Dealing with Her Dark Past

"Alicia." a loud shriek could be heard from one direction of the office.

Everyone that was outside gulped nervously. Their boss was at it again. They all looked at each other, fear visible in all of their eyes. Alicia rushed through the line and ran into the office.

"Y..yes ma'am." She said in a shaky voice as she entered the office.

The empress dowager was seated in the spinning chair, a black-rimmed glasses sat on her face as she read the document in front of her. She did not bother raising her head to notice Alicia.

"What is this?" she asked as she raised her head.

She flung the document to Alicia, removing her glasses and placing them carefully on the table.

Alicia nervously picked them all one after the other, tears forming in her eyes. She could not bring her head up to look at the empress's eyes. She shivered internally, waiting for the abuse to follow.

"Get out." she heard the empress say.

Alicia's hand became sweaty all of a sudden. Was the empress sacking her? She mustered all of her courage and looked directly into the empress's eye.

"M..ma.?" she stuttered.

The empress looked up, her eyebrows raised.

"Didn't you hear me? Or do you just like me to repeat myself? I said, ``Get out of my office, you bloody piece of thing!" the empress shouted.

Alicia took two steps back. She had no idea what she had done. She had spent hours working on this document, checking possible errors and even plagiarized content just so it wouldn't be rejected by the empress but the reverse was the case for her.

"You know Alicia, if you would like to daydream throughout the day, you can pack your things and leave. Or do I need to call the security to get you out of my office? Get out to the printing press and make copies of those documents for me. I need you to have photocopies of these documents with you while I keep the original. So you should get out now and do them for me, or you lose your job. Are we cleared?" the empress rambled.

Alicia could not believe her ears. Her heart started jumping up in success.

"Yes, ...ma'am." she stuttered before scurrying her feet away before the empress changed her mind.

"Alicia, what did the empress say?" a colleague asked as she tried to make a way out of the office.

"Alicia, was the document rejected?" another one asked.

"Alicia, what did she say? How is she feeling? Is she in an empress mood today?" another colleague asked.

Before she could even reply to all of them, a loud voice echoed through the building.

"Next person, please. You all should not waste my time!" the empress shouted.

They all looked at each other in fear, no one wanting to go next. Alicia quietly excused herself amongst them, not wanting the empress to punish them with her. Her heart grapes with joy. It was a joyous feeling for the empress to pass your document, not seeing anything to talk about or to correct it.

"Would you all answer me or we need more people in the office!" the empress threatened.

One of them scurried into her office immediately, deciding in himself that he could bear anything she talked about.

•••••••

"Ahhh, my feet hurt badly." a young lady murmured as she took off her stilettos.

The empress had just gotten out of the office and was now in her house taking off her clothes. She had moved around all-day, monitoring the office and everything she could do. It was the only thing she knew how to do best as they all said. She could manage a business, make it flourish, and take it to higher heights. Her name was known in the business industry, both by the men and the females.

She was the number one businesswoman who was not to be trifled with. She took off her last piece of clothing as she marched into the bathroom. The tub was already filled with warm water by one of the maids, she soaked directly into it allowing her head to delve more into it, leaving her face only.

In the business world, she was known to be the empress. But in reality, her name is Fallon Hampson, a conniving woman some would say, and some a hard working woman. Anyone that they all think she is, she had left it to their hands.

She shut her eyes as she allowed the water to engulf her feelings. She had a long day already and what was left for her now was to sleep and take some rest. But she knew better than to ask for it. She had run all her life away from it and was not ready to go back into it. She started dozing off in the tub, trying to keep her soul awake. She tried to stand up but could not. Everything was just so refreshing to the mind that she could not leave it. Alas, she delved into the dreamland.

••••

"Fiona, come here this instance!" someone shouted from afar.

A chubby six-year-old child raced into the room, her eyes filled with tears as she bowed before the woman that called her.

"Fiona, why is this place still dirty like this?" the woman shouted at her.

She looked up at the woman, with hatred visible in her eyes. She opened her mouth to talk when a loud slap took a place on her cheeks.

