Chapter 4
877 Words
"Griffin! My dress! She did it on purpose!" Vivian's scream snapped Griffin back to reality.
The fear and confusion in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced once again by a layer of solid ice.
"Get out." He spoke to Sienna, his voice low, suppressing a volcano about to erupt.
Sienna's heart turned to ice. She turned awkwardly and walked away quickly under the stares of the entire room.
The next day, Sienna was restless all day, waiting for the verdict of her dismissal.
But the day passed quietly. Nothing came from the president's office.
As the workday was ending, an unfamiliar number called her.
"Ms. Fletcher? This is Sienna Shaw." Vivian's voice came through. "Griffin is still angry. He's locked himself in the Hillside Villa. He asked me to tell you to go to the basement and get a document in a brown kraft paper bag. He said... only you can find it."
Sienna's breath caught. The Hillside Villa had once been their home.
"Ms. Lane, this is against the rules. I have no right to handle Mr. Gates's personal matters—"
"Call me Miss Shaw. And just go when I tell you." Vivian cut her off impatiently. "This is Griffin's wish. Do you want to disobey him and get fired immediately? Don't forget, you're just a junior assistant. With one word, I can make sure you can't survive in this city."
The call ended. Sienna clutched her phone.
This was clearly a trap. But the bait — "only you can find it" — made it impossible for her to refuse.
Was Griffin sending her a signal this way?
It was a trap. But she decided to walk into it, betting on that slim chance.
She took a taxi to the familiar Hillside Villa. Everything looked the same, except the swing set she had planted with her own hands was gone.
She found the basement door from memory. A stale, musty smell hit her face. The light was dim. She instinctively walked to the third iron shelf on the left and spotted the mismatched silver metal box at the bottom.
A yellowed heart-shaped sticker was stuck on the box. It was her box.
He hadn't thrown it away.
Sienna crouched down. Her fingers trembled as they brushed over the combination lock. Uncontrollably, she entered that date. The day he had confessed.
Click.
The lock opened.
Tears burst from her eyes. She lifted the lid. Inside lay her diary, a red string bracelet, photo booth pictures... the remains of her entire youth.
The boy in the photos had bright, carefree eyes and a radiant smile. Love nearly overflowed from his gaze.
Just as she was completely immersed in the past, her guard down—
Bang.
The iron door behind her slammed shut. The lock clicked.
Click.
Every light in the basement went out at once.
The world fell into dead, suffocating darkness.
Sienna went rigid. Extreme fear swallowed every other emotion. This was a trap.
She lunged at the door and pounded on it. "Open the door. Who's out there?"
The answer came through the door. Vivian's mocking, triumphant laugh.
"Sienna, you really are this stupid."
"Do you actually think Griffin will remember you? Stop dreaming. I told him to fire you. He couldn't because of old feelings. So I had to handle it myself and let you leave with some 'dignity.'"
"I guessed right. You really do know the code to this box. Just wait until I send the surveillance footage to Griffin. I'll tell him that this new little assistant is actually a scheming mole trying to dig up his past and trigger his condition. What do you think his face will look like?"
Sienna's heart sank to the deepest ocean floor. So he had wanted to protect her. All of this was Vivian's poisonous plot.
"Oh, right." Vivian's laugh grew uglier. "Griffin is overseas at a meeting tonight. He won't be back. Enjoy the feeling of what you went through back then in the elevator."
The darkness gripped her throat like a giant hand, crushing her lungs, stealing her breath.
Her claustrophobia.
Her body slid down the door. Her consciousness began to blur. Vivian's cruel laughter and her own labored breathing were all she could hear.
Just as she thought she might die there, a sharp screech of tires came from outside, followed by hurried, heavy footsteps.
BANG.
The iron door shook violently, as if kicked by a thousand pounds of force.
"Sienna. Open the door."
It was Griffin's voice. Furious. And carrying a note of panic she had never heard before.
Vivian seemed frozen in shock outside. Then another even louder crash.
BANG.
The lock was kicked open. The iron door slammed against the wall. A tall figure rushed in, backlit by the light outside.
It was Griffin.
He ran to her. Seeing her collapsed on the ground, still clutching that diary tightly, his face turned dark as night.
Without a second's hesitation, he scooped her into his arms, holding her so tightly it felt like he was trying to fuse her into his bones.
He turned, carrying her, his gaze like a blade aimed at Vivian, who stood stunned in the doorway. Every word dripped with ice.
"You'd better give me an explanation."
- Writer
