Chapter four
1007 Words
A sharp rap at the door snapped her out of her thoughts. The lock clicked, and a maid slipped inside, a slight woman with gray-streaked hair and nervous eyes. She carried a silver tray with some rice, steaming eggs, a glass of water, and a single fork.
The maid avoided Alessia’s gaze, setting the tray on the bed with a soft clink.
“Eat,” the maid said, her voice barely above a whisper, tinged with an accent Alessia couldn’t place. “Mr. Volkov’s orders.”
Alessia’s lips curled, her voice sharp. “Does Mr. Volkov also order you to chain his guests to beds?”
The maid flinched, her hands trembling as she smoothed her apron. “I—I just do as I’m told, miss.” She backed toward the door, her eyes darting to the cuffs. “Please, just eat.”
Alessia leaned forward, the cuffs clanking against the iron headboard “Tell your boss I’d rather starve than play his game.”
The door clicked shut as the maid exited. Alessia waited until the footsteps receded down the hall before using her other hand to grab the fork.
She dragged the tray closer, balancing it on the edge of the bed, and gripped the fork awkwardly between her fingers. The lock was small, infuriating, but Alessia had grown up learning how to slip out of trouble. It was muscle memory, survival threaded into her bones.
Minutes stretched into an eternity as she worked the fork into the keyhole, sweat beading across her forehead. One wrong twist, and the fork bent. She cursed under her breath, breathing hard, then tried again.
Click.
The sound was soft, almost mocking, but when the cuff loosened and fell free, relief surged through her. She rubbed her wrist, ignoring the angry red marks, and quietly shoved the tray back toward the wall. No time to eat. No time to think. Only to run.
The mansion was unnervingly silent when she slipped out. She wondered why no one was guarding the room she was in.
Her chest tightened. Too easy. He wanted her to run, didn’t he?
She found a narrow staircase leading downward, past tall windows.The air changed as she wandered, cooler, fresher. And then, a door. Beyond it, a garden.
Slipping outside,the garden stretched vast and untamed, filled with roses climbing wrought-iron trellises, fountains whispering in the distance, and lanterns glowing faintly in the dark. For a fleeting moment, Alessia forgot fear. Beauty softened the edges of her panic.
Until movement caught her eye.
A small figure stood near the far edge of the garden. A girl. No older than four,her dark hair spilling in loose curls over her shoulders, her pale dress fluttering in the night breeze. She watched Alessia with wide, glassy eyes, unmoving, like a fragile doll come to life.
Alessia’s heart lurched.
He had a child here?
No he had taken a child. The thought sliced through her, cold and merciless. The girl’s face was too pale, too solemn for someone who belonged in this gilded prison willingly. "so he wasn’t just a monster who captured enemies,he kidnapped children" she muttered.
Alessia crouched low, careful not to startle her. “Hey,” she whispered softly, her voice trembling. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The girl tilted her head but said nothing. Her lips parted, but no words came.
“Did he take you too?” Alessia pressed, anger knotting in her chest. “You don’t have to be afraid. I’ll get you out of here, I promise.”
The girl only blinked, expression unreadable, her silence stretching like a wall between them.
Alessia tried again, reaching out a hand. “Come on, sweetheart. We have to go before he finds us.”
The child took a step back. Her gaze flicked toward the mansion, as if searching for something or someone. Then she shook her head faintly, curls bouncing against her cheeks.
“You can’t talk?” Alessia guessed, her stomach twisting. Her breath caught when the girl lowered her chin, shame shadowing her features.
Mute. She couldn’t answer even if she wanted to.
Alessia’s throat burned. What kind of cruelty kept a child locked away without voice or freedom? Her fists clenched. Damian was worse than she thought a captor, a tyrant, hiding his crimes behind beautiful gardens and gilded cages.
The girl suddenly reached out, clutching Alessia’s hand. Her grip was surprisingly firm, small fingers digging in as if to say don’t go. Her eyes, wide and shimmering, searched Alessia’s face desperately, almost pleading.
Alessia’s breath stuttered. “You want me to stay?” she whispered.
The girl nodded once, slowly.
Confusion swirled with fury. Alessia wanted to rip them both from this place, but how could she fight him, his guards, his power, while protecting a child? She had no plan, no weapon, nothing but the fork she had abandoned upstairs.
“Listen to me,” she whispered fiercely, crouching to meet the girl’s eyes. “I’ll find a way. I won’t let him keep you here. Do you understand? You’ll be free.”
The girl’s expression softened, but she didn’t let go of Alessia’s hand. She only stared, eyes glinting in the lantern light, as though seeing something Alessia couldn’t.
Behind them, the crunch of footsteps shattered the moment.
Alessia whipped around, her heart slamming into her ribs. The silhouette approaching was tall, broad, unhurried. Damian.
“s**t,” she hissed, pushing the girl behind her instinctively, shielding her.
His voice rolled across the garden, smooth and laced with mockery. “I should’ve known you’d end up here. My garden tends to draw strays.”
Alessia’s nails dug into her palms. “You’re sick,” she spat. “Taking a child, what kind of monster are you?”
He paused a few paces away, golden eyes gleaming in the dark. Then, slowly, he smiled.
“You really have no idea, do you?” slowly moving towards them.
"Stay where you are, don't touch her"
- Writer
