Chapter 2
As soon as Lorenzo leaves me with the housekeeper, she looks at me and gives me a warm smile. She touches my arm and says:
“Come on, dear, I’ll take you to your room.”
I follow her without saying anything. We climb a staircase and she points to a door beneath it.
“If you prefer, there’s a small elevator over there. I’m taking the stairs because I don’t like small, enclosed spaces.”
“That’s fine, let’s take the stairs.”
We reach the hallway and pass several doors. At the end are two that look almost identical—double doors made of solid wood with ornate carvings—except one is black and the other brown. The housekeeper points to the black door.
“That door is Lorenzo’s room, and this one is yours. Look, I don’t know what you’ve been told, but no one here goes through that door without being invited.”
“That’s fine, I have no intention of going in there.”
She smiles, as if she doesn’t quite believe me. I ignore it. She opens the door and I step inside. She touches my arm again.
“I’m going back downstairs. Make yourself at home. If you need anything, just press that button above the bed and I’ll come.”
“Thank you so much. Yná, that’s your name, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Aurora, but you can call me Lola.”
“Alright, Lola, we’re going to be good friends.”
“Yes, we will.”
Yná leaves, and I look around the room. It’s huge—I think my entire house could fit in here. I think of Sofia. I hope my father doesn’t do to her what he did to me. I hate my mother.
Why did she leave us behind?
She should have taken us with her. We’re her daughters, and she knew Dad well—she knew he was sick, addicted to gambling. I set my small bag on the bed and start exploring the room.
The ceiling is incredibly high, with a huge chandelier—crystal, I think—beautiful like the ones I’ve only ever seen in movies.
It lights up the entire room. Almost in the center of the space sits a huge king-size bed, the sheets made of some incredibly soft, luxurious fabric.
Could this be the silk everyone talks about?
The headboard is upholstered in wine-colored velvet, studded with large golden button-like ornaments, and the bed is piled high with pillows.
The enormous windows have even larger curtains, also in that same wine color, and a huge rug covers the dark wood floor. Nightstands flank the bed, one on each side, with golden details that match the buttons on the headboard. There’s a statue on each one.
I look to the side, and in front of the bed there’s an enormous television that takes up half the wall. I cover my mouth in shock—there’s no way every room has one of these. It’s infuriating being in a place like this. How can some people live with so much while others have nothing?
On the same wall as the television, there’s a door.
I open it and find a walk-in closet. I’d never seen one in person before, only in magazines and movies—I half-believed they didn’t really exist. But look at this.
There are drawers labeled with the types of clothes that belong in them, hangers for suits and dresses, glass shelves marked for jewelry—each type of jewelry—and a section for shoes.
I laugh to myself, because if I put my little bag of clothes in here, it would look like a speck of dust. There’s also a huge full-length mirror, and a bench for doing makeup, I assume, since the drawer beneath it is labeled “makeup.”
I step out and try another door—the bathroom. It has an enormous bathtub, double showers, wide sinks, and huge mirrors.
So many mirrors in this place. I walk over to the window, which turns out to be a glass door leading to a spacious balcony. From here I can see the entire garden, and now I actually take it all in—something I didn’t do when I arrived because I was too nervous.
Far in the distance, there’s an iron gate—I noticed it when I arrived, along with the many cameras, including ones all around the house.
A tree-lined path leads to another gate, which marks the entrance to the gardens.
From that gate inward, the gardens are beautifully maintained, with flowers and foliage.
When I got out of the car, I took in the mansion—enormous columns, tall windows. The walls look as though fine stones were laid one by one.
The living room is impeccable. The furniture is all luxurious, with beautiful chandeliers and wall sconces everywhere, even lining the staircase.
There are paintings, drawings, and images I can’t even identify, plus countless decorative pieces.
I’d call them knickknacks, but in a mansion like this, they must be works of art.
I noticed the mansion has multiple wings and hallways. I haven’t explored at all, but from here I can see nothing but windows—or are they doors? Who knows. If I’m allowed to wander freely, it’ll take days to see everything.
From where I stand, I can see almost the entire property—that must be why Lorenzo’s room is next door.
On the opposite side, I spot the pool area, though it seems to be enclosed, surrounded by glass.
I can’t quite make sense of it, but there must be cameras there too.
I go back inside and sit on the bed. I take a deep breath, and the only thought running through my head is: What’s going to become of me?
Suddenly I hear a noise and a voice calling my name.
“Lola, Lola, it’s Yná. Look at the device near the door and press the green button to talk to me.”
No way this place has an intercom. I walk over to the device and press the button she mentioned.
“Hey, Yná, I hear you.”
“Girl, come down here and eat something.”
“I'm not hungry, Yná.”
“None of that, come on, you need to eat.”
“Okay.”
I leave and head down to the bottom of the stairs, stopping without knowing which way to go. I look around and see two doors. I pick one at random, and at the end of the hallway there’s another door. I knock twice and open it, finding myself face to face with Lorenzo. Damn, it’s his office.
His brown eyes lift from the paper and meet mine.
A shiver runs through my body and I can barely breathe.
His shirt is rolled up to his forearms, the top few buttons undone.
I watch his large hands grip the papers, catching a glimpse of his tan skin through the open collar.
My mouth goes dry and my voice barely comes out.
“Sor...sorry, I’m lost.”
He smiles, and wow, he has a beautiful smile.
“It’s okay, where do you want to go?”
“The kitchen.”
“It’s through the other door in the living room. When you go through, you’ll see three doors. The white one takes you to the kitchen.”
“Okay.”
I turn to leave and he calls out to me.
“Lola, tomorrow morning I’m going to take you shopping for clothes, okay?”
“You don’t have to, I have clothes.”
He smiles again, running his hands through his hair.
“Look, your dresses are beautiful—I love them—but now you’re one of us, and you’re going to look even more stunning in new clothes.”
“I don’t feel right living like this. Your house is beautiful, but while I’m here, my sister is out there in danger.”
He presses his lips together and lowers his eyes. When he looks up again, his gaze travels over me from head to toe as he runs his tongue across his lips, like he’s holding something back—something he wants to say but can’t.
“Go see if you can find the kitchen,” is all he says.
I leave and go look for the white door in the other hallway.