Chapter 8

• The night of the incident
• *****
• Victor smiled mischievously at the sight before him- Nora laid back on his sofa, with her eyes closed, good thing he had sent his staff away. Which was not so necessary, seeing that she is unconscious.
• He had added a substance to her drink, and his prey had let her guard down. Chuckling, he lifted her up, Nora groaned and attempted to wail for help with her voice fading. seeing that it was a weak attempt, he ignored it.
• He carried her upstairs to his bedroom, where he laid her on the bed, with a deep yearning in his eyes he smiled again and began to undress, he would have to freshen up.
• Nora, still half conscious, wills herself to stand, but her body won’t respond. With a hazy idea of what had happened, she realized she was on a bed. Her heart skips a beat as she attempts to stand again all to no avail, she soon realizes that her whole body was weak.
• She hears a faint humming in the distance. And was instantly alarmed, she would have to escape whether or not her body wanted to.
• With great efforts she dragged herself off the bed and onto the floor, and managed to open the door undetected. Nora stumbled out of the room with her feet trembling beneath her, still half-conscious. She reached the stairs, grasping the railway to steady herself, each step felt like a heavy task, but she forced herself to keep up.
• Finally she’s at the front door, she immediately reaches for the handle, her ticket to freedom. She attempted to turn it, but her strength failed her. As she struggled with it, a voice whispered from behind, “Trying to escape?”
• Victor grabs her by the throat, Nora’s eyes darted to the drink she had left on the table and poured its content into Victor’s eyes.
• He cursed, temporarily blinded and Nora, seeing the opportunity, broke free from his grasp and stumbled out of the house and into the darkness.
• With her eyes growing weak and feet failing, Nora was losing sight of everything around her.
• An unknown figure appeared a little far from her as her eyes were gradually closing, she moved towards this figure, just as she reached closer, her body gave out and she collapsed into his arms.
• *****
• Nora’s Pov
• “Miss Ellis” Vasquez’ deep voice startled me, I hadn’t realized he had walked in.
• “Heard of knocking?”
• “His office, now!” He said and walked out.
• I was in my office, nervously awaiting my fate. My step father was yet to inform me of the decision reached at the executive meeting. I adjusted my skirt and followed him.
• When I arrived at my step father’s office, He had just concluded a meeting, dismissing them, he signaled me to his desk.
• “The company is not happy with you and your decisions”
• Clearly!
• “The contract was a chance to redeem yourself, to prove that you’ve changed. But you blew it. Again.” His tone was heavy with disappointment and I felt like I’d been punched in the guts.
• He sighed deeply and leaned forward “At this rate, the company has not only lost a deal but have also gained an enemy”
• And then it hit me, my stepfather’s complete lack of interest in my well-being, his utter disregard for what I'd been through. It was as if he didn’t care if I was almost raped, I bit my lips as tears welled up in my eyes.
• His phone rang. He answered, listening for a moment without uttering a word. He dropped the phone and faced me.
• “The family has decided not to press charges” he announced, letting the words hang in the air.
• “On one condition.”
• “You must render a public apology to Victor”
• “What?” I screamed with rage.
• “He was the one that assaulted me. He attempted to rape me, remember?”
• How could this be happening to me? Why would Victor choose to treat me like this? I did nothing wrong and I won’t be apologizing for anything! That bastard can rot in hell.
• “I can’t believe you!”
• “How do you expect me to apologize when I did nothing wrong?”
• “Enough!” he barked.
• My stepfather got up, his red eyes blazing and faced me squarely.
• “What exactly is wrong with you?” he demanded.
• “We could not only lose our reputation as a flourishing company but also our partners- again! And now, an option is before us and you won’t take it?”
• He paused, regaining his breathe, and continued.
• “You may not have assaulted him, but can you at least consider the life of this company?. You know well enough how powerful the Adam’s corporation is”
• “This is the only way out of this mess!”
• “All your mother’s efforts may be useless if you don’t do it. You know how much she struggled to grow this company.”
• He broke down, His health condition suddenly became apparent.
• “Urghhhh” He groaned, clutching his chest. I rushed over to him, helping him to his seat.
• “You have only today to make up your mind.”
• He said dismissively.
• I left his office feeling overwhelmed.
• If I don’t render an apology, the company’s reputation may be In ruins, My mother’s sweat and toils utterly destroyed, but what about my reputation?