At this point, my curiosity had been piqued, and I just wanted to find out the truth. I wanted to know what I’d gotten myself into, because one year was a long time to spend with a shady human being.
However, despite my determination to find out what the hell was really going on here, a part of me just wanted to let it go. I wanted to let the sleeping dog lie because poking it would be looking for trouble.
If I went digging, I was positive that I wouldn’t like what I’d find. Now, I was torn between getting to the bottom of this and simply turning a blind eye. The deal was to survive for one whole year and then earn my freedom.
Whatever he did with his life shouldn’t be my concern. Whatever shady business he was into was his problem, not mine. My role was to play the wife and the assistant throughout my stay here.
I shouldn’t go looking for what wasn’t looking for me.
At this point, it was clear that there were things I didn’t know about, forces that were beyond my comprehension.
Each time I thought about playing detective, his words would echo in my head:“Next time, stick to filing.”
He made it pretty clear that he didn’t want me sticking my nose in anything that wasn’t what he assigned for me.
But was I going to listen, was I going to mind my own damn business?
That night, at about fifteen minutes past midnight, I was awakened by the sound of heavy footsteps matching through the hallway. Fast and rapid. The noise was so brief that by the time I rubbed the sleep off my eyes, it was radio silence again.
I thought it was a dream at first, but less than a minute later, I heard muffled voices coming from below my floor. It appeared there was a room beneath mine, and that was where the voices were coming from.
With my hands under my head, I stared at the ceiling while eavesdropping, hoping to hear them more clearly.
“Mind your business. Emi, mind your fuckin’ business,” I murmured to myself, rolling to the other side of the bed.
That’s when I heard it; the unmistakable scream of someone in tremendous pain. It was so loud I thought the person was in my room. I jolted upright, my heart racing as I gripped the sheets tightly.
Then again, silence.
No screams.
No muffled voices.
Just dead silence.
No,a small voice whispered in my head.Do not do it. Don’t fuckin’ do it,the voice warned me, knowing exactly what was running through my mind.
Come on. We have to know what’s going on,another voice chipped in. This one was the curious part of me.
No, we don’t. We just have to mind our business,said the previous voice.Emi, stay put.
Don’t listen to her. We have to know what we’re dealing with here. And the only way to do that is by—
Getting ourselves in trouble? Come on, it’s not worth it.
I knew my voice of reason was right. This was dangerous, and it might land me in some serious trouble. However, I needed to know what exactly was happening in this mansion.
So what’s it gonna be, Emi?the curious voice asked me.Are you gonna lie in bed like a scared kitty cat, or are you gonna go out there like a lioness?
This is a bad idea.
Shut up. Emi, it’s now or never. We’ll just take a sneak peek, that’s all. Nothing serious.
Without hesitation, I sprang to my feet, ignoring the protest of my voice of reason. I hurried to the door, opened it,and snuck out into the dimly lit hallway. From there, I tiptoed to the basement, where I knew the sound had come from.
While descending the stairs as quietly as I could, my heart kept hammering in my chest. My legs were shaking, and my hands were trembling. Yet I kept going.
Just to be clear, I do not approve of this.
