One Man Band System

After finishing his meal and feeling completely full, Eric went back to his room to keep working on his music. He had just put his headphones on when "click," the door suddenly opened. Chloe, who had already changed into a T-shirt and shorts, walked inside and shut the door behind her. Eric slipped his headphones back off.

"Eric, you sent me a text earlier, right?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, I did. Where’s everyone else?" Eric asked.

"Asleep... or just lounging in their rooms. That’s why I came over," Chloe replied.

"Okay... lock the door so we won’t be interrupted," Eric said.

"Huh," Chloe’s face instantly flushed bright red. Her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open, but her hand still reached for the lock and twisted it shut. Then she slowly sat down in the chair next to Eric’s gaming seat, sitting up perfectly straight as if she were bracing herself, her mind clearly on something else entirely besides just talking. Eric turned to look at Chloe and smiled, spinning his chair to face her.

"Relax. We’re not in an office, and you don’t need to be so stiff. It’s much easier to talk about this in a casual setting," Eric said.

"Oh... right. We’re just talking, then?" Chloe asked, looking a little disappointed.

"Huh... what else would we be doing? Helping me write a song?" Eric asked, completely serious and oblivious.

"Nothing... never mind. So... what did you mean in your text about wanting to talk about Melissa?" Chloe asked, dropping the subject with a slight hint of disappointment.

"Hmm... before we get into that, let me explain who Melissa really is. You’ve already heard my story from Emma, right? About how, before I came to this city, I was framed by my future sister-in-law, who claimed she was pregnant with my child?" Eric asked.

"Yeah... that’s right," Chloe answered curiously, unconsciously leaning forward and relaxing.

"That future sister-in-law of mine is Melissa," Eric replied.

Chloe fell completely silent when she heard exactly who Melissa was to Eric. She instinctively covered her mouth in shock, her eyes widening as she stared at him. Then she connected the dots about Eric’s reaction when he first ran into Melissa and his behavior at the bar, but she still asked just to make absolutely sure.

"Are you serious?" Chloe asked.

"Dead serious. Back at the bar, she whispered her actual goal for joining your company to me. She wants revenge on two old men who work at your firm," Eric said.

"Huh... really? She’s working at my place just for revenge?" Chloe asked, stunned.

"Yep. Let me explain, I actually just discussed this with Katie earlier," Eric answered.

Eric immediately laid everything out for Chloe, starting from Melissa’s real name, her connection to the truck driver who killed Chloe’s parents, her age perfectly matching the driver’s daughter who had leukemia 12 years ago, and her name showing up on the company’s supplementary card expense reports. Chloe plunged into deep thought, her hand moving to her chin as her eyebrows furrowed.

"So that’s how it is," Chloe muttered.

"Yeah, Katie actually called me back after talking to Bryan. She said Melissa has been slipping into his office frequently for no apparent reason. According to Katie, Melissa might not actually know exactly who her target is. She only knows that the two people responsible for her dad’s death are executives at your company, so she’s likely investigating Bryan. Right now, Katie has Kyle, the private investigator, digging into it to find the truth," Eric said seriously.

"This is... completely unexpected and massive news," Chloe said thoughtfully.

"As soon as the results are in, and if it’s true she’s the daughter of that truck driver from 12 years ago, we need to stop her before she does anything reckless," Eric said.

"How do we stop her?" Chloe asked.

"Well... maybe by talking to her or getting her to work with us," Eric replied.

Hearing Eric’s words, Chloe raised her head to look at his face as he sat in front of her, her expression filled with deep concern.

"Working with her... are you really okay with that?" Chloe asked, serious and concerned.

Eric considered Chloe’s question seriously, looking inward to check his own feelings. Logically, talking to Melissa or bringing her on board was the smartest move for the sake of the company. But emotionally, it should have been very painful.

Melissa was the one who had hurt him deeply. Out of his entire family, she was the only one who had ever shown him any real care, so when she framed and betrayed him, it cut deep into the absolute depths of his heart.

Yet right now, for some reason, he didn’t feel a shred of resentment toward her. Instead, he felt a strange sense of gratitude. If Melissa hadn’t framed him and gotten him kicked out, his life wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as it was now. Weighing all of this, he looked firmly at the worried Chloe in front of him.

