Chapter two
1060 Words
Octavia’s POV
My head felt like it was filled with broken glass. Every time I tried to open my eyes, a sharp pain shot through my brain. I groaned, reaching up to touch my neck. The spot where they had injected me was still sore.
"Finally. I thought you were going to sleep all day."
The voice was female, sharp and cold.
I forced my eyes open. I wasn't in the garage. I wasn't in my small, messy office. I was lying on a bed that felt softer than a cloud, in a room that looked like it belonged in a science fiction movie.
The walls were made of white marble and glass. One whole side of the room was a window. I could see the entire city below, but the buildings looked like tiny toys. I was so high up that the clouds were drifting past the glass.
A woman stood by the door. She was beautiful, with blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun and a dress that cost more than my life. She looked at me with a fake smile.
"I’m Lyra," she said. "Cassian’s assistant. He told me to make sure you didn't die. Fortunately, you're awake."
"Where am I?" I breathed. My throat felt like I had swallowed sand.
"You’re in Cloud penthouse," Lyra said, rolling her eyes. "Don't touch anything. Everything here is biometric. If you touch the wrong door, the security system will fry your brain."
She turned and walked out, the heavy door sliding shut with a soft hiss.
I didn't waste a second. I sat up, ignored the dizzy feeling in my head, and looked around. Lyra thought I was just a scared girl. She didn't know I spent my life breaking into systems like this.
I walked to the door. There was no handle. Only a small, glowing blue pad.
"Fingerprint and retina scan," I whispered. "Top of the line."
I looked at the walls. In the corner, near the ceiling, was a small black camera. It followed every movement.
"Hi, Cassian," I said to the camera. "I hope you're watching."
I moved to the large window. I pressed my hand against the glass. It was thick, with at least three layers of reinforced acrylic. I couldn't break it. But I noticed something. There was a thin silver wire running along the edge of the frame.
"A laser grid," I murmured. "If the glass breaks, the alarm goes off."
I went back to the bed and sat down. I needed to think. I had no tools. They had taken my belt and my toolbox. But as I felt the silk sheets, I felt something hard under the pillow.
I pulled it out. It was a small, metal hairclip. Probably left by a previous guest.
It wasn't much, but for me, it was a weapon.
I stood up and went to the bedside table. There was a digital clock built into the wood. I used the metal hairclip to carefully pry the face of the clock off. Behind it were wires. Beautiful, glowing wires.
I began to work. I wasn't trying to call for help. I was trying to find a way into the building's brain.
Suddenly, a giant TV screen on the wall flickered to life. I jumped back, hiding the clock parts behind my back.
It was the news.
"Tragedy in Solara City," the newslady said. "A local technician, Stephen Mark, was found dead in a downtown garage last night. Police have no leads."
My heart stopped. Stephen?
Stephen was the man on the floor. He was my brother’s old partner. Years ago, before my brother Harry disappeared, he and Stephen worked together.
This wasn't an accident. This was a message.
"You found it, then."
I spun around. Cassian Wolfe was standing in the doorway. The door hadn't even made a sound when it opened. He was wearing a grey sweater now, looking more like a man and less like a ghost, but his eyes were still just as dark.
"You killed him," I said. My voice was no longer shaking. It was filled with heat. "Stephen was looking for my brother."
Cassian walked into the room. He didn't look guilty. He looked interested.
"Is that what you think?" he asked. He walked over to the window and looked out at the city. "Stephen was a thief, Octavia. He stole something from me that didn't belong to him. In my world, thieves don't get a second chance."
"He was my only link to Harry!" I yelled. I forgot that he was a crime lord. I forgot that he could kill me.
"You took away my only chance to find my family!"
Cassian turned around. He looked at the broken clock in my hand, then at the wires I had pulled out.
"Most women would be crying," he said. "Most women would be begging me to let them go. But you... you're trying to hack my security with a hairclip."
He walked closer, stopping only an inch away. I could smell his cologne… sandalwood and expensive cigars.
"I didn't kill your Stephen myself, Octavia," he whispered. "But I wish I had done it myself ."
I froze. "Huh..."
"Yeah…" Cassian reached out and touched a strand of my hair. I wanted to pull away, but I was paralyzed. "I have a deal for you. You stay here. You fix the things I tell you to fix. You play your part as my guest."
"And if I don't?"
Cassian leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear.
"Then, you'll know why I am called GHOST."
He pulled back and looked at the door. "Lyra will bring you dinner. Don't try anything stupid, Octavia."
He walked out, and the door clicked shut.
I stood in the middle of the room, my heart slamming against my ribs. What does he mean? I will know why he's called ghost. He wants to kill me?
I looked at the broken clock in my hand. I wasn't going to just "fix" things for him. I was going to find every secret he was hiding in this fortress.
Cassian Wolfe thought he had caught a witness. He didn't realize he had brought the one person into his home who could tear his dark empire apart.
I went back to the wires. I had work to do.
- Writer
