Mr. Montoya, whom I eventually nicknamed the devil's shadow, closed the distance between us. The sudden closure made me forget how to breathe.
"That room is off-limits, Alice. I'll let you off with the grace that you're a newbie staff member. No second chances," he said.
With that, he stepped back, lifted the bottle of whiskey he had brought with him to his lips, and took a sip. Then he walked past me, went into the room, and shut the door. Just then, my phone rang, jolting me from my momentary frozen state. It was Lucy.
"Hey, I'm waiting in the cab. Why don't you come outside? You remember your way out, right? Or do you need me to come get you?" she asked, concerned.
"No, I'm fine. I know my way out. I'm on my way," I replied. I looked back at the door, puzzled about the man on the other side of it.
Only Lucy and the driver were inside the cab when I entered.
"Where's Serena?" I asked Lucy.
"With Doña Esperanza," she replied.
The cab drove in complete silence until we reached the servants' quarters.
"Lucy, can we talk?" I asked immediately after we alighted.
"Umm… right now?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure. Unless you're going to be busy later, or…"
She looked at her watch, then around us, and then to the back of the leaving cab we had just alighted from.
Her hesitation made me wonder if I was doing the right thing. The contract clearly stated that my silence was required. But after my evaluations, I concluded Lucy was an insider. She was somehow family to Mr. Montoya. Even though I couldn't quite place how she was connected to them and to what extent, her dark skin was a deception.
"Sure. Would you like to follow me to my room?" she finally replied.
So I followed her to her room. Once inside, Lucy started undressing.
"What do you want to talk about?" she said, wrapping a towel around her small body. "A lot of things. But I want to ask about you. You were quiet earlier in the cab, to and fro our drive to the East Wing. Are you alright?" I finally let it out. She stood still, looking at me.
"Of course I'm fine. Hold on. Let me freshen up, and then we can talk. Care to join?" she asked.
"Oh no, you go on. I'll head back to my room when we're done," I answered. "Okay. Suit yourself," she said and entered the bathroom.
I took the chance to look around her room. No difference from mine. A stark, white-walled, rectangular room that felt less like a home and more like a cell. There were two narrow beds facing each other like silent opponents, separated by a small wooden table and a chair. There was one window, wide enough to let in a glimpse of the large field and the darkness of the night. The room was just a space designed for sleep and duty.
It didn't take long before Lucy was out, water rivulets dripping from her body. Lucy was a beautiful young lady who gave off a lot of sexual appeal.
"Stop ogling me," she teased with a smile on her face.
"Then put on some clothes already. I'd like to get some sleep before tomorrow," I replied.
She got dressed and sat down beside me, smelling like floral soap.
"Don't you have a roommate?" I asked.
"I do. She's a gossip. She should be in one of the rooms sharing or receiving the latest," she explained. "So what's up? You wanted to talk, and I'm all ears."
"Okay. To be respectful and avoid overstepping boundaries, I'll ask, and you need to be very honest with me if you can; otherwise, I'm out. On the other hand, if it's something you can't share, you let me know. They'll be questions centered on you; is that okay?" I started.
"Of course, I won't answer a question I don't want to," she stated matter-of-factly.
"Why were you quiet and withdrawn earlier?" I began my lines of interrogation.
"I just broke up," she replied simply.
"Oh. So sorry about that. I didn't realize," I said.
"It's okay. It's not like it was written on my forehead. He was a jerk anyway. What's so sad about it, was that I'd always known it would end this way. Is that all?" she asked.
I didn't know how to get the question out of my throat, so I shared my observation with her about how she barged into Doña Esperanza's house earlier and her near-freeness with Mr. Montoya.
"Wow. You're an observant one. Okay, well, where do I start? Doña Esperanza is my godmother," she stated casually.
My face was a mask of polite indifference, but my heart skipped mightily at her shocking revelation.
"That's nice. I didn't know that. Can you explain how? You've got me curious," I said, trying so hard not to sound offended. She smiled. Clouds of mystery suddenly enveloped her.
"If we go into that, we won't be able to go for dinner," she pointed out. Shit, I almost forgot. Every morning and evening, food is made available for us. I couldn't think of food at a moment like this.
"You hungry?" I asked Lucy.
"No. You?" she asked me back.
"Not at all," I replied.
"I've got a few slices of bread and some butter if you change your mind," she offered.
"Okay, will do. Will you tell me how Doña Esperanza is your godmother?" I asked.
She was hesitant again.
"Do you know if they are real? And if they were, would they be as ferocious as the wild cats or as gentle as a dove?" her voice shook.
Then, without waiting for a response, she dived into the story of her life. She hadn't known who her real parents were. All she remembered of her younger years was her presence in an orphanage.
She talked about how the owner of the establishment she had stayed with was prosperous and successful, thriving in different businesses while still running the home marvelously. It was all sunshine until calamity struck. The owner had slowly lost her memory. According to the rumors back then, a family member had conspired with some people to achieve that result. Then that family member took over the home and turned it into a brothel for all types of people to patronize.
"Pedophiles were highly welcomed and honored," she chuckled sadly at the memory.
As she narrated all this, a cold wave of nausea rolled through me, turning my stomach into tight knots. The story of the woes she had experienced at a very young age suddenly made the air feel so thick to ingest, and I tasted copper and bile so distinctly.
She wasn't done yet. She explained that at that age she remembered, she was meant to understand that she was not 'market ready' due to her small stature and dark skin. She explained that outside the home was the view and image of a regularly functioning household, until you came inside. But not every Dick, Tom, and Harry was allowed in—only big hands like Montoya and Doña Esperanza.
She told me that she didn't know what Doña Esperanza was looking for in a place like that. Doña Esperanza just showed up and agreed to buy her out at a ridiculously high amount. Then, because Doña Esperanza was childless, she adopted Lucy as her goddaughter.
The next morning, the establishment was attacked, and all but the victims were found dead inside.
No longer able to stomach the tales of woe, I stopped her. She just smiled and turned her head away from me. Then I moved close to her to wrap my arms around her in a hug, but she sprang up from the bed.
Because of the shock and confusion written on my face, she explained that she was spent and that I could go to my room. When I didn't move because I was concerned about her, she assured me that she was fine and sent me off with a few slices of bread and some butter.
The next evening, I convinced Doña Esperanza that I hadn't yet completely cleaned out the East Wing and that I wouldn't mind doing so in the evening. Without a second thought, she agreed. Lucy's chilling experience had me itching for a bit of adventure to temporarily forget its content. So, my idea of fun was to go through the East Wing study after promising myself I wouldn't. Twist of fate.
The study door was not locked, so I knocked to confirm if someone was inside. Nobody. I walked in and was drawn to the web of pictures connected by red strings. I couldn't immediately deduce what it was all about, but I made sure to commit every detail for later analysis.
I must've been in there for a long while before I heard footsteps approaching. Dang it, not again. I was more fortunate than last night, though, because I immediately ran under the desk to hide. Shortly after, the footsteps neared the room and even moved closer to the desk. I immediately accepted that I was doomed, and it was because of my untamed curiosity.