THE HIGH GROUND

BOUND BY DECREE

The scream hung heavily in the quiet bedroom, vibrating against the floral wallpaper until the sheer panic of it seemed to seep into the very floorboards. Maggie didn't just look shocked; she looked like she had just discovered her best friend had unknowingly declared a losing war on a nuclear superpower.

"Maggie, *shh!*" Bella hushed her frantically, throwing herself forward to place a desperate hand over her friend’s mouth. "Keep it down! Grandma is downstairs, she’ll listen!"

Maggie frantically nodded, her eyes still the size of saucers, and Bella slowly pulled her hand back, her own heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

Still visibly frightened, Maggie began to pace the small length of the bedroom. Her steps were frantic, her usual high-fashion poise completely replaced by a restless, chaotic terror.

"The King family, Bella? *The Kings?*" Maggie whispered loudly, bending down slightly as she paced past the bed. "I have heard so many things about them. They don't just own buildings, Bells—they own the city. The police, the media... people are absolutely terrified of him. I heard the new editor who posted about his fall on the street and spread it online has completely disappeared. Like, gone. No trace."

Bella felt the air leave her lungs, her chest tightening.

"And that's not all," Maggie continued, her voice dropping into an ominous, breathless undertone. "My college friend told me her dad worked at that media house. He left because the entire press company was shut down overnight. Just wiped out. God knows what happened to the girl who caused that accident that made him go viral in the first place... poor girl." Maggie let out a long, heavy sigh, shaking her head in pity.

"Oh no," Bella cried out in pure shock, a cold dread washing over her. The gravity of what she had done was expanding by the second, morphing from a private nightmare into a public catastrophe. "I feel so terrible... that editor, the press. No..."

Overwhelmed, Bella face-palmed, burying her face in her trembling hands as the guilt and fear suffocated her.

Maggie stopped her pacing abruptly. She stared at Bella, a sudden, horrifying realization dawning behind her eyes. She lunged forward and grabbed Bella tightly by the shoulders, forcing her to look up.

"Girl... please," Maggie stammered, her voice shaking. "Are you telling me... you were the one who...?"

Before Maggie could even finish the sentence, Bella bit her lip, a tear spilling over her lashes as she nodded in painful hesitation.

"Babe! You are a magnet to troubles, aren't you?!" Maggie cried, her knees practically giving out. She sat down on the edge of the mattress so hard she was almost falling backward, staring at Bella as if she were looking at a ghost.

"I made a mess, Mag. A terrible, horrible mess," Bella cried, the tears flowing freely now.

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the bedroom for a few minutes. The only sound was the faint hum of the television downstairs where Grandma was resting, completely oblivious to the storm brewing directly above her head. Maggie sat entirely still, processing the monolithic scale of the situation. But as the initial shock began to recede, her fierce, protective best-friend instincts kicked right back in.

She reached out, wrapping her warm hands firmly around Bella’s cold, trembling fingers.

"Babe, listen to me," Maggie said softly, her tone turning grounding and resolute. "We will figure this out. We will go apologize to him if we have to. We’ll swallow our pride, do whatever it takes, and fix it." She squeezed Bella's hand, offering a reassuring smile before her face lit up with a sudden, remembered thought. "Besides, I too have some news for you."

Bella sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her sleeve. "What news?"

"I got my internship," Maggie said, a slight hesitation clipping her words as a sheepish, ironic smile tugged at her lips. "At... The Kings Co."

"What?!" Bella’s jaw dropped, a sudden, startled smile breaking through her tear-stained face.

"Yeah!" Maggie giggled nervously, throwing her hands up. "So, you won't be alone now to face the demon. I will be your backup, don't worry. If he tries anything, I'll be lurking in the corporate shadows ready to defend you." Maggie assured her, her bright energy finally cutting through the thick layer of dread that had populated the room.

Bella let out a massive, ragged sigh of relief. A heavy weight lifted from her shoulders; finally, she wouldn't be entirely alone in navigating the treacherous waters of the King empire. Of course, she knew Susan would support her too, but having her childhood confidante right there in the belly of the beast changed everything.

As Susan’s name popped into Bella's mind, a wave of realization hit her. She had been so caught up in her own panic that she hadn't checked in with her sweet coworker, who had graciously stayed with her grandmother the previous night.

"I need to call Susan," Bella murmured, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I need to thank her properly for watching Grandma."

She tapped the screen and dialed. The phone rang three times before Susan picked up, her voice bustling with the usual ambient noise of the office wing.

