Evangeline

Chapter 6. Darling

Mia pressed her back against the cool drywall of the corridor, her chest heaving as she tried to force the terror from her lungs. Her interaction with Master Malachi had left her drifting, the sharp, envious venom of his words clinging to her like a second skin. She had only been in this monolithic mansion for two days, yet it already felt like a lifetime of endless nightmares. But the digital clock on her wrist was ticking. She was on a strict schedule, and Master August had already made it terrifyingly clear what happened to people who failed to meet expectations.

​Wiping a stray tear from her cheek, Mia picked up her heavy plastic caddy and forced her trembling legs to move down the labyrinthine hallway.

​Next on the layout was Master Richie's quarters. To Mia's immense relief, the room was completely empty. True to the Consigliere's hard-edged, calculated nature, the space was clinical and sterile. She vacuumed the dark gray carpets, polished the massive glass desk until her pale, haunted reflection stared back at her without a smudge, and ensured the stacks of folders and papers remained undisturbed. It was a cold room, completely devoid of human warmth, but its emptiness felt like a temporary sanctuary. She finished quickly, working with a humble efficiency, before packing her supplies and moving to the next door.

​Master Dominic's quarters.

​The heavy door was carved from a dark, rich wood that seemed to absorb the pale morning light. Mia stood before it, her stomach twisting into painful knots. She remembered Sheila's grim warning from yesterday: He possesses a perfect face, blonde hair, and blue eyes, and he knows exactly how to use them. She remembered Master Malachi's frantic, jealous command just moments ago: You have to refuse him. You have to push him away.

​Mia closed her eyes, offering a silent, desperate prayer for strength, and knocked softly on the wood.

​"Enter," a rich, velvety purr carried through the door.

​Mia's heart leaped into her throat. She pushed the door open, keeping her head lowered immediately, her bright blue eyes fixed strictly on the polished threshold as she rolled her caddy into the room.

​The air inside was suffocatingly thick, heavy with the cloying, sweet scent of expensive cologne and rich tobacco. The massive platform bed was swathed in deep red silk sheets, and the walls were lined with smoked-mirror panels that caught every angle of the room.

​"M-Master Dominic," Mia murmured, her voice soft, sweet, and trembling with a compliance born of absolute fear. "I am here to perform the daily cleaning. Would you... would you rather I come back at a later time?"

​"Oh, absolutely not," Dominic chuckled smoothly.

​Mia kept her gaze firmly on the floor, but she could see his pristine, expensive leather shoes shifting across the plush rug. Master Dominic Crowe stood up from a lounge chair in the corner. His flawless features were twisted into a lazy, predatory smile, his striking blonde hair perfectly framing his face, and his intense blue eyes locking onto her petite form like a hawk targeting a dove.

​"I've been waiting for you all morning, angel," Dominic said, his voice dropping to a low, seductive cadence as he strolled toward her. "The house has been incredibly dull without your pretty face walking the halls. Please, do your work. Don't let me stop you."

​"Yes, Master Dominic," Mia whispered.

​She immediately moved to the far side of the room, desperate to put as much distance between them as possible. She pulled a glass cleaner and a fresh cloth from her caddy, focusing all of her attention on wiping down the glass shelves of a display case. Her hands shook, the plastic bottle rattling slightly against the glass.

​Dominic didn't stay put. He glided across the room with a terrifying, fluid grace, stopping just a foot behind her. Mia could feel the intense, intoxicating warmth radiating from his body.

​"You look tense, darling," Dominic murmured, leaning in so close that his breath brushed against the dark strands of her hair. "Your shoulders are completely locked up. Cleaning up after my brothers is a heavy burden for such a delicate, beautiful thing, isn't it? And it's only your second day."

​"I am happy to do my duty, Master Dominic," Mia said softly, her innate humility guiding her words as she tried to remain completely respectful, hoping a compliant attitude would keep him at bay. She shifted slightly to the left, trying to subtly step away from him.

