Captive To The Underworld King

Chapter 3: You Work For Me

—LATER THAT DAY, 12:30 p.m.—

Two maids came in without knocking and looked at Dahlia like something the cat had dragged in.

"Hey, you! The boss wants you downstairs for lunch."

"Don't tell me you think you're special because he brought you here," the second one added, smirking.

Dahlia rubbed her temples. "Are you done?" They blinked. "Good. Never in your f****d up lives look down on me. Yes, Kade dragged me here, but I'm not his slave."

*Was I really not a slave? Whatever.*

"Now lead the way, ladies." She patted the first maid's hair, and the smirks vanished.

The white was everywhere as they walked: the walls, the floors, even the flowers in the hallway, white water lilies in white vases.

*White? That doesn't sound like Kade at all.*

She ate alone, because of course there was no Kade, and made the maids clear her plates for no other reason than to watch their faces.

—1:00 p.m.—

Dahlia was heading back upstairs when she began hearing noises in the living room. She stopped on the last staircase, watching the maids and guards rush around the house searching for God knows what.

They all looked pale as they went from room to room, outside the mansion, the garden and all. Even with the air conditioners running, they were sweating profusely.

Dahlia frowned. What could make them panic this much? They kept mumbling, "...before the boss arrives."

She didn't say a word; she just stood there and watched them.

The sound of a car entering the driveway made all of them stop abruptly. "The boss is back... oh no, the boss is back." They stuttered, colliding into each other as they ran around the house, still searching, their panic rising every passing second.

The front door flung open, and immediately, they all stopped in their tracks, trying to act normal but failing. Kade looked at them for a second before speaking. "Is Quinn dead?"

Dahlia froze. Dead? Why was he asking if she was dead? What did she have to do with any of this?

"I-I'm here." She spoke before she could stop herself.

Kade looked up to meet her gaze, then nodded. "If Quinn is not dead, then what's with the commotion?" He asked, referring to the maids.

Dahlia scoffed from the stairs. *So the only reason he could think of was my death. Tsk...bastard.*

When no one seemed to move, one of the guards summoned the courage to speak. "W-we can't find Miss Styx, boss." He stuttered, making sure he was at a distance from Kade.

"What...did...you...just...say?" Kade dragged out calmly.

"We...she...she suddenly left...we didn't know when she left..." The guard spoke, his words barely sensible.

Kade didn't say a word; he only stared at them without a trace of expression until the silence itself began to tremble. One of the guards even peed on himself from fright. Then Kade turned and began walking towards the stairs.

Dahlia frowned. *Why is he coming towards me? I didn't abduct the so-called Miss Styx, unlike him. I don't even know who she is or what she looks like.*

But Kade didn't even spare her a glance. He just walked past her into the hallway. The moment he left, Dahlia expected the tension in the room to reduce, but if anything, it doubled.

Kade walked into the control room. He turned on all the screens, watching the footage of every corner of the house from the moment he left. Oddly enough, his eyes focused on all screens, not missing even one bit of detail.

He kept watching calmly; he saw her walk out of the house, saw her leave the premises, and suddenly disappear. Whoever had taught her knew exactly where every camera was.

He pulled out his phone, checking the time; unlike other guys, he doesn't wear wristwatches; instead, he wears bracelets.

Three hours; it's been three hours since she left. Styx doesn't stay out that long. He turned off the screens and walked out of the room, heading straight to the living room.

He pulled out his gun right before he got to Dahlia and shot the guard who had reported to him earlier. The guard fell to the floor with a shriek, into his own pool of blood, staining the white floor.

Every other guard trembled; they knew what was coming, they knew someone was next, and they knew not to move, or they all die.

Dahlia's eyes widened in horror. *D-did he just kill someone? Someone who reported an issue to him?* Her hands had started shaking, and she pressed them hard against her stomach, but it didn't help. She turned slowly to look at him; he didn't spare her a glance, just like earlier.

"Arghhhh." She yelled, clasping her hands over her head as she made to run upstairs.

"One more step, and you are next," Kade said coldly, not bothering to turn to look at her. Dahlia stopped in her tracks, chills running down her spine; she now understood the tension the maids and guards felt earlier.

