weird, but those two are making it even more uncomfortable. There’s a man

feel?” Asks the creepy

a British accent… Or is it Scottish? His blue eyes look as if he’s

I mutter. “My t-throat hurts like hell, and… I’m feeling

Richard,” says

the guy behind him waves

two-day beard. I turn my eyes to Richard. I feel such a strange… sensation towards him. As if I know him, like a long-lost parent. Have I met him before? Even if my mind wasn’t so fuzzy, I don’t think I could remember. No, I wouldn’t have forgotten someone with such a strong… aura. I’m attracted to his eyes every time I try to look elsewhere. He dominates the room with that strange… heavy, dark aura around him. It’s invisible, but it’s impossible to ignore, it’s suffocating.

for at least the next forty-eight hours,” says Ethan, his eyes still on the paper. “It’s just the beginning, but it should subside, though.

hurts,”

and… appealing. Without thinking, I drink, and it’s… strangely filling. It tastes vaguely familiar, a bit sweet and salty at the same time. I frown. The smell is… a bit off. Or perhaps because it’s new. I drink, I keep drinking. No, I just can’t stop myself. I push all my thoughts aside and drink more and more, unable to stop. The liquid’s cold, but it’s filling and warming me up nicely. It’s almost calming, but it’s never enough. I want that feeling in my throat. It’s the most

“…Good girl.”

feel a bit better, but also… even more confused. He’s visibly the

going on?” I mutter.

“Do you remember?”

the windows, the neon lights from the billboards, and the darkness of my room… The bathtub overflowing. The

“I… I…”

find the same bandage, the same blood stains on the other side. Ice runs down my spine, making me shiver

“Hera.”

caresses my cheek, forcing me to look into his blue eyes again. He smiles, with a hint of warmth, but more importantly, two

he mutters. “You will be alright. This is all over. You’re mine

did you

to feel… sleepy. Why

whispers. “You’ll feel better

have no choice but to obey. My whole self dives into sleep before I

a comfy leather armchair, a blanket covering me. There’s a strange, heavy buzzing in the background. I grimace. I’m still feeling crappy, but it’s a bit

“Good evening, darling.”

Richard Heartgraves, again. He’s looking at me with that smile, slowly swirling a glass of

mutter.

Atlantic ocean,” he says, glancing outside. “We will land

I frown. “Why the

“Is there a problem?”

my protest. I guess I have a few bigger issues than going back to that City for now… I try to remember what happened. It still feels like I’m half in a dream, or in a weird daze. I look down, to notice I’m still wearing the same black dress as before. It looks simple, but I can tell when a piece of fabric is expensive. That kind of lace and embroidered top isn’t one you’ll buy at any store. I glance around. This is definitely a private jet, too… And while he’s not wearing any jewelry but a couple of old rings, Richard’s suit looks brand new,

I finally

many questions, and about as many wild guesses floating in my

save me?” I

smiles.

that’s one way of saying it, but he’s obviously avoiding my real

I drank earlier, was

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