In the End

6│The Dinner

Solomon was not as kind as Alexei, holding my arm in a tight grip as he kept my body close to his. There was no way in hell I was going to be able to even stretch myself, let alone make a run for it.

No, I took a breath and kept walking. I had to be smart.

"What's for dinner?" I eventually asked, breaking the silence. Regardless of what I had said before, I was starving, my stomach growling quietly as it sent an uneasy feeling up my throat.

Solomon paused as if we weren't going to tell me. "Not sure, I usually don't check for those sort of things, I find out at the table."

I sighed, "How helpful,"

He gave me a glare, "If it's that big of a deal, you have a phone in your room that connects to all the main services in the house. A laminated sheet with the numbers is in the drawer. You can just call the chefs beforehand and I'm sure they would be happy to tell you."

"Hmmm," I replied. "Well, thanks for that."

I realised I hadn't been paying attention to where we were walking, which was stupid of me. I needed to be taking in my surroundings, building a mind map, instead, I was too concerned with what we were eating for dinner. Then I remembered, my phone.

"Hey, my phone wasn't able to connect or anything, do you know why?" I inquired, maybe there was some sort of reason that I couldn't do anything on my phone.

Solomon looked at me, if he was wondering why I was still talking. "Because there is a specific system set up within the entire area that prevents unauthorised devices to make any sort of connection or send any messages."

I sighed, "So that's why I couldn't call the police to report them of my kidnapping. How helpful."

He sighed. "You didn't try and contact the police, we got a notification with the message you tried to send, and it certainly wasn't to any of the authorities."

Red bloomed on my neck. "So everything else about the phone is fine, I just can't text anyone?"

After thinking for a moment, he replied. "Theoretically, yes. You can't leave comments on social media, and then, of course, any form of messaging. No liking posts or that sort of thing, but you should still be able to do things on it."

I ran my tongue over my teeth. "Well, in a brief moment of anger, my phone was destroyed, so if that could be fully reimbursed, that would be great."

He rolled his eyes, "We aren't buying you a new phone."

"Your behaviour and how you have treated me caused the anger, which caused my phone to be destroyed. You are the sole reason for the issue, therefore, it's your responsibility."

Solomon sighed, "I'll bring the issue up with Luciano."

Eventually, we walked into the dining room, a long table centred in the middle with at least twelve people already seated. Two seats were open were the main groups of people were sitting, one next to Luciano on the side - who was obviously sitting at the head of the table - and one next to Alexei. Solomon let go of my arm and took the seat next to his brother. I gulped, leaving only one option for me. Everyone had turned their heads, facing me and watching intently as I walked over to the empty seat. As if to ensure my thoughts, Luciano held out his hand, gesturing to the seat next to him.

I pulled it out and sat down, tucking the fur beneath my thighs, not saying a word. Luciano swirled the red liquid in his cup. "Everyone, my guest. Ida Farcao. She will be staying with us... indefinitely."

A man from the other end of the table raised his eyebrow, "She looks rich, look at the size of the diamond handing off her ears. Did you concede to your mother Luciano? Finally accepted an arranged marriage?" He paused before smiling, "Looks like some Cruella De Vil knock off with the size of that bloody coat she's wearing.