Her CEO

Chapter 1

On November 3rd, 2005 at 10.45 pm there is a loud wail at Mercy West, a hospital in Seattle. The rain is pounding against the windows, the wind is howling and inside, nurses and doctors are working methodologically with each other to greet the life of a new baby girl. Her eyes are green, her skin creamy and lips soft, rosy color. On her head, there is soft, black hair. She weighs 6.8 pounds and is 20 inches long. She's placed in her mother's waiting arms once the umbilical cord has been cut, and her crying is soon fading to soft suckling noises. "Congratulations mama. You have a gorgeous baby girl," a nurse with blonde hair tells the new mother as she gets to hold her little bundle of joy for the first time after carrying her inside her for 37 weeks. The new mother smiles. "Her name is Emily. My Emily."

5 years later, there is a terrible storm and the roads are flooded. A silver SUV drives down the dark and narrow road, wipers going full, and you can barely see a hand in front of the car. The car drives straight into a huge puddle, deep enough to flood the engine, and the car comes to a halt. Hazard lights light up the dark road with rhythmic, orange lights, but it's too dark to really see it.

The driver grabs her jacket and looks into the backseat to see her sleeping daughter. She sighs, grabs a flashlight from the glove department and exits the car. The water instantly reaches her thighs, and she gasps at the cold water.

She makes her way to the trunk, pulls out the emergency warning triangle and starts running behind the car, further up the road to notify others about her situation. She turns back toward the car and starts walking back, making sure she moves the flashlight around in case a new car comes around a corner and doesn't see her. She reaches the car and is about to open the door when the ground gives in under her.

The mudslide is brutal. The woman screams for her daughter as she's pulled down the sloped side, rocks and mud following her before she lands in the traitorous river and is swept away, never to be seen again.

In the car, 5-year-old Emily continues sleeping, oblivious to the horrific fate her mother just met.

Seattle, May 5th 2016

The sixth foster home in three years was done with Emily. The other kids always come to the foster parents to complain about her behavior, and because there is more than one complaint, the foster parents always scold Emily, despite her being innocent. "When are you going to learn? Get out of my kitchen, Emily! I'm so tired of you stealing the cookies I bake, so now, you don't get any!" The woman scolds her, and Emily feels tears sting in her eyes. "But I didn't do anything! It was Lucas who took the cookie!" She tries one last time to make them believe her, but no. "Pft. Stop lying, you ungrateful brat! Get out! Tomorrow, you're going back to the system! I'm done with you!" Emily runs from the kitchen, tears falling down her face. Lucas, a chubby boy with red hair, freckles and blue eyes, shoves her into the wall so her head splits open. She screams in pain, and Lucas starts crying too, yelling about how Emily shoved him, and slammed her own head in the wall to blame him. The foster mother slaps Emily across the face and draff her to her bedroom in the basement. "You stay locked down here until you're picked up tomorrow! No food!" The door is slammed shut, and the soft click of the lock turning is deafening in the dark room.

Emily fumbles her way to the worn mattress in the corner and crawls into bed. She pulls the covers over herself, curls into a ball and cries herself to sleep.

The next day, a social worker comes to pick her up and drives her to her next foster home. The foster home is located in Forks, outside of Seattle, and the house is like taken out of a fairy tale. It's white, small and adorable. A smiling couple stands on the porch with a tray of cookies and warm smiles. Emily smiles when she sees them and practically jumps out of the car as it stops. She walks over to the couple, and they smile wider. "You must be Emily," the woman greets her. "My name is Catherine, and this is my husband Jim. Welcome to our home. Here, take a cookie." Catherine holds out a cookie for Emily, and she takes it hesitantly. She take a small bite and smiles: "Thank you. This is so good." She finishes her cookie, and her stuff is soon being brought inside. Jim shows her to her room as the social worker explains Emily's situation to Catherine. Jim helps Emily get her clothes into the drawers before leaving. "Dinner is in an hour. If you need a shower or just want to relax, you can go ahead." He leaves, and go back downstairs, leaving Emily with a sense of hope that this actually could work. Had she known the next two years of her life would be hell, she would never have let her guard down and trusted the couple.