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CHAPTER 35: SMOKE

Author: Joy Teo
last update Last Updated: 2021-03-17 22:50:10

Noon had arrived and the glory of the morning sun was replaced by dark grey clouds which threatened to unleash a furious downpour on the streets below. Rebecca should have been home by now, but she was not. Her chest was starting to feel a little tight and a small cough escaped her mouth. It was the start of another asthma attack. But Rebecca was cool, her temper had subsided and she still had her Ventolin in her backpack. Nothing she could not handle.

As the wind started to pick up, Rebecca found herself standing in front of an old, dilapidated building, tucked in the corner of a desolated street. The road leading up to the building was littered with rubbish and newspapers, and a greyish stained dumpster next to the entrance of the building reeked of urine; on the walls were graffitis of nude women and obscene words.

Rebecca coughed again and pulled her backpack closer to her chest, wishing she had changed into something warmer. Her thin ch

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  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 36: SMOKE

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  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 45: GOODBYES

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  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 44: GOODBYES

    Someone was crying.Am I dead?Rebecca’s hand twitched and all of a sudden, she felt a pair of cold hands clamping onto hers.“She’s awake!” a voice squealed.I know that voice.“Rebecca! Honey!” another voice.Mom?She finally opened her eyes with great difficulty and to her delight, she was greeted by the faces of her loved ones – her mom, John, Jean and Sam. There was even a bouquet of bougainvillaea on the overbed table.Oh, so I’m not dead.On her left, holding tightly onto her free hand was her mother, sobbing uncontrollably. She smiled weakly at her mother, feeling her lips crack in the process. She needed a drink. Her throat hurt. Come to think of it, her whole body and head hurt.“Where am I?” she managed to croak out. Her mother cried even louder. The

  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 43: GOODBYES

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  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 42: MOTHER

    “Mrs Silverman, hurry!” Rebecca gasped and wheezed as she tried to pull the dazed woman up from the floor to no avail. Thomas lay facedown, unmoving but Rebecca was not taking any chances. A little puddle of blood formed around his head but she doubted he was dead.The older woman held her hands towards her neck, cradling it. “He tried to kill me…” she whispered hoarsely, rocking herself back in forth, still in shock.“My own son tried to kill me…my little Tommy…”“Ahh, yes, “Rebecca answered exasperatedly. “That he did, and that is why we must get out of here! I doubt he’ll be out for long,” Rebecca pulled at Mrs Silverman’s elbow again. For an elderly woman, she was quite heavy. Rebecca was having trouble helping her up.She kept glancing back and forth between the stairway and Thomas. They had to hurry! Th

  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 41: MOTHER

    Rebecca Grey would have surely died had Mrs Silverman not intervened. She had suffered heavy blows on her sides as well as abdomen and with each blow, she felt as if a beast was trying to force its way out of her throat. She could not catch her breath. And the pain – it felt like her stomach was endlessly being stabbed with a thousand poisoned knives.“Thomas Silverman!”A woman’s voice boomed in the basement, and the sheer volume of her voice bounced off the cement walls in resounding echoes. Rebecca was still conscious enough to recognize that voice for she had heard before – at William’s penthouse. It was his mother.Somehow, during the course of the attack, Rebecca’s blindfold had slipped downwards and she could see the silhouette of Mrs Silverman walking towards them. The room was not as dark as she had first thought it to be, there was a dull fluorescent light that flickered above them and as her eyes adjusted to the light, sh

  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 40: MOTHER

    Rebecca woke to the incessant sound of a dull and monotonous beating drum only to realize that the sound came from her own head. Her head felt strangely heavy, as was her body. It felt as if she was moving underwater. She blinked but could see nothing. Everything was pitch black. It was then she began to register the fact that she was blindfolded, gagged and tied up.What happened? Where am I?Then her memories came rushing back in a tidal wave, from the moment when Thomas Silverman stepped into her apartment to the last second before she lost consciousness. Her hands were bounded tightly together to her feet by what felt like nylon rope, making her body arch back in the shape of an inverted ‘C’. The positioning of her body made her chest stick out awkwardly, causing her to feel extremely exposed and vulnerable, She had nothing on but a t-shirt and an extremely short pair of pants. She was on an extremely cold and damp f

  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 39: REVELATIONS

    Mrs Wilson, Rebecca’s landlord was just about to step down into the basement with her pink laundry basket when she looked to the landing of the peeling wooden staircase to see a scantily clad Rebecca in the arms of none other than the CEO of the Silverman Corporation.The bulb at the stairway to the basement had blown and because of that, she was shrouded in the shadows. The continuous thunder helped masked her presence as she curiously peered at William Silverman. She had seen both of them in her daughter’s magazine, Entertainment Weekly or People Magazine - she wasn’t too sure of the name but boy did the both of them looked good together. It reminded her of her younger days when she too had been hot and beautiful.But tonight, both of them looked far from glamorous. In fact, William Silverman was oddly dressed in black and carrying an unconscious Rebecca out of the apartment doorway.She wondered whet

  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 38: REVELATIONS

    “William…” Rebecca smile awkwardly, recalling the strained circumstance under which they had parted earlier that morning.William smiled back, his eyes bright and alert as he stepped into her apartment. He scanned her place quietly as she closed the door.Her phone rang again, it was John. Rebecca silenced her phone and placed it on the kitchen countertop.Rebecca noticed how wet William was. Water was dripping onto the wooden floor, creating yet another puddle much like her backpack did.“You’re wet. Did you come by yourself?” She wondered why he hadn’t called for Tony as he usually did. William nodded silently, taking in the sight of her place.Rebecca suddenly felt very conscious of how shabby her apartment was in comparison to his glorious penthouse. Her dirty clothes were still piled up high like a mountain on her bed and stacks of

  • The CEO's Secret and Lies   CHAPTER 37: REVELATIONS

    The sky was crying. Heavy rain splashed onto the pavement where Rebecca walked, soaking her from head to toe. She was carrying a big black umbrella but the wind and rain were too strong, rendering the piece of circular protection that old man Whitmore had given her useless. Even her backpack which was worn over her chest was wet. It did nothing to protect her from the cold. Her blouse was practically clinging onto her like a second skin.Not a taxi could be seen on her way back and everyone else had scurried for safety from the heavy downpour. Rebecca regretted not taking up the offer for shelter at the old Whitmore building; she had been far too agitated over the revelation.There’s a twin. Was he the one William was arguing with?Thunder cracked above as her phone which was tucked deep in her backpack rang. She did not hear it.Why doesn’t anyone know about it?

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