4 Leave the place

It was almost noon the next day by the time Daisy got out of bed.

Slightly flustered, she checked her phone only to find two calls from Ryle and a couple of calls and messages from Si Yena. 

Daisy dialled Si Yena's number without any second thought.

"Why did you not answer my calls? You did not even respond to my texts. I am so worried that I was just about to go looking for you,'' Si Yena's complaining voice sounded from the other side of the phone. 

Daisy convinced the woman that she was completely fine and she just overslept.

Daisy told her that she had to go to work before she disconnected the call. 

After a momentary consideration, Daisy dropped a text to Ryle. 

'I was slightly unwell. I will be there in half an hour.'

She waited for a moment but the text was not marked seen.

She finished her morning routine and started getting dressed for the office. Standing naked in front of the mirror, Daisy grabbed the corset to strap it tightly around her chest but her gaze landed on her flat stomach and her hold on the corset loosened. 

In the end, she ended up tying it loosely.

Daisy closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath. 

Once Daisy reached the headquarters of Harper Societies, she went to Ryle's office. 

'Knock' 

Ryle raised his head from the file he was holding, ''Why do you look like you have been betrayed by your woman?" 

Daisy's lips twitched slightly. But before she could come up with a response, the man stood up. 

''Nevertheless, there is something I want to show to you. Come with me.'' 

Without waiting for Daisy's response, Ryle started walking away. 

Left with no choice, Daisy followed him. 

As they stepped inside the elevator, Ryle pressed the switch to the ground floor. 

Once the elevator reached the ground floor, Ryle stepped out before he walked towards the parking lot. 

After taking a few twists and turns, the man finally stopped in front of a wall. 

Daisy looked at his back in confusion. She had no idea what was happening but she had a feeling that whatever it was, it was nothing good.

Ryle pressed his palm on the wall and the wall lit up suddenly. 

''The scan is complete,'' came a robotic voice from the wall before it parted open, showing them a wide entrance in front of them. 

Stunned, Daisy followed Ryle inside the secret pathway.

She was greeted by the sight of countless high-tech computers in front and many professionals in the room.

Some of those computers displayed the CCTV camera visuals of the headquarters. And if her calculation was right, then there should be no less than a hundred computers in the vast stretch of the room. 

When Daisy followed Ryle further inside the place, they seemed to have walked away from what seemed like an IT room. They were walking along a dimly lit path, and a hint of eeriness lingered in the air. 

"Ahhhhh!"

A shrill scream rendered Daisy motionless in her place. 

But Ryle did not stop walking. He took a left turn and disappeared between the walls. 

Daisy looked at the place where the man disappeared before she proceeded to follow him.

'Crash' 

Before she could see anything, a dagger was hurled at her body. 

Daisy's body moved on reflex as she grabbed the dagger. 

''It's you. It's you, you bastard. You tricked me! Ahhh!" 

When Daisy heard the familiar voice, she looked in that direction and her entire body froze when she saw the man sitting inside what seemed like a prison cell.

His body was badly bruised and bloodied, with his nails twisted and skin scraped at places. If not for his familiar voice and slightly recognizable face, Daisy would not have realized that it was the same man she had approached to talk to in the nightclub, who later started making disgusting advances on her.

''You tricked me! You bastard! I will kill you!" The man chanted like a curse. 

Yet, it sounded like music to Daisy's ears. There was no recognition or familiarity in the man's voice. He seemed to be clueless that she was a woman as well.

The more he talked like that, the more it sounded like… like the man with her that night was not him. Or else he would not have been so unfamiliar with her.

And Daisy did not know if she should be happy at that discovery or if she was supposed to be afraid of the unknown.

''Make him quiet. Annoying,'' Ryle said, softly clicking his tongue. 

And in the next moment, the men that were standing outside the cell stepped right in front of Daisy, they picked a torture weapon and started scraping the man's skin. 

Ryle's lips curled up. Like a devil, he watched the scene with great relish as heart-wrenching screams reverberated in the empty place. 

''Why?" 

A soft hoarse voice made him shift his attention. 

He looked at his secretary only to find the 'man' looking up at him with wide doe eyes. Perhaps it was the dim glow of light or perhaps it was that pair of beautiful eyes that looked at him intently, Ryle's heart inadvertently skipped a beat. He frowned, almost in disbelief. 

''There is no why,'' Ryle said, clearing his throat as he shifted his attention back to the man in the cell, ''He escaped your clutches that night so I tracked him down and interrogated him about the man he works for but he had the audacity to try to lie and trick me. This is what happens to people who do that,'' the man said casually. 

A sudden wave of nausea overwhelmed Daisy and her body stumbled. Her palm flew to protect her stomach immediately on instinct. 

Before she could realize her actions, a tremor of pain shot up in her stomach. 

''Dexter…'' 

She could hear Ryle's voice calling out to her 'alibi' yet Daisy did not stop. She rushed out of that place with slightly unsteady but determined footsteps, never once looking back at the man. 

In the hospital. 

''Like I told you before, it's nothing but stress,'' the doctor said as she held the reports in her hand. Whenever she looked at Daisy, she seemed surprised by the disguise that Daisy had on but she remained professional regardless, ''All you need to do is stay away from stress-inducing things in your life and everything will be good. The baby is doing fine as well,'' she said. 

Daisy had walked out of that underground place and aimlessly drove herself to the hospital without any second thoughts. 

''But it is nice to see that you are being so careful and protective about the baby,'' the doctor spoke up with a smile before she turned around and left. 

And as the room regained its silence, Daisy seemed to be able to hear the doctor's voice reverberating in the hospital room. 

'Protective about the baby' 

'Protective about the baby' 

'Protective about the baby' 

''Daisy,'' Si Yena rushed inside the hospital room with a worried expression, but immediate relief appeared on the woman's face when she saw that her friend seemed to be fine, ''I have some news for you," she had rushed to the hospital as soon as she got Daisy's text regarding her visit.

Daisy turned to look at her. 

''I have a few doctors I am familiar with. They can help you abort the baby and the matter will remain confidential as well. You don't have to worry about it anymore."

Daisy's heart twisted strangely when she heard those words. She looked at her friend, quietly for a moment, before she opened her mouth, ''I am keeping the child,'' her voice was soft but determined. 

"W-What?" Si Yena was stunned. 

Daisy walked towards the windows and glanced at the setting sun, a drop of tear rolling down her cheek as she raised her hand to stroke her flat stomach. 

''Daisy, what exactly did you decide?" Si Yena approached the woman. 

Daisy raised her hand to wipe the tear that slid down her cheeks, ''I will leave this place.'' 

"Leave this place? Are you crazy? Where else do you want to go?" Si Yena was bewildered, ''If you go back to Beijing, then your parents… they will know you are pregnant. It is safer for you to stay.'' 

''If I stay here, my baby and I will not be safe,'' Daisy turned to face her friend. 

Daisy could not keep Ryle in the dark forever if she kept her child.

And after what she saw today, the sight of him ordering to skin a man alive just because the person refused to give him information, she knew how terrifying Ryle could be. 

It was not the gore that took her aback. It was that lingering smirk on his face as he watched the man as if it were his own prey. A small trick by an enemy riled him up to that extent. 

If he came to discover that the secretary he trusted so much had been tricking him all along then… 

''Where do you want to go?" Si Yena asked as she regained her composure. 

Daisy turned around to look at the gradually darkening sky, ''France,'' she uttered softly, maybe thoughtlessly, or perhaps not.