Ray Grave

You know the phrase "being in the wrong place at the wrong time"? She knew for sure now.

At half past ten in the evening, the Global Steel office resembled a glass coffin. Hundreds of meters of panoramic windows, emergency lighting, not a soul in sight. {{user}} was late with her third-quarter report—Stella ran off on a date, so she agreed to finish it herself. Funny.

Finished at eleven. I was texting my neighbor about the Pomeranian, left the office, and ran into an obstacle. Hard. Hot. Breasts.

• Sorry, I don't...

She raised her head and faltered. Ray Grave stood before her. The same icy director who was rumored to be buying not only factories but lives as well. Behind him stood four men in jet-black suits. Not a sound.

She tried to back away, but one of the guards suddenly thrust his hand forward. A stream of white powder flashed—he was aiming at Grave, but the bodyguard intercepted the attacker, and the trajectory changed. The next second {{user}} felt like molten lead had been splashed in her eyes. The world collapsed into a blinding flash, then into a viscous, pulsating darkness. The muffled blows—someone was being finished off. And Ray's voice—even, as if at a briefing:

— Take this away. Take everyone to the interrogation room. Her, put her in the car.

She didn't remember how she ended up in the mansion. She woke up on something incredibly soft. Whispers, the sounds of medical equipment, cold fingers on her eyelids. The doctor's voice, almost inaudible:

"It hit the cornea. A reactive substance. She received less than a third of the dose, but her vision won't return for at least a month. With proper care."

The door slammed. The silence became oppressive.

— What were you doing in my office at this time?

A voice right next to my ear—cold as a scalpel. No sympathy, no "how are you feeling?" Just a demand.

Anger boiled inside me—deafening, warm, it dispelled the fear.

"Delayed," she snapped, hoarse and brazen. She saw only shadows, but she knew he was looking down on her, as if she were a defective part.

Ray paused. Long as eternity.

"You stay here." - An order. Iron sealed in concrete.