2. Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Celeste
“Wake up.”
A distorted voice echoed through the fog in my mind as someone tapped me insistently.
“Wake up, now!”
The voice sounded so odd, and I couldn’t figure out why. My brain was sluggish as I tried to ignore the voice and the tapping to fall back to sleep. I heard a small snap. Then, a strong and pungent fragrance wafted right under my nose, immediately clearing my head as the chemical startled me awake.
Only… I couldn’t see. Or move.
“What - what’s going on!” I gasped, panic surging in my chest as I realized I was bound, a cloth shoved into my mouth before I could speak again.
“Stay calm and do as I say, and you won’t be hurt. Nod if you understand.” The voice was so strange that I almost didn’t react at first. Then I realized that whoever was speaking was using a voice distorter. My body froze for half a second before I forced myself to nod, my mind scrambling to piece together what had happened.
“A pack was hired to abduct you. Their goal is to make sure you miss the merger vote. If they succeed, you lose everything. Your position, your future, and more. Do you understand?”
My thoughts scrambled. The vote. When was it? How long had I been out?
“They’ll plant a story. They will say you drank yourself into oblivion and missed the vote. You must not let that happen. You must show up. But no one can know you're aware of the plot Tell no one what happened. Not your family. Not your friends. Not your staff. Do you understand?"
I nodded again, trying to keep up, trying to breathe. I heard the person shuffling around me, and tried to take in a whiff. There was no scent at all, nothing to identify who took me. I tried to stay calm.
“You cannot trust anyone around you, Celeste.” The use of my name sent an additional shock through my body.
“Don’t mention a kidnapping plot. No one will believe you. But if you look closely, you might see surprise on the faces of the people who expect that you won’t make it to your own vote. Have a story ready for why you weren’t in your room. Say you went for a walk, drank too much and fell asleep in another room. Have a reason why you weren’t in your room last night, or they will know you’re aware of the plot.”
I swallowed, my mind in shambles as I tried to keep up.
“You’ll be returned to your room shortly. Get dressed. Go to the Capitol. Make it to the vote, if you care at all about your future.”
I breathed in slowly, trying to stay calm as this stranger told me about a conspiracy against me.
“You are a smart woman, Celeste. Let’s see if you really are smart enough not to sabotage yourself.” A hand clapped over my mouth, and I suddenly panicked and tried to cry out.
I was lifted, carried for only the briefest moments, and then dropped onto a soft surface. And suddenly I knew where I was. The overwhelming scent of my own patented fragrance hit my nostrils.
“Don’t be late. The vote starts in two hours.” Then I felt something tugging at my hands, and a door shut quietly. Whoever took me loosened my bindings, but it still took several minutes to squirm out of them. Once my hands were free, I ripped the blindfold off, my heart hammering.
I looked around and sure enough, I was back in my room.
But as I looked around, I saw something that made my stomach turn. Bottles of alcohol littered my room, along with half-empty glasses and spots of spilled drink. It did look staged, like someone wanted me to look like I’d been out on a bender.
I didn’t have time to think about it. I ran over to the door, flinging it open as I looked down the hallway. There was no sign of the person who had takenme.
My phone was missing, but there was still a clock in my room. I glanced at the time. My captor was right - I only had a few hours to get to the Capitol for the vote.
I looked at myself in the mirror and grimaced. I looked rough after the night of chaos I’d endured. I quickly changed into the suit I’d planned to wear, combing through my hair and washing my face. Makeup would cover the bags under my eyes, but I was still so shaken up by what happened. I rehashed the memory of my walk back to my room, interrupted by a hand over my face…
I shoved the memory down. I was Celeste Harringday. Heiress. Omega. Fighter.
I could do this.
An hour later, I was on the road, the car practically flying. I knew the board would have already gathered ahead of time.
The driver screeched to a halt right in front of the Capitol building. I stepped out with a calm I didn’t feel and walked briskly through the grand halls. I knew the vote would be taking place in mere minutes. With my hair perfectly styled, I kept a face of confident ease as I strode through the halls. When I reached the doors outside the meeting room, I took a deep breath.
The voice of the unknown captor echoed in my memory.
“Trust no one.”
I steadied myself, and pushed the doors open.
