Chapter 6 -
“I’m Rosa, the head maid of the DeSanto mansion,” the woman introduced herself with a straight face. Nia couldn’t decide whether to introduce herself or not, and just remained quiet. “The boss has asked me to show you where you’ll be staying for the rest of your time here. Please follow me.”
Nia hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the glass doors, then the smaller ones at which the bald man had disappeared into. She was weighing her options which seemed slim at the moment. Running away will only get her killed by those armed men outside, and following baldie would lead to a much worse fate. Her eyes came back to Rosa’s blue ones and decided she was the better option…for now.
With a defeated sigh, she nodded in surrender and followed the woman in her own cautious steps. They both ascended a marble staircase, the smooth white steps glowing faintly under the soft light from above. Nia’s eyes wandered, taking in the vast artwork that lined the walls on their way up, all of it signaling a high status power radar. Rosa stopped at the top of the stairs, turning to see if she was following, then continued after seeing her on her heels. They walked down a long corridor which held multiple doors with the same exquisite design in stead of artwork decorating its walls.
Nia felt it odd, there was usually a painting or some pretty vase or any artifact in every nook and cranny of the side of the mansion that she has seen. Except for this part that appeared destitute. Right ahead, Rosa stopped again, this time at the last door in the hallway, waiting for her. “This will be your room,” the woman announced, opening the door then stepping aside for Nia to enter. But she didn’t just yet, if this was a prison, she wanted to know.
“Do you know how long I’ll stay here for?” Nia inquired, finally breaking the silence. Rosa paused at the doorway by her question, or probably wondering why she wasn’t following inside the room. The question she had asked wasn’t a hard one, a date would do, instead she got a reply the opposite of what she wanted.
“I don’t know the answer to that question,” the woman said with sincerity in her ocean green eyes. Nia turned away from her, staring in the distance of the hallway and what appeared to be her new reality when Rosa’s voice spoke once more. “What I do know, your stay here can be brief if you fulfill the purpose you were brought here for.”
This was the issue, she didn’t know why she was here, only that the mysterious man was searching for Alex, and to ask Rosa, she doubted the woman knew anything about it too. Nia set her sight on the woman again to ask another question, one which escaped her without thinking much about it. “And if I don’t fulfill my purpose here?”
Rosa stilled, an unreadable expression edged on her features. When she spoke, her tone carried a sharp edge to it. “I wouldn’t recommend testing the boss’s patience. He’s not known for his mercy.”
The warning in her voice wasn’t lost on Nia, if anything, she knew firsthand that the woman was correct having experienced the gun in her face. Although he decided to spare her at that moment, she wasn’t sure that luck would last long.
Nia decided to step cautiously into the bedroom, her eyes widening at the luxury before her. The room was massive—in totality her apartment kind of massive. There was a king sized bed covered in expensive looking sheets, and a smaller chandelier just as dazzling as the one in the foyer, hung from the high ceiling.
She turned back to Rosa, “This is where you’re keeping me? Doesn’t it seem too extravagant for a prisoner?” Rosa’s expression changed to that of a small smirk, almost not there. ”Mr DeSanto has asked me to tell you to get ready for dinner in the meantime.”
DeSanto, so that is the gray–eyed man's name, and he also owned the mansion too. Nia made a mental note of that information. Because if she wanted to leave this place unscathed, she needed to not only cooperate but know the ropes of the place too. A thought came to her, a name that had been mentioned without her putting too much effort into it.
“Who is the Enforcer?” She voiced, ticking something off in Rosa because she frowned, the name for some reason deeply affecting her.
“For your sake, I hope you don’t meet him.” The woman simply said, her cryptic words fanned the flames of her fear she had somehow put aside.
“What if someone were to meet him?” she asked, her voice both laced with curiosity and dread because the bald man had implied she was going to meet the Enforcer. Instead of Rosa to elaborate on the subject matter, she straightened her posture, making her sharp gaze even sharper.
“Do not make a mistake of trying to leave this room unless escorted for dinner,” she said curtly, avoiding Nia’s question altogether. And with that being said, she turned on her heel to leave.
“I shouldn’t tell you this, but it’s for your safety.” Rosa said, stopping short at the doorway, with her back to Nia. “There are cameras everywhere, and the guards on these grounds are not as forgiving as I am. Obey orders, behave properly, and this place will become a memory.”
As Nia stood in silence, listening to the woman who had somewhat softened towards her, those words of advice or warning. The way Rosa said those words, as if she had witnessed people come here, misbehave, and not leave this mansion.
Nia didn’t know what this place was, or why she was there, all that mattered was her departure. The closing of a door with a soft click alerted Nia of Rosa’s absence, leaving her with a troubled mind and jumbled thoughts.
It was dark outside the large windows that overlooked the expansive grounds. And even on the first floor, she was so far up that the ground looked too small. It was evident that there was no escaping through the windows because it was imminent death. Nor through the front door because baldie might not hesitate to put a bullet in her like his boss did. So she ruled out the option of escaping.
Due to sheer curiosity and nothing else, Nia walked to the two doors in the room, opening one which led to an en-suite bathroom gleaming with marble and black fixtures. Then to the second door which held an empty walk-in closet behind it. Great! She was going to be in sweatpants and a tank top for forever. Nia sighed for the umpteenth time in the day and shut the closet door, leaning against the frame for a moment.
She was trying to process everything. What should have been a simple one year anniversary celebration night turned to a series of horrifying events. And it pained her to accept that there might not be a search for her, since she had no family left, except for Isadora she considered as a sister from another.
“Damn you Alex!” she muttered to herself.
Her mind put the pieces of information she had gotten from different people into a complete puzzle, and it was clear that her connection with Alex was the reason why she was locked up in a gilded cage. From cryptic warnings to threats that loomed over her life, Nia knew she had to formulate a plan of her own, but not now, because her stomach growled. A reminder that she hadn’t tasted any of Isa’s chicken noodle soup, only chocolate ice cream all day.
The fact that he wanted her to join him for dinner brought little comfort, at least she was going to have some food, if not freedom for the time being, or a change of clothes. Straightening herself from the closet door, Nia walked to the king sized bed in the middle of the luxurious room and sat at the edge of the furniture, waiting for the escort. Apart from the food, the idea of dining with Mr DeSanto—the enigma who had spared her but could take it back any moment, scared her. Even though she didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of instilling that kind of fear in her, Nia agreed with Rosa. She would obey orders, behave properly, play their game, and do things her way.