Chapter Four_I was a prisoner

Elena.

He smelled like coffee, mixed with cinnamon. Ash. The woods outside. Oud. I froze in place, partly because I could easily die here, but mostly because I had left the kids alone.

I was such a terrible nanny.

"I won't ask you again, so you better answer fast," He spoke like a cat, soft, slow, and purring each word. "Who the fuck are you? And what the fuck are you doing in this particular room in this estate."

My fingers dug into the hand that was draped across my body, my head grew a bit fuzzy and it seemed like I couldn't think of who I was anymore.

He held unto my neck, a little too tightly for my liking. At the point of the attack, I had not even registered the fact that he had a literal knife tip pointed at my back. He could kill me if he so desired.

"I am Elena, I am the nanny for Jaden Halloway,"

The chuckle was not what I expected as the response. The chuckle and digging the knife a bit harder, almost enough to break skin.

"Who are you? Sebastian hired a nanny? Do you really want me to believe that shit?"

I tried nodding. Anything to let this man let go of me. I tried blinking the tears that had gathered out of my eyes multiple times.

I wasn't much of a fighter. I knew nothing of the basic martial arts, I wasn't the type that won fights, and I did little to no work out.

The only thing I could hope for right now was a.......

And then the door swung open to reveal Ari, who looked less than delighted to see me here. She placed her hand on her hips and surveyed the situation like it wasn't worth her time.

"I told you to wait for me, and the next moment, you're trying to kill the help," The sneer on her lips seemed to have become a permanent fixture at this point, "Do you want Mr Halloway to kill you? He personally selected this one."

And just like that I could breathe again, and no sharp object was being placed directly on my skin, ready to plunge into it if I moved in the wrong direction. My legs worked faster than my brain in comprehending the situation, taking me to the other end of the room. Before I would be held again.

"Who is that?" I asked Ari, "Why are men in this house?"

I huffed out a laugh, but it sounded like a sob. I wasn't really crying because of this situation now, was I?

Ari didn't answer me, though. Neither did he. They pretended like I had left the room, the dude sat at one end of the room, his knife shone underneath the light in the room as he used it to pick out the dirt embedded in his fingernails. Ari stared at me like I was some sort of cockroach beneath her shoes.

I fled away from the room. As fast as I could, to where Charlotte and Jaden was.

Just to see them with another guy in the room. Dark curls settled over his face. His smile seemed like something he hid from other people. He showed Jaden some sort of game on his phone that had the young master doubling over in laughter.

I could see Charlotte standing at the side, her arms wrapped around her. She was good at making friends, but she had never been one who knew what to do when she was around adults.

"Charlotte," I gasped, wrapping my arms around her the moment I was close enough.

When it seemed like he had bonded with Jaden enough, the dude stood up from his little place on the couch. His eyes felt like they had lived a thousand life times. He wasn't the overmuscly kind of guy, and neither was he slim.

Finally, I understood why it felt like I knew him before.

"You left my son unattended to," He said, "You're paid to watch my son, and you left him unattended to. Anything could have happened to me."

Those dark eyes stared at me from multiple magazines. Those curls I used to pray to run my fingers through.

"He was playing with my daughter, and I just stepped out for a few seconds. I didn't mean to be long...." My throat grew tight, my eyes watered even more. I had no idea why his presence intimidated me even further.

He scoffed, "That is hardly ideal. I don't care if he was with the richest man in the world or even a baby. I care about the fact that you left my son, a boy you are supposed to attend to all the damn time alone," He took another step towards me, "I don't pay you to neglect my son."

My head hung low. Due to shame, due to the circumstances surrounding this, due to what happened before. His words made me feel so stupid.

Ari and the dude from earlier chose that moment to walk into the room. They looked like they had listened to the conversation from outside the doors by placing their ears directly on the door.

"So she is the nanny...." The dude placed emphasis on the word 'nanny', "Caught her snooping around my sister's room, thought she was some sort of theif until Ari showed up to rescue her."

If he looked mad at her before, he looked downright murderous now. Charlotte clung to me even tighter, burying her face in between my legs to hide herself from what was happening right now.

"You breached some rules today, Miss Blythe," His strong jaw ticked as he said that. I had read the rule book Ari had placed on my hand when I first arrived, cover to cover, afraid not to break any rule.

I was not allowed to break any of the rules, no matter the circumstances.

The man in front of me couldn't possibly be the same one I met at the playground that particular day. He might have had the same features, the same build, but that couldn't be him. He was meaner now. Colder. Seemed more ruthless.

I straightened myself a bit more, "I am sorry. It won't happen again."

He turned to Ari, "Take her and her daughter to the room at the end of this wing. My son shall join them soon...." His piercing gaze seemed to see my soul at this point, "This is your first strike. Breach a rule again, and you're done for."

Without another word, he walked away from the room with the other dude hot on his heels and Jaden by his side. If looks could kill, then the unwavering glare Ari sent to my direction would have no doubt sent me to my grave.

"It'll be okay, Charlotte."

****

Charlotte fell asleep an hour later, her eyes tired from all the times she spent staring at the door, waiting patiently for Jaden to come back.

I searched around the room for an exit. Anything to leave this prison I had gotten myself into because I needed money.

Chewing on my lip, I glanced at the only object that brought a bit of warmth to the room. A painting of a little baby, a boy by the looks of it, wrapped in a blue coat. A dainty little figure held him to herself.

Sebastian Halloway. Who would have thought.

The man everyone wanted to be. Rumoured to be one of the richest men on the planet. Every man wanted to be him.

I never knew he had a son.

He could kill me if he wanted to. Bury my body in the woods outside the estate, and no one would be more the wiser. Perhaps the government would notice when I stop paying my taxes. He could take Charlotte away from me.

As long as I was in one of the houses of one of the most dangerous men, then I was a target that anything could happen to.

The doorknob rattled, followed by a tiny knock, which made me jump away from the painting immediately. And then someone opened the door, and Jaden appeared, dressed in his latest pyjamas while he carried the doll Charlotte loved to play with.

He looked worn out.

"Mr Halloway," I called out to the man at the door who watched Jaden walk to me without a smile on his face, "Mr Halloway, hello."

"I hope you can take care of him in a much better way now, Miss Blythe," He glanced at his watch.

"I would," The tiny smile on my face wavered between a frown and straight lips, "I hope with time you would be able to trust me again."

"I never trusted you before. Ari thought you were the perfect person for the job, and I just had to verify."

That stung. Way more than I thought it would."

"Alright," I hesitated, threading my fingers together in front of me, "Yeah, that makes much more sense," I admitted, my eyes wavered away from his face because I was afraid he might fire me on the spot if I stared at his eyes.

He said nothing after, just turned away and walked out of the room. The familiar click of someone locking the door from outside jolted me out of my thoughts.

I was a prisoner in the Halloway mansion. That was the exact reason why no one knew much about him, he kept everyone who knew as prisoners.