"WE JUST RECEIVED THIS NEWS FROM OUR SOURCES: CHAIRMAN LEONID KANE TOOK HIS OWN LIFE A WHILE AGO!"
"HE JUMPED FROM THE FORTY-STORY BUILDING ROOFTOP OF THE MAIN BRANCH OF KE TECH!"
"WE CAN ALSO SEE THE SUDDEN DUMP IN KE TECH SHARES, PRICES ARE FALLING EVERY SECOND WITHOUT A BREAK!"
"THERE'S BEEN RUMOURS THAT CHAIRMAN LEONID KANE TOOK ON A HUGE DEBT FROM INVESTORS, AND THAT MAY INDICATE HIS SUDDEN DECISION TO TAKE HIS OWN LIFE!"
"No... This must be a joke. It's fake. I just spoke with him like twenty minutes ago."
I couldn't even express the storm of emotions crashing through me at the news I'd just heard. I knew it was fake.
I had literally just spoken to him, there's no way. Father would never take on debt from anyone; he had more than enough money to lend to others, not borrow.
These assholes are just spreading fake news to grab views and ratings. I'll sue this damn news channel...
Even as I tried to convince myself it was all lies, a sharp, twisting pain bloomed in my chest, whispering that it wasn't a lie at all. But I refused to believe it. My father is alive. Yes, he is.
My breaths grew heavier with every passing second, each one shallower than the last. My heart hammered faster, each beat louder and quicker than the one before.
Ba-dam! Ba-dam!! Ba-dam!!! Ba-dam!!!!
The remote slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor, followed by my phone. My hands had lost all strength. My legs trembled uncontrollably beneath me.
I collapsed backwards onto the couch, my body sinking into the cushions. My vision blurred as tears flooded my eyes, hot and stinging, but I didn't blink. I wouldn't let them fall.
After what felt like an hour, though only a minute had passed, I finally moved. I reached out to my phone on the floor, grabbed it, and unlocked it as fast as my trembling fingers allowed. I tapped on Father's number and called him.
Ring!... Ring!!.. Ring!!!. Ring!!!!
"Come on, Father, pick up the damn call."
I bit my lip hard, my voice barely a whisper, barely audible even to myself as I waited. But it just kept ringing until it went to voicemail.
I tried again. And again. And again. Every single time, the same thing, endless ringing, then nothing. Each failed call only fed the growing fear inside me. Tears kept falling from my eyes, one after another, carving wet rivers down my cheeks.
The phone slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor again. I folded my legs up, pulled my knees tight against my chest, and wrapped my arms around myself as hard as I could, holding on like I might fall apart if I let go. Sobs tore out of me nonstop.
I had never felt this lonely before. Not even when Mom passed away. Back then I was only eight, I did cry, a lot, but I had Father. He was there to hold me, to comfort me, to tell me everything would be okay. But now... now I was completely alone. All on my own.
Ding-Dong! Ding-Dong!!
My head snapped toward the main door as the doorbell rang again and again, insistent and urgent. As far as I knew, only Father ever visited my house. I didn't have any neighbours since I'd bought out the entire floor, and none of my friends even knew this address.
Does that mean...?
"Father?"
I whispered the word as I pushed myself up from the couch. I ignored my phone vibrating nonstop on the floor and ran toward the main door. I didn't even bother checking the peephole or the camera, all I could think about, all I hoped for, was seeing Father standing there, alive and okay.
I reached the door, twisted the knob, and flung it open.
But when I looked at the people standing outside, I froze.
A fresh wave of sadness crashed over me, crushing the tiny spark of hope I'd clung to. So it was all true. But who were these people?
They didn't look like the media. Three men stood in front of me, all much taller, easily towering over me. They wore crisp black suits, like bodyguards, their eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.
I quickly wiped my face with the back of my hand, suddenly aware of how much of a mess I must look, crimson swollen eyes, tear-streaked cheeks, but who the hell had even let them up to this floor?
"Miss Eva Kane."
One of the men spoke my name. His voice was deep and calm. He stood in the centre, the other two slightly behind him, arms crossed over their chests.
I took a shaky deep breath, cleared my throat, and lifted my gaze to meet the dark lenses of his glasses.
"Yes, it's me. Who are you?"
The words had barely left my mouth when one of the men from behind stepped forward in a blur. His right arm shot out straight toward me, it was fast, like he was trying to grab me.
I couldn't slam the door shut in time. I couldn't even step back fast enough. He was already in range, but the next moment, he was sprawled on the floor glowing in pain.
I rubbed my right wrist instinctively, the sharp ache from the block still pulsing through it.
What the hell was that?
A small surge of relief hit me, I'd learned a little martial arts for self-defence, and muscle memory had kicked in. But in that split second of adrenaline, I forgot something far more important.
The other two men were still right there, blocking the doorway.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp, stinging pain on the right side of my neck, from behind.
It all happened too fast what the hell was that move? It was like something out of fiction does something like that is even possible just a single hit to knock someone.
The last thing I remembered was collapsing to the floor, everything going dark as unconsciousness swallowed me.