"I told you, we are expecting visitors! Must you spoil everything for me! You want to kill my business just like.." the woman started but was abruptly cut off by Fiona.

"I'm sorry Ma, I'll get to it immediately." little Fiona said as she rushed to take the broom.

A stinging pain made its way to her back again. Little Fiona closed her eyes tightly, biting in her lower lips.

"Ella, bring me the rope over here." the woman shouted.

She faced Fiona's back before throwing a slap on her back again.

"Do I have to remind you not to cut me off when I'm talking? You always have a death wish right! And I'm always here to show you what it is." the woman shouted at Fiona with widened eyes.

Loud slaps echoed through the building. Soon, Ella brought the rope as the woman started to wipe her with it. Fiona clenched her jaw tightly, her eyes shut as she muffled the tears in herself. She could feel the aftereffects of everywhere she touched on her body. She could hear the silent giggles of two children from afar.

"Stop." she murmured.

This annoyed the woman that was beating her. The girl never cried. All she did every time was say stop immediately her children laugh out or giggle. And today she was going to make sure a tear slid from her face, whether she likes it or not.

The beating continued, the force at which she was being beaten increasing. Fiona went down on her knees at some point, the tears threatening to spill.

"No," she thought to herself.

She was not going to give the woman the satisfaction she wanted. She heard the girls giggle again, making her shout out.

"Stop." she shrieked aloud.

The woman halted her hand immediately, her eyes widening as she quickly packed the rope away.

"Ella, take this back to the room. Yvonne, arrange this place immediately and you.." she said pointing to Fiona.

"Go to your room and take your bath. You dare not say anything when he comes in." the woman threatened.

Yvonne and Ella took their duties immediately, their feet moving at a fast pace in the house while Fiona just knelt there, scratching her body and wallowing in the pain.

"Is your ear not working properly or you just want him to see how bad you are looking!" the woman shouted at her.

Fiona dragged her feet slowly as she stood up from the ground. She clenched her jaw tightly as she made her way to her room. Not specifically her room, the attic where they all call her room.

She got to the room, banging the door closed.

"Ouch.." she murmured.

Her hands were battered with strokes of the rope. The tears that she had been holding since morning, poured down from her eyes like a spring. She swore in her heart, they were all going to pay for it. One after the other.

••••••

Fallon opened her eyes abruptly, still soaked in the bathtub. Her breathing was ragged as she inhaled sharply. A tear slid from her face. She shook her head slowly, chanting some words in her head. She was not going to delve into her past anymore. It had brought her more pain than joy. No, she was not going down that lane anymore.

"I'm not more than little Fiona. I am now Fallon." she chanted to herself.

"What the hell is this, Matthew? I told you I wanted the draft of everything that goes in and out in this company and you are bringing me a file this month! When I said everything, I meant all of it starting from the beginning of this year." the empress shouted at one of her employers.

The man could be seen shaking in front of the empress, making the empress angrier at this. His clothes were visibly wet due to the fear instilled in his heart. She had just returned from a stupid meeting which brought her nothing but a waste of time. And here she is again, back to her company and her employers giving her nonsense. Why can't their big brains tell them what to do, why was it that they all feared her. Was she scary to them? Or her face was not looking the way they expected, a meek and beautiful lady? Not that it bothered her but they were ruining her company with the way they acted.

"I want you to get out of my office now and rewrite this thing. If you continue to shake like a chicken, you can as well tender your resignation letter and go shake all you want!" Fallon said, dropping the paper on the floor.

She stood up and went out of the room, leaving the chicken employer inside her office. He hurriedly picked up his paper and went out, thanking God she did not sack him.

••••••••

In the employer's offices, chapters and murmurs echoed loudly between them. Most of them had things where they were not supposed to. Some of them were engrossed in their chit-chats, and some were just sleeping. They did not notice the empress had entered until her voice was heard.

"I see that we need new employers. The ones we have needed time to talk and tell themselves how they have sex with their wives, husbands, and fiancees at home." the empress stated.

