Invisible String

Chapter 2-Anna & Carla

Anna was busy ignoring all the calls that came into her personal number because of the rumors that had just surfaced.

"Having a child with the CEO of Smith Technologies? I've never even met him!" Anna wrung her hair. She should have been resting to recover, but instead she had to stay up late because of the damn news.

"Did you find out who spread the rumor?" Anna asked her personal assistant.

"Not yet ma'am. But the legal team is processing all the articles and will pull them off the internet."

Anna glanced at her phone. "Do I look so old that they think I've already had a child?"

"No ma'am, you are still very young. You're not even 30 years old."

"I can't believe it either. They must have run out of news items and are targeting my family. Right now, my father's company's stock is always rising and it's a good opportunity for competitors to bring us down."

"I actually suspect that the culprit might be someone close to you, ma'am."

Anna looked at her personal assistant. "You mean Jaden?"

"We'll find out once all the evidence is gathered, ma'am."

"He's not even close to me," Anna muttered. "Do you know about the CEO of Smith Technologies?"

Anna's personal assistant handed Anna a tablet. "He's a man around 40 years old. He is known to play with many women and has a bad reputation in the company for firing employees if they don't sleep with him."

"I feel so humiliated to be rumored with a man like that." Anna wanted to scream. She had only been in a relationship once in college and had completely avoided men after that. But suddenly the rumors came and ruined the personal branding she had built.

"I don't want to know, I want all the news to be over by tomorrow."

"We'll work on that before your inauguration, ma'am."

Indeed, Anna couldn't refuse her father's request to become the second heir to the company as she also had inheritance rights. Anna would become the Executive Director of Jones Airlines.

"Do I have to recruit new employees for my business? But finding employees who fit the mission and vision of the company within a few days is certainly not easy." Anna was completely confused, her mind was full.

The door suddenly opened, Jaden walked in. Anna turned her face to the side.

"Are you happy to be the new executive director?"

"Is that your work?"

"Which one?" asked Jaden.

"You deliberately spread rumors about me because you knew you were going to make me a director at Jones Airlines, right?"

"I didn't do it."

"I know Jaden, you've never liked me since I was born. You once almost drowned me in a swimming pool when I was a kid. You also locked me in a warehouse when our parents went out of town so I was traumatized by the dark. You made my life so messy and miserable. And now you're trying to ruin my reputation that I worked so hard to make. I never even wanted to be highlighted by the media as the son of Mr. Jones. Is that not enough revenge?"

"Enough Anna!"

"Why? You may have forgotten about all that, but I'll keep remembering it. You didn't even ask why your sister came in a wheelchair. Even Harry who is notoriously cold still has a softer heart than you." Anna unconsciously spoke so passionately that she had trouble breathing, but Jaden still hadn't noticed.

Jaden pointed at Anna. "You were the privileged child of our parents. You got all the things you wanted since childhood. You took away the love that I should have gotten. Do you even know what I've been through? You have no idea!"

Anna felt an unfamiliar feeling that came every time her particular condition would arise. So she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Anna didn't want it to come back again.

"Get out of this room. Your arrival always brings commotion."

But instead of leaving, Jaden approached Anna and grabbed her shoulders. "Even if you have a child with CEO Smith technologies, I don't care."

Suddenly, Anna burst into tears. She looked at Jaden with an unusual look.

"Should I just die? I've taken away your happiness and you're the perfect child, unlike me who's just a nuisance. Kill me."

Hearing Anna like that, Jaden knew that the one in front of him was not Anna, but Carla.

"I won't grant you that wish, Carla."

"You don't like Anna, right? By killing me, then Anna will be gone forever from your life. You can live as you please without any competition."

This wasn't right, Jaden couldn't let this go on any longer. Therefore he immediately pressed the button to call the nurse.

"Why did you show up again?"

"Why can't I show up? Anna and I are inseparable. I feel sorry for Anna but I'm too weak compared to her. I may not be as strong as Anna to face someone like you. But this time I can't take it anymore. You can't treat our sister like that."

"You promised not to show up again. You're making it hard for Anna if you keep showing up."

"Anna is only human, she needs to let her emotions out too. But all this time Anna couldn't do it because you would think she was weak. So I represent Anna when she's not okay."

Jaden was silent. He finally knew that his sister was not okay. "You should go back and let Anna come again. Don't ever show up again because I don't like you."

Carla smiled slightly. "You're both my siblings, but your personalities are so different. You are the fire and Anna is the water. Can't you get along? I'd be happy if you two didn't fight every time you met."

"If Anna and I get along, do you promise not to show up again?"

Carla nodded. "Of course. I'll take a break since I have nothing to do. But if you let Anna suffer again like this, then I will come again." Carla closed her eyes and her body fell limp with unconsciousness.

At the same time, the nurse came in and checked her condition.

***

Anna woke up when she heard a commotion coming from the front of her room. When she opened the door, she found Jaden arguing with the housemaid.

Anna, who had just woken up, was confused about what they were talking about. But suddenly Jaden pushed her until she fell down.

"Oh my!" The housemaid helped Anna to stand up. "Are you okay, dear?"

"You're all the same. Everyone always forces me to do things I don't like. She should do the same, not just me," Jaden said.

"Young master, you're the successor of the company, it's only normal that he want the best for you."

"But I don't want to take these lessons or anything. I want to play like my other friends!"

