Chapter 2 ~ Alexander Reagan

One year later...

At noon after lunch, everyone flocked to the main hall to see the announcement posted on the wall. This included Hazel who trailed her friends behind.

Today was the determination of where they were assigned to work. As far as Hazel knew, there were many Reagan family mansions scattered across New York, ranging from downtown to rural areas. Actually, if she could choose, Hazel would gladly choose a mansion near the estate. She certainly couldn't get a refreshing green view from downtown New York. Only skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of noisy human activities. Just thinking about it made Hazel tired. Introverts seemed to be exemplary in quiet places like this neighborhood in the main house.

"Hazel, have you read where you'll be placed?" asked Lizzy. The girl with the sweet face had been Hazel's close friend since they first met in the main house. Unfortunately, they were not roommates.

"With her abilities, she'll probably be placed in a small, unimportant mansion," Bella sneered. Lizzy didn't know why Hazel's own roommate hated her so much.

"There's no such thing as a small mansion. Of course mansion must be big. By the way, where were you placed yourself, Bel?" challenged Lizzy.

Hazel was already holding her best friend's arm to keep her from messing with Bella.

"Of course Mr. Alexander Reagan's mansion. There is no doubt about my great skills," said Bella arrogantly.

"Enough Liz, no need to debate it anymore.” Hazel calmed her best friend who was starting to get angry. “I still haven't seen the signboard. It's too crowded. I'll wait for it to get quiet," continued Hazel to answer Lizzy’s first question about her placement.

"Alright, I'll accompany you here. I honestly don't like being crammed in there either."

"Good luck to both of you. Oops! You guys can only rely on luck rather than skill," Bella taunted before leaving to join her other friends.

Hazel saw Lizzy who was about to move after Bella. But Hazel immediately pulled Lizzy's hand to sit beside her again. The supervisors definitely didn't like such a meaningless commotion.

"That crazy woman should be taught a lesson Hazel! I really hate seeing her pretentious behavior, and her friends also! It's as if they’re members of the Reagan family! Even though they're both servants!" Lizzy was already fuming. She had a sweet face, but her personality was more prone to anger.

"Enough, your energy is not worth spending on someone like that."

"Tsk. Alright, alright. I'll keep quiet this time."

Bella really disliked Hazel because she was jealous of everything about Hazel. A beautiful appearance, many abilities, and many people paying attention to Hazel were the source of why she hated Hazel even though the two of them were roommates.

As for Hazel, she just kept quiet when Bella and her friends were acting up. According to her, if she responded too much, they would become more and more violent. It was Lizzy who was in charge of getting angry and defending when Hazel was silent.

"It's not crowded anymore, let's have a look," Lizzy invited while taking Hazel's arm and heading closer to the bulletin board.

Their eyes scrutinized the names listed one by one. From top to bottom row, they carefully searched for their names. Until the two of them found each other's names which seemed to be close together.

"Oh my God! We're both at the Reagan family's main mansion!" Lizzy jumped up and down with excitement on her face.

Hazel saw it too and smiled brightly. She was happy to be placed in the same mansion as Lizzy and moreover she knew that the Reagans' main mansion was also located in a rural area. It was a joy not to be placed in the Reagan family's children's mansion which was mostly located in the city center, like Alexander Reagan's mansion.

They all smiled happily at their respective placements, although there were some that did not meet their expectations. But one thing they did not know, especially for the women who became servants, was that being placed in the Reagan family mansion did not mean that they worked like servants in a rich man's house. Danger lurked every day. Whether it's the terror of gunfire, intruders, or other threats launched by the enemies of the famous family.

In their dozen years of living in the main house, which was similar to a training school, they never once faced danger. It made them forget for a moment that the mafia family had enemies scattered everywhere. As the saying goes, the taller the tree, the stronger the wind.

***

On the other hand, at the residence of the Reagan family's eldest son, Alexander Reagan was playing with the prisoner he had captured yesterday. A middle-aged man who still looked fit but was now covered in wounds. He sat trembling and holding back pain in a chair that was filled with nails all over.