There was a deafening silence at the sound of the empress's voice, everyone facing their systems back. Fallon, with a stern expression, walked over to their back one by one, checking their systems and making their hearts race in fear.

"I would like to use the toilet ma." one of them stood up, her legs quivering as she spoke.

Fallon looked at her with a scrunched face.

"Were you not the one chatting with the guy beside you before I entered? You did not know then that your bladder is full? Sit down!" she shrieked at her.

The lady swallowed her spit, slowly sitting down back on her chair. The truth was it was until the empress entered that she started feeling uncomfortable, having the urge to ease herself. Her legs were shaking badly, finding it uncomfortable to do anything.

She felt a presence at her back, making her quivered leg stop shaking immediately.

"Two minutes." she heard the empress say at her back.

She took off her heels immediately, racing to the toilet. The empress cat walked back to the center of the room.

"I want all the heads of every department inside the hall now. I should not get there before them!" she said, before turning her back and leaving.

There was chaos in the room after that. Everyone ran to call their head of department. This was not the first time the empress had done so, and the last time she did, she sacked the whole team because she got to the room before them. Even though she was quite the scarier one, the salary they got from her could not be gotten in any company like hers.

•••••••

The room was silent, everyone on the verge of breaking down. It has been two hours since the meeting started and the empress was not taking it likely with any of them at all.

"Mr. Evans, why is one of the dates in this document omitted? Was the company not open that day or I was not around or did you and your department take a day off?" she questioned.

Mr. Evans was a slightly chubby man, who has been working for this company for two years. He was a highly intelligent and focused man. He balanced his black-rimmed glasses before bowing down, replying to the empress.

While waiting for Mr. Evans to talk, the empress opened another file, throwing a question at another director.

"Mr. Adams, the amount that comes in here is different from the amount of the contract we signed, which brings us to a conclusion that we are supposed to have more than that. Can you please explain why the amount is lesser?" she said, facing the so-called Adams.

Mr. Evans and Mr. Adams glanced at each other wondering who would go first between them.

"Mr. Evans, I'm all ears." the empress settled it for them.

"I'm sorry for the omission. My wife was put to bed that day and I rushed out of the office. I asked my assistant to record it and he must have forgotten. I'm sorry for this Ma." he said, bowing his head continuously.

Something switched in the empress's body, her hand that was on the document, and stopped immediately. Her jaws started clenching repeatedly. Her hands that were on the document started to shake badly, enabling her not to write anything. Her actions started to scare the directors in their seats, she looked up at Mr. Evans, only to start twisting her head to stare at him well.

"Is everything okay, madam?" one of them asked.

She shook her head slowly, staring closely at Mr. Evans. After a moment, she started gasping for breath, doing hiccups which caused chaos in the hall.

"I think madam is not okay. Someone call the doctor." one of them shouted.

She started to slide down her chair slowly, her breathing getting harder for her.

"M..m..my..do..do..doctor." she stuttered out.

"Get the doctor!" one of them said again.

She dropped to the floor with a thud, lying on it and still gasping for breath. Some directors started fanning her while some ran helter-skelter to look for her phone. Fallon's eyes started closing, tears forming in her eyes, she never wanted this kind of life, they gave it to her. She never wanted to be weak in front of her employers. She was strong, the strong Fallon and not the weak Fiona, she thought before her eyes closed.

••••••••

"Tell me, Fiona. How was school today?" her daddy asked her.

Fiona looked at her stepmom before looking back at her daddy. She knew she should be careful with whatever she needed to say. It could turn out like a beating for her or an abuse. Either way, something bad would still come out of it.

"I was not..." she started but was cut off by her stepmom.

"Fiona, get the jug from the kitchen. I must have forgotten to carry it while serving." her stepmom said, chuckling and facing her husband.

"Silly me," she said with a smile to her husband.

Fiona cleared her throat, bowing down to her stepmom before going to the kitchen to take the jug. She dropped it back on the table with a loud thud, disrupting everyone's dinner.

"Sorry," she murmured.

