Chapter Five: Futile Attempt

I smile to myself as I look out the window in my bedroom. Luca had gone back to his room leaving me alone in the dining room to eat and also think to myself. A time that I had used wisely. The stars are out tonight, giving me hope in what I plan to do tomorrow when my captor is away for the day. I still contemplate why I am not chained to anything or even being used as a sex slave. Well, the last part wasn’t so far fetched but Luca had been gentle with me ever since I was brought into his home. I was even given good food to eat and clothes to wear. Hell, the freaking window wasn’t even barred to keep me from leaving if I wanted to.

It confused and yet intrigued me. Did he really think that after a day in his care, I would be submissive to him fully? I chuckle at the thought and smile. His negligence would be my path to freedom. Still, with the thought in my head, I wrap my robe tighter around my body and walk over to my bed, ready for a good night's rest before my prison break. I climb into my bed and cover myself with the satin sheets, smiling from ear to ear as I drift off into a willful sleep.

•••••

I wake up to the sound of the alarm clock ringing beside my head. I turn to my nightstand and turn it off before stretching my limbs and yawning. After the dinner I had all by myself and my musings about having a restful sleep, the night had gone by so quickly. It’s not just the fact that I couldn’t sleep. It was also the fact that Luca had mentioned that he would be gone the next day. Gone, as in meaning that I had some sort of freedom the next day. The ideas I had about leaving the mansion were endless. Nevertheless, it was finally time to put my plan in motion.

I go to the window just in time to see what I assume is Luca’s car pulling out of the mansion grounds. I smile to myself knowing that my time has come but first I need to get ready. I get up from my bed and go about my morning routine. Thankfully, the women who helped me before were not here to poke and prod my body while I was naked. I stripped off my clothes and had a quick shower, not bothering myself with a hot bath like I normally do. It takes approximately thirty minutes for me to shower and find some jeans and a top to put on. There were hundreds of gowns in the closet but I didn’t need anything that would trip me when I ran, hence the low key clothing.

With my hair in a ponytail and my mind ready, I open the door of my bedroom and walk out when I notice that no one roams the hallway. Slowly but surely, I trace my way out to the lobby where I was led when Luca wanted me in the dining room. I move to leave through the front door when one of the staff members walks past me, making my adrenaline rise. That was stupid. How did I think that going through the front door was the best idea?

I crouch at the back of the stairs that lead up to the second floor to avoid being seen, my heart pounding against my ribs. Luca’s orders echo in my mind.

“Behave while I’m gone.” But defiance surges within me like a wildfire. I won’t be a pawn in his twisted game. I will not be kept here trapped against my will.

Once the man stalks off, I turn around and make a beeline into the inner rooms of the mansion, hoping that I will be able to find a back door from which I can escape without being seen. Just then the thought enters my mind. The dining room. The room has a door that leads directly to the kitchen. A door I had noticed when I was being served the night before. Surely, it must have a back door. I steel myself and decide to go for it. I wouldn’t know unless I tried right?

I sneak through the hallways until I get to the familiar oak doors of the dining hall. With one peak inside, I slip into the room and crouch near the table. I slink close to the door, using the table as a guide, not wanting to be immediately seen if someone walked into the room. Luckily for me, no one did and even better, no chefs or help were in the kitchen at the time. I smirked and went in, confident now that the universe wanted me to escape my fate.

Just like I guessed, there was a back door leading from the kitchen to the backyard and what I think is a trash bin. Ominously, the layout of the kitchen was somewhat the same as the one in my home which gave me the idea that I would be out of the building and on the grounds.

I creep towards the door and open it, lovely sunlight coating my face and giving me joy. I run with a grin on my face, the back of the obsidian gates in my sight. The back gates beckon—a portal to freedom. I reach them, fingers trembling in relief as I grasp the cold metal. But as my skin brushes the bars, agony sears through me. Electricity. The gates are electrified, a cruel trap set by that man. By Luca. I seize as the last thought that enters my mind before darkness claims me is damn that man.

I finally wake up. My head throbs, and my vision swims. For a second I think that I am in my bed back at home waking up from a bad nightmare but all that changes when I see his face. Above me, an angry face hovers—Luca. His eyes bore into mine, fury etched in every line of his rugged features.

“You disobeyed,” he growls. His grip tightens on my wrists, and I realize they’re bound to the bed. Tended to but bound. The pain in my hands is a reminder of my folly.

“Why did you think you could escape?” His voice cut through my defense with how harsh it sounds.

I try to move, but the ropes hold me fast. Luca leans closer, his breath hot against my skin.

“You’re mine now,” he says. “If you won’t listen, I’ll watch you myself. From tomorrow you will be my assistant. You will follow me wherever I go and be by my side at all times. Maybe that will teach you how to behave and stay in one place.”

His words hang heavy in the air. I’m to be his assistant, shadowing him to and from work. But what kind of work? Criminal dealings? Dangerous secrets? My mind races, fear and curiosity warring within me.

Luca straightens, leaving me bound and bewildered.

“Remember this,” he murmurs. “You’re trapped, Lia. And escape? Well, that’s a luxury you won’t find beyond these walls. Not in your life.”

As he strides away, I’m left with questions and uncertainty. My life has shifted irrevocably. Perhaps I’ll find answers by Luca’s side—or maybe, just maybe, I’ll find a way. Possibly when I leave the walls of this mansion with him and enter into the real world. Outside those mansion walls, I could run and if freedom is within my palm then I’ll seize it, even if it means defying the don himself.