17. Orla

CHAPTER 17

Ilay on the floor of my room, and I refuse to cry until he leaves. He pulls up his pants but bends over and spits words at me.

"If you say anything about this to Kase, I'll kill you and your family." He will do it, I wait until I hear his car start and drive off before I cry. This is my chance. I need to run while they're gone. I don't know how far I'll get because I can't move fast. Especially now after being raped, but I have to try. There probably isn't much time, but I shower to get the smell of Alex off of me and change my clothes. When I get out of the shower, I think about which direction to head off in, but I have no idea where I am or how I'm going to get home. I think about asking one of the servants for help but know that they'll never defy Kase and even if they were willing, I couldn't risk their safety. I sink to the bed and put my head in my hands and start crying. Enough Orla! No more running! Death would be a relief now, so no more running and hiding. No, we fight!

I curl myself into the fetal position as I plan on how I'm going to blow this house of horrors up from the inside. I'm going to make that mother fucker pay.

In the hours that follow, I plan the downfall of Alex using the only thing I have the information that I garnered from what I overheard during his call. I just need to do this properly and precisely. There's no room for error or miscalculation. I know now that this monster will not rest or be satisfied until I'm out of the picture. He's capable of anything, and I'm not going to be a bug on the windshield of his quest to conquer Kase.

I hear Kase's car return. There's a knock at my door and he comes in. He knows immediately that something is wrong. I refuse to tell him what happened.

"You've showered and changed your clothes. Did he hurt you?"

"Not as badly as he hurt you and my family." I reply. He looks confused.

"What are you talking about, Orla?" He asks.

"I'm going to tell you everything because I have nothing more to lose. He took the last part of me about an hour before you got back." He tries to interrupt and storm off to go find Alex, but I grab him." Please, you have to listen. If I don't tell you this now, I may never find the courage again. "Remember the afternoon that you put me in the coffin and left?" I ask him, "You were angry. You left and slammed the door. Alex didn't know I was in the box?" I can see him zeroing in on the day I'm referring to.

"Oh, yeah. He was in the shower?" He says.

"Yes. He didn't know I was there, and his phone rang. The man was demanding money from him. I think I could only hear Alex's side of the conversation and shouting from the guy on the phone." I pause.

"Alex told him that he'd get him the money. As long as you never found out that he was the reason that the deal went south, the one that led to your father being killed."

"Why are you doing this, Orla? Your father took responsibility for my father's death!" He barks.

"I don't know why he did that - you need to ask him that, but I'm telling you the truth. You have to believe me." My eyes are cloudy with unshed teardrops. "I'm not lying. I've never lied to you, ever. He said that he was the reason that the Russians pushed up the prices, leading to your dad believing that they were trying to put the pressure on him."

"Your father could have told you that." He says. His eyes don't leave mine.

"Yes. I guess he probably could have." I say, sighing and sinking onto the bed. "That's it. That's all I have. He said, Victor! Kase can never know!"

"Victor!? That was the guy's name that he was speaking to?" He asks.

"Yes."

"Did you get a surname?" He asks, and I see the wheels churning.

"No. That's it." He leaves and doesn't look back.

Idon't see either of them for the rest of the day. The house manager moves me to another room and tells me that Kase wants me to use the intercom if there's an emergency. He talks in code to keep his cards close to his chest. I move to a room on the other side of the house and before he leaves, the house manager tells me that the master also said that I'm welcome to lock the door. He believes me.