The CEO’s Revenge

Cassandra. Cassie groaned, the pounding pain in her head intensifying with each second. Her ears were still ringing from the sickening collision. The airbag had been deployed after the sudden impact, stunning her pretty badly. An experimental turn to the side was accompanied by a sharp pain. Yup, definitely hurts. With a grimace, she reached for her cell phone in the passenger seat. Her hand brushed against shards of glass on the leather seat as her fingers clutched the device in triumph. She shakily rang a familiar number on speed dial. “Help—call the ambulance, Terry,” Cassie croaked into the receiver the moment the call connected. Her brother, Terry, was a software engineer. He had installed a tracking device on her phone as a test run a few months ago. It worked. He would know where to find her. But the voice that replied to her sounded nothing like her baby brother’s clear voice. “Your terrible acting is laughable.” The deep voice boomed, sounding unbothered. “You planned this charade with Terence to give him an out, no?” He asked coldly. Before Cassie could reply, he sneered. “Fools. I will not let him go until he pays every last cent,” he spat. Panic rose in Cassie. She wanted to explain to whoever it was that was it no plan. She had just been involved in a terrible hit-and-run. But when she opened her mouth to speak, blood gushed out. The dark crimson liquid splattered against the front of her shirt. She struggled to feebly hold onto her phone as a hollow clatter echoed through the line. The abrupt sound was like a slap to Cassie’s already ringing ears. There was a brief moment of silence—then the faint sound of the device skittering across a hard surface. It was followed by a final thud. Seconds before the line disconnected, she faintly heard two voices—one sounded disinterested and the other was pleading. She heard what sounded like her name but not much else. The latter voice sounded like Terry’s. But she didn’t get to hear much before the line got cut off. The disconnection of the line was jarring to Cassie. She gripped the phone in her hand as the throbbing pain in her head intensified. Blood seeped through the fabric of her shirt, sticky and warm against her skin. The metallic smell of blood filled her nostrils. Her head swam with each passing second. The edges of her sight began to darken. She had no idea how long she tried to hold on. It could have been seconds or hours but she could not tell. In a bid to force herself to stay awake, she tried to recollect the events that led to this. She had wanted to surprise her geeky brother with a homemade chicken casserole at his home office. He seldom ate healthy food, sitting in front of his computer all day. He was working on a project for a big company. It was supposed to be his big break. Cassie had been humming along to a catchy tune on the radio as she drove to him. But two blocks away from his apartment building, tragedy struck. A truck suddenly lost control and rammed into her car, crashing it against the side of a building. Seeing the damage, the truck driver hightailed it out of there. Is this the day I die? Cassie wondered as darkness tugged at her. The overwhelming pull of unconsciousness dragged her under despite her best efforts. The last thing she remembered seeing was the phone leaving her grip in a silent clatter. Silence enveloped her. All was quiet. It was as if the world had just...stopped. She hung onto a slice of light until she could no longer. Just as her eyelids shuttered close, a wail pierced the silence surrounding her. It sounded like a siren. Hope blossomed within her but before she could rejoice, the blackness swallowed her whole.