Framed, fired and falling for the CEO

Chaptet two

Adriana,” Derek said, as he shows her a document, “look at this. The building and all businesses here are also owned by Vance Holdings Group under the law.” Her stomach sank. Vance, that was the name on the man whose shirt she had ripped yesterday.

An employee says “Yeah, it’s him… the guy from your car crash yesterday. It turns out that he owns this whole building .

Adriana sat confused and paralysed in her car, the consequences of yesterday’s incident still lingering in her mind . “Why did the guy she had to confront still be the owner of the street where she worked? Why? Why? why?” She sobbed as she soliloquised. Her phone rang. “Mom?” she answered, her voice strained.

“Adriana…” Her mother’s voice broke. “It’s Elena… she’s extremely sick. The doctors said that if she’s not cured within four months she will lose her life.”

Adriana’s stomach felt like it was in knots. The news hit her like a punch to her gut. Four months, Life or death, and she was jobless—how the heck were they supposed to pay for the treatment?. “What… what do you mean? Mom wh-what’s w-wrong with her?”

There was a short pause that followed . Then her mother’s words came, sharp, heavy , and shocking. “Acute leukaemia. The doctors… they said if she doesn’t get treatment soon enough and within four months… she could die.”

She gripped the steering wheel of her car las if it was a life raft, banging her head against it, hoping it was just a bad dream. Nope, this was reality and she was wide awake. Acute leukemia. Life-threatening. Four months. And she didn’t know how they could pay for the treatment.

Mom, what’s the hospital bill gonna be?”

Her mother’s voice trembled. “At least two hundred thousand dollars. We… we can’t afford that, Adriana.”

The fear over her sister’s life seized her. Her job at the restaurant … it was over. “Mom… my job?” Her voice trembled. “I heard from Derek,” her mother said gently. “The restaurant… the whole building is closed. You… you don’t have a job anymore.”

Adrianna felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff. Two hundred grand for 4 month, her sister’s life hanging in the balance, no job, and totally lost on what to do next.

With her forehead pressed against the steering wheel, her heart raced. Tears streaming down her face, but she brushed them away. She had to pull herself together. Her sister’s life was at stake, and she was the only one who could do something about it— even if it meant applying to every company in town.

The hospital bills, the treatment, the uncertainty… it all crushed her, weighed her down. But somewhere deep inside, she found . She couldn’t cry. She couldn’t fall apart. Not now. Elena needed her now, more than she has ever in her life

And she would find a way. By any means possible. Even if it meant that she would have to apply to every company in the city. Her mind went back to that guy in the car, the one she ticked off yesterday. The same guy who could

The hospital hallway felt colder than it should. Adrianna walked slowly, as if moving too fast would make everything too real. She was surrounded by plane white walls, the distant murmur of conversations and the constant humming of the machines

As she searched for the room the number the nurse had given her, she held her bag strap tightly, trying to get her breathing down. Room 214. She paused outside the door, staring at it longer than normal . She lifted her hand to knock on the door , but it was shaking cause of fear of seeing her sister in her current state. “Come on Elena needs you” she muttered under her breath. She summoned up the courage to enter the hospital room. When she finally stepped inside, she was hit with the sight of her sister

Once full of energy and life, now she lay still on a hospital bed, swallowed up by those crops white linens. Dark shades were under her eyes making Adrianna heart ache even more , and her skin looked pale, almost making it look like it was see-through. She had an IV line was slotted into her arm. Beside the bed, a monitor beeped gently but slowly.

Adriana's chest twisted painfully. She called softly, "Elena." Elena shifted. Something warm shined through her weary face as her eyelids flapped and then slowly opened to reveal Adriana standing there. "Adri," she inhaled.

With a forced smile, Adriana walked over and brought a chair near the bed. Being safe not to affect the IV, she reached for Elena's hand. She was shocked to see how cold it was. "I'm here now," she said softly while giving her a reassuring look. "I was afraid of what might have happened to you."

Elena tried a feeble laugh, but it didn’t last long . It seemed that it required too much energy for her to even to do that. She whispered, "You always come." "My green thumb."

Adriana was more affected by the nickname than anything else. Elena was used to calling her that. Adriana always filled different parts of their small house with plants that she would not let die.

She would bring colour back to dying leaves, bring life to scorched soil, and revive those that everyone else had given up on.

Elena used to boast, "You fix everything."You bring things back to life." Elena now appeared to be gradually fading, and Adriana felt helpless. She grasped Elena's hand more tightly.

"Hey," she said firmly but softly. "Stop acting as if you're going anywhere. You’re my sister and I’m getting you out of here". Uncertain, Elena's eyes scanned her face. "The physicians told Mom—" Adriana cut her off, "I know what they said."

She lowered her voice and leaned in. “However, they're not always right. And even if they were, I would never, ever, allow it to happen”. Can you hear me? Elena took a swallow. She couldn’t hold back the tears that were stored in her eyes.Adri, that's a lot of money. I’m not interested."

