Chapter Six: A New Day

It's the next day, and after my uncomfortable night of being tied to the bed to prevent another escape act, I am ready to be free from my restraints. Two of the women who helped me clean up when I first arrived at the mansion enter the room with looks of condolences, as if I just lost a family member. Well, in a way, I did. I lost something very dear to me: my freedom. But not for long. I will escape today.

The women walk up to the bed and loosen the ropes that bind my wrists. I wince as I sit up, feeling my shoulders move back into place.

"Thank you," I tell them.

"It's futile. You can't leave," one of the women says with a stoic face, as if she has done this before.

"Excuse me?" I question, standing up from the bed.

The women face me with serious expressions, forcing me to listen to their words.

"You cannot leave this place. If you want to survive here, then listen and do everything that Master Luca asks of you. Do not hesitate," they warn me.

The warning catches me off guard. I know Luca is a dangerous man because of his title and how he is respected at the auction, but I didn't expect his staff to be this scared of him—especially to the point where they have to warn me to behave.

"Why? What happens if I don't?" I ask.

I already know the kind of punishment I would get if I disobeyed him. Rash as it sounds, it is a somewhat better alternative to whatever that man was doing to other people in his line of work. Still, I want to know what he is capable of. I need to know who I'm dealing with.

The women share a glance and frown.

"That's enough for now. You need to have a bath and get dressed. Master Luca doesn't like to wait."

I gape and try to get answers.

"Wait. Answer me first," I subtly plead.

The women do no such thing, as if they have said more than enough to get them in trouble with the big bad wolf. I watch them for some moments before I realize that they won't tell me anything more. I sigh, slightly pissed off at the halt in conversation, and do what they tell me to. I leave them in the room and enter the bathroom to have a bath. By the time I come out, the women have left the room, leaving nothing more than some clothes on the bed and jewelry on my vanity. I walk over to the vanity when I see more than jewelry on it—a piece of folded paper. I pick it up and read it.

"Wear your hair down. No makeup. You have thirty minutes. Come down to the lobby when you're done."

These two commands are all there is on the paper. It's too direct for it not to come from anyone other than Luca. I toss the paper onto the vanity and frown, my eyes landing on the clothes neatly placed on my bed. I smile and place my hands on my hips, my body feeling giddy for the day ahead.

"Time to get ready."

In about twenty minutes, I'm done wearing the clothes and jewelry left out for me. I even manage to make myself look presentable with nothing more than running my hand through my semi-curly tresses.

I look at myself in the ceiling-to-floor-length mirror in the large walk-in closet and turn from side to side. I'm wearing a navy-blue Valentino belted cape-sleeved gown with thigh-high socks that stop just below my crotch area. The shoes I was given to wear are Jimmy Choo Oriana leather sandals, and my jewelry consists of pure black diamond studs, trimmed with silver. All in all, I look like a billionaire or a billionaire's wife. I look and feel expensive—not that it's any different from how I was brought up, but this is a nice change of pace from what I was forced to wear when I was taken by those men.

I tuck my hair behind my ears to show off my earrings and leave the closet, grabbing a purse from the vanity before I walk out of my room and go down to the lobby. As I go down the stairs, I see Luca in a deep blue suit with silver accessories, much like what I am wearing, but he has on rings and his hair is slicked back. He looks dapper, I dare to think, as though he's heading to a black-tie event. I shake my head to dismiss the thought.

Luca glances up at me as I descend the final step and cocks his head.

"Hmm. Let's go," he says, turning away from me and striding toward the waiting car. His lack of words surprises me—I never thought I'd frown at his brevity. If it were any other man, he'd be falling at my feet. But this isn't any other man; it's Luca, the one I'm supposed to hate. Still, I follow his lead and approach the car, only to be met with the intense gaze of ten men watching me.

I shrink into myself, unnerved by their stares. The valet opens the car door, and I hesitate before getting in.

"The men are here as a precaution after that stunt you pulled yesterday," Luca says without looking at me. "Count yourself lucky they didn't have to restrain you again today."

I remain silent, staring out the window as the car pulls away. We drive in silence for a few minutes before Luca speaks again.

"Do you remember the rules?" he asks.

"I do," I reply shortly.

"Good. Then we won't have any problems," he says, turning his attention to his phone, effectively dismissing me. I glance back out the window, smiling. We won't have problems because soon enough, I'll be in the wind, finding my way back to my family.

The car finally stops in front of a massive building. Gold letters spell out "Nexus" against the black background. Confusion creeps in—what are we doing here?

"Come on," Luca says as his car door opens. I step out and take in the sight. Nexus—one of the world's most exclusive and richest companies. Rumored to have a hand in every major business and sector, their net worth exceeds a hundred trillion. that was only when their assets weren’t liquidated. With all the wealth that my family had, we were never anywhere near as wealthy as this. Talk about even being in their CEO’s radar. My family's wealth pales in comparison. Yet, here we are, standing at their doorstep.

The man himself was also a rumor. Said to be one of the sons of the Moore family, the man mostly stays in the shadows and runs the whole place. They say that he would rather run his business without anyone knowing who he truly was. It was a mystery but so was his whole existence. A mystery within a mystery. Still, even with my curiosity about this place, I expected the car to pull up to some mob house or abandoned building of sorts. Anything that would befit a place where monstrous criminal activities were carried out. What were we really doing in an upstanding place like this?

"Are you done?" Luca's voice interrupts my thoughts, pulling me back to the present. His hands snake around mine, gripping them—not menacingly, but possessively. He holds my hand as if we're a couple. I freeze, looking up at him. He towers over me, eyes fixed on the building, disregarding my stiff reaction to his touch.

"If you're done gaping at the company, let's head inside."

I shut my mouth, embarrassed that he caught me staring. With Luca leading the way, we climb the steps and enter the massive building. The once-bustling noise of employees fades to silence. All eyes are on us, especially mine—I'm a foreign entity in their space. I stand my ground, waiting for Luca to take me through the sea of people so that I can disappear from their sights but what happens next floors me. The employees in the lobby smile at Luca, greeting him with slight bows of their heads.

"Good morning, Mr. Hernandez." They all say in unison before they raise their heads.

Luca responds with a delicate smile, waving his hand.

"Morning, everyone. Let's get back to work."

My eyes bulge at his now friendly but no-nonsense behavior when he addresses them all. A far cry from his cold tone towards me the whole day. The employees do as they're told, and I even see some of the women send winks and kisses Luca’s way. Were they oblivious to who stood beside me? A freaking mafia boss? Their friendly yet respectful behavior baffles me.

I turn to Luca, disbelief etched on my face as I watch him continue to smile. Just who the hell is this man?