The morning sun shone through the curtains onto Avery's pale face, causing her to frown in discomfort. She pulled the bedcovers over her head, trying to sleep a little longer, but she was woken up by the piercing sharp rings of her alarm.
"Hm..." She groaned, turning restlessly in bed, frustrated that morning had come too soon.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, and her eyes shot open. She sat up quickly and glanced in the direction of Lucas's building.
"Would he fire her today?" A sense of dread washed over her. Yesterday, she had been so caught up in uncovering the mastermind that it skipped her mind- she revealed skills no ordinary person should have. Even the true color of her eyes had been exposed.
She tried to recall his expression from last night- he had remained calm throughout and showed no signs of questioning and firing her even though she drank his blood.
What's the worst that could happen, reassuring herself, she rushed to get ready for work. At least if she was early, she wouldn't add any more offenses to her list.
Twenty minutes later, Avery was dressed in a sharp male suit, her short wig was neatly combed and pressed. She took out five blood bags, drank two, and packed the remaining three in her suitcase.
As she was about to leave, she turned back to her weapons bag. She grabbed a multipurpose gun that could fit different types of bullets, placed a box of bullets in her suitcase, and holstered the gun to her ankle before leaving.
On her way to the garage, she bumped into Lucas and breathed a sigh of relief- she had prepared early.
"Good morning, boss," Avery greeted with a smile, the sun casting a warm glow on her.
on her face. At that moment the sun's rays shone on her, making her glow. Lucas snapped out of his momentary stupor and nodded, stone-faced in response.
Satisfied with his response, her eyes searched the garage for the car they had used last night but couldn't find it. Maybe it was taken away, she thought.
Pulling out her iPad, she went through Lucas's schedule. "Sir, you have a meeting with the Stone Group, and another at noon with the Greysons," Avery listed, noting that they would be traveling be traveling next week to the City D branch. What caught her eye next made her mood lift- half of her salary would be paid in three days.
Throughout the day, even as she worked tirelessly, Avery remained in a good mood. Later she rested back on her office chair and reviewed the details of a land project. After printing the necessary documents, she carried them to Lucas's office for him to sign.
She raised her hand to knock, but before she could, a deep voice called from within, "Come in."
Lucas didn't look up from what he was doing, his tie was loosened, his neck bent over as he signed on file on the desk.
Pushing the door open, her eyes immediately landed on his neck, where his veins pulsed in her line of sight. Her gaze darkened with desire, and she swallowed hard, biting her lips to regain control. But the taste of his blood still lingered in her mind, and without realizing it, she was suddenly beside him. It was Lucas's calm, dark eyes that snapped her back to reality.
Flustered, she quickly moved to the desk to put a distance between them.
"What were you trying to do?" Lucas asked, his intense gaze fixed on her, his hand gripping his pen, waiting for her response.
Under pressure, Avery smiled nervously. "Sorry, I thought I saw something on your clothes, but it was nothing." She lied smoothly, though Lucas's brows arched as he gazed at her meaningfully.
if it weren't for the raw desire he had seen in her eyes a moment ago, he might have believed her.
"Leave the file on the desk and go," he said, turning his attention back to the document. As Avery turned to leave, his causal comment froze her in place.
"Hm...has anyone ever told you that your voice sounds quite feminine." He didn't even look up.
"B-Bo-Boss, that's .... just how I was born," Avery stammered, struggling to come up with a valid excuse. Panicking, she flashed out of the room before she could say anything more.
Lucas's fingers stopped, he looked at her fleeing back and his lips curved to the side. It seems she was calm in other things, yet her disguise was clearly important to her. A thought smile grew on his face and he went back to work.
Back at her desk, Avery's hands trembled as she opened her voice recorder app. Clearing her throat, she tried to deepen her voice.
"Sleeping is nice," She said in a forced, low tone. When she played the recording back, it sounded like she had a bad cough.
She tried again, but the result was so unnatural that she couldn't keep a straight face. Collapsing back in her chair, she gave up. There is no use, she thought. I'll just have to tell people I was born this way.
Going with that, she spent three whole minutes staring at her reflection, inspecting her face. Her hand moved to her neck. Should I use makeup to fake an Adam's apple, or just leave it like this?
She sighed. I will leave it for now and learn how to refine her look over time.
....
Somewhere deep in a forested mountain range, where towering trees blocked out all the light, a massive factory sprawled across an empty field.
Inside, the smell of blood and disinfectant lingered in the air. Rows of rooms housed people with torn limbs, their vacant gaze fixed on the white ceilings as wires hooked into their bodies.
In an office, a man in his mid-40s with black hair and glasses, dressed in a doctor's coat, stared at the man standing in front of him.
"You failed," he said, his voice void of blame, his patient smile betrayed no emotion. Yet the man before him trembled with fear.
"Make sure you don't fail again," the doctor continued with the same calm smile, "Or, I will dissect every inch of your body."