FREEDOM WAS THE LIE

CHAPTER 1: THE TRACES OF YOU.

The sunlight had given away the end of the week and a new day and the city was already alive with people rushing to work. Lilith Sinclair hurried down the stairway with a ginger coffee in her hand, adjusting her bag on her shoulder and trying to balance the coffee and files. It was Monday, and she had a long day ahead—but that wasn't anything new.

She adjusted her heels and stepped out into the bright morning, immediately walking into a crowd of people flowing down the sidewalk.

Then, just as she turned to reach for her phone, her gaze caught a man standing across the street. Tall, impeccably dressed man, with an alluring dark humor she couldn’t name yet—the crowd went quiet as their eyes met for a fleeting moment, Lilith stared knowing she had never seen him before. But something about this particular man promised that her ordinary life was about to change.

Lilith climbed onto the company bus ontime..most of her colleagues exchanged greetings with her, but she was too fixated on the man she met earlier. Balancing her bag and coffee as she found a spot near the back. The bus was filled with the occasional laugh mixing with the sound of brakes and tires on the city roads.

“Morning, Lilith!” a familiar voice called. She turned to see Emma, her coworker from the office.

“Hey, Emma,” Lilith replied, managing to give a smile. She leaned against the railing, letting the motion of the bus steady her.

“You look like something’s on your mind. Had a bad weekend?” Emma teased.

Lilith hesitated, then shook her head. “Not really… it’s just… something weird happened this morning.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean weird?”

Lilith took a sip of her coffee, trying to choose her words. “I don’t know… I saw this man across the street. Tall, sharp suit, kind of… weird, like commanding. Our eyes met for a second, and it felt… off. Like someone was staring into my soul. Even though it was just a glance I legit felt scared.”

Emma blinked. “Hmm…girl!! sounds really intense. Someone interesting, I guess?”

Lilith let out a sigh, staring out the window at the city streets. “I guess… but it felt like more than that. Maybe I'm just overthinking.”

“ Don't beat yourself about the weirdos in this city, trust me, they aren't worth it.” Emma gave Lilith some form of warmth.

Lilith and Emma stepped off the elevator, chattering went on as everyone settled down for the day's work.

“Have a good day girl. I'll see you”. Emma gave Lilith a hug and went to her office.

Lilith was just settling as her manager, Mrs Caroline stepped into her office, she carried an unusual look that didn't sit well with Lilith.

“ Good morning ma. Is there a problem, please come in,” she said.

Mrs. Caroline walked in, her expression looking tense. She closed the door behind her, letting out a slight sigh.

Mrs. Caroline shook her head. “Not exactly. Have you seen Jerry?”

Lilith straightened in her chair. “Jerry? No, I didn't see him on the bus, so I guess he's still on his way”.

“ He's not anywhere in this office, and a senior staff member just backed out of an important meeting,” Mrs. Caroline said. “Last minute.”

Lilith was obviously confused about Jerry's absence in the office. “ That's not good.. what's the plan?”

“ I'm getting somewhere Lilith.” she continued. “The meeting is with the Blackwood company.”

Lilith's face immediately tensed up, realizing how big this meeting was.

“I need someone to step in for the team”. Mrs. Caroline said, her voice softer now. “And I was hoping it could be you.”

“Me?” Lilith asked, surprised.“I know it’s sudden,” Mrs. Caroline said. “But you’ve worked on the Blackwood files for months. You understand the clients. And I trust you, Lilith.”

“ I need you Lilith, now more than ever.”

There was a brief silence.

Then Lilith nodded slowly. “Alright… I’ll do it.”

Mrs Caroline gave a sigh of relief. “Thank you. The meeting is today, so you’ll need to prepare quickly. Don’t worry, I know you can do this”

Lilith knew something strange was happening today, she felt happy and excited about the opportunity but the thought of earlier events kept creeping to her head.