5
(ᵕ—ᴗ—)
Location: creepy hallway
*Sophia pov*
"What are you doing here?" Lara gives me a deathly glare.
In all my life I have never been so scared. The look in her eyes tells me that if I give the wrong answer, I won't make it out of here alive.
I feel a presence behind me, and look back to see a tall masked man with a gun in his right hand. I look back at Lara, who now looks more pissed than before. Scared out of my wits I blurt out the first excuse that comes up.
"I was looking for Manon. She was nowhere to be found and we have to go shopping."
Lara gives me a suspicious look and then nods. The man behind me walks away, further down the hallway.
Lara gives me another death glare before her entire demeanor changes and she smiles at me warmly like she didn't just threaten me with my life.
She hooks her arm with mine and walks me back to way I came from. The silence is deafening and the tension in the air is so thick that it's getting hard to breathe normally.
We walk for a while, until Lara suddenly grabs my arms and slams me against the wall. She takes out a knife from somewhere and hold it against my neck.
"Don't even think about coming this way again if you value your life. Pretend you never saw or heard anything and don't even think about telling Manon, do you understand?" Lara threatens.
"Isn't she your second boss? Shouldn't she know about this?" I ask confused.
If Manon doesn't know about the door and what's behind it, it means Lara and probably Yoonchae are hiding something that no one can know about. Something that's probably Yoonchae's weakness. I can use this to my advantage.
"Fine. I'll keep your secret. But you have to tell me the truth about my boss and what he did with evidence." I bargain.
"You do realize I can kill you right now, right?"
"You can. But that would probably make Manon search for my killer or the reason I was killed. And that would lead her to you and whatever's behind that door."
Lara's face contorts into one of shock, and then into one of pure hatred.
"Fine. Follow me."
She leads the way to my room where Manon is waiting in front of the door looking worried. When she sees Lara and I walking out the hallway, she freezes on the spot. She shifts her gaze to Lara. She's angry.
"Why are you two coming from there? Yoonchae let her enter the hallway but she won't even let me enter?"
She looks at me now.
"What were you two doing there?"
I try to answer, but I can't bring any words to come out of my mouth. I didn't think Manon was capable of being so angry. She takes a step towards me. She takes another one but is blocked by Lara who stands in front of me.
"We were discussing your wedding. The do's and dont's and what she has to look out for during your shopping trip."
Manon gives Lara a look that says she doesn't believe her but she nods nonetheless.
"So... Why aren't we leaving already? The mall will close soon. Let's go." Lara says.
Manon nods, and gestures for me to follow her as she turns around and walks towards the stairs. I walk behind her, but before I leave Lara grabs my arms firmly.
"Don't even think about telling her anything. I'll know." She whispers.
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Let go." I answer.
She tightens her grip on my arm.
"What are y'all doing? Get down here!" Manon yells from downstairs.
Lara lets go of my arm, and walks ahead of me down the stairs.
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*Manon pov*
I'm furious. But more than that I'm confused. Ever since a few months ago, Yoonchae forbid me from going down the hallway again.
All the other girls were allowed access but I was never allowed to take a step towards that hallway, and now they take Sophia there?!
A stranger who showed up two days ago has more of Yoonchae's trust than I do. This is not good. The others will undermine my authority even more at this rate.
I need to find out what's in that hallway. And sooner rather than later.
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*Author pov*
As Sophia follows Manon towards what she assumes is the garage, she thinks about all that has happened.
She went down a creepy hallway, found out about a secret hostage, she's been threatened and she knows more about the hallway than Manon.
If Yoonchae doesn't want Manon to know about the hostage, it means that hostage is a threat to her authority.
'Could it have something to do with my boss? I guess I'll find out later' Sophia thinks.
Sophia decides to think about it later and focuses on the shopping trip. Even though she's an unknown figure in the criminal world, Manon's surely not. A lot could go wrong, so she has to focus on staying alive.
After walking around for a while they finally enter the garage. It's filled with luxurious cars and SUVs. Manon walks towards a black jeep, and enters the driver's seat. Sophia enters the passenger seat and Lara goes to enter the backseat.
But when she tries to open the door Manon locks it and rolls down her window.
"You're driving with Megan. She's waiting for you in the other jeep."
Lara sighs, and nods. She then walks to the other jeep but not before sending a warning glare Sophia's way.
Manon starts the car, and puts the car in drive. She drives out the garage, and Sophia takes the opportunity to assess her surroundings. They end up on a road and drive towards the mall.
The tension in the car is thick. It's filled with suspicion and awkwardness. Manon is the first to break the silence.
"So, are you going to tell me what you were doing there with Lara?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I need to know something first."
Manon stays silent after that. Just when Sophia thinks Manon has given up, Manon suddenly makes a sharp right turn. She keeps making different sharp turns, until they end up in the middle of nowhere.
Sophia looks around for Lara and Megan's jeep, but it's nowhere to be found. She turns to Manon only to find her already looking at her.
"They're gone. I removed the tracker after leaving you in your room. Now tell me, what did you see in that hallway?" Manon asks sternly.
"I already told you. I can't tell you."
"Who says that I can't tell you what you want to know?"
Sophia realizes Manon might be right. She's the second in command, so she might know the truth about her boss. But considering the fact that Yoonchae's hiding something, she probably lied to Manon about this as well.
"Sophia?"
Manon gently places her hand on Sophia's thigh and Sophia blushes at the action. She looks up into Manon's eyes and for a moment her eyes drop to her lips.
She comes back to her senses and turns away, but Manon places a finger under Sophia's chin and turns her head to face her once more.
Sophia can feel her heart beating out of her chest while she's fighting the urge to lean in. Manon on the other hand, is still thinking about what to do.
She's still bothered by the fact that Sophia went into the hallway, but all she can think about right now are Sophia's rosy, pink lips and what they would feel like on hers.
Manon can tell Sophia is thinking about the same thing. And after a long while of staring at each other, Manon makes the first move and leans in until their lips touch.
To be continued
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