Chapter Six
Alessia
Cold water splashed on my face, but it did nothing to erase the vivid image that haunted me—the bullet to the guy’s head.
The blood splattered across the walls. Renat’s laughter echoed in my mind.
It was a cruel reminder of the world I was trapped in.
I scrubbed my eyes, wishing to unsee what I’d witnessed. But there was no escaping it.
How could anyone take pleasure in ending lives so casually? I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Renat’s madness had only begun. His eyes had lingered on me with an unsettling intensity, and I knew I was far from safe. Why didn’t he kill me? Why did he kill Marco’s guy instead?
The bathroom door creaked open, and I straightened. A woman entered, giving me a once-over.
“Alessia?” Her voice was tight, as if the name caused her discomfort. She was one of the workers here. And I hoped she was here to offer some kind of clarity. “Follow me.”
Without waiting for my response, she turned to the door. “I was ordered to take you to the staff rooms and prepare you for your duties.”
Confusion clouded my mind. Duties? I had no intention of staying here. My job at the café had been enough. That reminded me, that I missed the job interview I had.
“What duties?” I asked carefully.
“You’re to serve Renat,” she answered.
My stomach churned. The thought of serving him or being so close to him again made my skin crawl. This had been his plan all along. He wanted to make me his servant so he could break me.
Sweat beaded on my forehead as panic rose in my chest.
Is this how I would die? Is this how he plans to kill me?
The woman pushed the door open, motioning for me to follow. “We don’t have time. Let’s make this quick.”
She led me down a hallway, and we stopped in front of a door marked Staff Dormitory.
Inside, a few women moved about, their eyes flicking up as we entered.
A girl I recognized from Renat’s room was sitting on a bed, reading a book.
Her cheeks flushed when our eyes met. It was clear she remembered our uncomfortable encounter.
But the other women didn’t acknowledge me.
It was as if I were invisible to them, an outsider in their world.
“This is your bed,” the woman said, pointing to a spot near the girl who had been in Renat’s room. “Clara will show you the ropes before you head to your department.”
Clara. She looked up from her book, clearly less than thrilled at the idea of helping me.
The woman sent her a sharp look before turning to leave, her voice cutting through the silence. “Clara, get her ready for work. She’ll need a uniform. Dinner’s in an hour.”
With that, she was gone, leaving me alone in the room. Clara didn’t waste time. She went back to her book, ignoring me. The other girls carried on with their tasks, too absorbed in their own lives to care about mine.
Walking over to Clara’s bedside, I took a deep breath. “So, what are we doing here?”
Her eyes narrowed, and she slammed her book shut. “Just go take a shower,” she snapped, but the silence that followed was loaded with unspoken words.
“I’m stuck here, aren’t I?” It was obvious. “What is our job?”
She sighed, tossing her book aside. “Fine. We serve them. Entertain them. Massage them. Whatever they ask. It’s all part of the job.”
A knot twisted in my stomach. “Entertain?”
The word tasted bitter on my tongue.
“Yes,” Clara said, not even looking up. “It’s part of the deal.”
No, I couldn’t be part of this. My mind raced, but I forced myself to stay composed.
“One wrong move, and you’ll hate yourself.”
A chill ran through me. I couldn’t understand how they had become so numb to it all, how they had accepted their fates as if they had no choice.
“But why?” I asked, almost breathless. “Why would anyone do this?”
Clara didn’t answer immediately. She shrugged and turned to me with a look of cold indifference. “The only way to survive here is to stay on the good side of the family. If you’re useful, they’ll keep you around. If not, well, you’ve seen what happens.”
“Family?”
“Yes. Just make sure you never have to face the boss. If you work for Renat, be good to him. If the other two brothers show up and you have to serve them, just be good to them. Otherwise, they will take you to the boss, and you are finished.
I gulped. “There are two more?”
Clara chuckled, my cluelessness earning me a smile. “The boss and his two brothers are children from the first wife. Renat is from a mistress, and the only nice one.”
Renat? Nice? She must be kidding me.
“The other two, Dmitri and Roman, aren’t always here.
In fact, I’ve never seen Roman, only heard of him.
Dmitri comes once in a while.” She got up, straightening her skirt.
“The point is, stay in the shadows. And now Renat wants you to work for him, try to get on his good side, and you’ll be fine here. ”
How were they so comfortable with this?
“Are you sure you all don’t need help?”
Clara shook her head, pulling a white shirt and a black skirt from the wardrobe. “We wear this. We are the same size, so you can wear mine until you get yours.”
I had no choice but to accept the outfit.
“Be quick.” She said curtly, striding to the makeup table. “You’d better play this well, or you’ll end up like Carol.”
My brows pulled together. “Carol?”
“Yes, she was sold to another mafia group,” she said without hesitation. I froze at the mention of the mafia. Did such groups even exist in real life? “Are you listening?” Clara’s voice drew me back. “If you get sold to another mafia family, they’ll treat you worse than filth.”
“What? I don’t understand?”
“I mean, if you are good, why would they sell you? Being sold means you’re garbage.”
“Wait. Another mafia?” I said. “Does that mean this is a mafia—”
“What do you think?”
The reality had my head spinning. I realized I was in something worse than what I thought.
