RAVEN.
Chapter 38: An Imposter

Chapter 38: An Imposter

Raven, disguised in her secretary attire half ran into the building, down to the elevator.

Her hour break was nearly over, and Larry could get suspicious if she was nowhere to be found.

She wasn’t surprised to see the gang leader in Larry’s office, sweating and hyperventilating.

Larry was leaning at his desk with a worried, thoughtful gaze while the gang leader was sitting before him, chattering.

"It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen!" The man was saying. "That bitch is definitely crazy! She moved like a ghost! Like a flash! She beat everyone up. How they fuck did you get on that bitch’s bad side? She’s like a real-life fucking wonder woman! I don’t want anything to do with her!."

Larry noticed Raven’s presence and glanced towards the door. "Where have you been?"

Raven had already prepared a lie in case she was asked. "My boyfriend just got back from his trip this afternoon, so he suggested I had lunch with him at his favorite restaurant. I’m sorry, I came back late."

Raven could see that Larry was a little rattled. He now realized that he was powerless against her.

"You can go." He said slowly to the gang leader, who stood up and left without another word.

"You, too, get out!" He snapped at Raven, who basked in happiness.

"Yes sir." She replied and disappeared.

She buried herself in the paperwork, playing her role as the secretary.

It didn’t take quite long for office hours to be over.

Larry stepped out and threw his suitcase at her. "Let’s go."

They headed outside after Raven locked up.

The chauffeur was already waiting. "Evening Mr Hopkins."

Larry didn’t respond as he sat behind the car.

Raven smiled at the chauffeur, "Hello."

Minutes later, they were driving down the streets of Chicago, then all of a sudden, the car began to zigzag.

"What the hell?" Larry shouted, jolting to and fro.

"I... I don’t know what’s wrong Sir." The chauffeur stammered gripping the steering wheel tighter. He twisted it left, then right, but it wasn’t responding. Instead, the car jerked violently, veering toward oncoming traffic.

Raven, on the other hand, was shocked about what was happening. She hadn’t tampered with the car.

"Roy, what the fuck is going on?" Larry’s voice barked from the back seat as he braced and put on the safety belt.

"I don’t know! The wheel—it’s not working!" Roy, the chauffeur, cried slamming his foot on the brake, but nothing happened. The car sped forward as if possessed, weaving between lanes like a drunken beast. Horns blared. A taxi driver swerved out of the way, barely missing them.

Roy yanked the emergency brake. No response.

"We have to get out! Jump!" Raven shrieked, genuinely scared as she reached for the door handle, but the locks clicked shut on their own.

Panic tightened everyone’s chest. "No, no, no... this isn’t normal." Roy glanced at the dashboard—flashing red lights, warning symbols, but no explanation.

A semi-truck roared ahead, its headlights glaring like twin suns. The car barreled straight toward it.

"Hold on!" Roy screamed.

Then, just as suddenly as it had lost control, the steering wheel jerked in his hands. The tires screeched. The car spun in a full circle before slamming sideways into a lamppost.

For a moment, silence.

Smoke curled from under the hood. The headlights flickered. Roy’s hands shook as he released the wheel, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.

Larry quickly opened the door and got out as he coughed for breath. Raven and Roy also got out of the car, coughing.

Larry sprawled out on the floor, fuming with livid rage.

"Raven you bitch!!!!" Larry yelled furiously, "Arrrrrggggghhhh!!"

Raven gave him a "Hey I didn’t do this" look.

Then Larry’s phone rang, and he quickly picked it up.

"You fucking bitch!!" He yelled into the phone, "What the fuck do you want from me?! Huh? Why can’t you just leave me the fuck alone!!"

Raven strained her ears to listen to what the person on the other end was saying but she couldn’t hear a thing.

There’s definitely an imposter! Raven thought.

"You think you have the upper hand huh? I’m gonna get you." Larry snarled, "You’ll regret ever messing with me!"

Raven’s mind began to work swiftly. Someone else was doing things she should be doing, posing as her. She had to find this person, and she had to be quick before they threw a spanner in the works.

***

Adam was relaxing on the sofa, watching his soccer and cheering for his team, when Raven stormed in.

"What’s the matter?" He asked urgently, noticing Raven’s mood.

"I have an imposter!’ She answered, taking off the wig, prosthetic and freckles.

"What?"

"You heard right." Raven confirmed, "And I need to find them quick before she spoils my plans or, worse, kills us."

"Are you okay?" Adam asked worriedly, noticing the tiny scratch on her hand.

"I’m fine Adam," Raven answered sharply. "Can you look into it for me?"

"Okay, do you have any leads?" He asked sitting down and opening his laptop.

"Well, for a start. They were predators in college, turns out I wasn’t their only victim."

"Yeah, I know that Lara’s murderer," Adam said.

"Exactly," She confirmed; she told me that after I disappeared, they gave out free scholarships to everyone, so I’m guessing it was another of the victims who did it. Can you please check out each one of the candidates?"

Adam sighed, "It’ll be hard. I mean ... there were thousands of candidates at the time, so I don’t think we can check them all. I mean, it’s not possible, but, you know, it’ll take time, and maybe by the time we’ve finally caught them, they might have done more damage."

"That’s true," Raven agreed. "But what do we do?"

"I think this person knows you and will reveal themselves sooner or later."

***

The next morning

The cab dropped Raven off in front of Hopkins Residence, she rang the doorbell and waited.

Millie opened the door, "Oh you’re here. My boyfriend isn’t in."

"What? Where did he go? It’s still very early in the morning" Raven asked, surprised,

"I don’t know, he left very early today, and he seemed quite moody... after the accident Raven caused. Hmm... maybe he went looking for you."

"Huh? What do mean me?"

"Oh you can quit the act, Raven," Millie said, Raven’s heart flying out of her chest.

, her face contorted with shock.

"Wh... what?"

"Oh! My bad!" Millie said amusedly, "I forgot you’re playing Holly Pringle at the moment not Raven Moon."

You’ve gotta be kidding me!

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