The faces of six men who made up the board looked up with surprise. I walked in, confident as ever, and made my way toward the empty seat that was my own. As interim CEO, I too had a vote in the potential merger. So did my uncle. I knew he would vote in my favor, but the other five men would need to vote as well. In the case of a tie, one man, Reginald, would be the tiebreaker, making the final decision. But with me here, it would be four against three… if the other men voted for me.
I stood at the table, looking around at the faces in front of me. Although I kept an outward facade of assuredness, I looked for hints of who could be behind the events of last night. Who could I trust?
“Gentlemen, have we started the vote yet?” I asked in a straightforward voice. There were a few moments of silence, but then someone spoke up.
“Miss Harringday, we were just about to start. You arrived right on time.” Reginald said, with a now confident smile growing on his face.
“Of course. I wouldn't miss this vote, you know that.” I said as I gave him a smile.
My uncle, seated next to me, leaned in and smiled.
“Where were you?” My uncle said in a tight whisper through his teeth, in a voice so low only I could hear it.
“Doesn’t matter, I’m here now.” I said back quickly.
I placed my hands on the table, assessing everyone around me. “Well? Shall we begin?”
Minutes later, the votes were cast. I gave the final vote, stopping the merger at 4-3.
I was officially CEO.
It should have been triumphant. But as I walked out of the Capitol building fielding the press with my uncle by my side, I carried the secret knowledge that someone had tried to sabotage me. Someone who stood to gain from the merger, and from me being out of the picture.
Over the next few days, I smiled for the cameras and gave statements. Behind the scenes, I dug for answers. Who had the access and resources to get into the Ball? Who had motive?
In the following days, I went through the motions of normality all while doing my own secret research into who could have possibly made it into the Ball undetected that night. I was hitting a dead end until I looked at the guest list yet again, doing research on the attendees, when I found something.
One of the girls who attended was missing. There was no mention of it in the news, but I found a site that one of her friends created. Her name was Bella Carter, one of the scholarship attendees, was apparently missing and never made it home from the Ball. When I saw her picture on the site, she looked eerily similar to me. And I was certain that the strange dress I’d found in my room at the Ball was hers. Somehow, an omega was in my room the same night I was supposed to be kidnapped.
I quickly reached out to Bella’s friend, Piper, who had been leading the effort to find her. Then I was certain - someone had taken her in my place. This meant I could go public with the kidnapping attempt, and hopefully, with the public spotlight on the story, I would get some answers.
Being a public figure has its perks. One of which was my massive social media following. So, I took to social media and broke the story: an omega missing from the Darlington Ball. An attempted kidnapping. A cover-up.
It became the top trending story of the year. All over the country, people saw Bella’s face and were outraged at the idea that someone could kidnap an omega from the Darlington Ball, and furthermore, that the organizers had apparently swept it under the rug to save face. Within days, the public reward forced her kidnappers to give her up. She appeared at the border of the Western Province, and both she and I had the public’s sympathy at what had transpired.
Now, with so much out in the open, whoever went against me would not dare to make another move - at least for now. The entire world knew that someone had tried to stop me from making it to the vote which secured my place as CEO - the first Omega CEO in the Eastern Province’s history.
As for who was behind it, I was living in a somewhat paranoid state until Bella herself reached out to me. When I finally met her face to face, she told me something incredible - she knew who was behind the kidnapping.
It was none other than Pack Lockwood.
The consequences were swift and fierce. With the knowledge that they had been behind the conspiracy, I came forward and outed them as the ones behind the horrific ordeal Bella had been put through. The response from the public was overwhelming.
Omega sympathizers were mesmerized by the tale of two of society’s most vulnerable class, and how each of us overcame incredible odds - myself earning the place of CEO despite clear sabotage, and Bella having escaped her kidnappers. The outflow of support for us was equal to the disgust toward Pack Lockwood.
I was almost untouchable now, elevated from potential victim to near saint. Pack Lockwood on the other hand, were nearly destroyed, at least socially. Cast out of the social circles they had integrated into, they were now blacklisted from attending any omega balls. They were taken off the pack eligibility rosters due to the allegations. Because I didn’t have solid proof except for Bella’s word, I couldn't take legal action against them. Besides, since they had money and were located in the Eastern Province, they could essentially buy their way out of any civil ramifications. However, even though their company survived, their reputations didn’t.
And me? I’d won. I finally had everything I’d worked so hard for.
But one question lingered. The person who warned me - the one who’d taken me, but saved me too - vanished without a trace. They said they’d find me again.
They never did. To this day, I still have no idea who they are.