Locked in the Warehouse

Diane's POV

Life, they said, was full of ups and downs. No one lived on a bed of roses for too long nor did thorns last for long.

Four years went by after the accident and I graduated from college despite all odds. I got a job with Redskins Group of Companies as a storekeeper. It wasn't the position I had hoped for but it was a good start.

I was determined to make enough money to sue my half-sister and ex-boyfriend, Liam Montero. They toyed with my life and made me lose my baby. It was born too early and everything the doctors did seemed futile. I lost him.

My parents were not even concerned. They defended Monique and nothing I did or said changed their mind. Only my grandparents stood by me throughout the trying times.

They told me to let Karma deal with them but I couldn't. I would work really hard until

"Diane, we don't pay you to stand all day and look pretty!" My manager's voice snapped through me and I blinked back to reality.

The bubbling sound of the music coming from the lounge overhead returned to my senses and the dancing lights came back to life as well.

"I am sorry Bucks. What do you want me to do?" I asked with an apologetic smile.

"I would love to send you out front but that pretty face of yours is going to cause a ruckus with the boys," he said with a grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the wall. Not like I enjoyed being out there but sometimes, the noise helped dull the pain of my past —until the drunk men started throwing glances at me.

"They brought new goods from the factory last night, I want you to go take an inventory, so we can prepare a report of what we have now and what we need," he said.

I picked up my notepad from the drawer and turned to the exit. "Okay, boss, I got it."

The warehouse was behind the lounge and no one but me ever went there. I didn't have to bother about horny men coming to disturb me.

I connected my phone to my air pods and started playing some music as I worked.

The goods were brought in just like Bucks had said and they were stacked as usual, taking the inventory wasn't going to be difficult.

I finished up in less than an hour. I returned to my desk to put the records into the system. The music from the lounge was loud enough for me to hear from my desk, so I took out my phone and placed it in the drawer, and continued working.

Halfway through the job, I realized I forgot to take note of the products that we needed but weren't brought in.

"Oh shoot," I groaned as I got back up, grabbed the notepad, and returned to the warehouse.

The last thing I needed was for Bucks to reprimand me for putting together the wrong report. As I checked through the boxes, I heard a scratching sound come from the inner room.

I paused and stared in the direction of the sound.

Do we have rats in there? I wondered as I started moving towards it.

I pulled the door open and moved deeper toward the old boxes that were stacked in the room. It was a bit dark, I tapped my pockets to pull out my phone and it was then I realized I had forgotten it on my desk.

Shoot!

I wouldn't be able to find anything without light. I turned around and moved out of the inner room to go get my phone. I pushed the main door open but it didn't budge.

"Huh..." I mumbled to myself as I tried again but still it refused to open.

"Oh!" I groaned, leaning against it. Someone must have come from the lounge and locked it thinking no one was in there.

There was no point screaming for help because the room was soundproof and airtight. All I could do was sit still and wait till the next bartender came to get a restock which should take about twenty to thirty minutes if I calculated right.

I turned around and found a strong case to sit on and wait out the time.

My thoughts went back to how my life would have been if Monique hadn't paid people to rape me... Maybe I would have had a better chance in life. Maybe I wouldn't be stuck in a warehouse at the back of a lounge in the city...

The scratching sound returned and a frown appeared on my face. Now that I thought about it, it was louder than a rat.

As I listened closely, I discovered that it sounded like a person. There was someone else in the warehouse with me!

"Who is there!?" I asked with my heart jumping to my throat.

I got up and resumed searching.

The sound wasn't coming from the inner room as I had thought, it was just behind me... In a box.

With furrowed brows and a racing heart, I opened the box and I was shocked at what I found.

A cute little child.

"What are you doing here?" I asked but he just stared back at me with those beautiful green eyes.

The boy had curly hair that rested just above his head. He seemed to be about two or three years old. What was a child this little doing here?

"What's your name?" I tried again but he still said nothing.

He must have been scared, I thought and my heart went out to him. Who would be so careless with their son?

"Come," I whispered, stretching my hands toward him.

To my surprise, he reached out to me at once and I carried him in my arms. He rested his head on my shoulders and clutched me tight as if he knew me.

Poor child, he must have been so scared.

"Don't worry, my colleagues will come to get me and we'll go find you, mom," I whispered as I ran my hands gently along his back.

As usual, he didn't reply. He just held me.

My heart swelled and I felt tears prick in my eyes as I hugged him back just as much as he was. I didn't want to think about it, but his warm little body reminded me of what it would have felt like to hold my own child.

Just then, the door to the warehouse barged open and Bucks stepped in.

"Oh, Diane, have you seen—"

"Owen!?" Someone called from behind him and my heart skipped a beat.