Chapter nineteen

Gavin Leyva.

His name was written boldly below the space she was going to make her signature.

Vivienne was at loss of words. She wasn't expecting to see the name. Not in a million years.

A sob escaped her throat and she cupped a hand over her mouth to muffle the choking sounds. Her breathing was constricted and she felt a tight squeeze in her chest.

"No," She coughed out. "No. This isn't happening."

"It is happening, honey," The man said, chuckling. "I feel bad for you, honest. You're surrounded by fake friends. I had my own share of fake friends in the past…"

All that he was saying was none of Vivienne's business. She found it hard to contain what she had just seen.

Gavin Leyva.

The man she had claimed to love. The man who she had thought was in love with her. The man who had been by her side through out the whole ordeal.

It was happening again. The trust and the betrayal afterwards. It was happening all over again. What had she done to deserve all these?

Her knee crumbled and she fell to the ground. She couldn't breathe, couldn't make any sound. The shock had choked her and her heart was breaking into tiny fragments.

All men were the same. She had experienced it all and now, she could proudly shout it out loud in front of a crowd dominated by the male population through a public address system with all assurance.

Gavin had proven her right, all over again. She was stupid. So so stupid.

"Hey," booted feet stopped before her. "You need to sign this shit real quick so your secretary will be released. Time is running out."

With fire in her eyes, Vivienne glared at the man, not caring if he was dangerous and capable of causing her harm. "I will sign nothing. I own my company and will do whatever I wish with it."

She was on her feet now and staring directly at the man who was slowly walking towards her. He slipped a hand into the pocket of his pants and before Vivienne could say a word, a glock was being pointed at her face.

She staggered backwards and her hip connected with the chair. She winced in pain and steadied herself.

The man standing before her was chuckling and waving the gun like it was a magic wand. "Don't play with me, pretty lady. I've been nothing but civil with you and I'll appreciate it if you do as I say and walk home with your secretary."

Vivienne shook her head, moving backwards as he stalked towards her, menacingly. "I'd rather die than give up my company."

A gunshot was heard but she had no idea where the bullet was. Immediately, the door leading into the room opened and his men hurried in, taking out their respective weapons.

The bullet was stuck in the wall and Vivienne momentarily closed her eyes in gratitude to whoever was up there watching all these happen to her.

"Your relief is going to be taken away soon," Then he gestured to his men and two of the men stepped forward, grabbing Vivienne by the arm. She struggled against their hold and a punch in her belly had her writhing helplessly in pain. The impact was excruciating and she had to sink her teeth into the skin on the side of her mouth to stifle her groan of pain. She wasn't going to let them see her fear.

How mistaken she was.

"She seems to be really stubborn," The man said again. "Taylor, go get me those extensions."

The man was about to turn but he was stopped by his boss who mentioned that he had another suggestion. "Why not get rid of her immediately? We can break into her apartment and take all that we want and if it's at the bank, it's still not an issue ad far as we're going to be paid bountifully. We'd be having a great inflow of cash."

She glanced at them all. They all seemed to be agree with him and she saw her life flash right before her eyes. A quick decision was what she really wanted to make right now.

Having two options which would all be detrimental to her physically and mentally, Vivienne listed them out and weighed her choices.

If she refused to make the signature, she would be tortured to death and without her signature of approval, no one was going to get the company. It would belong to the government.

If she signed that lone paper, it was going to be like walking straight into doom. But the good thing about that was her return. She could get it back through series of legal actions with the right legal team.

Closing her eyes, she spoke. "I'll sign it and bring the papers first thing tomorrow morning."

She felt firm hands pat her cheeks and when she opened her eyes, it was the boss with a thick gash running across his face. He was smiling at her. "Now, there's a good girl."

She was released by the men and she walked with wobbly legs to his desk. Her hands shook violently as she picked up the pen to make the signature.

"There," The man said with a tone of finality."you did it. Very simple. You put me through so much trouble."

Vivienne ignored him and let the pen she was holding clatter on the table. "Where's she?"

The man acted like he didn't know what she was talking about and just coming to realization that she was referring to Eva, her secretary.

"Ohh, that. That pretty secretary of yours. Don't worry, my men will take you to the room she's kept in. "

Vivienne sighed in relief. Eva was safe and that was all that mattered. She would come back and she promised to be a force to reckon with. Gavin would be shocked and she was going to make sure she paid back in hundred fold for everything he did to her.

And as the men led her through the heavily packed club arena, Vivienne wished she could make a stop at the counter and order a couple of drinks from the bartender. But she didn't have the time. She was going to get drunk at home, celebrate her one win of saving her secretary alone before continuing her miserable life the next day.

Soon, they were out of the club and heading down below into a basement. The sound coming from the club above, as soon as the basement door was shut, became muffled. The lights were turned on and the man leading her looked back to see if she was still following and when he confirmed that she was, he continued moving.

"I hope she's safe, though." Vivienne muttered underneath her breath and if the man heard her, he said nothing to her in reply.

They climbed up a stair and this got Vivienne confused. How was this place built? She had never seen a basement with steps. But she shrugged, less concerned.

Then tiredness set in. She felt it in her bones as she walked. Today had been packed with a lot of unfortunate events and extreme stress. She would have caved in if she had not leaned on her inner strength. She hadn't eaten save for a cup of instant coffee she took this morning and her stomach grumbled. She really needed to eat.

After all these, she was going to take Eva to her home and they were going to have dinner together. She was going to apologize to Eva for bringing her into this mess and also promise her a permanent slot in her company as soon as she was able to get it back from Gavin's evil clutches.

Another door opened and Vivienne peeked into it before she entered. This was the room and she was sure of it. She followed after the man, her heart racing with excitement.

Finally, she was going to see Eva. She could gauge the look of fear on her face and was about to tear up.

But it wasn't Eva she saw. Not the bubbly and talkative Eva who sometimes poked her nose into things that didn't matter to her.

A body lay flat on the ground, pale and unmoving.

Vivienne screamed.