ChapterEight
1003 Words
Mila’s POV
I could not say farewell to the penthouse. Ruben was on the run, as he usually does when danger threatens him. The next moment, I was sitting in the rear of a black automobile with tainted windows, and Amsterdam was passing by.
It will only be temporary, said Ruben, calm and firm as he attempted to make me believe it. "Your address is compromised. You can not abide anywhere predictable.
I crossed my hands upon my knees and looked full out. I know now where I live, and people know, I said to myself. I have always believed that invisibility was a painful experience. I was not aware that it was worse than being seen.
Ruben turned to look at me. “You are no longer invisible, Mila. And otherwise, because of that, I will not have anybody hurt you.”
The car was parked before a modern structure that was between offices and luxurious housing. Nothing distinguished either outside or name, no name.
"Where are we?" I asked.
An apartment belonging to the company, replied Ruben. Not many people are aware of its existence. There is onsite security and limited access.
It is a trap, like a cage, I said before I could help myself.
He sighed softly. "It is protection, not a prison."
The elevator descended without any sound. The apartment startled me when it was opened. It was bright, still, and diffused with gentle light. Neutral colors. Clean lines. Somewhere that was untouched by anarchy.
Ruben put a little compact suitcase next to the couch. You can do what you would like to do. If you need anything, call me. Day or night."
I nodded but did not move at all.
He was hesitating and said, I know this is difficult.
I finally looked at him. The change in my life, Ruben, happened overnight. Without even knowing me, people hate me. It is they who are destroying your company because of me.
Tearing it down, they are destroying it because they underestimated me. And they think that fear will make me stop.
"And will it?" I asked.
His eyes held mine. "No."
As he walked away, the door had swivelled behind him, and the silence had crept in. I was carefully going through the apartment, feeling the counter, the chair, the rim of the bed, to persuade myself that this was real.
I sat on the couch and put my hands around my body.
It was the first time after the leakage of the video that I permitted myself to cry.
The following morning, Ruben insisted that I go back to Titan Corp momentarily to get personal effects and files belonging to my workstation. He strolled beside me in the lobby, and his presence was as a shield, yet I knew it at once.
The air was different.
The conversation was halted by my passing. Eyes followed me. Some are curious. Some are angry. Some are sharp with judgment.
I lowered my head and concentrated on breathing.
I heard voices near the elevators.
“Oh, she spoiled it all,” said a woman.
I have heard she had it all planned out, another responded. She was quite familiar with the methods of approaching him.
A man said: She is costing us contracts. My department has already been shot.
My chest tightened, and I found that I was slowing down.
Someone said that she needed to have been fired as soon as the scandal had come to light. "Instead, he protects her."
I bit my lips and walked quicker, feeling the trembling of my hands.
The situation was even worse in my department. I had been cleared off my desk and my name taken off the common board. No one greeted me.
Luca came towards the printer, and his face was tense at the sight of me. "Mila," he said softly. "Are you okay?"
I do not know, I replied to myself.
He looked around and then spoke more low-pitched. "People are scared. They want someone to lay the blame on.
"And I'm easy," I said.
He hesitated. "Just be careful. This has gone beyond gossip."
I felt something standing behind me when I was packing my things.
I will never consider you to be such a woman, a colleague said coldly.
I turned slowly. "What kind?"
The sort of person who sleeps her way up, said she, with no embarrassment.
My throat tightened. "You don't know me."
She shrugged. "That's not what the media says."
I took the last of my things and walked out without saying any more. I could hardly hold my hands due to the shaking and almost fell on the bag.
Outside, Ruben was waiting.
It is my fault, they are accusing me, I thought as I got to him.
He nodded once. "I know."
And they will always be, I said to myself.
He looked at me seriously. Only till the truth is revealed.
At home, I attempted to keep myself occupied by unpacking, cleaning, and acting as though this were usual. I believed that the locks were as strong as possible, the cameras real, and the guards trustworthy.
Then the doorbell rang.
I froze.
I looked at the screen next to the door. No one was there.
I opened the door very slowly and very carefully.
An envelope lay on the floor.
It was written in heavy black ink with my name on it i paused for a minute.
My heart was beating hard, and I picked it up and shut the door. I was numb in my fingers as I ripped it open.
There was only one piece of paper indoors.
“You do not belong here. Leave Ruben Vermeer. Next time, we won't just watch.”
I drew a caught breath when there was a sharp knock at the door.
I fell on the paper, my heart throbbing.
"Security!" a voice called from outside.
Fear had already wrapped itself around me.
Since I knew that it was just the start.
- Writer
