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The woman standing in front of the conference room greets me with a smile and looks at her clipboard, checking the name list.
"Madeleine Blue?"
"Yes, that's me." I guess.
I never thought that my first secret alias would be Madeleine Blue, I guess Judy is lacking some creativity in that department.
The woman nods and opens the door, decorated with a sign reading "Art Inc. - Quarterly Conference". I step inside.
The oval table is already filled with business people, around 15 or 20. Most of them are men in suits but I can spot a few women as well. Apparently they haven't started yet so I quickly take a seat and start studying the faces.
According to my sources, one of these strangers is the person who hired Jasper to kill me. One of them is working together with a psychotic designer at Afterlife.
This is my biggest and maybe only chance for payback. If I can't convince this middleman to give me my body back, I will never be able to return to my old life.
But no one in this room seems to recognize my face, no one shows any form of surprise.
My heart pulls together.
Was I wrong? What if this middleman isn't actually attending the conference and I've been lured onto a false path? I realize that I should leave but before I can, one of the men gets up and clears his throat.
"Alright, hello and welcome dear colleagues to our quarterly conference. My name is Bob Brown, manager of our LA branch and the organizer of today's meeting. I'm happy to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones."
He looks me right in the face.
"Ma'am, would you like to introduce yourself briefly?"
All faces turn to me and I put on a smile, hiding my shaking hands.
"Of course. I'm Ms. Blue, filling in today for Mr. Grant, manager of the Manhattan branch." Some people nod, some smile. Bob Brown moves on and starts his powerpoint presentation.
"As usual we are going to cover a variety of topics today. Let us start with last month's turnover."
The first page shows graphs and bullet points that are all too familiar. Over the past decade I have attended hundreds of such meetings as the Creative Director at my dad's company Green Vision and although I'm fairly good with numbers and know how to work with them, over time the whole topic of finances has started boring me to death.
Looking at the presentation, I can't focus on anything Bob is saying. My head is running in circles and for the first time in forever I feel defeated. Confronting this middleman was my only hope of becoming a human again.
If I can't manage to get out of this shell before Afterlife refunds Parker, I could be lost forever. Who knows, they might think the body is defective and destroy it. Together with my soul stuck inside.
Cleaning the micro chip and tossing it right down the garbage press. And that would be the end.
Suddenly, the door gets pushed open and a young guy steps in, interrupting Bob's monologue on conversion rates.
He seems to be in his mid twenties, his dark hair is hanging over a pair of round glasses, suggesting that he ran to the meeting. He is panting and looks around in horror as everyone is staring at him.
"Excuse me," he quickly mutters before he takes the only empty seat right next to me and puts his MockBook onto the table, opening his notes.
Bob continues talking as the guy anxiously fiddles with his stuff, trying not to make too much noise.
He whispers. "Sorry, do you have a char-" But when he looks at me, he freezes.
His face goes white and his brown eyes almost fall out of his head.
I guess I found who I was looking for.
He tries to scoot away from me but I block the chair leg with my foot, forcing him to stop.
I smile sweetly. "Not so fast."
The guy looks terrified but not wanting to catch any more attention, he turns to his laptop and starts typing with shaky fingers.
I can't believe it. They really sent this fledgeling right here on a mission to kill someone? I'm not surprised he hired Jasper to do it for him. The way this guy is shaking right now shows that there is way too much emotional inner life for him to be able to just murder someone cold-heartedly.
Although he most likely isn't as innocent as he seems.
During the conference I keep looking over at the guy, making sure he doesn't forget my presence. He tries to ignore me the best he can but I catch him glancing at me from time to time, probably wondering what on Earth I'm doing here.
I can't blame him. If I was sitting next to the person me and my friend tried to kill I wouldn't be calm and collected either.
"Alright, let's have a 15 minute break, everyone. Afterwards we will discuss actions to tackle the previously mentioned problems."
Instantly, murmuring starts filling the room. Some get up, others pull out a water bottle. I turn to my new friend.
"Cigarette break?" I smile at him but my eyes show that I won't accept no for an answer.
The guy visibly gulps but nods. He gets up and together we leave the conference room.
I walk ahead to the nearest balcony and open the glass door. A waft of warm air covers my skin in goosebumps and I take a deep breath. Much better than the AC.
I lean against the white railings and turn around to the guy. I extend my arm. "Isabella."
He hesitates but then decides to shake my hand. "Walter."
"I want my body back."
"And I can help you with that."
I did not expect that response. Perplexed, I blink a few times.
"Well then, do something! My soul got stuck in this stupid robot because you and your psycho friends ignored the fact that I'm not actually dead. You have to fix it."
Walter looks at me for a second. He seems anxious.
"I will. But first you have to tell me where Jasper is."
"Jasper? Why?"
"Well, why do you think he is here? Do you think it's a coincidence that the conference is being held at this exact hotel?"
"I don't get what you're saying."
Walter sighs, apparently having a hard time finding the right words.
"Basically, he's here to finish what he has started."
My heart stops for a second and I quickly grab a chair and pull it between us.
"You mean-"
"Yes. He came to kill you. I used to help him and set up the conference but a lot of things have changed back then. We need to not only stop him but the entire experiment!"
Jasper. He has been planning my death.
He didn't come up to my room last night for the reasons I thought. He didn't want to flirt. He wanted to get rid of me. I was simply quicker.
"Isabella, I'm on your side. You need to come with me."
Now this murderer is sitting in my room. Hungry for blood.
And I left Judy alone with him, thinking that she is safe.
Shit!
I push Walter aside and run back into the hotel and to the nearest elevator. I hammer against the button, luckily the doors open right away.
"Wait!" Walter comes running, his feet are echoing behind me.
I press the button to floor 15 but the guy jumps into the elevator, ready to grab my arms.
Without second thought I ram my foot between his legs and then push him out again. The pain forces Walter onto his knees and he groans.
"Please, believe me." He slowly gets up again, his face red with pain but before he can come any closer, the doors finally close and the elevator starts moving.
I fall against the wall.
I'm so stupid. I'm so f*cking stupid.
F*CK. I should have f*cking known! How did I not read the signs?
Jasper came to get his revenge. And Walter is clearly trying to manipulate me. But they are both psychopaths.
I watch as the digital display changes from 6 to 7 and can feel tears forming in my eyes.
If Judy gets hurt, it's my fault. 100%.
9. 10.
I didn't think about her safety. I only thought about myself.
Have I always been this way?
12. 13.
I try to shake it off.
Get yourself together. This is not the time for self-pity.
The elevator pings and the doors glide open. I stumble out into the hallway and run as fast as I can towards my door.
My hands are shaking, I almost drop the keycard and it takes me a few tries until I finally manage to hold it against the scanner. I push the door open and rush inside the suite.
No one is in the bedroom, the balcony is empty as well. I open the door of the closet.
But there is no one inside.
My heart stops.
"JUDY?"
No answer.
The scarf Parker used to tie Jasper up is lying on the floor. Next to that is Judy's phone.
But the girl is gone.
And so is the killer.