She sat down back on her chair, a hand pinching her lap from under the table. She clenched her jaws, squeezing her face as she put the spoon of food in her mouth.

"Don't you like the food Fiona?" her dad asked her.

Fiona smiled at him, water forming in her eyes. At least someone adored her in this family.

"It's all well, Papa," she said back to him.

Dinner continued after that, her father forgetting to ask her about her school and her stepmom pinching her occasionally from beneath the table. It looked like to her, her stepmom would be deranged if one day goes without her beating or hitting her.

"Pack the plates and go and wash them with your sisters, Fiona." her stepmom said, smiling at her.

Yvonne and Ella squeezed their faces at the mention of this but went because their father was there. Immediately the three of them got to the kitchen, the other two snuck off from the back door to their rooms to watch TV, while Fiona, standing on a small stool washed all the plates that were in the sink. Tears formed in her eyes, she missed her mother. She badly wanted to be out of this place, she wanted to go to school like other children, laugh with them, and smile with them. Have her daddy and mommy pick her up from school, pick her up off the floor and hug her tightly.

"Was that too much to ask for?" she murmured to herself.

By the time she was done washing plates, it was already after nine on the wall clock. Everywhere was dark already. She moved to the switch to turn the light on when she felt a big hand tug her and cover her mouth.

"Don't shout Fiona, it's daddy." she heard.

Fallon woke up to the pungent smell of hospital disinfectant, invading her nostrils. She opened her eyes to close Them back because of the light rays that streamed through the room. The room was silent apart from the stabilizer sound making a beep to indicate you are still alive. She slowly opened her eyes, squinting them to regulate the sharpness of the light. Her eyelashes fluttered, trying to see the images. She was in a VIP ward that was as big as her bedroom and also deserted. After some minutes, she shut her eyes back.

How long has she been here? What happened? How did she get here? She thought to herself. Then it all hit her like a bang. Mr. Evans, the baby, and his wife, there was the cause of everything. She tried to stand up only to collapse back on the bed with a sharp pain in her head. She moved her fingers to touch her head, only to find out that a bandage had been wrapped on her head.

She scoffed outwardly, it was not like she hit her head on the floor. She pressed the intercom beside her, letting them know she was awake already. After some minutes, a young male doctor walked in. He was wearing a white lab coat, glasses on his face and a stethoscope hung around his neck.

"Seems you are fine now, trying to stand up?" he inquired.

"Why is this on my head?" she asked immediately.

The doctor was taken back by her tone. For a sick patient that was brought in gasping for breath, she sure does not look like one.

"According to your colleagues, you hit your head on the floor and you stopped breathing. So we had to wrap you up first." the doctor said confidently.

Fallon raised her eyebrows, what the hell was this doctor saying?

"And according to your profession, did you bother to check if I hit my head on the floor or they lied? Just because they told you that does not mean you should not check if I hit my head or not. Get this thing out of my head immediately!" she said, her tone laced with a sharp edge.

A loud grin was plastered on the doctor's face immediately.

"Just like I expected," he murmured.

Fallon could sense that there was something suspicious about the doctor's behavior. First, he was carrying a book and a pen. What kind of doctor carries a book and a pen? And next, he was spouting nonsense. Who the hell is this?

"This is not a hospital right?" Fallon inquired with a raised eyebrow.

The doctor chuckled loudly, looking at Fallon with widened eyes. His gaze seems to penetrate her body, making her naked in front of him but Fallon still held the gaze. She was not going to allow a riff-raff to intimidate her.

"I like it that you are smart but still not too smart," he said to her.

"Where did you bring me too?" Fallon asked.

She glanced through the room, it looked like a real hospital. The curtains were just the same as a normal hospital. Unless;

"Who the hell are you?" she shouted immediately.

Her hand went to the intercom she pressed it immediately. She heard a sound from the man's pocket, making her widen her eyes.

"You son of a bitch! You connected this to your pocket," she screamed.

A wide grin made its way to the doctor's face, the cute reaction of Fallon trying to escape replaying in his mind.