"You, stay still. If you move too much then those nails will dig deeper into your body," Alex snapped with a sharp look in his eyes.

The man knew, but whether he moved or not, he was still in pain. Never had he imagined being tortured in such a way.

Fucking Alex! he thought.

"So, you're the thief of my stuff huh?" asked Alex in a flat tone.

Not hearing an answer for a long time even though his captive's mouth was not gagged, Alex then approached and pressed one of the man's arms so that the nails on the chair dug deeper into the skin.

"AAAKKKH! Stop that! Stop it! AKH!"

"This is the reward for your silence."

"Yes! Yes! It's true! I stole your weapons container at the harbor yesterday!" Still moaning in pain, the man answered Alex with difficulty.

Alexander Reagan, the successor in business leadership of the Reagan mafia family. At the age of 35, he had already managed to expand his family's businesses even further. Don't ask what the family business is, it's all sorts of illegal things like arms dealing, drugs, and hitmen. Although there are also real companies that are run and engaged in retail and property to circumvent the government. This promising business no doubt made many little ants swarm and disrupt Alex's business.

"Where did you hide that?" Alex's hand was now on the man's right arm, threatening that he could do the same with his left arm if the man did not cooperate with his questions.

When the man seemed hesitant to answer, Alex's hands immediately pressed down on both of the man's arms without mercy. Suddenly, screams of pain filled the closed room.

"I'll tell you! I'm telling you! Stop that hand!"

Alex freed his hands from the man's arms.

"Where?"

The man told him where the items he and his men had stolen from Alex were kept.

Satisfied with the answer. Alex turned to one of his men in the back. With a hand signal, he knew what his boss was asking for. He also handed over a gun in Alex's hand.

"Wait! Wait! Alex! What are you going to do?! I've told where your stuffs are, don't you kill me!"

"Bastard like you dare to want to live after disrupting the Reagan family business?" Alex showed a sardonic grin that made the man in front of him cringe.

"Sorry! I'm really sorry! I'm so sorry! Please let me go! I promise I'll go far away from New York and never interfere with your business again!"

Alex didn't seem to care and was now pointing the gun right at the man's forehead.

"Please! Please don't kill me! You've got it all right! My treasure, the lives of my men. So do you still need to kill me? Please! I still have family at home. I-"

Bang!

The bullet pierced the man's skull with the blink of an eye. Blood poured out from the hole in his head. The man died instantly.

"Noisy. You should have thought of that before you stole my stuff," Alex said after finishing the man off.

"You take care of this trash," he ordered one of the men.

"Yes, boss!"

Alex then stepped out of the room and was followed by one of his men.

"How come you killed your enemy so quickly? It's only been one day since he was tortured," asked the man who followed Alex.

His name was Daniel, he had been Alex's best friend since childhood. He was the son of Alex's parents' right-hand man, no doubt the two of them got along easily and formed a friendship until now. Alex did not hesitate to give Daniel an important position in one of his companies because he trusted his friend.

Although they always seem to be close at all times, apparently the characters of the two is opposite. Alex is more silent while Daniel likes to talk a lot. Alex has no sense of humor and Daniel likes to laugh at the slightest thing. There were many other things that the two of them were at odds about.

"Let's just say it's my form of forgiveness since it's the first time he's bothered me," Alex replied lightly.

"Hmm, I see."

Just as the two of them reached the living room, an old woman in a servant’s uniform approached.

"Sir, I wanted to let you know that the new servants from the main house will be here this afternoon."

"Hmm, you lead them as usual Nora. Don't forget to remind them the rules of the house," Alex said firmly.

"Yes sir."

After telling the information, the woman left Alex's presence.

"Wuhuuu! New young ladies will soon grace this house!" Daniel stepped up in excitement. It was Daniel's habit to flirt with every young servants in Alex's house, making the host feel uneasy.

Alex suddenly stopped and turned to his friend. "Shut up. I'm not in the mood to discuss women."

"Why? Do Mr. and Mrs. Reagan want you to find a companion immediately?" Daniel guessed correctly.

