Ada “Ada, darling,” my mother says as she opens the door. She embraces me tightly before placing a kiss on my cheek. “It’s so good to see you. Come in, come in. It’s chilly and you don’t have a sweater.”Upon entering the living room, I spot Harry standing in the living room. I’m surprised that he’s here at this time of the night, but at the same time, he and my mother have always been close. He also mentioned before that he gets lonely in what he calls his ‘old age’, and that it’s only gotten worse since Damson left the nest.“Ada,” he says in greeting before he limps toward me. “We weren’t expecting you here. Change of plans? How was the…a masquerade, you said?”“Yeah,” I confirm. “It was…interesting.”“How so?” my mother asks. I’m always hesitant to give them information about what’s going on in that family, and now it’s worse because this matter is tricky and I know what they would say. They worry about me. I don’t blame them, but their concern does get in the way of getting thi
Maximilian As I leave the bar, I can’t help but heave a sigh of relief. Fuck me. If Grayson Piovani wasn’t part of the Piovani family that has been in business with ours for years, I would have cut him out of my life a long time ago. Not only is he exhausting to be around, but he’s also the worst person I’ve had the displeasure to meet. I don’t know how we were ever friends. My father and his were very close. As a result, we grew up practically together. We went to the same schools. We were in the same class. Every weekend, we’d spend in each other’s houses. I will admit that even back then, there were aspects of him that didn’t sit well with me. He was unnecessarily rude and spoiled, and although the same could be said about me, I was never like him. Not to his extent. But the partnership brought about by our fathers can’t be undone without some serious damage being done, so we’re stuck together. I’m not stupid enough to think that he doesn’t feel the same way about me as I do
AdaAs I step inside the house on Monday morning, my heart slams violently against my chest. I have to force myself to keep walking because otherwise, I’ll turn on my heel and storm out. My thoughts are swirling violently in my mind. To be honest, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ll go through the office one last time and try to make it upstairs to the rooms so I can see if I can find some documents or anything that could help me.But if Edmund or even Maximilian Loxley find me before then…“Good morning, Miss Johnson,” Mrs. Danes says to me when I enter the changing room. She’s already dressed, and the keychain is hanging around her neck, as usual. “Good morning, Mrs. Danes.”“Is everything alright?” she asks suddenly. I turn my head to face her. “Yes, everything is fine.”Her eyes narrow slightly as she studies me. “You don’t look too well, which is why I’m asking.”“Oh, I’m fine,” I lie as I start to change into my uniform. “If you say so,” she claims. “Be at the dining roo
AdaEdmund grabs my arm and guides me toward the office, which is something I find ironic, but I don’t have time to dwell on that now. We enter the office and to my absolute horror, he closes the door behind him. I whirl around to face him, heart in my throat, and he approaches me steadily. Watching me the way a predator would watch its prey. “Running from me?” he asks with a tilt of his head. I don’t answer him. Instead, I calculate how long it would take me to race to the door if he tries something funny, and if I wouldn’t be better off just screaming for help. What would he do then? How would he explain the screaming?“I told you that you only had two options,” he claims as he starts inching toward me. I slowly make my way around the desk, visibly putting some distance between us. “I don’t think that’s fair,” I proclaim. “Do you know what that makes you? Forcing me to be with you?”“I’m not scared away by titles and names, Naomi,” he remarks. “It doesn’t matter what you’re call
MaximilianWhat happens following the incident with the maid is something straight out of a horror novel. It's funny how one day, things can be fine. Normal. Mundane, even. Then, it all flips on its head and chaos ensues. I, of course, could have prevented the whole thing if I had just kept what I had seen to myself, but I'm not the kind of man who would leave his sister in the dark about her husband's sadistic nature. No, not a chance. If he's a rapist, then why would I want him to be married to someone who's so important to me?Edmund deserved to be exposed, and I don't regret a thing. Rebecca is heartbroken. She's always been sensitive and this is just one of those things that would break anyone. I'm going to be on her side through it all. I won't abandon her. But Edmund has to go. In fact, he's already left. He needs to consider it a miracle that I didn't kill him. I've been vibrating with anger the whole day, unsure of what to do with it since I didn't have a chance to take
Ada The thing about being a maid—or better yet, someone who’s seen as below their employers—is that it doesn’t matter that you went through something traumatic and you’re not feeling well. You have to stay and work. I’ve been vomiting inside my mouth the whole day and now, Maximilian Loxley wants to know if I need anything. Haha. Words can’t describe how angry his request made me when all I needed was a chance to go home. To lie down and purge that man out of my system. I won’t have a chance to do that. The good thing is that the other employees aren’t aware of what happened. At least, I didn’t have the impression that they were aware. I don’t know if I’d stand them looking at me like they’re sorry for me. Not a chance in hell. I’m having a hard time dealing with my thoughts as it is. I can’t take off that scene from my mind. How close he was. How his skin felt against mine. How I shuddered when he pressed his body flush against mine. That’s just not something I’ll get over a