"I’m fine, don’t worry about it. I don’t hold any feelings toward her anymore... honestly, stopping her is my way of thanking her. If she hadn’t set me up, I’d still be stuck in that city, dealing with that toxic family," Eric said casually.

"Seriously? Is that really how you feel? You’re not forcing it?" Chloe asked, checking to make absolutely sure because she was still worried.

"Yep... it’s the truth. I’m not forcing a thing," Eric answered confidently.

"Alright... I get it... you really have moved on," Chloe said with a smile.

Eric considered Chloe’s words seriously. With everything that had just happened with Ruby, the situation in the video with Ruby and Jade, and the fact that he felt absolutely no pain or resentment when encountering Melissa, he realized he truly had moved on and grown up. He smiled at Chloe.

"I think you’re right. I really have moved on," Eric said with a smile.

"Alright, then we just have to wait for updates from Katie," Chloe replied, taking Eric’s hand.

"Yep. As soon as we get word, we’ll go straight to Melissa. Though we have to be careful dealing with her, she’s a two-faced, poisonous snake who shifts sides whenever it suits her," Eric said. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"I think with Bryan, Katie, and Norman around, she won’t be able to pull anything once they have her cornered," Chloe joked.

"Hahaha... you’re right. They’re way more bloodthirsty than Melissa," Eric fired back.

The two of them kept chatting casually, and without realizing it, their faces drifted closer and closer together. When they were so close that their noses were almost touching, Chloe closed her eyes.

Naturally, Eric got caught up in the moment too. But suddenly "bam, bam, bam!" someone pounded on the office door so violently it sounded like the police raiding a terrorist hideout.

Eric and Chloe instantly jumped apart in shock. Realizing they had just been a second away from kissing, both of their faces flushed bright red, while the pounding on the door grew even louder, sounding like it was definitely coming from more than just one person.

Eric placed his headphones, which were still draped around his neck, onto the desk. He stood up, walked to the door, and swung it open. Standing on the other side were Emma, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura. They were completely out of breath, their faces pale with panic as they stared at Eric in sheer anxiety. Seeing them in such a state instantly set Eric on edge, and Chloe rushed up right behind him.

"What’s wrong?" Eric asked, completely bewildered.

"Come here, quick," Emma said, grabbing Eric’s hand and pulling him along.

They immediately led Eric into the living room, sat him down on the couch, and pointed him toward the television. Eric’s eyes went wide as he took in the news broadcast.

A major traffic accident had just occurred in the business district, a sedan had been T-boned right in the center. The photo and name of the victim flashing across the screen read, "Melissa Grant."

"That’s the woman from the bar the other night, right?" Priya asked.

"Yeah... that’s her. Even her clothes in that photo match," Laura answered.

"Exactly... she’s the one who seemed to have some kind of issue with you and Caleb at the bar yesterday," Heidi added.

Eric snapped his head around to look at Chloe, who was standing frozen right beside him, her hand clamped over her mouth as she stared blankly at the TV.

"Ring!"

Eric heard his smartphone ringing loudly, echoing from inside his office. He jumped up and sprinted into the room, walking over to his desk to find an unknown number flashing on the screen. Though he hesitated for a second, he ultimately picked it up.

"Hello?" Eric said.

"Hello... it’s Avery. Sorry, I’m calling from the hospital phone. An ambulance just brought a woman into the ER and..." Avery paused for a moment before continuing, seemingly checking a document since the sound of paper rustling came through the line. "Her emergency contact is you. Do you know a woman named Melissa Grant?" Avery asked.

Eric’s mind went completely blank for a moment when he heard the name Avery mentioned, but his brain quickly rebooted and he asked, "Me? I’m that woman’s emergency contact? Are you sure there’s no mistake?" Eric asked, completely shocked and bewildered.

"No mistake... I was confused at first too, but it’s definitely correct. I even compared it with the number of yours that I have saved on my phone, and the numbers are identical," Avery assured him.

Eric fell completely silent. He had absolutely no idea how Melissa could have possibly gotten his new number since he had already changed it, let alone why she would list his number as her emergency contact.