1 Her World is Not Beautiful

'bang bang bang'

The sound of distant gunfires jolted Jane Smith awake, making her look at her surrounding. She was in an old abandoned building and god knows where her kidnappers brought her this time.

She looked at her body and frowned. Her hands and feet were tied tightly by a rope, her left leg was wounded deeply by a knife and she was probably drugged because she felt weak all over.

She furrowed her brows, considering the amount of sunlight she can see from a certain part of the room she was in, it was early in the morning and considering the fact that she was taken in midnight after getting out of the office working overtime, as per usual, checking reports, harassing people to finish theirs and signing contracts, she will be late for the annual general shareholder's meeting if she's not out of here in an hour or two.

She sighed, wondering which incompetent sibling of hers is sabotagging her yet again.

"Hey! Anybody there?!!" she shouted.

Not one soul replied.

"Get me out here this instant and I'll give you thrice the amount of whoever that whore from the Smiths paid you." she tried again

Still no answer but faint footsteps can be heard. She smirked.

Sounds of heels clicking rapidly can be heard from outside. Jane raised an eyebrow and snickered, already having an idea who's the responsible party. "Oh? You actually came?"

"You don't have the right to call me a whore and don't think that you can actually get out of here alive you vile woman!" a familiar shrill voice shouted.

'Figures it's this airhead again' she thought. Jane rolled her eyes. "Judy, my darling sister, don't you think it's time to grow up?"

"You bitch don't call me your sister we're not related! And hand over that contract for the venture in Russia!" Judy hollered.

"I'd really love to chat with you but darling little Judy if you keep me in here for a little bit longer the police I notified would be here any second now." She sighed again. This sister of hers is really too dumb.

"Ha ha ha. You think you can fool me with that? No one knows where we are and nobody will rescue you!"

After she said that gunfires once again can be heard and the sounds were getting closer to their location.

Judy looked at her in disbelief. "H-how.."

"You do this to me every time an important meeting comes, you think I'm dumb enough to not put up security in times like this? Police and my security will immediately be alerted once I don't respond to their call every 2 hours!" Oh god no wonder an illegitimate child like her gets to be acting president. Her father's children are too incompetent!

"Ms. Judy, i think we have to leave now!" A male voice beside Judy impatiently told her.

Jane laughed coldly. "It's adviceable to listen to your employee, dear sister."

The gunfire shots were getting closer causing the male to pull on Judy. "Hmmph. Count yourself lucky this time." she said as she hurriedly went out of the building.

Not long after that, numerous footsteps can be heard from outside the building. Once the door opened, people came rushing and untied her from the ropes that binded her.

"Mistress, I'm sorry we're late the--"

Jane raised her hand to stop Andrew, the head of her security, from explaining further. she rubbed her hands and asked, "Is this place far from where the meeting will be held?"

"No b--"

"Let's go there I have no time left." Jane tried to get up but stumbled and made a hissing sound. Andrew helped her and saw the deep wound on her leg.

"Mistress.. your leg.."

She shook her head at him. "No time. Just notify the others to get the car quickly."

At this moment someone wearing a police uniform jogged to their direction, helped her and sat her down on a chair nearby while Andrew was calling for his other team members.

"Jane you're lucky we found you faster this time thanks to that tracking device in your body but this has to stop. You need to report it to us. I know you know who kidnapped you. This is the second time this week alone." The all too familiar police officer looked at her worriedly as he crouched beside her.

She smiled weakly at him. "You know I can't do that Sam." She then patted his head. Sam, childhood friend of hers really doesn't listen to her.

He swatted her hand from his head and held hand. "I'm just worried. Can't you please just stop working for that family already? Just give them what they want and this will stop."

She stared at their hands, her small delicate ones that was clasped tightly in his. She then looked up at him and smiled. "Do you have first aid with you?"

Sam stared at her deep blue eyes and nodded his head.

"Can I trouble you to help me with my leg then?"

Sam nodded and proceeded to help her with the utmost care. As he finished, Andrew notified her that the car was outside. She allowed Sam to carry her to her car and tried to pursuade her to go to the hospital first which she swiftly declined. She then ordered the driver to go straight to the hotel.

As soon as she arrived Mia, her secretary, clued her in on the people who already arrived and what happened while she was gone. Jane proceeded to her hotel room to change. After she was done she called in her secretary, who then gave her the strong coffee she ordered and some ibuprofen and handed her the papers she hadn't finished reading because of her recent kidnapping.

Thanks to her photographic memory, she finished the task in no time and stood up when she suddenly felt nauseous and fell back to her seat.

Mia, who saw this familiar scene happen again, bit her lip and helped her, trying hard not to cry. Her boss was known to be extremely competent, talented, calm and collected but often kept a distance to everyone, which makes people look up at her wherever she goes.

Only those who worked with her knew how the aloof, genius boss of theirs came to be. They saw her try hard to balance her studies and work in the company while she was only 16. They were the only ones who saw how the family they worked for exploited a young child just because she was a genius giving her boss no chance to live freely like other children in the family did. The people outside all thought their boss was a pampered genius that was always in the limelight, living the most beautiful and bountiful life the world could offer. Only they knew her world is not beautiful.

Jane saw her secretary fighting the urge to cry and and she sighed in her heart. This secretary of hers was getting sentimental again. "Mia, you're going to look like an idiot later if you cry." she whined.

"But President, it's just not fair. Seeing you like this all the time hurts me. You're just too young to experience all this." Tears suddenly came out of Mia's eyes.

Jane hurriedly wiped her eyes with her handkerchief and berated her, "You see, I'm not that kid anymore and you're such a crybaby even when you're 7 years older than me. What am I supposed to do if people think I make you work too hard that you're crying your heart out? I still need you in the meeting you know."

Mia stopped her hands, grabbed the handkerchief and wiped her tears herself. "You making me work so hard is true but this family is too horrid. After years of making you work like your life depended on it, they try to kill you now that they have no hold on you after your mother died last year. It's not fair."

Jane's eyes dimmed. "We are finishing this discussion later. Right now we have to do the task at hand and go on with the details after the meeting ends."

She then closed her eyes and let Mia reapply her makeup then headed straight for the meeting.