Chapter 3 A Threat

• Alena Fleur
• I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
• For a moment, I wondered if I was hallucinating due to a lack of sleep. But the next moment, when many pairs of eyes snapped in my direction, I realized with dawning horror that it was very, very real.
• I did the first thing my mind suggested—and that was run for my life!
• I turned around and started to run with all my strength. But no sooner had I taken five steps than I was pulled back by many arms and was forced to kneel down by the men who caught me.
• I winced as my bare knee scraped against the concrete and my hands were locked behind my back.
• God, this was it. I was going to die now. I never thought I was going to die like this. Not to mention, I was still so young and all. All because I saw my boss murder someone.
• I didn't know I had started crying until I tasted the saltiness on the corner of my lips. But nothing compared to the fear I felt when a cold muzzle rested against the side of my forehead.
• I closed my eyes, preparing to die. I replayed a few precious moments with my mom, dad, and best friend, and there was this another person whose face was distorted—
• "Get the hell away from her!"
• My eyes jolted open at the shout, only to meet the furious green eyes of Elian, who was glaring at the men surrounding me.
• "But Boss, she saw—"
• "I don't give a damn! Just get your hands off her!" he yelled at the men, and I shuddered in fear.
• I had seen Elian yell before. After all, he was known to have a bad temper. But not like this. This Elian was different. He was dangerous. He wasn't physically harmless. He had a freaking gun in his hand!
• "Boss, it's risky to let her go. She saw us kill. She will tell the cops—"
• "Don't make me repeat." The lethal glare he shot his men made them back off.
• Now, I was just kneeling on the ground by myself, my heart beating louder than ever.
• What the hell did I just see? And why did I see it?
• Elian was cruel, but never in a million years did I imagine he would be an actual killer. What the hell was he, anyway? Was he a serial killer? Or someone who eliminated his business rivals? Or in the Mafia? If he was, then why did he do armament business?
• Plenty of questions were roaming in my mind. I wasn't sure what to do or how to react. This was the biggest shock I had ever gotten in my life.
• And oh, God, I worked under this murderer for two years. To think I had coffee with this heartless man a couple of hours ago—
• I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice Elian approaching me until he was kneeling right before me.
• "Are you okay—" He was about to touch my upper arm, but I slapped it away instantly.
• "Don't touch me! Stay away!" I yelled at him in panic.
• A hurt look appeared on his face, but I couldn't care less.
• My eyes flickered to the gun still in his hand, and as he was about to raise it, I covered my face with my shivering hand and mumbled ,"Please don't shoot me. I swear, I—I... I am sorry, Mr. Storm. I am really sorry. I shouldn't— I shouldn't have seen that."
• Why did I have to see it? What Elian did, apart from the official work, was none of my business. I was supposed to stay professional. Then, how could I interrupt his personal life?
• A cold hand covered my wrist, pulling my hands away from my face. "Al— Ms. Fleur, I am not shooting you," Elian said calmly and put the gun away.
• "Will you stab me then?" I was about to cover my face again, but he kept a firm grip on my hand, giving me a stern look.
• "I won't stab you either," he assured me, which I highly doubted.
• "I want to unsee everything and forget it all. Do you know anyone who can do that?" I quickly suggested, my eyes flicking to the man dead over his car hood. That man… he was alive until a few minutes ago… until Elian put a bullet through his head…
• "Listen to me, Ms. Fleur."
• I kept staring at the bloody dead body… No, no, I had to forget this anyhow. “You know what? Maybe you could arrange an accident for me. I could have memory loss and—” Elian's free hand touched my chin and made my head turn back to him.
• “Just shut up, will you?” As he gazed into my eyes, he seemed angry and hurt, but I had no idea why.
• “Okay,” I mumbled, now even more scared.
• He kept his eyes on me as he ordered his men, "Do I have to explicitly order you idiots to get rid of the body and leave us alone?"
• The men in black quickly got to work, and within minutes, they wrapped the body in a black plastic sheet, put it in the trunk of another car, and cleaned all the blood that splattered on the ground and the hood of Elian's car. The place was as good as new—as if no one was ever killed here.
• When Elian was about to speak to me again, I asked, "Can— can I get some water, please?"
• Elian motioned at one of his men, and that person rushed to hand Elian a bottle of mineral water. I took the bottle from him and was about to drink, but my hands were shaking terribly.
• Elian sighed and snatched the bottle from me. "Open your mouth," he ordered.
• I wasn't in a state of mind to have the courage to disobey him, so I did what he said.
• He helped me drink water, then he put aside the bottle. "Now, can we talk, Ms. Fleur?"
• "What's there to talk about, Mr. Storm?" I asked, my voice coming out clearer after quenching my thirst.
• "Well, not much. But let me just make it clear for you," he stated as if we were in the conference room, finalizing a normal deal. "Whatever you saw tonight, you cannot tell it to anyone. Not even your family or friends. You have to keep your mouth tightly shut."
• "But I'm a terrible liar," I reasoned.
• He arched a suspicious eyebrow. After all, he had seen my ability to lie fluently to others.
• "Yes, I know I can lie through my teeth in front of others, but I can never lie to my mom, dad, and best friend," I pointed out, gulping hard as his eyes darkened. Even though he would often make scary expressions, I was never really scared of it because I thought he was harmless. But now, I knew that he wasn't. He could actually kill me right this instant.
• Elian brought his face closer to mine, his warm breath landing over my nose and his eyes seeming even more chilling from up close. "Alena Fleur, I didn't want to do it in this way, but now, I have to." He took out a pocket knife, making me gulp harder in terror.
• There it was. I knew he was going to kill me. He would stab me to death, wouldn't he?
• "Mr—" I was interrupted when I felt a cold metal over my lips.
• "Pay attention to each and every word I say," he said in a threatening tone, which made another shiver run down my spine. "What you saw, shall be kept a secret. Not a single soul shall learn about it, and if by mistake, you have a slip of tongue, consider yourself dead. I will make you dig your grave and bury you alive under gunpoint."
• More tears sprinkled out my eyes, hearing his threat. It was such a cruel death—to dig my grave and then get buried alive. I never expected Elian to be this cruel, nor did I expect him to be a murderer. But why was he sparing me after what I saw? I couldn't ask that as he had a freaking knife pressed to my lips.
• "Are we clear, Ms. Fleur?" he demanded, and I slowly nodded. He removed his knife and got up from the ground. "You're free to go then."
• I wiped my tears with the back of my hands, then picked up my bag and tried to stand but found no strength in my feet. I was about to stumble over, but Elian caught me by my upper arm. I was about to brush off his hand, but he kept a tight hold.
• "Let me help," he said sternly.
• I was about to refuse him, but the daring look he gave me made me shut up. He quietly escorted me to my car, and I mumbled, "Thanks."
• I was about to get in the driver's seat when he spoke up again, "Wait. My driver will drive you home."
• "No, it's fine—"
• "Ms. Fleur, you're in no condition to drive. I don't want tomorrow's headlines to flash ‘the COO of Storm Dynamics died in a car crash.’ So just take my driver unless you want me to drive you home."
• I immediately shook my head at the idea. The last thing I wanted was to sit through twenty minutes with a murderer.
• "Wait a minute, then. I will make a call. And also, put a bandage on your scraped knee when you get home." With that, he walked a bit further to call his driver.
• I was surprised to know that he had noticed, but nothing was more shocking than the fact I was looking at the back of a man who was a cold-blooded murderer and a wonderful businessman at the same time. Why did I have to be the one to discover this dark side of his? Why couldn't I just keep track of time and leave on time? Why—
• No, the bigger question was: would I be able to keep the secret of my boss?