The Mafia king's wrong captive

Chapter 3

I had been locked in the mansion for 14 days. Initially I was counting the hours, then the days then I finally gave up, as nothing ever changed.

There was a maid who served me breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, she never stayed long enough to talk. The only sound I heard most of the days was the soft click of the lock as she left my room.

Today, however, something was different.

The maid set my breakfast on the little table next to the window, but she didn't hurry off like she always did. Rather, she stayed behind for a few seconds.

She said softly, "I'm sorry.

I raised my eyes in surprise, "For what?"

She looked down and ran out without saying another word. I waited for the sound of the lock I knew but it never came.

I looked at the door for a few moments, thinking to myself if it was a mistake or a trap.

Whatever it was, I wasn't going to miss this opportunity.

My heart pounded as I crossed the room and slowly wrapped my fingers around the handle. I turned it and the door opened.

I stepped into a long hallway with marble floors and fine paintings on the walls, and tall windows that allowed the morning sun to flood the room.

All my instincts told me to run and that was what I did. I turned left and started to walk as fast as I could.

One corridor turned into another, another staircase, another corridor. All the rooms of the mansion were identical.

My initial confidence disappeared when I found out I had no clue where I was again, "I've done something really stupid."

I was hopelessly lost.

As panic set in, I saw a half open door and I was hearing voices on the other side, there was a voice that cried out in desperation.

"Boss... please... I swear I didn't betray you."

I stopped walking when another voice answered. It was a cold and calm one, "I gave you an opportunity to tell me the truth."

A cold shiver went down my spine as I recognised the voice, it belonged to Damien.

I knew I should have walked away from the situation. Instead, I took a step closer, and peeked through the narrow opening.

The room was a private office. There were four men with guns around a man kneeling on the floor.

His face was bruised and one side of his white shirt was covered in blood, he was shaking.

And a few feet away, Damien was wearing another impeccably cut charcoal suit. His hands were placed idly behind his back, his face expressionless.

He appeared to be conducting business while someone's life was on the line.

The man pleaded, "I've been serving you for eight years now..

Finally, he spoke, "How much did the Romanos' pay you?"

"They didn't!"

"You sold information."

"I didn't!"

"I have proof."

The man's breathing became irregular.

"Wait!! I can explain, they threatened my family."

Damien stood up and walked to the man, he took slow steps till he was right in front of him.

"If you had said that first," he said quietly, "they would still be alive."

The man's face turned as white as a sheet of paper, "My... my family?"

Damien didn't answer, he didn't have to.

The man fell forward, breaking out a sob, "I'm sorry..."

"I know."

Damien turned his eyes to one of his guards, "End it."

My stomach dropped. The guard raised his gun while the man shouted, "No boss, please! Please! I'll never--"

The sound of gunfire echoed through the room before he could finish his sentence.

I shrieked and backed up. I hit my shoulder on a tall ceramic vase next to the door and it fell to the marble floor.

The echo of the sound was heard in the corridor. All heads in the office looked towards the door.

For one horrifying moment...nobody moved, there was silence until Damien spoke.

"Who's there?"

My body reacted before my mind could, I ran. I looked back when I heard running steps behind me, “They're in the hall!“

"Find them!" Damien yelled.

I ran around one corner after another, praying I would find somewhere to hide, as tears blurred my vision.

Instead, I slammed straight into someone.

"Oh!"

My shoulders were caught by strong hands before I fell to the ground.

"My apologies."

I looked up and a man in a navy blue suit was smiling at me. His smile was different from the others I'd seen in this house. It looked kind.

"You must be Sophia."

I blinked, "Who are you? Does everyone know who I am here?"

He laughed softly, "I'm Adrian Sinclair."

He stretched out his hand.

"I'm the business partner of Damien."

I was reluctant to give it a shake but I did anyways

He shook her

"I heard you've been giving Damien a hard time."

I almost laughed at that, “For the most part, I've been trying not to lose my mind.”

"Fair enough."

He looked at me for a while and then his smile grew, “You know, I don't think I've ever seen anybody argue with Damien and lived to tell the tale.”

Judging by what I just witnessed, I didn’t doubt that, rather than saying anything about that, I just simply said, "I don't argue with him on purpose."

"No?"

"No, it just happens."

He burst into laughter. The sound was so real and comforting that I couldn't help but laugh too.

For a minute, it didn't feel like I was a hostage.

"There you go," Adrian replied with satisfaction, “That's a much better smile.”

Before I could answer, a maid appeared out of nowhere, "There you are, Miss Bennett." She sounded relieved.

"We've searched everywhere for you."

I apologized, "I'm sorry."

She gave Adrian a courteous nod, "Mr. Sinclair."

"Sophia, it was lovely to meet you."

"You too."

He smiled at me once more before he left. The maid indicated that I should follow her.

She suddenly stopped after we had walked a few steps, "Excuse me, Miss Bennett, but one of the house servants requires help."

Before I could answer, she hurried down another corridor. I sighed, "Not again."

This time I didn't want to go too far, so I opened the closest door I could find, hoping it would be the one that would lead me back to my room.

But it wasn't, instead I found myself in a large office. The shelves were dark wood and ran from floor to ceiling, there were books on all the walls.

A massive mahogany desk sat near the windows, covered with neatly arranged documents. The room smelled faintly of leather and cedar.

Then realization hit me, this wasn't just an office, it was Damien's. Immediately, I turned around to leave but the door opened and Damien walked in.

Our eyes met instantly, neither of us spoke but without looking away from me, he reached behind himself and locked the door shut.

Every muscle in my body tensed, "I'm sorry," I said quickly, "I got lost."

He didn't respond. Instead, he walked toward me slowly, deliberately. Every measured step echoed through the silent room.

I remained rooted to the floor.

When he finally stopped, barely a few feet was between us. His gaze searched my face with unsettling intensity.

He didn't look angry or suspicious of me. Rather, he looked curious.

The silence stretched between us until he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, "Why..." His eyes remained fixed on mine, "...does it feel like I've seen your eyes before?”