Ada The moment I crack an eye open, I’m practically blinded by the sun. I’m surprised to see that I’m sleeping on the couch, right in the living room. I didn’t even make it to the bed last night. I sit up, groaning and massaging the back of my neck. It’s sore. Then again, I’ve been very tense. I’m right on time. I search for my phone and switch off my alarm before it rings. I hate it when it does. Then, I put some coffee to brew and head into the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead. To be honest, this lifestyle is killing me. I’m not used to working this hard. It was easier earlier on when I had so much hope and fresh expectations, but now that I know that things aren’t as easy as they seem, I’m having a harder time waking up in the morning. I feel disillusioned by everything that’s going on. It seems whatever secret the Loxley’s are hoarding is harder to find than gold. The things I’ve been experiencing under their roof don’t make this burden easier to carry, either. I find
Ada I can’t stop drumming my fingers against the desk in the office downstairs. That’s where I am, by the way. Since that woman caught me. She’s blonde and tall, and I don’t know who she is. I’ve never seen her around before; this is the very first time. She must be a close friend or even a relative because the way she entered the office with Maximilian Loxley’s name on her lips was an indicator that she has a more intimate relationship with the family. But that’s not my concern right now. It doesn’t matter who caught me. The point is that I was caught and Mrs. Danes was alerted right away. With a grave voice, she told me to wait here for a family remember to arrive and deal with the situation, and it’s been fifteen minutes in total since that happened. I’m screwed. Not unless I can lie my way out of this.But what would be the appropriate lie? What can I say that wouldn’t make me look like an absolute idiot? I have no idea. I’m scared and still shaking from being caught. What
MaximilianThe sounds of her sobs make me desperate.I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. “Ada,” I whisper her name softly while caressing her face. She sobs even louder, turning her head to the side like the sound of my voice offends her. I wait for her to speak. It’s the only thing that I can do. “I’m sorry, Max,” she says once she’s calmed down enough. Her eyes are back on mine and they’re red. “I don’t mean to make you feel bad. I just…it hit me all of a sudden. How much things changed.”“Don’t I know it,” I murmur, doing my best to keep things between us light though it’s almost impossible to ignore how hard I am right now, and how she’s the only woman I’ve wanted for so long. “I feel like such a failure,” she admits. “It’s not easy, coming to terms with a separation. I loved you, Max. There are times when I think that I always will.”I meet her gaze, hope surging inside of me. “So will I. I’ll always love you no matter what happens between us.”“I’m scared,” she admits. “I’m t
AdaWhen Max arrives, I have to admit that I feel nervous. Really nervous. Like I know what will happen before I do. Our eyes lock the minute I open the door, and a heated moment passes. I don’t know why it happened or even how. I just know that I feel this heat low in my belly at the sight of him and it didn’t happen when we saw each other the first time. This is a bad idea. I know it. Yet, I open the door wider for him, inviting him into my apartment. Max walks in uncertainly, looking around and clearing his throat. He’s clearly uncomfortable and perhaps senses the same thing that I do. I close the door and take a deep breath. “How are you feeling?” I whirl around to face him and notice that his eyes are already on me. Licking my lips, I say, “I’ve had better days.”His eyes soften with concern and for some reason, I’m transported back to the old days—the days when we used to be together all the time. He looked at me in this exact same way. “Did he try to call you again?”I
Ada But Damson never calls me, and in the end, my hopes are crushed and I have this despair deep inside of me because I don’t know what to do. Why didn’t he call?I didn’t do anything wrong. I followed his stupid instructions. I did what I was supposed to! Yet, he left me hanging, which makes me wonder exactly what his plan is. I thought I had the whole thing figured out. Apparently, I was wrong. I’m so demotivated that when my phone rings and I see that it’s Max, I cry before getting any word out. On the other end of the line, his despair is evident, and even though I hear all his questions, I can’t bring myself to answer any of them. “Ada? Ada, please, tell me what happened. Please. Don’t leave me like this. Is it Damson? What did he do? What did he say?”“I can’t take this anymore,” I sob. “I can’t. He told me he’d send me the address. Told me I’d get to…to see Victoria today.”Max is silent as I try to get my emotions in check. Sniffling and feeling considerably calmer, I say