Anna approached Jaden and hugged him. Her height was still at Jaden's waist so she had to look up to see her older brother. "I'm sorry for getting you into trouble, Jaden."

"You always get me in trouble." Jaden pushed Anna again but this time Anna was caught by Mr. Jones, their father.

"Jaden! You can't do that to your sister!" snapped Mr. Jones.

Anna pulled her father's hand. "Dad, don't scold my brother like that. Just be mad at me. I don't want to see him sad."

Mr. Jones didn't expect that his two children would be enemies like this since childhood, more precisely his first child didn't like his sister.

"We give you all the best because we love you. So don't ever blame your sister for what you have to go through. You're the first born, you should be able to handle yourself well."

Jaden clenched his hands at his sides. "If you're going to give me all the best, then you should love me as much as you did to Anna!"

Mr. Jones patience running out, he walked towards Jaden and was about to slap him. Entering his teenage years, Jaden was now more open about his feelings. But before Mr. Jones could slap Jaden, Anna stopped him.

"You can't be like that, please." Anna's eyes were already glazed over. Even though she was still small, she could already understand how Jaden felt right now. Slapping Jaden would make things even more complicated.

"I'll let you off this time because of your sister. But next time if you keep bringing this up, then I won't stay silent." Mr. Jones took Anna by the hand to leave.

Not knowing what demon had possessed Jaden, he ran and pushed Anna as they descended the stairs causing Anna to fall down the stairs.

Meanwhile Anna felt her body floating and when she opened her eyes, she was suddenly in a very dark place.

"Where is this?" She looked around. Slowly she began to recognize this place, the warehouse at the back of the house. She remembered that she was with Jaden entering this warehouse but now she was alone.

Anna ran to the door just before the lights went off. She tried to open the door but couldn't because it was locked from the outside.

Anna banged on the door many times but it was useless, no one heard her because this warehouse was rarely visited at night.

"Jaden, did you hear me?" Anna banged on the door. "I'm locked in! Please open the door!"

Anna didn't have a problem with the darkness, but she didn't like being alone like this all of a sudden. "Please Jaden, open the door!"

Suddenly there was the sound of something falling. Anna immediately looked in that direction and she saw Jaden with a bloodstained shirt there. It appeared because Anna had a trauma when she was pushed by Jaden from the stairs.

Anna was getting hysterical and banging on the door harder and harder.

Then suddenly someone smothered her mouth.

Anna bit the person's hand and when she turned around, she was already somewhere else. It was bright but the air was creepy. Many burly and tattooed people surrounded Anna and a boy her age.

One of them pushed Anna and she fell in front of the boy. "Shut up before I kill you for being too chatty."

The 8-year-old Anna burst into tears. But the boy covered her mouth. "Don't cry, be quiet."

Anna was sobbing and scared. She was kidn*pped by an unknown person along with a boy.

"I have an idea to escape, but you have to obey me, okay?"

Anna nodded.

The boy whispered something to Anna about their escape plan.

"Why did they bring you here?" Anna asked.

"They wanted to ask my father for money because they were poor. But my father wouldn't give the money for nothing. So they kidn*pped me. Then what happened to you? Why were you kidn*pped by them too?"

"I don't know. I was playing in the park with my brother, but suddenly they came and took me into the car."

The boy felt sorry for Anna. "We have to run away from here so they don't ask our father for money. Do you agree?"

"Agreed."

They began to carry out the plan. So the boy carried Anna to the cupboard in the room and then escaped through the glass window above the cupboard.

"Let's break the glass with your shoes."

Luckily Anna was wearing shoes that were quite hard. "What if they hear us?"

The boy ran to the door and locked it from the inside. "We'll get out first before they can get into this room."

Anna immediately carried out the boy's order. It was quite difficult to break the glass, but finally after a few tries, it was broken.

The boy immediately climbed onto the cupboard. "Let's jump." He ordered Anna.

Since Anna had a trauma about heights caused by her fall from high stairs, she didn't dare to jump.

The boy jumped first. He managed to land safely even though this place was quite high.

"Now jump! I'll catch you."

Suddenly the door was forced open after the kidnappers heard the noise from inside the room.

Anna was terrified of the men and also afraid to jump. "I can't."

"They'll kill you if you get caught!"

One of them managed to get in. Anna closed her eyes to reassure herself. Then she jumped and the boy caught her but they tumbled together as they lost their balance.

"We need to get away from this place." The boy grabbed Anna's hand and led her running away from the a*******n site.

They went into the forest because the place was surrounded by forest.

The further they went into the forest, the more the light disappeared. And Anna, who had been traumatized by the darkness of being locked in a warehouse, suddenly stopped.

She cried and closed her eyes. "I don't want to go there. I'm afraid of the dark. It's dark there."

"Don't cry all the time! They'll catch us if you stop here."

And the boy's words were true. The people who kidn*pped them were finally able to catch up with them.

Opening her eyes, Anna saw flashes of fire like firecrackers coming towards her along with gunshots.

"Anna you can get up now!"

Anna's breath caught and she looked around her. There was a woman sitting on the chair beside her.

"Did you meet Carla?"

Anna raised one eyebrow. "I'm Carla."

The psychiatrist looked surprised. This was not what she expected. Having hypnosis and unpacked all of Anna's past memories that traumatized her, it didn't stop Carla from showing up.

Anna had another personality, Carla. A weak figure caused by her past trauma. Carla will appear when Anna is not okay.

"Alright Carla, we will have a consultation session and I will give you the schedule."