12
I woke up feeling the entire bones in my body at some physical war. I felt overwhelmed and my eyes burned from all the crying. I picked myself up from the floor and found the same woman from yesterday standing near the bed, a tray in her hands as she watched me.
I’d probably have screamed my head off if I had woken up to find him watching me instead.
I rose up and walked towards the bed.
“You’re up,” she said as she set the tray next to me on the bed. There’s a bowl of water on it, a white towel draping down from the tip, and a cone of plaster with a bag of cotton wool. That was when I realized that I’d bruised my body from fighting Logan last night. Surprisingly, I remembered his name now. I guess the slap he gave me last night did me a number. The thought of myself actually trying to joke about that in this situation causes me to smile.
” Something amuses you, Layla? ” She asks as she tilts my face up to dap the bruises with a wool.
” No, ” I replied, wincing at the touch of the cold, damp cotton wool against my open skin. She must’ve put some gentian violet in that because it stung really bad, I wanted to hold my face. ” Who are you? ” I asked her.
She smiles a little, removing a plaster and plastering it over my face before replying ” my name is Antoniette. I work for Mr Logan DeAngelo ”
Logan DeAngelo. The name sounded so familiar, it was like I’d heard it a thousand times in the past. I tried not to think about that now.
Antoniette advances to clean my bruised upper arm, treated it with some liquid she fetched from a small bottle before wiping my red wrists with the towel. Staring at my red wrists, memories of Logan gripping them tightly flashes before my eyes again and I looked away uncomfortably. Because somehow, the thought of him holding me like that was starting to feel rather attractive to me.
” Why don’t you help me get out? ” I asked her, remembering Logan’s threatening words telling me that I should never attempt to escape from here.
” You know he keeps me here against my will right?”
She shakes her head and replied ” no one steals from Logan and gets away with it. You were lucky he didn’t kill you and your family ”
I wasn’t sure I cared much about ‘the’ family anymore. I lived my whole life looking up to my parents and doing everything for them, but in the end, I get sold off to suffer for their mistakes. I think I’m better off dead, alongside them.
” Please you need to help me get out, please ” I pleaded.
” I’m sorry, but I can’t ” she replied, picking up her tray and rising up ” you need to accept all this, Layla, and you’ll see the good side of him. Logan may be a monster but he has a good heart. Trust me ” she said it like he’d done something good for her in the past. With the way she talked, I wondered if he paid her to say good things about him or if what he did for her was actually worth all she’s saying.
” You’ll be escorted back to your room shortly so you’d get ready for the day.” she said and walked out. I was too weak from all the bruises to try to escape. Even after all his warning, I knew I’d still go for it if I saw an opportunity.
I sat for a while, the name Logan DeAngelo resounding in my head over and over. Then, like a calming storm, everything suddenly made sense. Goosebumps rippled through my body as it dawned on me who he was.
Logan DeAngelo was the ruthless and powerful Mafia man Maddy always told me about every single day at work. I hugged myself, wincing in pain from my arms and neck as the thought of him hitting me last night replayed in my head.
I got sold to the ruthless man I thought was mere story, was a mere fraction of Maddy’s fantasies. But he’s real and all Maddy ever said about him must be true.Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
I felt myself fill up with anger and pain. My parents sold me off to him without knowing who he was or what he might likely do to me. I had no idea how they even got to work for a man like him in the first place but again, they might not have known. Yet they easily gave me to him.
My anger soon turns into rage, causing my chest to hurt and my breathing to stop.
How am I supposed to fight for my freedom when my own parents willingly gave me away to him? I knew I couldn’t fight him. The only way to get out of this place is to try and be on his good side. Antoniette was probably right. Fighting him wasn’t going to solve my problem.
I would get on his good side, earn his trust, get my phone back and reach out to Maddy. Then I’ll go for my escape and be free of this madness.
The doors slid open and a tall man dressed in bodyguard uniform walked in. He’s wearing a speaker over his lips and running over his ear, a long gun in his strong looking, big arms.
“Ma’am, I need to escort you back to your room.” he says.
Nodding slightly, I stood up and let him lead me out of the room. He walked behind me as we passed series of long, white hallways. I was finally seeing the place in a morning light and I was mesmerized by the width and beauty of the place. I knew Logan was rich no doubt, but I never imagined he was this rich. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Who was this Logan DeAngelo?