A mafia organization? It made sense why they killed without mercy.
I was still in disbelief as Clara led me to the kitchen. Everything started to look different, and everyone seemed to hold a secret I didn’t know about. All I could see were mafia people. People who could kill me in the blink of an eye.
The only choice I had was to leave this place.
Two days passed so fast—two days of letting the reality sink in. I watched and learned on the job while quietly witnessing and planning everything. I was in a Russian mafia territory.
Night had fallen, and as the new usual, I was to serve Renat. He was mostly unavailable when I served. So I always asked Clara to wait for him since she enjoyed his presence, then I would hide in our dormitory.
Tonight, I was in the kitchen after the other maids had left to serve their respective masters.
One thing I learned was that the mansion wings were divided among the family. But Artur, the boss, had the east wing all to himself.
I perched on the edge of a table in the massive kitchen, the aromas of simmering sauces and freshly baked bread wafting through the air. My stomach grumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten well lately. Twirling pasta on my fork, I took a small bite, but the knot in my throat made swallowing difficult.
Tears pricked my eyes, but I shook them off. There was no time to cry; I had to stay strong. But memories of my quiet dinners back home crept in. I’d give anything to hear Mamma’s soft humming as she cooked or the faint clatter of plates in the sink.
Footsteps snapped me back to reality. My gaze darted up, and my blood ran cold.
Renat’s presence in the kitchen signified one thing. This would not end well.
“You didn’t follow my orders,” he said, his voice low and threatening.
“What orders?” I asked.
“I want you to be mine,” he said bluntly, stepping closer. His audacity made my stomach churn. How could he act like this after trying to kill me days ago? “Serve me, and I’ll make you my concubine. I’ll even let another woman serve you.”
“Sir,” I said, hoping to end this. “I don’t belong here. My parents are doing everything they can to get me out of this mess.”
His laughter was sharp, devoid of any humor. “You still don’t get it, do you? No one leaves this mansion unless they’re dead. This is private territory. You’re nothing here, Alessia.”
“The boss said—”
“The boss?” Renat interrupted with a mocking tone. “You’re just a maid. But if you behave, I’ll make you more than that. You’ll dine with us, share our table.”
“No, thanks.” I stepped away. “The boss said my parents—”
“Enough!” he barked, his grin vanishing. He closed in on me, his eyes dark with menace. “You know what? Strip,” Renat ordered.
My breath hitched. My gaze snapped to the open door, and I prayed for someone to walk in.
“Sorry?”
“Don’t worry,” he sneered. “No one’s coming. Now, strip for me.”
“No,” I said, my voice wavering. “N-no.”
“What was that?”
“Sir. I was told I am just a maid.”
His lips curled into a wicked smile. “You’re mine. I have the right to see your body whenever I please. Now strip, or I’ll rip those clothes off you myself.”
Panic tightened my chest, and I backed into the kitchen island. My eyes scanned the counters. A spatula was within reach, but close to it were the knives.
“For the last time, Alessia—”
“No, I’m not stripping.” I had to get a hold of something, a weapon. Twisting my hand behind me to test my strength, I waited until he was distracted before leaning toward the knife. Yes. I could get it. “I’m not yours.”
He took a step forward. I grabbed a knife from its confinement and hid it behind me. Thankfully, he didn’t notice. If he did, he didn’t act like it.
“You’re making a mistake,” he hissed. “I saved your life, and this is how you repay me? Do you think that man couldn’t have killed you?” He towered over me, his voice cold. “If I say you open your fucking legs, you’ll do it. Do you understand me?”
His hand reached forward, pushing between my thighs, and something snapped inside me.
Rage surged, drowning out the fear. My grip on the knife tightened.
“Strip the fuck for m—”
I didn’t let him finish. With a cry, I swung the knife, the blade sinking into his stomach.
His gasp filled the air, and I stumbled away. Blood seeped into his shirt, staining the fabric.
“F-fucking slut,” he spat, clutching at the wound.
I froze, my mind blank with shock. Almost immediately, my survival instincts kicked in. I bolted, my legs carrying me out of the kitchen.
Christ. I stabbed him. I stabbed Renat.
The thought screamed in my mind as I ran, tears blurring my vision. People shouted as I bumped into them, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t know where I was going, only that I needed to get away.
A door loomed ahead. I pushed it open, locking it behind me before collapsing against it.
I stabbed him.
The sobs came hard and fast, my hands trembling as I buried my face in them. He drove me to this.
Footsteps echoed outside, and I held my breath. A sudden presence made my heart plummet. My eyes snapped up, and there he was, Artur.
Artur stood at the foot of the stairs, his glare pinned on me like a predator sizing up its prey. Where was this? This… this was his wing?
Someone kicked the door open from outside, and I stumbled forward. Matvet walked in, but he didn’t spare me a glance. I tried to shrink into myself, hoping everything would disappear if I didn’t make a sound.
“Boss, we have a situation,” Matvet reported.
Artur’s eyes never left me. “Start talking.”
“I…I didn’t mean to. He,” I sobbed. “He tried to force me to strip. And I—”
“Get her out of my fucking sight,” Artur barked, and Matvet grabbed me. This time, he wasn’t gentle.