Ella walked into her office only to find it completely scattered.
Her heart jumped in fear.
"Who did this…?" she whispered, glancing around in confusion as she slowly began arranging everything back into place.
She didn't take it too seriously, at least not at first. There was no reason to think deeper about it, or so she believed.
Her day went on as usual. After a long stretch of work, as she prepared to go home, a mysterious man walked into her office, someone she had never seen before. Before she could say a word, he stretched out his hand, offering her a sealed letter in a brown envelope.
"This is yours. Make sure you read it," he said quietly before turning and walking away without another word.
Ella hesitated, then opened the letter. It was written by someone claiming to know the truth about how McDon betrayed her family and they can offer help to her getting whatever she wants.
"Who could this be? And why would they want to help me? What's the price to be paid?" Ella murmured, her heart racing.
She shook her head. "I'm not in for this," she whispered and tore the letter apart, throwing it straight into the trash can.
Later that evening, Ella got home to find Ben seated in the living room, going through his files. Her mind was still clouded by the letter and the strange man, so she quietly walked past him into her room without saying a word.
Ben noticed immediately. As she tried to close her door, a hand stopped it, Ben's.
"Did something happen today? What's wrong?" he asked gently, concern written all over his face.
Out of fear and confusion, she forced a smile and replied, "I just don't feel it today, Ben. I'm really tired." She wanted to avoid more questions, especially about the letter and her growing urge for revenge.
"Let's go for a walk," Ben suggested softly.
"No… no, I'm really tired. I need some rest," Ella said and closed the door.
She sat on her bed, lost in thought. "Who could that be?" she whispered again, replaying the man's voice in her mind.
In the days that followed, the strange occurrences continued; cars following her, anonymous letters left on her desk, and countless emails from someone who refused to reveal their identity. Each message hinted that they were watching her closely.
"What does this person want?" she asked herself over and over.
Finally, after days of torment, she sent a firm reply:
"I'm not interested. Stop whatever game you're playing."
But the situation only worsened.
Rita, furious that all her attempts to ruin Ella had failed, decided to take matters into her own hands. Her new plan was darker, she would have Ella kidnapped to force Ben to choose her instead.
One morning, as Ella drove to work, her car suddenly broke down in the middle of the road. It was strange, the car had been perfectly fine just the day before. Frustrated and running late for an important meeting, she stepped out, trying to figure out what went wrong.
A well-dressed man with a calm, pleasant demeanor pulled up beside her.
"What's wrong with your car? Do you need help? I can drive you where you're going," he offered kindly.
Ella hesitated, but after a quick look at her watch, she sighed. "Thank you," she said, getting into his car.
They drove for several minutes before Ella realized he was taking a completely different route.
"This isn't the road to my office," she said softly, assuming he was lost.
"I know," he replied coldly.
Ella froze. "You know? Then why are we taking this path?"
"Shut up!" the man barked.
Her heart pounded. She screamed, pleading with him to stop, but he only drove faster. In desperation, Ella grabbed the steering wheel, trying to force the car to stop. After several frantic attempts, they lost control and crashed into a wall.
The man died instantly. Ella, however, was left in a critical condition, unconscious and fighting for her life.
Days passed. Ben grew restless, Ella hadn't been home, hadn't called, hadn't shown up at work. Panic set in. Out of fear and desperation, he contacted the police, and after days of searching, they found her lying in a hospital bed, unconscious and bruised.
Ben broke down beside her, his heart shattering at the sight.
"Who did this to you?" he whispered, his voice trembling as tears filled his eyes.
He was furious. He couldn't believe his father was behind it this time, not after they had made peace. The only person left to blame was Rita.
Without hesitation, he stormed into her house, slamming the door open.
"You devil!" he shouted, marching straight toward her. "You'll pay dearly for this if I find out you had a hand in it!"
Rita's eyes widened in shock, though she quickly masked it with a bitter smile.
"You never went this far for me when we were together. Why her, Ben? What does she have that I don't?" she said, her voice cracking.
Ben glared at her but said nothing. He turned and stormed out, rage boiling in his chest as he drove away, his mind consumed with fear, guilt, and burning anger.