My CEO is a Vampire - Book One: The Pact

II – A Dark Past

Scarlett lay stretched out on the couch beside her daughter. After three consecutive nights of coming home close to dawn, the reporter had finally decided to take a few hours off. The interview with Julian had already been published and, as expected, had quickly gone viral.

That evening, mother and daughter were watching a movie chosen by the teenager.

“If Colin agreed to marry me, you’d have a stepfather…” Scarlett teased. “How can this man possibly be so handsome?”

“Says the woman who was hiding when he showed his vampire face,” Hannah mocked. “You have to accept the full package, Mom.”

Breaking free from the older woman’s embrace, the girl sat cross-legged beside the coffee table, where the two of them were already devouring their third pizza box. She poured herself a glass of soda and took a sip.

“I’ll agree with you only because it’s true,” the girl argued while picking onion slices off her pizza and setting them aside on her plate. “Vampires really are terrifying. But that’s exactly what makes the old movies the best.”

Scarlett picked up her wine glass and took a long sip while watching her daughter separate the toppings from her pizza. That habit had existed since she was four years old and would probably never change. But it reflected Hannah’s peculiar and unwavering tastes. Scarlett herself was very much the same way.

“What’s the difference between old vampire movies and modern ones?” she asked.

“Mom, how can you even ask that? That’s practically heresy!” Hannah exclaimed.

Right, Scarlett thought. Teenagers were dramatic.

“Feel free to enlighten me,” the woman replied, trying not to laugh.

The girl sighed in clear indignation, as though they were discussing something of enormous importance. Finally, she bit into a slice of pizza and chewed slowly while the scene on-screen showed the vampire stalking a family.

“In classic vampire stories,” the girl explained, “people are terrified of them because they know the seductive appearance is just a disguise. Vampires are nothing more than murderous monsters.”

Hearing her daughter speak so seriously about the subject made Scarlett want to laugh, but she knew doing so would ruin their girls’ night. She needed to control herself.

“And that changed in modern movies?” she asked.

“In all modern media,” Hannah declared. “Books, movies, games. Vampires have been romanticized over the last few decades. It’s like people are trying to convince everyone that vampires aren’t monsters anymore. These days they twist the mythology and turn beasts into heroes.”

Scarlett pressed a finger thoughtfully against her lower lip.

“And there can’t be some middle ground? Some kind of coexistence?”

“Mom!” her daughter protested again. “Try to stay focused. Monsters that feed on human blood.” Hannah emphasized the words with exaggerated hand gestures. “Vampires would coexist with humans the same way lions coexist with zebras. Even teenagers understand that.”

“But what about that famous movie where the teenage girl dates the vampire?”

“Mom, that’s ridiculous!” Hannah sounded genuinely offended. “If I discovered real vampires existed, the last thing I’d want would be getting caught in their mind games. I’d run away and hide as best as I could. And as hard as it would probably be to convince you, I’d still come looking for your help.”

At last, Scarlett could not hold back her laughter.

“Well, thank goodness you understand convincing me would be difficult,” the blonde woman commented. “And what exactly would you need my help with? Helping you kill the vampire?”

“Obviously!” the girl exclaimed, spreading her arms dramatically. “How could I sleep peacefully knowing that thing was still out there? Look at the movie we’re watching, Fright Night, for example. The vampire looks like a normal man. Well… better than normal. He’s handsome, charming, seductive, intelligent, and strong. But it’s all a mask. In reality, he doesn’t feel anything. He just manipulates his victims so he can feed on them…”

Scarlett listened carefully, trying to understand her daughter’s point of view. To her, it would never make sense. Were old movies really better because they were scarier?

No. Fear was never a good thing.

They both knew that.

“Hannah, changing the subject… how was your meeting with your father?”

A brief silence followed. Hannah grabbed another slice of pizza and stuffed half of it into her mouth without taking her eyes off the enormous LED television. Scarlett tried to remain patient, simply watching her.

Hannah Mc’Donnel was a reflection of Scarlett in her younger years. Honey-colored eyes, golden hair, rebellious expression. The girl had inherited only her father’s full lips and surname.

Herald Henfield Mc’Donnel. An African American man standing six feet tall, graduated in political science from Stanford University, recruited to Quantico in 2000, active FBI agent since the following year. Scarlett’s ex-husband.

The reporter followed her daughter’s example, taking another slice of pizza for herself. She ate slowly, savoring another sip of wine while Hannah remained glued to the screen. Tired of waiting for an answer that apparently was not coming, Scarlett paused the movie.

“Mom! Pausing ruins the tension!” her daughter complained.