"One minute," he said suddenly.

Fallon raised her eyebrow, she did not bother to ask him what he meant with the statement before flying down the bed. She looked at him one more time, his eyes on the clock wall that was placed beside her bed. She wore the slippers placed beside her bed before running out. She opened the door to meet an empty hallway, no one was there nor were they walking around.

"Ten..." she heard the man start to count.

Fallon looked left or right deliberating on where to pass. At the sound of six, she ran to the left-hand side, not stopping at all. She got to a sharp corner seeing different turns again, all of them devoid of people. She quickly peeped through one of the doors to see an old man lying helplessly on a chair. She twisted the doorknob, running to his bathroom and seeking refuge in it.

Immediately she calmed down, she heard the door open for a while and close back.

"She's not in here." she heard someone say.

"Did you check very well?" she heard another voice say.

"Yes boss." she heard the first person say.

"Check all the rooms and find her. How the hell did she escape without us knowing it?" she heard the second voice.

Her heart started thumping loudly, her hands getting watery because of the fear in her heart. These people were not joking, occupying the whole hospital just because of her. She clasped her hand together saying a silent prayer to God as her mum has always thought of her. She knew she had a lot of enemies but she wondered who they could be. And who the hell was that man also, asking her to escape only to be found back? What if they caught her?

Several minutes passed and there was no noise again. She peeked out of the bathroom and seeing that the coast is clear, quietly tiptoed out of it. She considered pressing the man's intercom but she knew that they might have connected it to theirs. A sly and dangerous thought passed her mind, making her curl her lips.

"They wanted her, right? Well, she was going to give them." she thought to herself.

She walked to the door entrance, peeking to see if no one was standing guard. After that, she threw a ping-pong ball at the intercom making it turn on its red light. She left the room, closing the door and creeping quickly into the second room before it. It was all dark as she entered and immediately a pair of large hands covered her mouth.

"Don't be scared, it's just me." she heard the person say before blacking out of consciousness.

••••••••

Fiona woke up the next day with a sore feeling in her pelvic region. As the sun rays streamed into the attic, she fluttered her eyebrows, regulating it to the amount of light that came in. She wanted to sleep more, because of the pain she was feeling. She could not shout nor say anything. Her eyes welled with tears that early morning, remembering how she was pressed under her father as he moved in and out of her. He had stuffed a cloth in her mouth, causing her not to scream. She closed her six-year-old leg together, soothing the pain a little.

"Fiona, wake up, you need to go to school." she heard her stepmom shout.

Great. Just great. She was not allowed to go to school on a normal day but today, she was allowed to go to school. So thoughtful of them, she thought. She covered herself up with the cloth, not able to move from how she is placed. Her eyelashes fluttered, making her go back to the dreamland.

Loud slaps that could also be felt brought her out of her dreamland.

"Ouch." she yelped in pain.

Her stepmom had hit her close to her sore spot, waking her immediately.

"You lazy girl, get up and go to school. I don't care how badly you're hurt now. I need you to get your little slutty ass up and go to school now!" her stepmom shrieked at her.

Fiona was pulled up by her stepmom, causing her to yell loudly. She cut her hand away from her stepmom staggering backward to the wall. She could swear that it looked like her private part was burning. Tears formed in her eyes, and her hands pointed at her stepmom.

"D...don...don't come..near...me. You....witch." Fiona said to her.

Her stepmom smiled at this before walking towards the door. She stopped suddenly, her back turned on Fiona.

"I hope you enjoyed yesternight. You need to get used to things like that. You are going to be doing it for a very long time my dear." her stepmom said before walking out and slamming the door on her.

Fiona cried out loud, the pain she was feeling from her private part was something she could not stand. She started to shake, her feet were not able to carry her again. She tried to walk back to the bed but she was not able to, her private part was burning. She felt she had been wounded at that part. She felt something running down her legs, a cold liquid running down her leg.

She reached out to her leg with a shaky hand, touching the liquid and bringing it back to her face.

"B..blo..blood." she stuttered.