"If Styx doesn't come back to this house in the next five minutes... everyone ends up worse than he did." His voice rang through the mansion calmly.

That was the problem: he was being calm all this while, and somehow, it was more terrifying than if he yelled.

After about four minutes, Kade pulled out his gun, shooting at a maid nearby. Dahlia screamed again as she watched the maid crumble to the floor, then another body followed, then another.

Her knees felt like water. She gripped the stair railing so hard her knuckles went white, because it was the only thing keeping her upright. Her stomach turned, and she swallowed hard, afraid she would be sick right there on the steps. She couldn't look away, and she couldn't look at them either.

*Who is this Styx to him? His sister? No, there has never been any news of Kade Black having a sister.*

*His girlfriend? Fiancée? Definitely yes, that was the only thing that made sense as to why he was willing to kill...* Dahlia trembled as she made up her own theory, while gunshots echoed in the living room.

Within a minute, ten bodies were on the floor; he was about to pull the trigger for the eleventh time when they all heard a voice from nowhere.

"Kade."

The guards and maids sighed in relief as soon as they heard the voice, but Dahlia felt rather...confused.

*Why does her voice sound...somewhat weird?* She turned her head, frantically searching for where the voice came from.

"I'm here." The voice said again, walking out of her hiding spot to where everyone could see her.

*What the f**k? A freaking raven?*

Dahlia rubbed her eyes with the back of her palm, trying to be sure she was seeing correctly, and she was.

*A flipping raven made this guy shoot ten people? A f*****g bird?* She yelled internally as she stared at the bird, who looked almost bored, just like Kade.

Styx hopped onto Kade's shoulder before speaking again. "Ten bodies? Sweet."

Kade's shoulder loosened, just slightly, so little that no one would have noticed.

Dahlia felt a shiver run down her spine.

*Did the bird call ten dead bodies sweet? What sort of maniac is this bird? Why does it even speak? Why do I feel intimidated by the bird just like I do with Kade?*

Nothing made sense.

Kade tucked his gun into his side pocket, pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his hands as they came into contact with dirt; then he dropped the fabric on the floor and turned, heading towards her.

"Clean up the dirt," Kade said dryly before climbing the stairs, then stopped right beside Dahlia, prompting her to hold her breath without really realizing it.

"She's ugly," Styx spoke before Kade even did, glaring hard at Dahlia.

*Okayyy, this bird needs a snack in the head. Who's ugly? Me? I was f*****g prom queen back in high school.*

"A minute." That was all Kade said before walking off in unhurried steps.

*A minute? What's that supposed to mean? Am I supposed to follow him?* But her eyes drifted to the bodies being dragged away, and she felt like throwing up. She turned on her heels and ran up the stairs.

She couldn't tell which way he had gone, but a door at the end of the hallway glowed with the light of many screens. She knocked once, then twice, and heard a low, calm "Come in."

Kade sat on the swivel chair, swirling slowly, precisely. Styx sat on his shoulder, glaring.

"One minute, thirty-two seconds," Kade said, not stopping his swirling.

"H-Huh?"

"Are you dumb?" Styx's crooked voice was full of unhidden malice.

*What's with this demon?*

"I...didn't know where you were. I checked some rooms and..."

"You'll get punished for it." Kade cut her off calmly.

Dahlia sat down quietly on a chair nearby. The smell of blood seemed to have followed her up the stairs, or maybe she only imagined it. Her hands still weren't steady, so she pressed them flat against her thighs.

"You agreed to pay the price," Kade said at last. "This is it."

"I can't kill anyone, I..."

Bluffing, a bluff with the maids. I saw." He tilted his head. "You'll research The Snake for me. Everything you find, I get. Clean reports."

She swallowed. "And if I say no?"

"Then you'll be the eleventh body today." He replied without missing a beat.

The silence stretched until she couldn't tell whether she feared his answer or the quiet more. His face gave her nothing: no anger, no amusement, not even a flicker.

Then he leaned in, close enough that his breath brushed her ear and whispered what sounded more like an order with finality than a negotiation.

"You work for me."