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I narrow my eyes at her. “What do you mean?”
She shrugs. “My parents never truly raised me,” she began, staring out the window at the house, lost in thought. “They say it takes a village to raise a child—well, the staff was my village. Most of them anyway. When Ada came to live with us, everything was fine at first. It took a few years for me to realize it. I was fourteen, maybe fifteen when it dawned on me exactly how they had been conditioning me over the years.
“One wrong word. One slip-up and Ada was easily taken away. They let us grow attached to one another and then would rip the carpet out from under us. They never hurt her. One day she’d be my playmate and the next my father would take her away. I hated being alone and they knew that. He would leave me locked in my room, only allowing for food. After a few days, he’d bring her back, but she was never really the same. She never spoke of where she went, but wherever it was, it took a piece of her each time. As we grew older, it became less and less. But one day she was no longer my playmate. My father placed her in the kitchens after her mother died. Said I was too old for a playmate. That I needed to grow up.”
“So, you abandoned her?” I hiss, unsure of why it bothers me. My late wife was a traitor. Vanya shook her head morosely.
“Never,” she assures me. “I would sneak down to the kitchen to help her with her work. She’d sneak into my room. Every night we discussed how we would escape. Only—it never happened because…” She shrugs nonchalantly but I can see the sorrow lining her eyes.
Because she married me.
“Boss,” Anton slides into the driver’s seat, closing the door behind him. He turns to me and hands me his phone, a dark look in his eyes. “You’re going to want to see this.”
I take the phone from his hand and snort when I see the notification. Vanya’s bid has ended, and the highest bidder is something of a surprise. It isn’t who I expected it to be.
Smiling, I confirm the sale and set up a time for collection.
This is going to be interesting.
I hand the phone back to Anton and nod. It’s only mid-afternoon and the meeting won’t be until later tonight. “Take us home.” Taking his phone, he nods and starts the engine.
Vanya doesn’t say a word, but I can feel her gaze on me, glaring. It is hot and she is no doubt wondering what I am so gleeful about.
Poor little mouse is about to find out just how hungry the cat is.
* * *
It doesn’t take longto get back to the house. Traffic had eased since this morning. My pretty little captive shoves the door open the moment Anton puts the car in park and stomps toward the door with her duffel bag. Rolling my eyes, I step out onto the driveway and follow her inside. The sun is in full swing and beating down on me. It is that time of year that has the mornings cool but by afternoon it begins to heat up.
Luckily in March it hardly gets past eighty degrees. It’s the summer months you have to worry about. When the sun is so hot that it melts your shoes to the sidewalk. Those are the months I spend at my penthouse in the city. It’s more convenient and I don’t have to travel as much.
“Vanya,” I call to her, but she just keeps walking. I know the minx hears me. She’s just choosing to be a brat. “Don’t take another step, Vanya.” The order goes unheeded.
This is not what I need.
Shucking off my jacket, I lay it over the back of the couch and trail after her. I’m in no particular hurry. My little mouse has nowhere to go. I harden my footsteps on the stairs, so she knows I am coming. If she wants to play games, I’ll be sure to show her who the winner will be.
Spoiler. It’s not her.
“Boss,” Sasha calls from behind me. Fuck. I forgot about the meeting with him. Vanya is already out of my sight, and I hear the door to the room slam shut. I clench my jaw, eyes narrowing. Soon she won’t be my problem.
Taking a solid breath, I abandon my plans for her and make my way back down the stairs.
She’s lucky this time. If this meeting could be rescheduled, I would be up there tanning her pretty little ass. I love seeing how red it gets with my belt, her bubbly cheeks bouncing with each strike.
Vanya will soon find out that prey should never turn their back on a predator.
Sixteen
Slamming the bedroom door shut, I lean back with a sigh against the cold wood. His footsteps on the stairs were like a beating death drum. The countdown to my execution. When they retreated, the hitch in my chest finally relaxed.
Something had called him away and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Digging through my duffel, I pull out the leather-bound journal. It isn’t my only one, but it is the most current. I’ve been keeping a journal since I learned to write. A way to cope with the loneliness. Even after Ada came to live with us, I still wrote diligently nearly every day.
Hopes.
Fears.
