Chapter 2 The Threat

• ELORA’S POV
• After what happened last night, Elora didn't want to face anyone in the morning, so she woke up very early, prepared for work, and left the house before anyone could notice. Not even granny. Elora normally talked to her every morning before leaving for work but she just couldn't face her today. She knew granny would have comforted her and tried to make her feel better, but the only thing granny could offer her right now was pity and frankly, Elora didn't want pity anymore. She just wanted to escape from the hell hole that had become her life.
• When Peter Emmerson wanted something, he always had a way of getting it and granny had tried to protect Elora from him all her life, but there wasn't actually anything she could do to save Elora from Peter's wrath. Elora hadn't been able to admit it even to herself, but she was so scared. Scared of the lengths Peter would go to get what he wanted.
• He said Ambrose Dominic wouldn't agree to the contract marriage between Zade and Hazel until he had Elora for himself. That meant without Elora, the two families couldn't merge just because an old man wanted to marry a girl young enough to be his daughter.
• Elora was restless and disgusted the entire night just thinking about it. She even had to hide the bags under her eyes with a ton of makeup. She had to find a way to escape this. This just couldn't be happening to her.
• After parking her car in the parking lot of the advertising firm she worked in, Elora grabbed her bag and took the elevator to the top floor. Before she could even get into her office, her boss intercepted her and asked her to meet him in his office. Elora furrowed her brows in contemplation as she walked in after him.
• "Please take a seat Miss Emmerson," Elora's boss said in a cool, professional tone.
• "Thank you, sir," Elora responded.
• "You're one of my best employees, Elora. The company has reached great heights with you as the manager of the advertising team. You truly are one in a million. However, I'm afraid your time with us must come to an end. The company doesn't need your services anymore. I'll expect your resignation letter by mail."
• His words were like a slap to Elora's face. She had to blink a couple of times to make sure that she heard him clearly because she refused to believe that her life could go downhill like this in only a couple of hours.
• "Excuse me, sir...but, are you firing me?" Elora widened her eyes at him in confusion as she tried to figure out what she must have done to get this reaction out of him. She had studied and worked extremely hard to land this job because she wanted to be independent. Ever since she had graduated from college, she hadn't asked the Emmersons for a dime. She couldn't lose this job.
• "Sir, please, I need you to explain to me exactly why you're firing me. I don't recall doing anything that could have made you take such a drastic decision. You know I take my job very seriously and I have acted professionally since I started working here. Sales have skyrocketed since I joined the company, you said it yourself. You know you would be losing an asset if you fired me."
• "Look, Miss Emmerson, I don't want any problems with your family. All I need is your resignation letter. Your pay will be forwarded to your bank account. I mean, it's not like you need this job anyway. You're part of the Emmerson family. Money is hardly your problem." He blurted out, and Elora's mouth hung open as realization dawned on her.
• Air constricted in Elora's chest, and she was suddenly finding it very hard to breathe. The confusion she felt slowly turned into a blinding rage, and now she had only one thing on her mind: She needed to go to Emmersons Co. and confront Peter Emmerson.
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• “You threatened my boss and had me fired? What is wrong with you?” Elora barged into her adoptive father's office with a scowl on her face. Peter Emmerson didn't even look fazed or surprised by her reaction. He lifted his head slowly and regarded her with a look of pure disdain. Peter Emmerson had nothing to fear from Elora, she knew that; but that didn't mean she was going to let him get away with this.
• They could insult her and call her all sorts of names but they had no right to mess with her job.
• "I assume you just got fired then. Good," He said simply with a small smirk playing on his lips. He was not even trying to hide the fact he just rendered her jobless.
• "What do you want from me?" Elora asked, her chest heaving up and down as the anger inside her turned into frustration because she knew Peter Emmerson was capable of making sure she never found a job ever again. He was capable of ruining her life.
• "You have demonstrated blatant disrespect since last night. Raising your voice at me, turning your back on me when I'm talking to you. I know you probably grew up in a zoo before my mother decided to take pity on you and adopt you but that doesn't mean you need to act like an animal. Compose yourself Elora. I wasn't okay with the fact that my mother adopted you but she forced me to give you my last name, so I did just that, merely to make her happy. I was never ready to accept you as a daughter."
• "I don't understand why you're telling me all this. It's pretty obvious that you are no father to me. I have never expected anything from you," Elora snapped back at him even as fear engulfed her. He leaned forwards as his eyes darkened at her but she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing that she was afraid.
• "I am telling you this, because I want you to understand how fortunate you are to be part of my family. People in society show you more respect than you deserve just because you bear my last name. You went to the best schools. Because of my grandmother's kindness, you never lacked anything growing up. It is time for you to repay my family's kindness."
• "You're a monster," Elora said sharply, balling her hands into fists at her sides. Fighting the urge to walk over to where he was seated and slap him across the face. She wanted to scream, she wanted to do something, anything, but she was utterly helpless against him.
• "If you do not do as you are told, I will show you just how much of a monster I can be. I will dig up a hole so dark for you and throw you and all of your dreams into it. I will make sure you are never successful. I will send you back to the slums where you came from," He said with a wide smile on his face as he threatened her and Elora knew this man could only be the devil.
• "Tell me, Elora, have you ever wondered where your biological parents might be?" He questioned with a smirk.
• "What do you know about my biological parents?" Elora asked impatiently. Granny had told her she found her on the streets. She never bothered to find out where she came from but when she was old enough, she tried to search for them, but to no avail.
• "What kind of man do you think I am, Elora?" Peter asked her with a light condescending chuckle.
• "Do you think I would be as powerful as I am today if I didn't keep tabs on all the people around me? I have always known where your biological parents were and I know there was a time when you were looking for them before you gave up. As soon as my mother brought you home, I had to find out everything there was to know about you. I know who you are, I know where you came from and I know exactly where your birth parents are. I will make it my mission to make their lives miserable if you do not give me what I want and you will have to live the rest of your life with the knowledge that their suffering is all your fault."
• "So, all this time, you knew who my parents were and you kept it as a secret for yourself so you could use it against me?"
• Elora seethed in anger as she glared at the man in front of her. She knew her parents probably abandoned her when she was a child. It was the only explanation as to why she grew up on the streets with no one to take care of her. She didn't know if they ever tried to find her and she didn't know what might have pushed them to abandon her, but that didn't mean she wanted their lives to be miserable. That didn't mean she wanted to be the reason for their suffering.
• "A business man is always one step ahead. You have until tonight to make a decision. I trust you know me well enough to understand that I do not make empty threats. If you do not give me what I want, I will make sure you live the rest of your life without ever finding your true parents," He leaned back in his seat with a menacing smile on his face. Elora couldn't say or do anything to defend herself.
• She didn't even have time to react properly to the revelation that her parents were alive. The cards were all in Peter's hands and he was using them against her in every way possible. She was backed against the wall and she was left with only two choices.
• She could call his bluff and not do what he wanted; he could be lying about her parents being alive. But if everything he said was true and they really were alive, then whatever suffering and wrath Peter threw on her parents would all be her fault.
• What was she going to do?