"Hi Bella dear!" Susan greeted warmly. "Why didn't you come to the office today? Don't worry about last night, by the way—Granny was totally cool. We had fun, watched some old movies, and had a great time."

"I caught a flu," Bella replied, trying to keep her voice steady and convincing. "I sent a message to Rose earlier this morning, she must have informed the department."

"Rose? No, dear," Susan’s voice dropped into a conspiratorial, gossipy whisper. "Rose is no longer working here. Great news, right? She just got fired as early as she came in today. Honestly, you missed the absolute drama of the century."

Bella’s heart skipped a beat. "What? What happened?"

"She was called directly up to the CEO’s office first thing this morning," Susan muttered, clearly relishing the office intrigue. "Next thing we know, we see her crying and running out of the elevator, quickly grabbing her personal things from her desk before security escorted her out. It was wild. I think Mr. Louise, the guy from our wing, will handle her role for now."

*Rose got fired?* Bella’s mind raced, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of her neck. *Does this have something to do with yesterday's accident? The sheer speed and ruthlessness of the King organization made her blood run cold.

"Oh... wow," Bella managed to choke out, gripping the phone tighter. "That's... intense."

"Tell me about it," Susan said. "Anyway, you just focus on resting up and getting rid of that flu."

"Okay Susan, see you soon... and thank you again for everything," Bella said softly.

"Always welcome, sweetie. Take care!" Susan replied cheerfully before hanging up.

"Everything okay at the office?" Maggie asked, leaning in close. She had been entirely quiet during the call, trying to read Bella’s rapidly shifting expressions.

Before Bella could even open her mouth to explain the crazy news about Rose, a sharp *ding* echoed from her hand. The screen lit up. A new email notification had just popped up, sent directly to her corporate account.

Her eyes scanned the sender line:

*Mr. Louise, Acting Human Resources Coordinator / Executive Secretary to the Board, King Co.*

Bella’s breath hitched. With a trembling thumb, she tapped the notification, opening the formal document attached to the electronic mail. Maggie leaned over her shoulder, her breath hot against Bella's cheek as they both read the stark, black letters typing out her fate.

**KING COMPANY GLOBAL ENTERPRISES**

*Corporate Headquarters: Tower I, King District*

*Date: June 20, 2026*

**CONFIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM**

**TO:** Miss Bella Marie Swan

**FROM:** Office of Administrative Affairs / Human Resources Division

**RE:** Termination of Current Contract and Immediate Corporate Reassignment

Miss Swan,

Please be advised that effective immediately, as of 9:00 AM on the date of this memorandum, your employment contract as a Junior Administrative Assistant within the Lower Wing Operations of King Co. has been officially terminated.

Pursuant to Section 4B of your signed employment agreement, the company retains the right to restructure departmental roles without prior notice. You are hereby requested to vacate your current desk and duties, effective immediately. All access badges associated with the Lower Wing Operations have been deactivated.

However, by direct executive decree from the Office of the Chairman, you are not being dismissed from King Company Global Enterprises.

Concurrently with this termination, you have been formally promoted and reassigned to the position of **Personal Secretary to the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Daemond King Jr.**

Your new role will require direct, round-the-clock administrative assistance, management of the CEO’s private schedule, travel coordination, and immediate presence at the Executive Suite on the 50th floor. Your compensation package has been adjusted to reflect the executive nature of this position, including a 300% increase in base salary, comprehensive private medical coverage, and a discretionary corporate expense account.

Please report to the main lobby of the King Co. Headquarters tomorrow morning at precisely 7:30 AM. A specialized security clearance badge will be waiting for you at the front reception desk.

Failure to report for your new duties at the designated time will be treated as a material breach of your mandatory employment contract, carrying immediate legal and financial penalties as enforceable by the King Co. Legal Corporation.

Sincerely,

**Mr. Louise**

*Executive Representative*

*Office of the Chief Executive Officer*

*King Company Global Enterprises*

As Bella finished reading the final line of the formal letter, a wave of profound dizziness washed over her. The room seemed to tilt on its axis.

Her fingers went entirely numb. The phone slipped from her hand, tumbling off her lap and clattering loudly onto the hardwood floor, the screen gleaming upwards like a digital trapdoor that had just sprung shut beneath her feet.

He hadn't sued her. He hadn't sent the police. He had done something infinitely worse. He had trapped her.

Maggie stared down at the phone on the floor, her jaw practically touching her chest. The silence in the bedroom was deafening, heavy with the realization that the demon hadn't just come for Bella—he had written her into his calendar.