"Enough, I don't want to talk about it." Alex immediately left for his car. After getting information on the whereabouts of his dearest treasure that had been stolen, he didn't want to waste any more time and immediately picked it up.

Daniel was also in Alex's car, and behind them were several more cars following as a form of security. Since Alex's life-threatening incident last year, the eldest son of the Reagan family who was now the head of all Reagan businesses had never been out alone. There was always a heavy guard around him.

"But you should be looking for a companion, Lex. Imagine a king without a queen, how sad is that?"

Alex didn't answer, he just gave Daniel a glare. Daniel immediately shut up and acted to cover his mouth so as not to become the target of Alex's rage.

The mission to get back the Reagans' weapons succeeded very easily. All of Gerry's men, the man Alex killed earlier, had been dealt with during the arrest of his boss so there was no guard at the hiding place of the booty. As he was about to return to his mansion, Alex received a call from his parents to visit the Reagan family's main mansion. Although initially refusing, Alex finally obeyed his parents' wishes. He thought he would stay there until dinner only, no overnight stay. Surely his brain would be poisoned by requests to find a wife.

***

Hazel, Lizzy, and a few other friends had arrived at the Reagan family's main mansion. This afternoon, they were still being briefed by the butler about every corner of the mansion and the rules. Their work would only begin after the lunch break.

"Wow, this is so crazy! I didn't expect the Reagan family mansion to be this big and luxurious! It's not a mansion, it's a palace!" said Lizzy enthusiastically.

"Of course, this family's wealth is no joke. So we have to be careful, everything here is expensive."

Lizzy nodded in agreement to Hazel's words. After getting ready in their new uniforms, Hazel and Lizzy separated to do their respective tasks.

Hazel now entered the room of the first child of the Reagan family, if she didn't remember correctly then his name was Alexander Reagan. She felt a little relaxed because she knew that the owner rarely came to the room so Hazel could clean freely.

But the first thing that caught her eye was a large cabinet near the desk that contained a lot of books. Alexander's working room was in the same room as the bedroom, but separated by a partition without a door. When opening the door, you will be faced with a spacious bedroom, a sofa set and a TV, then on the left there is a walk-in closet and also a bathroom, then on the right there is a workspace. So Hazel's current whereabouts were invisible as soon as she opened the door.

Little did she know that Alex had arrived and was now entering his room. Sensitive to the presence of others, Alex immediately approached Hazel who had her back turned and seemed to be busy reading a book.

"What are you doing here?"

Hazel gasped and dropped the book in her hand. She immediately put the book back in its place as she turned around.

"Sorry sir, I'm just cleaning up here. Sorry-"

When their eyes met, both of them were silent for a moment.

"You?" they said together.

Hazel immediately realized her attitude. The man currently in front of her was certainly not just anybody. Judging from his clothes and his free entry into this room, he must be the owner! Alexander Reagan. Hazel hurriedly lowered her gaze.

"Are you assigned here?" asked Alex.

"Yes, sir." The floor below still held Hazel's attention, she didn't want to look at the other person just yet. Nervousness, fear, and embarrassment mixed together.

"Look me in the eye when I talk to you." Alex's hand was casually on Hazel's chin to get her to look at him.

"I- I apologize sir." Although Hazel was a little scared, she finally had the courage to look at Alex.

Hazel and green eyes met, both of them were stunned for a moment before Alex finally pulled his hand back.

"Do you know the rules of this mansion?"

"Eh?" Hazel blinked, then she nodded at a loss. She knew there was one rule she had broken.

"Even though you've helped me in the past, rules are rules. Every offense will have its punishment, little sweet heart," Alex said with a small smirk at the corner of his lips.

Alex who had wanted to lie down on the bed now found a new toy that would be fun for him.

"I am sorry! Please forgive me Sir! I promise I won't carelessly touch things here!" Trembling with fear, Hazel pleaded.

"Well, I'll still punish you. Come with me." Without waiting for Hazel's consent, Alex pulled her by the arm into a room she had never imagined before.