“I asked you a question fifteen minutes ago. Did you hear me?”

The teenager twisted her lips in annoyance at the pressure.

“It was normal. We had milkshakes. Nothing special…” she answered.

“You know you can talk to me if something’s wrong,” her mother said.

“Mom, he’s my father… relax,” Hannah replied. “If you want…”

The sentence hung unfinished, making Scarlett even more curious.

“If I want…?” she prompted.

“If you want, I can stop seeing him,” the girl sighed. “I’m perfectly happy with just the two of us now. It’s only us. I just wish you were around more. And don’t make me repeat that, but… I miss you.”

Scarlett rose from the couch and sat beside her daughter on the floor next to the coffee table piled with pizza boxes. She kissed the girl on the forehead and hugged her tightly. Hannah never complained about affection.

“I’m sorry for being such an absent mother…” the reporter murmured.

“You’re not absent,” Hannah argued softly. “I understand that your work matters. But I wouldn’t complain if you were home more often.”

Clearly, like every teenager, Hannah was hiding something.

And as a mother, Scarlett could feel it.

As an ex-wife, painful memories warned her.

Maybe she should hire a private investigator to keep a closer eye on what happened during those father-daughter meetings. The problem was finding someone capable of following a man trained to detect spies.

♥♥♥

Seven years earlier…

The man slammed the door open and stormed inside, furious. He was a tall, powerfully built Black man with a shaved head and no beard or mustache. His suit and tie made him look more like a lawyer or businessman than a federal agent.

Scarlett entered immediately after him with their daughter.

“Hannah,” her mother said quietly, “go to your room.”

The noise coming from the kitchen was not a good sign. Herald was still upset. It was not his fault, but the way he reacted was his responsibility. Scarlett had promised herself she would do everything possible to save her marriage, but she could not do it alone. That man needed to listen to her.

The blonde woman waited until she heard Hannah’s bedroom door close.

As expected, her husband was drinking. An empty glass sat beside a whiskey bottle on the table. The bottle, freshly opened, was already half empty.

“They’ll never accept me, Scar,” he said the moment she stepped into the room. “No matter what I do.”

“Why do you care?” she asked bluntly, honestly. “You’re good enough for me. I’m the one you married. Isn’t that enough?”

“Do you see the way your father looks at me? And every time I try to talk to him…” The man sounded furious, torn between disappointment and rage. “He always walks away. Your brothers avoid me too. More than ten years serving this country as a federal agent, and I’m still treated like I don’t belong…”

Scarlett approached him and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

“We don’t have to go back there anymore,” she whispered, trying to calm him. “I can take Hannah to visit my mother. You don’t need to come.”

Her words only seemed to ignite something even angrier inside him. Herald spun around and shoved her hard against a cabinet.

“What are you saying?” he shouted. “You’re going to parade around with my daughter while asking me to hide? Is that it? Are you ashamed of me too?”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Scarlett snapped. “First of all, she’s not your daughter, she’s our daughter. And all I said was that I’d take her to visit her grandmother.”

Herald shook his head bitterly while pouring himself another glass of whiskey.

“Well, let me make one thing clear. I will never stop being part of my daughter’s life.”

“That’s exactly what I expect from you,” Scarlett answered.

“Mom? Why are you fighting?”

The voice came from the kitchen doorway, where Hannah stood watching the couple with frightened eyes.

“It’s nothing, sweetheart…” Scarlett forced a smile.

“Your grandparents don’t like your father, that’s all,” Herald muttered.

Scarlett’s back ached from being thrown against the cabinet. She wanted to force her husband to stop drinking and end the conversation right there, but she knew continuing the argument would only drag Hannah deeper into their problems.

Even if their daughter was old enough to understand what was happening, it was better to keep her away from the conflict between them. Scarlett would deal with Herald later, when they were alone.

It was not a question of if.

Only when.

♥♥♥

“Mom? Mom? Are you okay?”

Scarlett was pulled back to reality by her daughter’s familiar voice.

“Hey, sweetheart… sorry…” she said awkwardly, returning from the sea of bitter memories.

“You zoned out,” the girl commented. “What were you thinking about?”

“Just wondering what the world would be like if vampires really existed…”

It was a lie.

But sometimes lies were necessary.

At last, mother and daughter laughed together about the same absurd topic.

“It would be terrifying,” Hannah answered. “If the existence of any supernatural predator were confirmed, the entire world would fall into chaos.”

Scarlett merely sighed and refilled her wine glass.

“Let’s keep an open mind… and keep monsters inside movies.”