"Good morning, Signorina Caruso," she says. "I'm Lina, Damiano's housekeeper."
I blink, thrown by her conversational tone. She doesn't seem at all flustered by her boss having a woman locked away in a dank little cell. It makes me wonder if my situation is not as unusual as it should be.
"Damiano asked me to show you to your new room." She gestures toward the door. I rise from the bed and walk out intoa large open space. The stairs leading upward confirm that this is a basement. There's an extensive wine cellar at one end of the room and another door leading to goodness knows where.
A torture chamber, probably.
I follow Lina upstairs and out into a grand hallway. The floors are marble and there's a magnificent fresco on the wall, its fading color revealing the age of the building.
A huge wooden door stands in front of me. Even if there wasn't a tall, muscular man stationed in front of it, I wouldn't try to leave. Not yet. Angering Damiano more than I already have would be a spectacularly bad idea.
We climb one flight of stairs and then another. The house is truly incredible. Its walls are lined with paintings and there are ornate moldings on the ceiling. Sunlight pours in through tall windows. It's beautiful and eerily quiet.
A house this old is bound to have ghosts. It certainly feels like it should.
Lina stops outside a white door with a gold handle and opens it. She stands back to let me enter ahead of her. Considering the opulence of the public areas of the house, the room is surprisingly cozy. It's still a cage, though, no matter how prettily it's decorated.
A wooden bed dominates the space, decorated in cream and pale blue. Glass doors lead out onto a balcony. I walk over and test whether they're locked. They aren't, so I step out carefully.
As I breathe in the fresh air, I realize the balcony is shared with the rooms on either side of this one.
It takes only a moment to realize that the unlocked doors are not a show of trust from Damiano. Even if I survived the sheer drop to the ground, there are guards patrolling the walled garden below. It's an unnecessary reminder of how dangerous my boss is. He leaves nothing to chance.
"Don't worry about them," Lina says as she comes up behind me. "They won't bother you."
Unless Damiano tells them to.
"They have guns," I murmur, more as a mental note to myself than anything else.
"It's for protection. Don't let it worry you."
Though I can't help being concerned about being surrounded by men armed to the teeth, I nod and walk back inside.
"So, what do you think of the room?" Lina asks.
"It's beautiful." Way more luxurious than anything I'm used to.
Lina smiles. "Damiano thought you might like this one."
My eyes widen. I'm amazed he cares about my opinion on his décor. The thought is unsettling, though I don't know why.
"And," Lina continues, "he's right next door if you need anything."
Ah, now I see the reason for the upgraded accommodations. He wants me where he can keep an eye on me. It makes me wonder how long he intends to keep me here.
"That's good," I say when I realize Lina is looking for a response.
"You'll be very comfortable here. We've taken the liberty of hanging your clothes up for you."
"My clothes?"
"Yes, we collected your belongings."
She points to a door on the other side of the room. I go to open it and find a huge closet. About a quarter of it is filled with clothes I recognize instantly as mine. Someone has been to my apartment and taken all my things without so much as asking me if it was okay.
As I look through the rails and some of the drawers, I realize everything is here, neatly arranged. When the hell did this happen? It's clear Damiano plans for me to be here for a while.There's no sign of the purse I brought to work last night or my cellphone, though.
"They should be enough until we can get you fitted for a new wardrobe."
