The Dark Secret of the CEO by Sofia de Orellana

Chapter 19

“…I thought we weren’t expecting everyone?” I mutter, a bit worried now.

“We weren’t, but when Richard summons us, most at least give a reply, even to decline. We haven’t heard from Quentin.”

“What about Viktor?” Asks Cata. “And Elijah?”

“Viktor just texted back in the group chat,” Cecily says. “He’s fine, just sulking as usual.”

“Vivian said she was coming, she might just be late. Susan hasn’t texted in a while though…”

“So Quentin, Susan and Elijah are also missing?” Mutters Benedict. “…What the heck is going on?”

All eyes go to the patriarch… Is that the real reason he summoned them all here, and forbade them from leaving London? His dark expression tells me that’s right, but there might also be more than that. Greyson looks a bit out of breath, and he smells like gasoline. A biker?

“…I understand,” Richard mutters after a while. “Thank you, Greyson.”

Greyson nods, then glances my way. To my surprise, he walks up to me, and before I can utter a word, he pats my head, his huge hand easily covering my scalp, and then walks past us, towards the kitchen. I let out a faint sigh, while Cecily leans against the door frame, grabbing her phone. I bet she’s texting the missing vampires. Behind us, I spot Felicia, standing on the stairs with a sad expression. Bart glances at her too, and they silently exchange looks. I don’t know what to say… He then puts an arm around my waist, and without a word, I’m pushed back upstairs, Cecily following us. We all leave Richard alone in the living room.

“What the hell could have happened?” Bart groans after we’ve reached the second floor. “Atticus was no newborn and he always kept to himself. Who could have tried to attack him…?”

“You think someone attacked him?” I ask, shocked.

“That’s the only explanation,” whispers Felicia. “We don’t die from disease, and it’s unlikely a human could kill us. Atticus was the most quiet, calm vampire you could imagine. He spent four centuries living in the same area, guarding the cemetery his family was buried in. He would come to London or see one of us once in a while, but he wouldn’t have gone somewhere without at least telling one of us.”

“If it had been an accident, Greyson would have found him,” adds Cecily. “Vampires don’t simply disappear like that.”

I can’t help but shiver. Who could have been strong and mad enough to attack a three-centuries-old vampire? Do the Heartgraves have enemies I have yet to hear about? From what I’ve seen and heard, they all have their own lives, so who the heck would choose to attack one of them, and why? They seem worried it’s someone who’s after all of them, seeing how they were disturbed about the ones missing earlier…

this the first time?” I ask. “…That one of the Heartgraves

wars were also a good way for enemy vampires to kill some of us without getting Richard’s

why we keep the newbies close to home,”

my sake… I have a bad feeling about this. I’m already feeling angry for Atticus’ sake, and even

me towards my door. “Leave this to the grown-ups to handle, alright? Just rest, you’ll have to wake up

like an obedient girl, I get to my bedroom, close the door behind me, and go back to lying on the bed. I listen to everyone going back to their own, and the house gets quiet again. I can faintly hear Cata and Greyson speaking

as a Heartgraves won’t be without danger either. For now, I should just trust Richard and the others… Seems like I’ll be safe as long as I obey their rules. Plus,

up on my phone, the sun just went down, and it’s still early in the evening. I quickly get up, but then, my enthusiasm is cut short again. Crap, I really need to get some clothes… Instead, I just go downstairs in my pajamas. As expected, Cata is already up and baking, but

Baby!” Rebecca greets me with a big

She changed clothes, and is now wearing black leather pants and a simple white blouse, but it looks like they are all brand new, and perfectly flattering her impressive figure. She clearly puts the accent on her accessories, like those huge

“Yes, thanks,” I nod.

often that I get to take one of my little

Suddenly shouts

a knit dress she bought and never wore for some reason, with high boots. Not my style, but it will do for tonight.

my business card, for

I mutter,

a picture of me last night and cropped it into my profile picture… When the hell did they take it? They picked my death date as my birth date, only subtracting 25 years… I guess that makes me a Libra now? Everything looks absolutely genuine. I don’t dare to ask what the limit is on the credit card, but I’m not really worried. It’s one of those top tier, black platinum type of credit cards that already cost

set as your life as Hera, so make sure you learn it all by heart, and

“Yes, Sir,” I nod.

shop for your passport protection and a proper wallet now!

before it closes. I’m genuinely impressed at how efficient they are at picking which shops we still have time to shop in before they close,

them I couldn’t possibly have worn with my human legs without breaking an ankle. While I love being able to wear high heels, I’m just not ready yet for the snake skin or big red pumps. Luckily, I manage to settle for some boots, low and high, relatively normal heels, and even a pair of Nike Air Max, just so I look human from time to time… The last stop is the Dior makeup stand, and this time, I’m more than happy to try and get the latest colors I saw last night into my shopping bag. Rebecca and Cecily have literally dozens of decades of knowledge on makeup, and happily advise me on which colors to get. Right after I pay for it all, still

made me a

like going with them. In fact, those three long hours of shopping have rendered me kind of overwhelmed, and I feel the need

just go home instead?” I ask. “I

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