Seducing Mr. Solis

The Almorotti home usually smelled like rich cigars and old drinks. For young Svetlana, this smell meant her father was home and she was safe. But on this Tuesday night, the air smelled like cold metal and smoke from a gun. Ten year old Svetlana hid under her bed. She covered her mouth with her hands to stay quiet, though her heart was beating fast like a scared bird. Bang. A loud shot rang out in the hall. Then, she heard a heavy thud on the floor. "Please! No!" her mother screamed. Svetlana had never heard her mother sound so terrified before. "You did this to yourselves," a deep, cold voice said. It wasn't her father. This voice sounded like ice and death. Svetlana crawled to the edge of the bed. She knew she should stay hidden, but she had to see her mother. She looked through the crack of the door. In the living room, her mother, Isabella, was on her knees. Her silk dress was covered in blood. A tall man in a dark suit stood over her. Svetlana couldn’t see his face, but she saw a gold ring on his finger with a sun on it. It was the mark of the powerful Solis family. "Where is it?" the man asked. "I don't know!" Isabella cried. "Please, think of our daughter!" "Your husband made his choice," the man said. "Now you pay for it." He raised a gun. Svetlana wanted to run out and help, but her legs wouldn't move. Phut. The sound was quiet, but her mother fell to the floor and didn't move again. "Mommy?" Svetlana whispered to herself. Her throat felt tight and hot. She heard footsteps coming toward her room. Svetlana scrambled back into the corner under her bed. She saw a pair of shiny black shoes stop at her door. The man stood there for a long time. Svetlana held her breath, worried he could hear her heart. He was a monster who worked for the Solis family—the criminals her parents worked for. "Search the house," the cold voice told someone else. "Kill everyone." "What about the girl?" another person asked. "I’ll take care of it. Go," the man said. The shoes walked away and the front door slammed. The house became very quiet. Svetlana waited for hours until the moon moved and the shadows changed. Finally, she crawled out. Her knees were hurt and her clothes were dirty. She walked into the living room. "Mommy? Daddy?" She found her father first by the back door. He was leaning against the wall with his eyes open, but he was dead. Then she went to her mother. Isabella looked like she was sleeping, but she was lying in a pool of blood. Svetlana didn't cry yet. Inside, she felt her sadness turn into something cold and hard. She found a piece of paper near her mother's hand with the Solis name on it. "Theron Solis," she whispered. She knew that name. He was the boss of the city and the man her parents worked for. He was the one who ordered this. Svetlana took a small gold cross from her mother’s neck and squeezed it hard. "I will find him," she promised. "I will find the man who did this and destroy everything he has." She looked out the window. The killers were gone. To most people, her parents were just more victims of crime. But for Svetlana, this was the start of a dark plan. She went to the kitchen and ate some bread to get strong. "You think you won, Mr. Solis," she said, her voice sounding sharp and angry. "But you just started your own end." She didn't call the police because she knew they worked for Solis too. Instead, she packed a bag with jewelry and hidden cash. Before she left, she looked in the mirror. Her face was dirty and her eyes looked empty. "Svetlana Almorotti is gone," she said in her reflection. "Now, I am just a shadow." She stepped outside into the cold night. She didn't look back at the house or her parents. She walked toward the city lights, thinking of ways to get revenge. She imagined Theron Solis in his big tower, not knowing that a young girl was coming for him. Her pain was now her shield, and her anger was her weapon. "I'm coming for you, Theron," she whispered. As the sun began to rise, Svetlana disappeared into the busy streets. She was like a ghost now—and ghosts can wait a long time for revenge.