CHAPTER 6 Trapped Behind The Door
"Get in!" said Igor as he pushed me in. Well, it was gentle but a little harsh. His hand gripped my shoulder with just enough force to let me know he wasn't asking. I stumbled into the room, my heart was pounding like it wanted to burst through my chest and run far away from this place. The room was quiet, too quiet, like the walls were holding their breath.
The air inside was thick and heavy. Like the kind that wraps itself around your lungs and refuses to let go. I could hear nothing but the sound of my own breathing, sharp and uneven. I tried to find something in the room that would distract me, maybe make me feel less like I had just walked into a cage. But there was nothing warm here. Nothing soft. Just cold walls and colder silence.
I stood still, waiting for him to close the door. Just close it and leave. That was all I wanted at that moment. But he didn't.
He came inside.
My eyes widened as I heard his boots make that dull sound against the wooden floor. I turned slowly, confused. My lips parted, but my voice trembled when I spoke. "Hey... Mr... I thought he said you should take me to my room... Why are you still waiting?"
I didn't say it out loud. I barely whispered. Because everything in this mansion felt like it didn't want noise. Like noise might wake something up. Something terrible.
Igor didn't answer. His eyes didn't blink. He moved straight past me without even looking. His boots echoed again, steady and heavy, like he had walked these halls a thousand times and knew every crack and flaw in the floor. He went straight to my bag. The one I packed with my shaky hands that morning. The only thing in this entire house that still felt like mine.
He bent down, opened it. He didn't even ask. Didn't even hesitate. Just flipped the zipper open like it belonged to him. Like I was nothing.
My heart skipped when I saw what he pulled out. My phone.
"Wait!" I shouted, my body suddenly moving without thought. I rushed toward him and tried to grab it, but he was faster. So much faster. He slid it smoothly into the inside pocket of his black suit like he had done it a hundred times before. Like he had done it to many girls like me.
"Give it back," I said, my voice shaking with confusion. I wasn't shouting anymore. My words fell out like broken pieces.
I didn't care about anything else in that bag. Not my charger. Not my clothes. Not even the necklace my mother gave me as a birthday gift, even though I still need it to keep her alive in my heart. Just that phone. Even if it didn't have a signal here, even if the battery was almost dead, I needed it. I needed it like air. I needed to see a photo of Ethan. I needed to hear my father's voice. I needed to feel like the outside world still existed. That I wasn't trapped. That this place wasn't swallowing me whole.
I tried not to cry, but my eyes were already wet. I blinked fast, hoping the tears would hide behind my lashes. They didn't. They fell. And once they started, they wouldn't stop.
Igor finally spoke. His voice was low, like gravel under boots. "The boss wouldn't allow any form of device to come in. It was my fault to allow you to step in here with it."
His face changed when he said that. I saw something on it that looked like fear. But it wasn't fear for me. It was fear of him. The master. Kade.
So, he was scared of Kade. I know he is his boss. Well that explained a lot. That explained his silence. His stiffness. The way he moved like he was always being watched.
But I didn't care about Igor's fear. All I could think about was how far away Ethan felt now. How far my father was. That phone was the last string tying me to them.
"Please," I begged. My voice cracked. "I need my phone to communicate with my brother. Please."
I didn't even try to look strong anymore. My tears were falling. Dropping down my face in hot, quiet lines. I stood there, empty and helpless, like a doll someone had tossed aside. I felt small. So small. Like a child again, begging for something I couldn't have.
Igor's expression didn't change.
He just said, "You're allowed to have your clothes but not with your mobile phone."
He turned toward the door. I thought that was it. I thought he would leave me alone to cry. But then he turned back, right at the doorway.
"Take a good sleep, lady," he said, and his mouth twisted into something between a smirk and a sneer. "Tomorrow will be a great day for you."
He chuckled.
Not a happy chuckle.
It was low and slow and full of something I couldn't understand. Then he stepped out and shut the door behind him.
I stood there staring at the door, my mouth slightly open, my body frozen. Confusion twisted inside me like a rope.
A great day?
What did he mean? A great day, when my mobile phone was taken away from me?
I didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but something inside me was screaming that it wouldn't be great. Not for me.
My father said they paid too well.
But now I wasn't sure if any amount of money in the world was worth this.
Because I don't think I would survive two days in this big creepy mansion, with their strict rules.