​"Happy? No, I don't think so," Dominic countered smoothly, stepping with her, completely cornering her against the display case. He reached out, his long, elegant fingers gently catching a stray lock of her black hair, twisting it around his finger. "A girl who looks like a porcelain doll shouldn't be scrubbing floors. You belong in silk, Mia. You belong in a bed like mine, being taken care of. I can make your life in this mansion very, very comfortable. All you have to do is be good to me."

​Mia flinched away from his touch, her breath turning shallow and ragged. She remembered Malachi's warning, but looking at the absolute, untouchable confidence in Dominic's blue eyes, she felt completely powerless. "Master Dominic, please... I am just a maid. Master August said-"

​"August isn't in the room right now, darling," Dominic interrupted, his voice dropping to a harsh, demanding whisper that completely stripped away his charming facade, revealing the ruthless predator beneath. He let go of her hair, his gaze sliding down her stiff gray uniform, his eyes darkening with a ravenous, unstoppable lust. "And I am tired of waiting. I've given you forty-eight hours to adjust."

​Mia squeezed her eyes shut, a wave of profound panic washing over her. She pressed her back hard against the glass shelves, her small hands clutching the cleaning cloth tightly against her chest. "Master Dominic, please, I have to finish cleaning your room. I am behind schedule."

​"The room can wait," Dominic said. He took a final step forward, completely trapping her. The mask of the charming seducer was gone, replaced by the absolute, unyielding authority of a Crowe brother. "Drop the cloth, Mia."

​Mia's hands trembled violently, but the deeply ingrained rule of the house echoed fiercely in her mind: You must ALWAYS obey the brothers. With a soft, terrified whimper, she let her fingers untighten, and the microfiber cloth fluttered harmlessly to the floor.

​Dominic's perfect, handsome face pulled into a smirk of absolute triumph. He looked down at her, his blue eyes cold and commanding.

​"On your knees," he ordered.

​The words struck Mia like a physical blow. Her entire body went completely numb, her mind fracturing into a state of sheer, blind panic. Every instinct of her pure, kind soul screamed at her to refuse, to fight, to run out the door. But she knew the consequences. She knew that a single word from Dominic to August or Kane could mean her death. She had only been here two days, yet she was already entirely broken, stripped of her dignity, waiting for the inevitable nightmare to unfold.

​Tears of absolute humiliation and terror welled in her bright blue eyes, spilling over her long lashes and tracking down her pale, porcelain cheeks. Her lower lip trembled violently. Slowly, agonizingly, her knees bent. She lowered herself onto the plush red rug, her gray skirt bunching around her thighs. She sat on her knees, her head bowed, her small hands resting flat on her thighs, her entire frame shaking with violent, silent sobs.

​Dominic looked down at her kneeling form, let out a low, breathy laugh of pure satisfaction, and reached down to undo the heavy silver buckle of his belt. "Good girl, Mia. See? I told you that if you play nice, we-"

​CLICK.

​The sharp, mechanical sound of the electronic lock resetting cut through the heavy air of the room like a physical blade.

​The heavy mahogany door swung open, and the bright, stark light of the hallway flooded into the dimly lit, red-hued bedroom.

​Mia's head snapped up, her blue eyes wide with terror and a desperate, sudden spark of hope.

​Master August Crowe stood in the doorway.

​He was immaculate, wearing a tailored midnight-black suit that emphasized his lean, powerful build. His striking black hair was perfectly styled, and his piercing blue eyes swept over the scene with a cold, terrifyingly clinical detachment. He didn't look shocked; he didn't look angry. He looked completely unbothered, as if he had simply walked into a room where someone had spilled a glass of water.

​August's gaze locked onto Mia, who was trembling on her knees on the floor, and then slowly traveled up to Dominic, whose hands were still resting on his half-undone belt.

​August's face hardened, his brow shifting into a subtle, pointed look of immense irritation.

​"Dominic," August said, his voice a smooth, freezing sound of absolute authority.

​Dominic froze, his hands dropping from his belt. A flash of intense anger and frustration crossed his handsome features, his blonde hair shifting as he turned sharply to face his older brother. "August. What the hell are you doing? Walk into a room much?"

