Chapter 6 - The Calm Before the Midnight Storm
The afternoon hours dragged like lead weights. Mrs. Costa kept Emma occupied in the sunroom with a collection of old picture books and wooden blocks, while I paced the length of my temporary quarters. Every shadow in the hallway seemed to stretch and twist into something menacing. I couldn't stop thinking about Lorenzo's bare hands—scars earned in a world I could barely fathom, yet somehow, standing next to him felt safer than hiding alone in the dark.
At 9:00 PM, there was a soft knock at my door.
It wasn't Lorenzo. It was Elena, the young kitchen maid, holding a steaming mug of chamomile tea.
"I heard you were feeling unwell, Maya," Elena said, her voice sounding entirely too sweet, her smile a little too tight as she stood in the doorway. "Mrs. Costa asked me to bring you this."
I looked at the mug. The surface of the tea was completely still, reflecting the dim glow of the bedside lamp.
"Thank you, Elena," I said, keeping my voice carefully neutral. "Just set it on the desk."
She stepped inside, her eyes darting quickly around the room as if searching for something—perhaps my apron, or my coat, or the gray rabbit.
"Is everything okay?" she asked casually. "Mr. Duca can be... very difficult to work for. Some people find it easier to just leave. Take what they can and walk away."
"I have nowhere else to go," I replied, watching her hands. They were trembling slightly.
"There's always somewhere else," Elena murmured, her eyes lingering on the pocket of my coat hanging over the chair. "Sometimes people are willing to pay a lot of money just for a little piece of information. A schedule. A gate code. It could change your life, Maya. You could take your little girl and get out of this cursed house forever."
The mask had slipped. Just a fraction, but enough.
"And what happens to the people left behind?" I asked softly.
Elena's smile vanished, replaced by a cold, hardened stare. "They burn." She set the mug down on the desk, turned on her heel, and walked out of the room without another word.
I didn't touch the tea. I poured it straight down the bathroom sink, watching the pale liquid swirl down the drain like tainted water.
At 11:30 PM, the hallway was completely silent. The estate had plunged into a deep, heavy slumber, broken only by the distant crashing of waves against the cliffside below.
May you like
I pulled on my heavy wool coat, tucked the cold metal key into my glove, and quietly opened my door.
Lorenzo was waiting in the shadows of the corridor, dressed completely in black, his dark driving gloves securely pulled over his scarred hands. He didn't speak. He simply nodded once, gesturing for me to lead the way toward the north service stairs.
