Chapter 3

I held onto that desperately.My mother's voice echoed in my head like a fragile thread holding me together. But when the door opened again, the light behind it revealed a world I wasn't ready for.Two men came for me. Tall.Silent.Armed.

They didn't speak as they led me through a long hallway and into a black car waiting outside the building. The windows were tinted. The streets were unfamiliar. I didn't ask questions-| knew I wouldn't get answers.

We arrived at a mansion hidden behind iron gates and stone walls. It wasn't just big-it was intimidating.

Cold. Regal. Like it didn't just belong to the mafia... it was the mafia.Inside, everything smelled like wealth and danger. Velvet carpets.Chandeliers.

Guards standing at corners like shadows. Eyes that watched, never blinking

They took me to a room-lavish but locked. A bed too soft for a prisoner, a window I couldn't open, a closet full of dresses I didn't ask for.

Later, a woman entered. Old, kind eyes. A maid, maybe, Or something else.She placed food in front of me and sat. you should eat so you can have strength,'she said.

"You should do what he says," she said gently, voice low like she didn't want to be overheard.

"He only hurts the ones who fight him."My chest tightened.

"Why are you helping him?" I asked.She looked away."Because I've seen what happens when someone doesn't listen."A pause.

"He can be cruel... but if you obey, He gives you everything." Including freedom.

Later that night, Dario entered the room without knocking. He stood in the doorway, silent, watching me like a king eyeing a pawn.

"You're in my house now, Ezebel," he said."And in my house, you learn quickly or suffer."

He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to.The threat was in his calm. In the way he looked at me like I was something he bought.

I didn't speak.

" I will give you a bed. Food. Safety." He stepped closer.

"Since you won't tell me where those documents are ‚I will keep you here until you do".

It wasn't just a warning. It was a promise of control.I stood still, every muscle tense.

All I knew was,this is the beginning.

—

The next morning, the old woman returned with a tray and a stack of worn uniforms. You will wear these," she said quietly."You're not a prisoner here-but you're not free either. You will serve, like the others. My heart sank.

"Serve?" I asked, voice trembling."Like a maid?"

She nodded slowly."It's safer that way. You follow his rules, do as he commands, and maybe--just maybe--you'll survive this place."

I look down at the plain, scratchy fabric in my hands.I was the only child of my parents, have never done anything like this my entire life and now am to be a maid.This was no longer just a cage. It was a gilded prison where I was to wear a mask, pretend obedience, and hide every part of myself.

Dario didn't say it outright, but his cold eyes made the order clear be a servant in his house, or suffer worse.I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Inside, a fire burned -not just of fear, but of anger.

If I was to be trapped in this prison, I would be more than just a maid. I would be a force they never expected.

Days passed in a blur. I wore the uniform every morning, moving silently through the mansion's endless halls-cleaning, serving, obeying. But every chore felt like chains tightening around me.