​August didn't step into the room. He remained standing in the threshold, his posture perfectly rigid, radiating the immense, untouchable power that kept the entire family in his iron grip. He adjusted his silver cuffs with an agonizingly slow, deliberate movement.

​"I am managing my household," August replied smoothly, his icy blue eyes drilling into Dominic. "Stop what you are doing and let Mia do her job."

​Dominic let out a sharp, mocking laugh, his face flushing with a volatile mix of embarrassment and defiance. "Come on, August! She's just a maid. What do you care? You told me I couldn't touch her on the first night, but she's been here two days now. Look at her- she was perfectly willing."

​Mia let out a soft, muffled whimper from the floor, her head dropping back down as fresh tears spilled onto the rug. She wanted to scream that she wasn't willing, that she was terrified, but she kept her mouth shut, her humble compliance holding her frozen.

​"I don't care about your pathetic impulses, Dominic," August said, his voice dropping an octave, carrying a lethal, quiet weight that made the air in the room feel incredibly thin. "What I care about is efficiency. Richie and I have a meeting in twenty minutes, and the residential wing is supposed to be fully cleared and secured before the associates arrive. Because of your little distraction, she is now heavily behind schedule on her first solo day."

​"It would have taken five minutes, August!" Dominic argued back, his voice rising, his perfect features contorting as he tried to push back against the absolute power his brother held. "You control every single aspect of this damn family, can't I have one thing to myself without you hovering over my shoulder?"

​August took a single, slow step into the room. The shift in the atmosphere was instantaneous. The sheer, overwhelming gravity of his presence seemed to suffocate the entire space. Dominic's voice caught in his throat, his posture stiffening as he realized he had pushed the boundary too far.

​"I hold the schedule, Dominic. I hold the keys, and I hold your life in my hands," August said, his tone entirely devoid of emotion, which made it infinitely more terrifying. "If I say she cleans, she cleans. If I say she stays behind schedule because of you, then you are a liability to my timeline. Do I need to have Kane come up here and remind you who commands this house?"

​The mention of Kane- the ruthless, volatile, angry brute of the family, made Dominic's jaw tighten. He stared at August for a long, agonizing moment, his blue eyes burning with a silent, frustrated rage. But he knew he couldn't win. August held all the power, all the money, and absolute psychological control over every single one of them.

​Slowly, Dominic let out a heavy, defeated breath. He pulled his belt back together, fastening the buckle with a sharp, angry snap. He smoothed down his suit jacket, glaring at August with a bitter, suppressed resentment.

​"Fine," Dominic spat, his voice tight. "Take your maid. But she has to finish this room eventually."

​August didn't acknowledge Dominic's anger. He simply turned his cold blue eyes down toward Mia, who was still trembling on the floor.

​"Get up, Mia," August commanded softly. "Pick up your cloth, finish this room, and move to Master Kane's quarters. You have exactly fifteen minutes to catch up to your schedule."

​"Y-Yes, Master August," Mia whispered, her voice cracking with emotion.

​She scrambled to her feet, her hands shaking so violently she could barely grasp the microfiber cloth from the floor. She didn't look at Dominic, and she didn't look at August. She immediately moved to the opposite side of the room, her heart hammering a frantic, chaotic rhythm against her ribs as she began wiping down a mirror, her tears smudging the glass before she quickly cleaned it away.

​August gave Dominic one last, warning glance before turning on his heel and strolling out of the room, leaving the door wide open.

​Dominic let out a quiet curse, grabbing his phone from the nightstand, and stormed out of the room past his brother, slamming his shoulder lightly against the doorframe in frustration.

​Mia was left entirely alone in the massive, silk-lined room. She stood before the mirror, her small frame shaking as she drew in a deep, shuddering breath. She had been saved, but the sheer, terrifying reality of her existence had never been clearer. She was a pawn in a game played by monsters, and as she looked toward the door, knowing Master Kane's brutal, ruthless room was next, the panic in her chest grew until she could barely breathe.