Before the Fall

Chapter Three - Into the Lion's Den

Aster

Walking into H-Corp felt like a bad dream. I remember gripping Xander's hand like if I let go, we would be separated and never see one another again.

I was afraid.

I could sense he was trying very hard to remain strong for me, but I could tell he was afraid too. Who wouldn't be?

H-Corp had a shiny outward appearance, but inside, it was full of skeletons and demons.

The receptionist was overly cheery as she greeted us. She called over the security guard, who gave us visitor passes. We hung them around our neck as we were escorted to a shiny elevator down a long hallway.

Numerous scientific journal articles and newspaper pieces were framed and hung proudly on the walls. I wanted to spit on every one of them, knowing they were packed with lies.

I had been in the living rooms of parents whose children had disappeared, supposedly at the hands of H-Corp. The same parents who would eventually change their stories to fit the narrative of the company who was threatening them.

I knew. I could see it in their eyes. Their hollow stares, empty smiles that never reached their eyes. It was all a show. An attempt to throw the public off so no one would know the truth.

Xander let go of my hand and a feeling of panic spread over me. The doors to the elevator slid open and we were ushered inside. The elevator shot upward and it didn't take us long to reach the top floor.

The elevator doors opened directly to the President and CEO's office.

It felt like we were walking into the office of Satan himself.

He was much shorter than I ever imagined him to be, probably only coming up to Xander's shoulder if they were to stand side-by-side.

Thick glasses hung on the end of his nose and his eyes looked empty and dark. He smiled, though, and rose to greet us, offering us two chairs in front of his massive desk, covered in papers.

He spoke and I felt chills run down my spine. I'm not sure why I was afraid of him, except that I felt so threatened by this company and all it stood for.

I glanced at my husband who had slowly sank down into the offered chair. I mirrored his actions but I found myself sitting more towards the edge of my seat.

The man spoke. "It's nice to finally meet our loudest critics," he said, smirking and almost like he was laughing at us.

Xander and I remained silent.

"You two have been making quite the scene for a long time. I thought we had given you plenty of time to check your behavior, but it seems you are slow learners."

I felt panic wash over me. I shifted in my seat and glanced at my husband. He looked like he was seething. I felt so much anger coming from him.

"What do you expect when you run a company as unethical as H-Corp?" snapped Xander.

"Such hostility," clicked the president. I read his name plate. Of course I knew his name.

Li Jie.

A Chinese American, with loyalties as split as his personalities. Xander and I had done extensive research on him. His parents immigrated from China in the late '90's. He had been born November 16, 2020. Currently, he was fifty-five years old and had been running this company his father started, since the ripe old age of twenty.

He had risen to the top merely because he was the owner's son. Not because his work deemed him worthy of the title.

But, he treated his employees so well, that when they were asked to sign a gag order and confidentiality agreement on their jobs, none of them had a reason to refuse.