Nora’s Pov
I sat on the floor in my office for what felt like an eternity, my knee pressed to my chest, and back to the door staring blankly at the nothing. Devastation and heartbreak had consumed me, that I could barely it keep track of time, it could be minutes or hours, I have no idea.
All I knew was I needed to leave, but avoiding the main entrance was a must. I slowly stood up from the floor, my leg aching from staying in one position for a very long time, I cautiously opened my door, and peeked from left to right. After ensuring the hallway was empty.
As I walked down the hallway, a sudden realization struck me – there was a back door that led to the rear of the company, an emergency exit that was rarely used.
I quickened my pace, my heart racing with a mix of fear and adrenaline. I had to get out of here and of course with no one seeing me otherwise it’ll look suspicious as to why I’m leaving before the end of the day, and this seemed like my only option.
I went up the stairs that led to the back door and it led to another tiny hall way, as I reached the door to the hall way, I noticed how dark it was, I fumbled for my phone’s flashlight, casting a weak beam of light into the darkness.
I made my way down and finally got to the door that led outside, I tried opening the door however it seemed stucked, I pushed as best as I could and finally the door creaked.
I was about leaving when I heard a sound, I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should investigate the strange noise coming from the other side.
My curiosity got the better of me, and I stepped forward, my eyes scanning the darkness. The air was thick with dust, and cobwebs clung to the walls. I could feel the weight of neglect bearing down on me. Suddenly, I heard a faint rustling sound, like footsteps echoing through the void. My heart skipped a beat as whatever had given me the courage to investigate disappeared, I quickly tried to unlock the door in an attempt to get away from whatever was in the dark. The mechanism clicked open, and I flung the door wide, not bothering to check what lay beyond or rather checking where I was going. Well that was when disaster struck, Instead of the expected stairs leading down, I found myself staring into a void. To my horror, I tumbled off the building, which was about 20 feet tall. But something was off – there should have been stairs leading down. But before I could even process this thought, Time seemed to slow as I fell, my mind reeling with the thought that I should have seen this coming. The impact was brutal, as my head cracked against the concrete floor, everything went black as I lost consciousness.
Ray’s Pov.
Luke walked up to me in where I’m currently standing at the front of the Grey’s company. “Is there any update on her where about ?” I asked before he could speak up.
“I just spoke to the manager of the tech team and he said she’s in this building.” He said.
“But the people here said there’s no one else in this premises aside us.”
“I honestly don’t know sir, but from what I was told the signal of her device is coming from this environment.”
“Could she have left her phone somewhere, cause this whole thing isn’t making sense. You know what, take your men and search the entire company.”
“Yes sir.” Luke said as he went to where the cars were packed to mobilize his men.
As he was about going in with them he was stopped by the Grey’s security. “Wait, wait, wait, we can’t let you do that. This is a company with so many information, we can’t let an outsider inside when it isn’t work hour.” The security man who seemed like the head of all the security guards said.
“This is Raymond MCLaren, the CEO of Blue Enterprise do you think he cares about the information of a small group like the Grey’s company, the only reason he is here is because he needs to find Miss Nora Grey, so if you don’t mind allow us to continue our search.” Luke said in defense of me.
“I’m sorry sir. But I still cannot let you in.” He said.
“Is okay, I understand your commitment to want to do the right thing. However Nora might be in danger right now and we need to find her. Since you can’t let us in without a higher authorities permission, why don’t I give your boss a call to hear what he has to say on this, after all is his daughter we’re talking about.” I said to the security man.
“Go ahead sir.” He replied faster than I thought he would, I actually said that to scare him into letting us go in however, it seems that won’t work.
“Get me his number ?” I said turning to Luke who was still standing behind me. He went over to the car where he had his system and moment later he came and requested for my phone, he dialed the number on it before passing it back to me.
I called the number, and on the second ring he picked up.” Hello Mr Raymond.” His voice echoed from the other end, well I guess I didn’t have to do the introduction thing, he already has my number. I’m not surprised thou, people pay a huge amount of money just to get my number.
“Good evening Mr Grey, I’m sorry to call at this ungodly hour, however, the situation at hand is really urgent.” I said.
“What could be the problem Mr Raymond ?”
“Your daughter Nora..”
“Nora ?, what happened to her ? Is she okay ?” He hurriedly asked before I could complete my sentence.
“Well she hasn’t been seen or heard from for hours now. She was seen going into your company today however there is no record of her leaving it. I’m currently at the front of your company with my guards, I was hoping you’d give your permission for them to search the area.”
“Sure, sure you can do that. Give the phone to the person in charge, I’ll try to contact one or two persons if they know her whereabouts as well.” He said.
“Alright then.” I said as I passed the phone to the security man. Moments later he beckoned for my men to go in.
I stood outside unsure of what to do next, I really hope she is okay.
While standing a thought crossed my mind. ” Is there another entrance that leads out of this building ?” I asked the security man who was standing close by.
“Yes sir, however it hasn’t been in use for a very long time. As a matter of fact the detachable stairs were removed last week.” He said.
“Take me there.” I demanded. I’m uncertain thou, but my instinct just tells me to go there, there’s probably something there that will lead me to find Nora.
I followed the security man as he led me to the back of the company, I noticed the lighting there was poor so he pulled out a flash light to illuminate the area, from the look of it there were no CCTV camera in sight.
“The entrance is just ahead sir.” The man said as he pointed the torch forward. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I saw something or rather someone lying on the floor.
I quickly took the torch from the man and ran down, and of course I wasn’t wrong, it was indeed someone. And that someone was my darling Nora.
She layed on the dirty floor unconscious, I felt a surge of panic as I knelt beside her, shaking her slightly,”Nora, Nora wake up! Oh God, please wake up!” The security guard stood frozen, his eyes wide with concern. I checked her pulse, relieved to find it steady, but she didn’t respond. I looked around frantically, wondering what could have happened. The area was deserted, with no signs of disturbance or struggle however the door that led down was flunked open.
Suddenly, Nora’s eyes flickered open, and she gazed up at me, confusion etched on her face. “Wha… what happened?” she stammered. I helped her sit up, and she winced, clutching her head. “I don’t know,” I replied, trying to stay calm. “I found you here like this. Did you see or hear anything?”
“Ray ???”
“Yes, yes, its me.”
Nora struggled to her feet, leaning on me for support as she tried to feel me probably to see if I was real. “Is that really you Ray ?” She said placing he hand on my face.
“Yes is me. What happened here ?” I asked. She held on to me for support as she tried to stand properly”I. I… I was..” And that was the last thing she said before passing out again.
I scooped her from her feet and quickly ran to my car.
“Tell them to stop the search and that I’ve found her, they should inform her parents as well.” I instructed the guard who had gone with me as I opened the passenger seat and lay her down carefully.
I didn’t wait for my driver to give him instruction on where to take me to, I just got into the drivers seat and drove off.