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Fuck that. Fuck them. If they want to kidnap me, to make me theirs, fine. But I’m not going to just lie down and take it.

I’ve been through worse and survived. And I’ll survive this, too.

Tears sting the back of my eyes as I reach the top of the stairs. A feeling of frustration hits me. I move to the wall of the hallway, slumping back against it and sliding down until my ass hits the ground.

“What the fuck am I going to do?” I whisper to myself, closing my eyes as I tilt my head back to rest against the wall.

The same questions swim around my mind. Why me? What do they want with me? Why are they so fucking obsessed with me? What made them want to stalk me, follow me, know every single thing about me?

I meant it when I told Maria that there was nothing special about me.

I don’t have money; I only own my house because it was left to me by my grandparents. I didn’t go to college. I have no education past high school. I’ve been working at the same dead-end job for years. I have no family, and only one friend.

“Fucking hell.” I let out a pathetic, watery laugh. “Maybe Maria is right. Why the hell am I so eager to get out of here?”

Still, just because I don’t have anything to rush back to, other than Olivia—because I’d be devastated if I couldn’t see her again—that doesn’t mean any of this is right.

“Would it really be so bad?” I whisper to myself. “Maybe just hear them out. See what they want from me. It can’t be worse than how my life is now.”

Maybe I’m just tired. Tired of living the same fucking bullshit life every day, going nowhere, having nothing, being alone.

“Not anymore,” I snort to myself. “Now, I have three mafia men so infatuated with me, they took me for themselves without consulting me.”

Hey, beats the shitty men in town.

“Ugh,” I growl, scrubbing my face in annoyance. “This is all so fucked up!” Opening my eyes, I lean forward and look around. If I sit still with my own thoughts for too long, I’m going to drive myself fucking mad.

Getting to my feet, I stand in the middle of the hallway, looking down it. At the end, casting a colorful glow through the space, is a stunning stained glass window. I have to admit, this place is really nice. At least what I’ve seen so far, not that it’s been much.

I might not feel comfortable walking around the property, but why not snoop around the house? Sure, they might be watching me, but they did give me permission.

So, one by one, I open every door in this hallway. There are three closets, a bathroom, two guest rooms, and my own room. Nothing exciting, but each room was just as nice and fancy as the last.

The bathroom in my room doesn't have a door that leads to the hallway, so at least I have more privacy.

Ending my snooping in the room I woke up in, I take a better look at the area, and honestly, I’m kind of freaked out.

It’s not exactly like my room at home, because this one is, like, five times the size of it, but it has pretty much everything in it. All my photos, my wall art, and my clothes all seem to be here. They really were thorough and prepared.

That just means they really do plan to keep me here for a long period of time. Forever, if they have it their way.

I shake my head, refusing to get trapped in that never-ending loop of questions I have no answers to, and leave the room to explore more of the house.

I look the place over from top to bottom, more impressed by every room I see. They really do have an indoor pool, theater room, and gaming room.

As I make my way back up from the basement, I see another set of stairs that I missed when examining the front part of the house.

“Of course they would have more than one wing in here.” I roll my eyes. Rich people.

One thing I did notice is, nothing about this house gives off mafia vibes. No scary-looking men lurking around. No oddly expensive knickknacks and furniture. It was a classy-looking mansion. Like the ones I’ve seen on TV. Nothing crazy, nothing over the top.

Not that I’d know what the people in the mafia’s houses look like.

But still. It’s not what I expected.

Although, as I make my way to the top of the steps on the other side of the house, it’s easily noticeable that this side is different. It looks the same, but the energy isn’t. This must be where the guys’ bedrooms are.

As I’m walking down the hallway, fully intending to snoop in every one of their rooms, maybe even fuck with their things as a bit of revenge, I notice something on the wall.