Ada “Today is the day,” Damson says as soon as I answer the call. This sends goosebumps spreading all across my skin and I suck in a breath through my teeth. “What? What do you mean?”“I can’t tell you more but do you trust me.”I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear and fight my parched throat. I move away from the window in the living room and turn to sit on the couch instead. I don’t think my legs can keep supporting me. “Yes, I trust you.”“Then that’s all I can say to you. I don’t want to ruin the surprise. We’ll talk soon, alright?”After the call, I walk around my apartment restlessly. I’m chewing my nails. I’m pacing the floor of the living room. It’s a mess, waiting for Damson to call me again. The strange part about all this is that Max didn’t call me the way he usually does. What does that mean? That he doesn’t receive a call?I think briefly of calling him before deciding that it just isn’t worth it. What if Damson wants me to see my daughter today or something similar? May
MaximilianI nod. “That’s him.”“You’re sure?”“One hundred percent,” I grit out. “I would never forget his face. Not ever.”I’m exhilarated that we’ve managed to catch him. I know that this isn’t much—we still don’t know where he lives—but this is more progress than has been made in years. The investigator says, “I’ll be watching him closely after this to ensure that we find his residence as quickly as possible but the shop’s clerk didn’t have a fixed time. He comes and goes whenever he has to shop and it’s usually at random times. I’ve also mentioned this to Miss Loxley here, but they’ve never seen the girl. Not once in all these years.”“What could that mean?”The man shrugs. “Just that he keeps her well. I don’t know enough to draw any conclusions—this is just me guessing at things.”“We understand that,” Rebecca cuts in. My eyes are drawn to the screen again. Years of hatred bubble inside of me and nearly spill over. I have to keep it all in for when the time is right. “It’ll
MaximilianEvery time my phone rings, it can only be one of two people: Ada or that fucking lunatic. At least, that’s how it’s been in the last few days. But this time, it’s Rebecca who’s calling me. So much has happened since I last spoke to her that I forgot all about our interaction. “Max,” she says. “I have news.”“If it’s about Damson, forget it,” I say right away. “We’re already negotiating and I don’t want you getting involved and ruining everything.”Her response is a sputter. “What? What are you talking about? You’re talking to him? How? When did this happen?”“Very recently,” I reply, my tone clipped. “Max, you can’t buy into his story! That man is evil and he’s out to get both of you! I take it you didn’t call the police?”“Rebecca, we’re taking care of this the way we see fit. Thank you for your help but I never asked for it. I don’t want it.”“Max, I told you about the investigator, didn’t I? Well, now we have some information and he might have found the area that Dam
Ada The next time Damson calls, I’m ready for him. “Hello, Ada,” he says in that strange voice of his. “How have you been? Did you miss me?”The first time, I was so caught off guard that I didn’t know what to say or where to even begin. I had nothing in my head apart from the crippling despair that came with wanting to know where my daughter was. But since Max and I spoke and I had time to think about this, I knew what Damson expected of me. I knew deep inside of me what he wanted—what kind of cooperation he was looking for. And for Victoria, I would do it all. “Yes,” I answer in a small voice, trying to sound afraid. I hoped he would buy my act because that was what I would be doing for the next few times we talked. Until I found our daughter, that is. I hear the sound of water. It sounds like he’s taking a bath. “I’ve been taking to Max. I always call him before I call you. You know why?”I don’t answer him. “It’s because I need to remind myself why I did all this before I
Ada So much has happened today that I’m not even shocked that Max is standing in my living room. When I received Damson’s call, it left me completely disoriented. As I stare at Max’s face, I recall it even now. I don’t think I would ever be able to forget the phone call I had with him. “Hello, Ada,” he said. Though he sounded the same, his voice had a strange ring to it. “It’s been a long time since we’ve talked, hasn’t it?”I was so shocked that he was talking to me that I didn’t say anything in response for like a solid minute. I thought it was perhaps an interviewer or something. I never would have guessed that it was him even though I’d been waiting for this call for the longest time. For seven years, to be precise. “I thought you’d be happy to hear from me,” he claimed. “I’ve been holding myself back for the longest time. Every single day that passed, I wanted to call you. But I held myself. Now the time has come.”My breaths became shaky and I couldn’t open my mouth to spea
Maximilian “It’s been a long time since we last spoke, haven’t we?” Damson says in my ear. His voice still has that crazy quality to it. He doesn’t sound like a sane person. And the worst part is that this man is by my daughter’s side, somewhere out there. We don’t even know if he left the state or even the country. We know nothing. I clench my jaw so tightly that I hear a molar crack. I remind myself that this time, things have to be different. I need to stay calm and hope that this time, he’s going to tell me what he wants so we can get our daughter back. Everything is depending on me. “You always had so much to say, and now you’re saying nothing. You’re silent. I wonder…does that mean you declare defeat?”“Yes,” I say, the word scratching the sides of my throat and making my mouth so bitter that I nearly gag. I’ll say whatever I can to please this man. I’d do absolutely everything.“Yes? Good,” he claims. “Ada has received a similar call from me and she has also declared defe