Rebound: The CEO'S Revenge System

Chapter 3A: The Evil Plan

The room was cold. It smelled like old medicine and bitter lemon. Ryan lay on the big bed in the center of the room. He did not move. He could not move. His body was like a heavy stone, sinking deep into the mattress. His eyes were closed, but his mind was wide open. He was awake inside the darkness.

Beep... beep... beep...

The heart monitor was the only sound in the room. It was a slow, steady rhythm. It was the music of his life. It told the world that Ryan was still alive, even if he looked like he was already gone.

Ryan felt a small itch on his nose. He wanted to scratch it. He tried to send a signal from his brain to his hand. Move, he told his fingers. Just move one inch. But his hand stayed still. It lay limp on the white bedsheet. He was a prisoner in his own skin.

Suddenly, the heavy wooden door creaked open. A slice of yellow light cut across the dark floor.

Footsteps entered the room. There were two sets of footsteps. One was heavy and loud—thump, thump, thump. 

The other was light and quick—click, click, click. Ryan knew those sounds. He knew them better than anything else.

The heavy steps belonged to Mark. The light steps belonged to Clara.

Ryan felt a wave of sadness wash over him. Clara was his wife. She was the woman he promised to love forever. But now, she walked into his sickroom with another man.

"Is he asleep?" Mark’s voice was rough. It sounded like gravel crunching under a tire.

"He is always asleep, Mark," Clara replied. Her voice was soft, but it shook a little. She sounded nervous. “The doctor said he is in a deep coma. He cannot hear us. He cannot feel anything."

"Good," Mark grunted.

Ryan heard the sound of a chair being dragged across the floor. He felt the air change as they moved closer to his bed. He kept his breathing slow. He focused on the machine. Beep... beep... He had to pretend. If they knew he was awake, he did not know what they would do.

"Let’s get to work," Mark said. "We don't have much time."

Ryan heard them walk away from the bed. They moved toward the far wall. That was where the large painting hung. It was a beautiful picture of a mountain that Ryan bought three years ago. He loved that painting. It made him feel peaceful.

But today, the painting was not for peace.

"Help me with this," Mark ordered.

There was a scratching sound against the wall. Then, a heavy grunt. They were taking the painting down. Ryan listened carefully. He heard the heavy frame hit the floor with a soft thud.

"There it is," Mark whispered. There was greed in his voice. "The safe."

Ryan’s heart beat a little faster. Beep-beep. He tried to calm down. They had found it. Behind the mountain painting, Ryan had hidden a small metal safe. Inside that safe was a notebook. And inside that notebook were the codes to his offshore bank accounts. Millions of dollars.

"Do you have the numbers?" Mark asked.

"I think so," Clara said. "I tried to remember the dates he used for everything."

"Try his wedding anniversary," Mark said impatiently.

Ryan heard the beep-beep-beep of buttons being pressed on the metal safe. Then, a harsh buzzing sound.

Eeeernt. Wrong code.

"It didn't open," Clara said. She sounded scared.

"Try his mother’s birthday," Mark snapped. "Ryan loved that old woman."

Again, the sound of buttons. Beep-beep-beep-beep.

Eeeernt.

"Damn it!" Mark kicked the wall. The sound echoed in the quiet room. "Think, Clara! Think! You lived with him for five years. What is the code? What number would he use?"

"I don't know!" Clara cried out. "He never told me! Ryan was always secretive about money. He said it was to protect us."

"To protect him," Mark corrected her. "He didn't trust you. And he was right not to trust you."

Mark laughed. It was a cruel, cold laugh. Ryan felt a burning fire in his chest. Mark was right. 

Ryan had sensed something was wrong for a long time. That was why he changed the code. The new code was not a birthday. It was not an anniversary. It was the date he first met Clara. It was a sad memory now, but it was the code.

"Move out of the way," Mark said. "Let me try."