Beneath The Manor's Veil

8: Cracks In The Glass

Present

"Nadia?" I call, her head snaps up, and she glares at me. I swallow and walk closer to the cage.

"I can help you." I whisper, reassuringly, and she stands up but stays alert on my movements.

"How?" She asks, her voice betraying her, but I give her a gentle smile and pull the handle of the cage to open the door, but it won't budge.

My smile fades, and she stares at me with worry. "Do you know where he keeps the key?"

She shakes her head and says. "It's a code. Once, I managed to open it, but he caught me and changed the code."

"Oh." Is all I can say. "Maybe we can break it open?" I ask and walk to the same table I lied on a couple of hours ago when Nickolas hurt me.

"I don't know."

I start questioning her. "How long have you stayed in here?"

She let's out a laugh. "Three months or longer. I forgot, I don't have a calendar with me, and I have been unconscious countless times. "

I nod. "Why are you in here?"

She shakes her head and walks to the one person bed in the corner of the cage. "It has something to do with my father. I started working here because I was getting bored. Waking up, going to school, after school going home, when I'm home I sleep. That was basically my life. I never really made friends because they always say I'm weird, and because I like girl, they pushed me away. I grew older and started doing my own thing by working, for example, babysitting. It was fun in the beginning, but then suddenly, one day, Mr. Rossi took me here and started questioning me." She says, and I'm surprised she actually told me more than I intended to hear, but I nod.

"What happened then? Did you tell him?"

"I did, and he didn't believe me. You know, he told me that day that he used to trust someone, but that someone broke it. I felt for him at that moment."

I stay quiet for a moment, trying to process what she said. "Did he talk about that someone?" She shakes her head, and I ask, "What's your name again.?"

"Nadia." I don't look away from her. "Nadia Morreti." The name is quite familiar. Spotting an axe on the table in the basement, I take it in my hand, the heavy thing weighing me down, but I ignore that and walk back to the cage.

"Are you ready?" I ask, and she nods. I take a deep breath and slam the hack against the glass cage, and as it shattered, razor-edged shards sliced into my skin—but i dont stop, focused only on getting her out.

I throw the axe onto the ground, and Nadia gets out of the cage. A tear leaves her eyes. I look at her, and suddenly, it hits me. Morreti....Angelo Morreti's daughter. I once heard dad talk about Morreti.

I shake my head and grap Nadia's wrist. "We should go now." I say firmly, and she follows me. I push open the gate, and we walk up the stairs. When we are in the bedroom, I look around for something that can protect us. I mean, I could've taken the axe, but maybe that would be too rough, and it's heavy.

In the drawer next to the bed, I find scissors, I take it out, and with a deep breath, I open the door and step into the hallway.

"Come." I gesture for Nadia to follow me, and she does. "Can I see Lily?"

I stop in my tracks and look over my shoulder at her. "What?"

"I haven't seen her in so long, I want to see her." I gulp down the lump in my throat, and with each step through the mansion, I can feel myself getting hotter. My skin burns with anxiety, and my thoughts are pounding inside my head like a second heartbeat.

The scissors feel small in my hand. "Please, let me see her one more time." She begs, and I nod once.

I grip the scissors tighter, my knuckles turning white. Each step up the stairs feels heavier, but we keep walking toward Lily's room.

When we reach her bedroom door, I push it open, gently, and Nadia and I walk through the doorway.

Nadia rushes to Lily's bed and falls on her knees next to the bed, her expression softening. A tear slips down her cheek, and when she stands up.

I give her a weak smile, she returns the same, and I gesture for her to follow me. "We must go. Now, before he finds us." I whisper.

We move quickly and quietly, slipping back into the hallway. I lead her to the west corridor, the side exit.

We reach the stairwell, but before we can continue or escape, we hear voices.

The library.

I walk closer and push Nadia behind my back and peak into the slightly open door to find Mr. Rossi. Not alone, but with a man I saw somewhere.

Nadia peeks inside, and her breath cathes in her throat. "Dad." She whispered, and I closed my eyes. When I open them, I find Mr. Rossi staring at the door, and I curse under my breath. I'm not sure if he can see me or not, but I panic a little.

"Let's go." I whisper to Nadia, and with a nod, she follows my lead. I let out a breath of relief, but the moment I open the side door, the little hope I had left fades instantly when I came face to face with the Devil himself.

"Where are you going?" He asks, his voice calm, but I don't miss the hesitation and emotion in his voice. His face is cold and expressionless, but his voice betrays him.

"Just lest us go." I pause, choosing my words carefully. "Please, do it for me."

He shakes his head, his jaw tightening, and I flinch. "If you get out of this house, I promise you I will make it a living hell for you, Vera" The way he says my name, tells me he's serious, but I won't fall for his s**t.

"You already made it a living hell for me, from the moment you took my only family from me. I won't give you the satisfaction that you can control me like you did five years ago, Nickolas." I can feel Nadia stiffening beside me, but I don't pay her any attention. My focus is on Nickolas.

He lets out a laugh, as if that will distract me from the fact that I can see the guilt in his eyes. "You know why I did it, Vera? Hmm, you don't know s**t. So shut your little mouth." He glares at me, and I swallow down the nerves and lift my chin.

I take Nadia's hand. I walk past him, but his hand wraps around my wrist when I set foot on the concrete outside.

"Nadia, run, don't wait for me. You go, save yourself." I whisper in her ear and let go of her palm, but she refuses to let me go.

"No, he'll hurt you, please, come with me." She begs, and I shake my head. He won't let me go. I know that for sure, so it's better if she goes. "Listen to me. Go. Now."

She sobs but listens and runs away. I stare at her retreating form in the dark.

I glare up at Nickolas. "Now she's gone. Tell me why you did it." I lift my chin. I won't make him see me crumble.

"Because I loved you." He says it with such tenderness that I ask myself if I'm dreaming. A smile stretches my lips, and I let out a laugh. "You? Loving someone. I don't think so. You only love your f*****g self. You don't care about others. What a wonder you even love your daughter. Or maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's also an act, because you just want to play the perfect daddy for little Lily. But guess what, Nickolas, once she's older, she'll see the real you, she'll understand everything better, and she'll walk away from you." I spit out, my blood boiling.

I wish I had the strength to slap that beautiful, handsome face of his.

He let's go of my wrist and gently, but firmly pushes me inside the house.