Chapter 52 THE PERSON AT THE DOOR
It wasn't long after Rachel had said those words that the door leading to the basement began to creak open slowly, forcing Rachel on her toes as she got into defensive mode, her gun pointed strictly at the door and she was ready to take the shot— fire the bullet from her magazine at who was trying to come in.
The longer it took for the person at the door to force their way in, the more her chest tightened within her chest in anticipation of who they might be.
She had not invited anyone to the basement and she definitely wasn't planning on making one show up at that moment as well.
With slight panic escaping her mouth in an urge to breathe properly in anticipation, Rachel's fingers hurled around the trigger of her gun ready to pull at whoever was at the door to make an entrance as it seemed they were having an issue trying to unlock the wooden door from the outside.
“C'mon…” Rachel spelled under her breath, pulling her gun out of safety mode.
She nervously slattered her tongue out like a snake to wet her lower lip which she assumed was dry but was only a proof of her being extremely anxious.
Both Leah and Rachel were focused on the door knob that danced slowly at each attempt the person behind the door made to force it open.
Leah had nothing to fear for the most part as the person behind the door might just be someone who would have come to her rescue— perhaps it was Luke.
Rachel on the other hand was disturbed— she was extremely anxious to be caught by Rafael or by any of his loyal men because she would definitely have some explanations to give as concerning why she had had Leah roped in as a hostage for whatever reason outside her own jurisdiction.
Rachel balanced the gun in her hands properly as she had noticed how shaky her hands were, almost causing the gun to slip out of her fingers which were wrapped around the beastly weapon, her eyes still laced at the door and finally, it creaked open, allowing the person who had been trying to get it open walk in with her finger pressing against the trigger slowly.
At the sight of the one who had been behind the door all along, Rachel quickly hid her gun behind her dress the moment her mother's face plopped out from behind the door.
“Mother!” Rachel called at her mother— Madam Adele as she walked into the basement with a flask in her hand.
With a nervous smile glued to her lips, Rachel tried to keep herself composed at her mother's presence while she also tried to balance herself whilst hiding the gun she had once pointed at who the intruder might be behind her.
Rachel wouldn't want her mother to find out she had almost fired a bullet into her because she had shown up unannounced.
Madam Adele stood still for a moment, observing the room like she could smell some burning fire— or maybe it was just her instinct trying to pick something up.
“Oh mother!”
Rachel called again, her tone turning sweet and serene to one's ears and this almost made Leah barf, but she had to retain herself from doing that as letting the acidic fluid rush out of her stomach would make her choke due to the green tape that had been plastered against her mouth.
Yes, it was that bad for Leah to try to process Rachel's fake sweet personality around her mother so she could be pictured as a lovely child or perhaps, an angel.
Leah loathed Rachel so much and the sound of her voice or the quirky things she does.
Leah knew she didn't belong, she could project that much already that Rachel was giving her best to fit into the Devereaux family despite being aware of the fact that she didn't have all that it took to be a mafia princess by mantra— or perhaps she was still in denial.
All Rachel had been bent on about being a part of the Devereaux family was to prove herself worthy of Santiano Rafael Devereaux and for him, she had to become a tough woman, one who can lead an army of mafias without breaking a sweat.
A woman who was resilient and could break anything or anyone just to get what she wanted and command words into existence— just like Rafael had done by destroying the man whom Vanessa Hudgens had almost gotten married to.
—
“I saw the gun.” Madam Adele spoke, breaking through the thin ice of awkwardness that had spread around the basement since her arrival.
Her voice had turned cold, crooked, and old that it had no slight hint of what joy could be.
Madam Adele reeked more like a sadist than a woman even to her daughter's face— an evidence of how messy and broken her old soul had become.
“I thought it could be someone else and besides, you never told me you would be coming.” Rachel said in her defense, wiping the tip of her gun on her dress like it had been carrying soil.
Madam Adele let out a sigh as she shook her head. “We do not have much time left until the meeting nor do we have the luxury to be playing around with Leah… and guns.”
“Mother!” Rachel whined like a child, forgetting how old she was within a second, but Madam Adele had cut her brief before she could say another word.
“Enough, Rachel, you are a grown woman and you should act like one. You cannot be with the almighty Santiano Rafael Devereaux if you keep whining like a child.”
Madam Adele paused, eyeing her daughter like she was wearing a piece of crap on her body— or maybe she thought of her as one.
She continued,
“Can you not see for yourself? The type of woman he has chosen for himself? Vanessa, Rachel— a very soft feminine woman who has him wrapped around her fingers without doing anything, so get yourself serious and ready if you really want to be Rafael's woman.”
Madam Adele finished with a stern scolding.