Chapter 304
Melanie moved through the day in a daze, barely registering the world around her as she worked. She was already behind on every project-thanks to her hospital ’staycation’ that had kept her away last week-and now, as if that wasn’t enough, she found herself reeling from the avalanche of truth bombs that had been dropped on her since. Each revelation seemed more staggering than the last, leaving her numb inside out.
How exactly was one supposed to come to terms with something like this? With the devastating knowledge that the one person they had trusted the most-the one they had loved unconditionally all their life- had been the very one responsible for something like that? That the arms that had once comforted them had, in fact, stolen them from everything and everyone they were meant to know?
Even now, she felt as if it were all a nightmare. Melanie tapped her fingers on her desk. Grandma had not been the type to do something like that without a reason. But what could her reason be? She’d already asked Adam that question, but it seemed he didn’t know either. All he’d been told was that her grandmother had had an argument with her parents and then taken her in the middle of the night.
That was even more unbelievable to her. She knew that old woman. She had never shied away from a fight.
“Miss Melanie?” someone called from the hallway.
She looked up at the sound, blinking as if pulled from underwater. It was one of her floor managers who was currently sending a very weird look her way. Hmm. Maybe the manager had called her more than a few times and she had not listened. “Yes? Niya? What is it?
“There’s a cliend in the conference room who needs confirmation on the revised layout we have offered. “They say they’ll need to rework because they are not very happy with the current layout. And they want a signature style, limited from Mr Denoit himself but are unwilling to discuss the fact that their budget would shoot through the sky if they did that.
Melanie nodded, and stood up, “Alright, I’ll handle it. They are in the conference room? You let them know I’m joining them soon. Also, get Denoit’s catalogue.”
As Niya hurried away, Melanie straightened. A difficult client was good. They would keep her on her toes and keep her mind focused on work instead of silly things.
But even as she walked out briskly, but her mind was still back in the past. If her parents had tried to look for her so much, why had they not been able to find her. It wasn’t as if her grandmother had kept herself hidden. LuxeArt may have not been a multinational brand at the time but it had ben famous enough.
Distracted by that new thought, she walked to the elevator, pressed the button and waited, staring at herself in the glossy metal paneling. She cocked her head at her reflection, wondering if she looked a little bit more like Mr Thomas. She’e met Mrs Thomas a few times and never would have thought that she had any resemblance to her.
And yet, there was only one question that continued to haunt her, stopping her mind from doing anything else. “Why would Grandma do it? What could her parents have said or done that would justify something so extreme?”
The elevator dinged and she stepped inside alone. The doors closed with their usual sigh, and she leaned back against the metal wall and told herself to concentrate. This was a busy time for LuxeArt and she could not waste her time and energy on the past…
Out of the blue, as she was encouraging herself to go ahead with work, she felt her breath catch in her throat.
Suddenly, the walls of the elevator seemed to close in. Her chest tightened, her vision blurred at the edges. A soft ringing filled her ears. She pressed the “G” button again, even though it was already lit, feeling an urgency. That is when she realized that the elevator was not moving.
Then, panic bloomed.
She jabbed the “Open Door” button. Nothing happened. Her fingers moved to “Stop,” but the panel remained unresponsive. None of the other buttons worked either. The lights above flickered slightly and then,nothing.
No movement. No sound.
Her throat tightened further. Her hand shot instinctively to her pocket for her phone, but of course-it was still on her desk.
She took a step back, as if that would somehow give her more air. Her fingers hovered near the emergency phone slot and she opened it, only to realise there was no phone there. What? How could the emergency phone be missing?
Even as her breaths came in short gasps, she told herself to breathe softly. Breathe. Just breathe.
Melanie pressed her palms to the cold railing behind her and slid down into a crouch. Her breathing was shallow, sharp little gasps she couldn’t seem to control. Her eyes darted around the small space, but there was nothing there to help her of course.
She shook her head. No no no. She needed to focus. This wasn’t like her. She had never had a problem with elevators before. Claustrophobia wasn’t her thing. She had been in tighter places than this without so much as flinching. Why was she suddenly developing this problem?
She tried again, pressing the panel buttons harder this time. Nothing. Not even a beeping sound.
“Come on, come on,” she muttered.
She shut her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. Her skin was clammy now. A drop of sweat rolled down her temple. She counted her breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Again. And again.
The elevator was silent except for the soft hum of its halted machinery. Melanie clenched her jaw and opened her eyes.
“You are not going to panic,” she said under her breath.
But her body wasn’t listening.