Fight or flight?

She took the smartphone and pressed it into the comfortable softness of the driver's seat. Its smartphone sank into the seat without leaving a trace when she pulled her hand out.

"Who else could it be. They must not be after money, right?" she murmured to herself as grabbed her bag and got out of her car.

She had barely closed the door of her car when she sensed a presence behind her. She swallowed as she processed the information she just received.

Fight or flight?

She closed her car and it beeped as well as flashed its headlamps in response. The presence slowly became more obvious as she began walking towards the elevator.

Her actions were very natural as she continued to walk steadily with her white heeled shoes adorning her fair long legs that were exposed as her brown skirt stopped a few inches above her knees.

She had to swipe her membership card before the elevator can open. She began searching for the card from her designer bag and pulled it out.

She swiped the card and the elevator opened. She forced off a smirk when she saw the reflection of the bulky man behind her.

It seems she was not lucky enough to choose the flight. Gave up the idea of struggling when a hand reached for her neck from behind.

She did not hesitate to scream as loud as she could before the man's hand left her neck and covered her mouth. His other hand caught her hands behind her as her bag fell on the neatly tiled floor.

She struggled hard but the bulky man held unto her. A black cloth covered her eyes and she was carried in the arms of the bulky man.

She felt very angry and swore that she would hire an assassin to kill him to revenge for his nonconsensual touch. No man had the right to touch her the way he did without her consent.

*****

A long journey was over and she got dragged down from their van to the roughness below her. She was flung down and she was sure that the pain she felt in her legs and arm must be caused by open bruises.

She cussed under her breath and began begging as well as shouting for help until her throat got so sore, that she could not talk anymore.

"Please," she murmured as she could scream no more.

Her plea was like a start button for a rain of kicks and punches directed at every single part of her body without consideration of her gender.

This was not the first time this was happening to her. in fact, it was the third time she was receiving such an inconsiderate beating.

They had always told her what she did wrong during those times but now, it was different and she knew whoever was behind it, had to be powerful as they hired professionals.

The moment she felt a baton on her leg, she cried out and passed out.

*******

A bucket of water poured over her head pulled woke her up. Her head was still covered with that black cloth. She swallowed.

"Who are you?" she asked hoarsely as she tried to make out the shadow of the person before her.

"I advise you to stick to being the pretty therapist you are and stay away Mr. Lu Tian," a deep male voice warned her authoritatively.

"Who are you?"

"If I tell you who I am then I will have no choice but to have you killed. I found out that you have a sister and father to take care of that is why I chose to let you go with a warning you must yield to or I will be taking your sister and father when I next you come in contact with Mr. Lu Tian."

"Did Mr. Lu Tian tell you to do this to me?" she asked as a strong hatred as she has never felt before filled her heart towards the man she found to be very attractive.

"Get yourself a boyfriend and stay away from Mr. Lu Tian," the man replied to her with another warning.

"I was simply his therapist. I did nothing wrong," she swore with a painful groan. She blinked slowly as she felt her vision get blurry.

"I do not want any woman close to him. He is well without a woman and will only suffer when a woman steps in," the man replied.

She only confirmed that whoever the person was he was most likely in his mid-forties. Why he was threatening her and who he was to Lu Tian remained a mystery.

As she passed out, she was too overwhelmed by pain to think of anything else. She could only hope to survive it because she did not want her sister to suffer what she was forced to suffer.

*******

Lin Jing woke up a month later. Her sister cried and so did her dad who had refused to talk to her for a few years now. When he was sure that she was alright, he snuck out of the room.

He must have thought she did not see him when he left or he did not care about that at all. He left and she continued to talk to her sister.

Police came in to ask her about what happened but she swore that she did not know what happened to her. She did not expect the police to get involved because she expected someone to prevent the police from knowing about it or did someone make sure they knew?

As much as she was the second youngest therapist in the country, she was also a social media influencer and that was why she could afford most of what she owned.

The news on TV when she was found beaten up a day later beside the elevator. The police began investigating as the person who found her recognized her.

She looked at her leg covered in the cast and she thanked her star that she did not lose her leg because the injury had lasted for too long before she was treated.

Spent two more weeks in the hospital and her father did not visit her. She was tightlipped through the investigations as she told the police that she must have offended someone but she was not sure of who she had offended to earn such a beating.

Mr. Shen and some of her colleagues visited her. The rest left after saying a few words while Mr. Shen remained.

"Who beat you up?" he asked her like a hero ready to go looking for the culprit for her.