She didn't take back the words, but they came out more harshly than she wanted to.

"Elena listen to me, I don't care about the price. No matter how difficult things get, I don't care.

You won’t remain in this bed. I'll get the treatment for you. I'll work it out. Elena looked into her face as if she had to believe it. "Even if it's impossible to get?" she muttered. Adriana instantly shook her head.

“Nothing is impossible. Not for me. Not in this case of your life being on the line” . Elena felt a tear drop trickle down her cheek. Carefully, Adriana reached up and wiped it away. "You just concentrate on getting better" she added.

"At the moment, that is your only job. Let me handle everything else. Weakly, Elena's fingers coiled around hers. "All right, green thumb," she muttered. Adriana felt heartbroken by the tiny smile that followed.

She stayed there until Elena went back to sleep, carefully watching the slow rising and falling of her chest and keeping it in her memory to remember that her sister was still alive and she could still keep her alive. Adriana didn't get up from her seat until the nurse quietly entered to check the IV.

Her mother sat, collapsed on a bench outside the room, her eyes were red and drained. They hugged each other silently. Nothing more could be said. However, as Adriana left the hospital and entered the late afternoon, she finally realised the reality that had dawned upon her.

Adriana was facing a tough time. Bills had been flooding in, and it had been a whole month without a job. The following days were nothing other than overwhelming.

She turned their tiny living room into a makeshift office, her laptop was always open on the table. Job websites started to blur together, and filling out application forms became a daily routine for her . She rewrote her résumé three times and polished her cover letter until she could almost recite it word by word without looking at it.

Every single morning began the same way.

A cup of coffee, straight to her laptop and the determination to get Elena back on her feet.

But every single night ended in the same way.

“The position has been taken, but thanks for applying.” “We would think of considering you in the future”. “Unfortunately we have selected a candidate whose qualifications most matches our requirements”. Most of the companies she applied to didn’t even bother to respond, but she kept moving on.

One afternoon, she headed across the city for an interview, all dressed in her sharpest outfit. Since she arrived early, she practised her answers quietly in the lobby, then walked into the meeting room with a confidence that was a bit fragile.

The interviewer didn’t even spend a lot of time reading her résumé.

“You’ve mostly worked in food and beverage business?” he said, his tone flat. “I hope you know that this position is highly competitive, miss.” The interviewer said with a stern look that showed that this might be another rejection

“I understand,” Adriana replied, keeping her cool. “But I’ve managed operations, staff scheduling, inventory, and customer relations—”

He offered a polite smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“We’ll let you know.”

But they didn’t.

Another interview wrapped up before it even got started. A woman skimmed through Adriana’s application, then leaned back in her chair.

“We’re looking for someone with more corporate experience,” she said.

Adriana thanked her anyway and walked out with her head held high. She kept it together until she reached the bus stop, where she sat down and stared straight ahead, blinking back tears that she didn’t want to shed in public.

By the end of the week, fatigue was written all over her skin. Her eyes peppered from sleepless nights, and her shoulders were sore from the pressure of it all. Yet, every morning, she still managed to find the strength to open up her laptop again.

Because giving up wasn’t possible for her.

Whenever she got doubtful , she remembered the memory of Elena lying in that hospital bed, pale and Fragile.

But still, she found the strength to smile . Green thumb. “You fix things.”

“I will,” Adriana whispered one night in the middle of her mind wandering in her apartment. “I’m not failing you.” So she kept pushing forward. More forms, more emails, more silence and the pressure to save her sister grew.

A month later one afternoon Adriana was about to close her laptop because she was totally exhausted. Then a new notification came in.

The subject of the email was Interview Invitation. Adriana stared at the screen for a moment before opening the email. It was from a corporate firm, a very well-known and high-paying one. They had looked at her application. Wanted to meet her in person the next morning.

Adriana read the email twice to make sure she was not dreaming. This felt different.

The day Adriana walked into the big glass building with steady steps and her back straight. She answered every question carefully and confidently. She did not explain much. She did not say sorry for her jobs. She just showed them what she could do.

When it was over Adriana left feeling unsure but strangely calm. Hours later while sitting at a bus stop her phone rang. It was a number. Adriana answered immediately.

"Hello?"

"Miss Adriana? This is the HR person calling about your interview today." Adrianas heartbeat got faster. "We want to offer you the job " the voice said. "You were the person for the job. We will send you the salary details and contract by email soon."

For a second Adriana could not speak. A job. A real job. A paying job. Enough to start fighting. "Yes " she said finally her voice steady even though she was feeling a lot of emotion. "I accept. Thank you."

When the call ended Adriana sat there in silence her phone in her hand. The world around her was still moving. Cars were passing people were talking.. Everything felt different.

For the time in weeks Adriana felt something other than fear. Hope. A smile grew on her face as hope came back into her life. "Hold on Elena " she said quietly. "I am going to get you out of there. I promise."