Chapter- 4
1230 Words
Althea.
My thoughts were locked on Dr. Theo.
So much so that I didn’t even notice the elevator doors sliding open… or that we had already arrived. If Dr. Lucas hadn’t gripped my arm, I would’ve stayed lost in my own head.
Reality snapped back the moment I lifted my gaze. First Universal Network. The name stood there, old, unchanging.
I froze.
It felt like something invisible reached out… and dragged me straight back into the past. Without realizing it, I took a step back.
“Ms. Althea,” Dr. Lucas called, his voice calm but firm, “Why does it look like you don’t intend to go in?”
I glanced at him, then back at the name. This place… this was where I rose. Where I was known. And where I was destroyed.
“W—What are we doing here?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Didn’t I promise you?” he replied smoothly. “I would bring you back to where you belong.”
“I—I know… but why here?”
“Because this,” he said, his tone sharpening, “is where you rise again.”
He stepped closer, his presence steady, unshaken.
“Whatever happened before—this is where your comeback begins. And like I said… I’m not leaving your side.”
My breath hitched.
“W-Wait…” I murmured. “Are you… the man in the mask? The one with the cap?”
I study him carefully now.
“The one who told me he’d bring me back to the place stolen from me… by the people I trusted?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “It was me.”
“Then why didn’t you show yourself back then?”
“I needed you ready,” he answered. “And now… you are.”
He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping.
“Let’s go. It’s time to remove everyone who stood in your way… especially those who hide behind lies and use others.”
I said nothing.
My fists clenched.
I inhaled deeply.
Straightened my back. And stepped forward. But before I could enter, two guards blocked my path.
“This is as far as you go,” one said sharply. “Outsiders aren’t allowed.”
I halted.
But Dr. Lucas moved instantly, placing himself in front of me.
“Move,” he ordered, his voice cold as steel. “We’re going in.”
“You can’t…”
He never finished.
In a blink… both guards dropped to the floor. My eyes widened. That’s when I noticed them. The men behind us.
Clad in black.
Identical tattoos on their left hands, silent, precise and deadly.
No one spoke.
No one reacted.
As if nothing unusual had happened.
As if two bodies hitting the ground meant nothing at all.
Dr. Lucas grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stairwell.
I frowned, confused.
“We just got out of the elevator… why are we?”
“You’ll understand later,” he cut in. “Trust me.”
I nodded, though my mind was anything but calm. We descended two floors in silence.
Then entered again.
But this time… a different name greeted me. Al Global Network.
My chest tightened.
Another place.
Another memory.
Success… And ruin.
This was where I once exposed the corrupt anchor, Christian Warren.
Where my name began to rise. And where I was ultimately broken.
But now, I am back. Not as the woman they destroyed. But as the one who came back to collect.
We walked in without a word. And with every step, the truth became clearer. Until we reached the main newsroom.
And there… I saw them.
Nervana.
Alice.
Dr. Theo.
Everything inside me went still.
Time didn’t just slow…
it stopped.
They all turned toward us at once. And in a single heartbeat… shock ripped across their faces.
As if the dead had just walked in.
“Althea…?” Nervana’s voice broke, barely a whisper, laced with disbelief.
Alice’s color drained instantly.
She stumbled back.
“T-That’s impossible…”
And Theo… he didn’t move. Not even an inch. But his eyes… they locked onto mine.
Searching.
Straining.
Reaching for something buried deep inside him… something just beyond his grasp.
I took a step forward.
One.
Two.
Three.
Each step echoed louder than the last… a countdown to the moment they could no longer pretend I didn’t exist.
With every inch closer, I felt it, the weight of my return.
To the place that once built me… And then destroyed me.
“Miss me?” I asked, my voice cold enough to cut.
And at that exact moment, I knew. This wasn’t just a reunion.
This was war.
A slow smile curved on my lips.
Not warm.
Not kind.
But sharp… laced with every ounce of bitterness I had buried for years.
A smile that said everything I didn’t need to speak.
That once, I trusted them.
That once, I loved them.
That once… they were my world.
And they were the ones who shattered it.
I watched Nervana’s eyes widen further.
Watching Alice retreat like I was something she couldn’t face.
And Theo… still unmoving.
Still silent. But his stare never left me… as if clawing through the darkness in his mind.
“Why…” he murmured, voice low and uncertain. “Why do you feel so familiar?”
My smile deepened, sharper, colder, crueler.
“Really?” I said softly. “That’s… funny.”
I stepped closer, one, two... until the space between us was nothing.
“Because if you ask me…” I leaned in just enough to meet his gaze head-on,
“…you should never have forgotten me.”
Silence fell, heavy and suffocating. The kind that pressed against your chest until breathing felt like a struggle.
“Althea…” Nervana’s voice trembled as she cut in. “What are you doing here?”
I turned to her slowly.
And smiled again.
But this time, there was no trace of warmth left.
“Why?” I asked. “Am I not allowed to come back?”
She dropped her gaze.
No answer.
Of course.
“I thought…” I continued, letting my eyes sweep across the three of them,
“…you were all doing just fine in the world you built to erase me.”
“That’s not—” Alice started, but froze the moment my eyes met hers.
One look… and she shut up. I turned back to Theo.
“And you…” I said quietly.
I paused.
For a second, just one… something tightened in my chest.
But I crushed it.
No hesitation.
No weakness.
“How’s life treating you, Dr. Theo George?” I asked, my voice steady.
He didn’t answer.
But I saw it… a flicker behind his eyes.
Confusion.
Doubt.
And something fighting to break free… a memory. But before he could find it… Dr. Lucas stepped beside me.
“And it seems,” he said, his voice cold and absolute,
“Everything is ready for her return.”
The newsroom fell into complete silence.
No movement.
No voices.
Nothing.
Because at that moment… I was no longer the woman they abandoned.
I was no longer the one they erased.
I was here.
And I didn’t come back to remember. I came back… to make them pay.
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