DEAD WOMAN WALKING (THE BLOOD IN MY VEINS #1)

THE FAMILY REUNION VI

chapter twenty-five. | THE FAMILY REUNION VI

ETERNITY AND A YEAR WAS WHAT IT FELT LIKE as Mia laid there in her room. She was terribly bored. She forgot how dependent she was on easy tasks like scrolling though social media on her phone, or even simply taking a walk around her broken down apartment complex. She reminisced on the memory of counting the stains on the redbrick of the apartments. She used to scowl at her less than fortunate living conditions, but now that she was trapped in a mafia house full of dangerous criminals—those of which having to be Don Benventi,—she found herself wishing she could return back to her crummy abode. Before he kidnapped her. Before he sold her. Before he even knew she existed. With every second that ticked by, she grew more homesick. She wanted to, no, she needed to escape.

And if she had even the slightest chance of doing so, she needed to get the Don to trust her.

She couldn't fall for his dark and brooding charm anymore.  Just when there was an opening, she needed to take it and escape. Just like that.

Before Mia could dive any deeper into her plans, soft knocks sounded at her door. The wooden portal opened to reveal a tired looking Haiti. Dark bags stained her once golden brown skin under her eyes. Her plump lips were chapped and it looked like her hands were red.

Mia looked at the woman with a mixture of concern and confusion.

"Haiti?" She asked, pushing herself off the bed.

The maid in question let out a deep sigh.

"The Don made us scrub the entire estate until it was squeaky clean. Something about not wanting his madre to come across any dirt." She croaked in a tired voice. Her accent was more noticeable. She inhaled deeply before letting out another sigh.

"Anyways, Mrs. Benventi is requesting you in the kitchen." She dragged her hand down her face. Jesus Christ, the whole mansion? Didn't the brute think that even with his entire staff, that was overkill? Haiti was the closest think she had to a friend at the moment, and seeing her like this made her heat ache. Mia cleared her throat.

"Right." She said slowly, hopping out of the bed.

Haiti led her to the first floor, past part of the mansion she had never seen before. The place was truly an estate. For a second, she wondered what was on the third floor of the mansion. She knew the dons room was on her same floor. If the kitchen and everything else was spread out between the two floors, what was on the third? She would have to make a trip up there before she escaped.

The maid led her to a huge luxury kitchen, the size of her own apartment. It was angel white with a brown wooden floor. The afternoon sunlight streamed in from the large windows, letting Mia catch a glimpse of the Don's mother shooing out the remainder of the cooking staff.

The woman said something to the crew in Italian before laughing and turning to the other women. She held her hands on her hips, and she was now dressed in a simple white button up, mint green trousers and black flats. She looked like a true mom. Her eyes locked on Haiti, who in turn smiled back.

"Haiti Rossi? Is that you? I haven't seen you since you were five!" She squealed. In a couple of seconds, the elder woman had crossed to their side of the kitchen and embraced the maiden woman. Haiti let out a chuckle before hugging the woman back. Mia blinked. Haiti was a maid. Since when did the Don's mother become buddy-buddy with a maid? No offense to her, of course. She knew how mafia members were, and how ignorant they were to the lives of people they deemed "below them".

Mrs. Benventi pulled back, her smile damn near breaking her face.

"It's great to finally see you again, Mrs. Benventi." Haiti said, genuinely. The older woman groaned playfully. "I'm so sick and tired of the formalities. My name is Maria."