16. Chapter 16
It”s less than a week later that everything changes, and I begin to realize that Gerald really isn”t what he has claimed.
That”s as long as he”s able to keep up the fa?ade before it finally breaks down in an epic explosion.
It all starts when Yara refuses to eat the cereal that he picked out for her.
She”s polite about it, but he takes it as insolence and slams his fist on the table, scaring her.
I immediately send her to her room, furious.
”She”s not your child, Gerald. You can”t discipline her like that,” I try to explain.
”Well, she shouldn”t act like such a spoiled brat in my house,” he growls, his eyes narrowing at the uneaten cereal growing soggier by the minute. ”The way I see it, if someone does you the kindness of giving you a nice meal, you eat it. I asked around and all the local kids are obsessed with it. It”s all over their Snap Tock or whatever it is they”re using these days.”
I try to placate him. ”Look, I”m sure she”ll regret not eating it. But you must understand… everything here is new for her. The packaging, the labels. Things look different, they sound different, they taste different. What seems like a small thing to you is massive for her right now. Surely you can see that. Please give her some grace.”
He sniffs and looks down his nose at me from across the table. ”My house, my rules. And politeness and gratitude are baseline requirements.”
My heart races a little faster. ”But she”s my daughter, Gerald. She barely knows you. Please leave the discipline to me. And she was polite… you just didn”t like that she didn”t want what you were offering.”
He glares at me, his expression so cruel it sends a shiver through me. It”s as if his whole face changed, the kind, attentive man now long gone.
“You belong to me. When will you finally understand that I own both you and your insolent little… Yara?” His words are a chilling declaration of ownership, even as he just about spits out my daughter”s name in apparent disgust. ”I had a feeling she was going to be an issue, but I need her to be here with you.”
The air in the mansion is thick with tension as I take in the reality of our situation.
The grandeur and generosity I once admired now feels like a trap, closing in around me and Yara.
It”s all an illusion, a fa?ade that obscures something much darker.
My veins turn to ice at the mention of her in this way. “Don’t say her name like that. And she most certainly does not belong to you. Neither do I.”
“Yet you’ve accepted my kindnesses so far,” he sneers.
“As if I had a choice.”
My eyes narrow, suddenly clicking that he”s not the man he”s been making out to be. Visions of Luchenko”s cruelty flash into my mind.
“Sometimes we do what we need to survive, Gerald. You, of all people, should know that.”
He circles around me, his polished Oxfords clicking on the shiny marble floor.
“But there has to be part of you that wanted it. Otherwise, you could have refused. Everybody has a choice, Alina.”
His eyes glimmer cruelly.
”You made yours, and now it’s like you’re changing the narrative to make things fit the way you want them to.”
I want to cry that sometimes, when you’re a mother, you have to switch your mind off to your own wants and needs. To put this creature you brought into the world above anything at all, including yourself.
That it was never about me and never will be for the rest of my time on this earth.
But I know that will just further highlight my weak spot. My reason to be.
Yara.
Not that he isn’t cruelly fixated on her anyway.
”What changed, Gerald? You”ve been so kind, so caring.”
He sneers at me. ”Nothing”s changed as far as I”m concerned. I”m just peeling back the curtain so you can see how things are going to be from now on.”
Everything hits me all at once.
The secretive calls.
The dangerous-looking men always lurking in the background.
Never feeling like I can be alone with my thoughts.
The extra attention on Yara.
I feel like an idiot.
He”s displaying the classic narcissistic tendencies that I”ve unfortunately come to know too well. The tropical vacation, our first weeks here—all classic love bombing techniques designed to sweep me, and Yara, off our feet.
Behind it? A cold, calculating man with unknown intentions for both of us.
God, I really do feel stupid.
But I so wanted to believe his promises.
I know that knights in shining armor don’t exist, but he just seemed so… genuine.
Looking back, maybe I just heard what I wanted to hear, what I needed to in order to allow myself hope for a better future. For Yara, and even for myself.
His attempt to distort reality only strengthens my resolve. I meet his cold gaze unflinchingly.
This isn”t my first rodeo with a dangerous and powerful man who lied about his true intentions.
”The only choice I had was to protect my daughter, no matter the cost to myself.”
Gerald scoffs. ”How very noble of you. But we both know you”re not that selfless.”
He brushes a strand of hair from my face and I fight the urge to recoil.
”From the moment I became a mother, my own desires ceased to matter,” I say sharply. ”Everything I”ve done has been for Yara. Every sacrifice, every compromise—it”s all been all for her.”
I think of the countless sleepless nights, the soul-crushing work, the pieces of myself that I”ve given up along the way.
The tears I”ve swallowed when Yara has asked about her father.
The birthdays and holidays spent working while Yara was home alone, or with her grandmother who is becoming less and less capable of taking care of her granddaughter or herself.
Gerald leans in, his breath hot on my cheek. ”That”s quite a martyr complex you”ve built for yourself,” he murmurs. ”But we both know you”re only human.”
I meet his gaze unflinchingly, defiance burning in my eyes.
I would burn this whole mansion down if it meant protecting Yara.
”You know nothing about me,” I say coldly. ”You never will.”
I turn on my heel and leave the study, Gerald”s amused laughter echoing behind me.
”I”ll be sharing more information soon on how you can both live up to my expectations,” he calls out.
I stalk down the hallway, my fists clenched at my sides.
I can feel Gerald”s eyes on my back, but I refuse to turn around.
Not now, not ever.
My mind races.
I don”t know what he has planned for us, but it”s suddenly become clear that every day here is a risk to Yara”s safety just as if we were back home.
Every day is a gamble with our lives.
But, no matter what he has in mind, I refuse to let Gerald win. I will protect my daughter, no matter the cost.
I walk briskly through the mansion”s opulent halls, my heels clicking sharply against the polished marble floors. But the extravagant decor that once dazzled me now feels garish and oppressive.
This is not the fairytale palace Gerald promised—it is the gilded cage I feared. But without even the meager resources I had at home. Friends, my mother, a better understanding of the system and resources. Our own space, away from Gerald.
Even with Luchenko nipping at our heels over there, it seemed more palatable.
They say better the devil you know, and now I”m beginning to think that”s true.
I reach the heavy oak door of Yara”s bedroom and slip inside, immediately comforted by the sight of my daughter sleeping soundly, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.
I perch on the edge of the four-poster bed and gently brush a strand of hair from her face.
A fierce protectiveness wells up inside me.
”I won”t let him hurt you,” I whisper into the quiet room. ”I”ll find a way out of this, I swear it.”
She stirs slightly in her sleep but doesn”t wake.
I watch her for a moment longer, then head back out into the hallway, newly invigorated.
I won”t accept defeat.
My love for my daughter outweighs any fear or doubt.
As I descend the grand staircase, the mansion almost seems to mock me with its extravagance—the crystal chandeliers, the antique vases, the original oil paintings.
I was tricked, and worst of all I fell for it hook, line and sinker because I wanted to believe that something, anything, good could happen to us.
But it”s all a fa?ade. This place is a prison and Gerald holds the keys.
However dire it seems, though, I”m determined to pick the lock and get us out of here. I won”t be intimidated or manipulated any longer.
A fire has been lit within me, fueled by my fierce desire to protect my child. I refuse to let another powerful man try to destroy us.
I will find a way out.
For Yara”s sake, I have to.