THE DEAL WITH THE DEVIL'S HEIR

Alicia's POV

I panicked the moment Dante left the room for the second time. My heart thudded against my ribs like a trapped bird. I pressed a palm to my chest, trying to steady it, but my mind kept flashing to what I'd just witnessed an entire family destroyed on his command, lives snuffed out for a debt that wasn't even theirs.

"How can anyone be that heartless?" I whispered, the words trembling out of me. His voice still echoed in my head. That will be your fate if you ever disrespect me again.

I forced a long breath. "No," I murmured. "I won't let this man be the end of me. I'm getting out."

The door clicked softly when I tried it. Not locked. I eased it open, poking my head out. The hallway was empty. A flicker of relief darted through me. Today I will study every corner of this place. Tonight, I'd run.

I slipped into the bathroom, showered quickly, then pulled on a white gown from the wardrobe. My legs felt like water but I made myself walk down the stairs. The mansion was unnervingly quiet. From a window I glimpsed Dante leaving with several men. Only a handful of guards remained, silent as statues. Perfect, I thought. The fewer eyes, the better.

I wandered the house as casually as I could, memorising doors, corridors, stairwells. Every little axis became part of my mental escape map. The guards didn't speak; their faces were carved from stone. Even the staff averted their eyes. It was like living among ghosts.

Back in my room I exhaled shakily. "It doesn't matter. One thing's for sure.... I will escape this place," I told myself. Then I lay on the bed, replaying the map until I could trace it with my eyes closed.

When darkness finally settled over the house, I moved. I pulled a black jumpsuit from the wardrobe someone else's, but it fit. "Thank you," I whispered to the unknown girl and zipped it up.

Following my memorised path, I slipped into the corridor. The coast was clear. No footsteps, no murmurs. It was too easy, but I didn't care. Keep moving, I told myself. Just keep moving.

I reached the last window before the outer grounds. My pulse roared in my ears. Almost free. I swung a leg over the ceiling and a hand shot from the shadows, clamping around my ankle.

"Please... help me..." a hoarse voice whispered.

I froze, biting back a scream. My plan could shatter in an instant. I twisted free, heart hammering, and dropped to the ground outside. My landing jarred my knees but I didn't stop.

I vaulted the first fence and grinned through the ache in my ribs. I'm doing it. I'm actually....

Then I saw it.

A severed head hung from the branches ahead, blood dripping in slow, deliberate beads. The metallic smell hit my nose and turned my stomach. The ground around it was dark, slick.

Fear gripped me but I forced my feet to move. There had to be a way out beyond the trees. I pushed forward, deeper into the shadows and that was when I heard it.

A soft click.

A glint of steel.

And then a familiar voice behind me, low and cold:

"Going somewhere, little dove?".