Danielle woke to her phone beeping so hard on the nightstand. She looked at the screen and it was Dr. Patel calling. Her heart nearly jumped into her mouth.

She quickly picked the phone and exchange the routine compliments “Hello?”

“Danielle, Mia’ is running a fever of over 40 degree Celsius. You need to get here immediately.”

“Mia has fever, but she just had a surgery?” Danielle’s voice was shaking.

“Bring a cool cloth for her and come quickly” Dr. Patel added.

Danielle was panicking seriously and she threw off the duvet cover, quickly grabbed a gown, and ran down the hall to see Langford. She got to his Door and she knocked so hard till her knuckles were hurting.

“Come in,” he said from the interior.

She pushed the door open and Reed Langford was standing in jeans and a T-shirt. He looked surprised to see her .

“My sister is so sick,” Danielle said. I cannot call her because my phone is blocked . You really have to help me.”

Reed just walked to his desk and sent a message through his phone and within a mini second later Thomas Reed, his assistant, appeared in the doorway.

“Dr. Patel’s line is on,” Thomas said.

Reed handed Danielle the phone and he said to her “Go ahead and speak with him.”

Danielle collected the phone from him still panicking “ Hello Dr. Patel”, She said

“ Hello Danielle, your sister’s fever’ is dropping. The antibiotics that I administered on her are working. She is in a very stable condition for now.”

Danielle’s eyes were teary as she requested to see her. “Can I see her, Please?”

“I’ will add your name to the visitor’s list, Go straight to Intensive Care Unit(ICU) room 14" Dr. Patel said.

She hung up the call and starred at Reed. He gave an affirmative nod signaling that he had granted her permission to visit the sister.

Twenty minutes later, Reed led her out of the building. The Guards on duty stepped aside while a black, tinted and exotic car was waiting. Danielle got into the waiting car , together with Reed. However ,Her heart beat was increasing by every second.

At the hospital, it took a little while before Danielle could spot ICU room 14 . As soon as she got thee , she hurried inside. Mia lay under white sheets and she was sweating profusely. One of the nurses on duty held a damp cloth against her forehead.

“Mia!” Danielle called out as she sat on the bed. She patted Mia’s hair as she said “Hey, kid sister. I am finally here.”

Mia managed to open her eyes as soon as she heard the sister’s voice. “Dani, so you are here?” Her voice was a bit low.

“I am here, my dear.” Danielle forced herself to smile in order to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes, “ Hope the fever is gone, right?”

The nurse checked the monitor and replied accordingly “ The fever’ is down and She is doing well.”

Mia managed a small smile as she told her sister how much she missed her “Words cannot quantify how much I missed you.”

Danielle squeezed her hand and said “I missed you more than you could imagine too. .”

Behind them, Reed stood just by the door starring at the two sisters.

“Mr. Langford, Thank you for saving me” Mia managed to say in a low tone

Reed moved closer and just by the bed, he dropped to one knee beside Mia’s bed and said :“You are so brave. “I am glad you’re safe”.

The trio sat together in silence. They were now bounded by a strange contract and now, Mia’s medical condition. After a few minutes, Reed looked at his gold strapped wrist watch and whispered to Danielle: “It is time to go” With a teary eyes, Danielle bade her sister farewell.

Upon their return to the penthouse, Reed parked the car in the foyer.

“You broke the rules, you went to see your sister without permission.”, He said to her.

Danielle’s heart pounded heavily as she said : “I really needed to see her.”

Reed felt some pity for her “I’ll handle Clause 7C. Feel free to call her.”

“Thank you so much, I really appreciate such magnanimity and so not take it for granted” she whispered and felt so much relief.

He nodded and walked away, closing the door behind him.

Danielle sank onto the couch and she held her phone scrolling for his sister’s number. She dialed Mia’s number: “Hi Mia?”

“Dani! “They allowed you to call me?”

“Yeah they did” Danielle closed her eyes, listening to the sound of her sister’s weak voice. “I am always here.”

Their conversation cut across several fields like medicine, school, new books Mia wanted to read and they shared mutual laughter When the call ended, Danielle lay her head on the couch with her eyes closed reminiscing on the call that just ended as she was elated to hear from her sister.

In that moment of sober reflection, she heard some movements from the hallway.

Her eyes snapped open immediately. She dropped her phone down stood up and her heart was pulsating heavily. The penthouse was too quiet, so She crawled to the door way connecting the living room.

Though the light, she saw a dark shape walking past the kitchen and she was terrified.

“Hello, Who is there ? She called out in a terrified voice.

There was no answer and her fears heightened. She held her breath and moved closer to the door.

On the marble floor, she spotted a folded slip of paper. She picked it up and Unfolded. Her hands were shaking throughout this process. The content of the paper in neat black print read thus:

“ Everything here is not as it seems. Meet me at Room 10B in ten minutes alone. Do not come with anyone”

Her heart pounded so loudly and she could feel it. She was curious as to Who had slipped this note under her door? Could it be Reed’s assistant? Could it be that Someone was warning her? Or at worse, probably someone was planning to use her contract against her?

She looked at her phone and there was no record of any missed calls or messages. All she saw was the envelope and the warning note.

Danielle clutched the note. She was happy that Her sister was safe, at least for now, but she also suspected that an insider in this building wanted to see her alone. She knew that something was coming but she did not know what to expect.

She slid the note into her pocket and was wondering loudly what she had gotten herself into.